Merek puts Caith Nettle Extract in a belt made with black leather, and small compartments.

It's a fine sunset and a nice evening to go on a stroll. If you're bunch of guards that are armed to the teeth. It's been a hectic day, there was one particularly rough brawl to a break up during lunchtime at the Trader's Tavern. Really, who drinks that much at noon? Lots of arrests and a bunch of belligerent drunks currently sit in the drunk tank back at the barracks. Several members of the barracks opt to head down here, some on their way home, others with other intentions in mind but together nonetheless. With the sunlight fading, regular folk are scattering to go home. There are some others that filter in, but as the group heads down the river path that leads underneath the looming presence of the Bridge of the Sovereign, things seem relatively calm.


    Merek has come because he wanted to check in at the Offices for the Docks, just in case the notice arrived about some fleet movements. His interest in the local navies has risen in recent times, and definitely since the 'volcanic' event at an island has caused... Well, a lot to happen. He has a letter in his hand whjich he tucks into his silk tunic, while he decides to let out a sigh. Aneka and Meeka are with him, but his retinue is off somewhere else at the docks, leaving just him and the Guardsmen that came here for their various reasons. Cold Iron looks up at the sky, "Another day."

Sparte looks chipper and energetic. He is annoying like that, always seeming to enjoy the hardest days more than the calm ones. Yet it isn't work that brings him to the docks.

It is the stoat.

Sparte is following Tiny Tom the Stoat along, off on one of her forays exploring the city. She has a touch of blood on her snout today, hopefully some unlucky rat and not someone's pet. Sparte may be watching her for more than his own good health.

Thena is just a-heading on home to her room in the Murder. Technically she's not off duty yet so she's still armed and on the alert, but definitely easing towards the 'off the clock' mentality. Her mastiff lumbers at her heels, massive body taxed by the long day and all the drunks to snarl at. He perks up distinctly when the stoat scampers past, and it takes a stern, "Dog!" from Thena to stall him.

Kenna is the rookie guardswoman here, the Lord Commander's earnest and newish little Whitehawk cousin. She's still getting used to fun activities like "rounding up the drunks" and is a little bushed as she treks through. Of course, she's determined not to show it. Much. "There's..vomit on my boot," she reports quietly with a momentary furrow of her forehead as she peers downward. "I thought I moved fast enough that I avoided it. Well, better luck next time on that one, I suppose."

As our adventurers travel down the river path, up ahead they can just make out some figures in the fading light. They seem to be setting up shop overnight down here, under the shadow of the giant bridge overhead. Two of them look to be carrying something heavy with a third operating as leader. They disappear into some dense bushes, but not before furtively looking around. They leave behind four others, who light a tiny fire and sit down on some rocks and begin to cook over it. It's fine to hang out down here right? Totally normal to be camping in a fringe section of the lower boroughs?


Merek checked wits at difficulty 10, rolling 8 lower.

    Merek for one thinks this is completely normal, and pieces together that nothing shady is happening. So much for his Officer Training. The man looks over to the others, "It's been a long week," he admits, while he lets out a sigh and scratches his cheek a bit. "Hope it all goes better tomorrow, guys." A small frown to Sparte, Thena, and Kenna, "What with the news of happenings outside in the Forest though we have to be ever mindful of the city itself."

Thena checked perception + streetwise at difficulty 20, rolling 9 higher.

1 Saik Guard, Gunther, a Rottweiler arrive, following Estaban.

Converging with Kenna, Thena murmurs, "One grows accustomed." She lives here in the Lowers. She has lived here her entire life but for about 4 years. She knows who is supposed to be where, and those guys aren't supposed to be there. The guardswoman holds up a hand and pauses in her step, then gestures to the campsite. "Hey, hold up. That's weird. That's not their turf. And they shouldn't be able to be hauling a bunch of shit into the bushes like that, there should only be rocks back there."

Sparte is oblivious, his eyes on the Stoat. When he hears Thena and Kenna talking Sparte looks over distracted. "Oh, hey. Didn't expect to find you here." When he looks back for the stoat, there isn't a stoat. Everyone else could see the Stoat bolt when the opportunity came to escape the chaperone, but Sparte is clueless. "Not again..."

Aneka have been dismissed.

3 Iron Guardsmen have been dismissed.

Meeka have been dismissed.

Nothing to see here guys! Those three other fellows seem to just be gone, which is odd. The other four are chatting around the fire, minding their own business. But don't they look a little rough? The group of Iron Guardsmen are partially obscured from their vision by the terrain (rocks, brush and other nonsense that's allowed to happen down here, kind of a rough area). Snippets of conversation can be heard: "...picking pockets, now that's the real art... No rough stuff, just take it and go.. hmph, doesn't sound like much fun though..." and "Should have known she was lying... she said she would wait for me, but they never wait..."


Kenna nods briskly to Thena, clearly choosing to force her mind off the boot that will be scrubbed fiercely later on. As for what's going on by the bridge, Kenna peers in that direction. She doesn't have the same level of street knowledge, but Thena seems to know her stuff on this. "That's fishy. Can we get closer to listen in?" she asks, but remains in put for the time being. "They're mumbling. I think."

    Merek takes a moment to listen to what all is being said over where the people are. He then looks to the Guardsmen, as he holds up a hand. He then quiets himself a bit, "Let's listen a bit more, get a small bit closer if you're good at sneakin' around, figure out what they're doing here before we confront them," the Officer states.

Estaban is here he swears he is here, he has his bow out and cocked ready just incase as he lays low with the rest of the Iron Guard he is in his leather armor and much better to move in and blend into the brush and such watching the group ahead of them.

Merek checked perception + investigation at difficulty 20, rolling 6 higher.

Kenna checked perception + investigation at difficulty 20, rolling 37 higher.

"I live here," Thena tells Sparte with the faintest hint of a smile, but most of her attention is on the campground. With no stoat to track, the mastiff returns to her side and drools profusely. Her eyes are fixed on the encampment as Kenna speaks, but she nods at the woman's words and Merek's following suggestion. "What he said. I'll go, I'm not clanky as fuck."

Estaban checked perception + investigation at difficulty 20, rolling 15 higher.

Thena checked dexterity + stealth at difficulty 15, rolling 26 higher.

Kenna agrees to Merek, "Sure. Uh--" She might be so so bad at the getting closer without sounding the alarm, actually. "I'm going to have a peek around," she decides of her part. Thena sounds like she's got the other part covered anyway.

Without anything to prompt them to do otherwise, the four guys keep sitting around the fire talking to themselves. Estaban, Merek and Kenna are checking out the area quietly just out of earshot and Thena is much closer.


Sparte rubs at the back of his neck, chuckling embarassedly at Thena. "Oh yeah." Like he knew that, or should have. He takes longer than he should to realize that Thena isn't where she was a minute ago, glancing around again. Everyone is Batman to his Gordon tonight.

    Merek takes a moment to examine the situation, and then he cants a small Guard signal to Thena for a moment, before he looks to Estaban, Kenna, and Sparte, "Alright... They are obviously criminals," he mentions, while he takes his time to check his belt. He then rolls a finger around, "I want the small encampment surrounded, with at least one observer looking towards where the others went to be ready," he mentions, as he nods a small bit, "That way we can take the advantage and attempt to force them to surrender. If we can't do that, I want them taken in with non-lethal force."

Estaban went looking about to see what he can see, once he has he comes back around to the around falling to his knee listening to Merek, "A arrow to the knee is alright, right?" he asks Merek a small smirk on his face its Estaban its just how he is. But he nods his head and ready to follow Merek and the others.

Kenna spends time surveying with Merek and Estaban. There's clearly not good things in the vacinity. Kenna has plucked a paper from the ground. "At bare minimum, they don't believe in good mead. Replacing it with crappy ale?" she murmurs, a tinge of displeasure coming out in her tone. "Of course," she says to Merek's instructions, pulling free her sword and carefully picking her way in a circle while still attempting to keep low and out of sight. Mind you, she's still a greenhorn, and squishy, but she's keeping a very good watch on where those others might've gone. Keen eyes.

Thena stays crouched silently where she's ended up near the campsight, not feeling it worth sneaking /back/ out to the others when everyone else is circling up.

Thena wields a sleek steel dagger with carmine leather handle.

Merek checked dexterity + stealth at difficulty 15, rolling 28 higher.

Estaban wields Lion's Reach.

Sparte checked perception at difficulty 5, rolling 1 higher.

Kenna checked dexterity + stealth at difficulty 15, rolling 11 lower.

Estaban checked dexterity + stealth at difficulty 15, rolling 8 higher.

    "An arrow to the knee is fine," Merek tells Estaban. He takes a moment to free out his blade, sliding his hand across it to dull the shimmer of the diamondplate, while he allows it to twirl once in his hand, like a whisper in the breeze it makes little sound as he approaches with the others towards the group. He looks to those gathered a moment, and makes a decision, before he upnods to Sparte.
    "You're on point, big sword. When everyone's in place, you make the ultimatum, surrender and try to be quiet about that so the others don't rush in too quick." He looks to Estaban, "You, have the bow, use it if this goes south and the reinforcements come. You'll have a little distance enough to disable them before they reach us if you're quick."

The best laid plans! As the crew moves to encircle the group, they happen to hear Kenna's movements. All four of them shoot up from where they're sitting and draw their weapons. They begin frantically looking around in the dark. "What was that?!" One of them exclaims while still another shouts out a cautionary, "That's close enough!!" They're all now on high alert.


Merek checked dexterity + stealth at difficulty 30, rolling 7 higher.

Thena checked dexterity + stealth at difficulty 30, rolling 26 higher.

Kenna checked dexterity + stealth at difficulty 30, rolling 25 lower.

Sparte opens his mouth and blinks at Merek a few times before slowly nodding. "Oh. Uh..." He looks around, slowly making his way over as he draws out his sword. "Well, alright." He, in his big metal suit, attempts to sneak.

For all of two steps. Then he just walks right on in like he belongs there. He doesn't have a stealth mode. "Have any of you seen a stoat?"

Estaban checked dexterity + stealth at difficulty 30, rolling 3 higher.

Estaban moves along as told keeping a bit of a distance away from the others, his bow is up held taunt ready to let a arrow lose if needed. When the men react he stops still in his tracks and remains silent watching and waiting.

Her inexperienced creeping does not end well and Kenna does make the wrong movement, at precisely the most inopportune time. Somewhere in the dark, she's wincing.

Thena winces in the dark as well as some of her companions draw the attention of the criminals at the fire, but remains in place, watching attentively as the brigands move closer.

Our heros do their thing. Thena, Merek and Estaban remain hidden from view for now. Sparte walks directly into their midst which startles them nice and good. There's a moment of delay and a bit of bluster as a man with an axe makes a threatening motion at him. "Get out of here, friend! Or I'll slice you up good!" Another of the four spots Kenna and shouts, "There's another one! They're coming for us! They're onto us! CATCH HER QUICK! BEFORE SHE CALLS FOR HELP!" Zero to panic in a second. Two of them break off to try and catch Kenna while the others try to drive off Sparte.



Merek checked dexterity + stealth at difficulty 40, rolling 22 lower.

Merek checked dexterity + medium wpn at difficulty 25, rolling 5 higher.

    Merek does not seem to think this much a setback. Sparte receives a signal to 'continue', while he moves in position to assail one of the brigands if he must in defense of his people. If they don't make an immediate move. He looks up a moment and considers. Then Kenna is spotted and all seems to be broken. He launches with the flat of his blade to one of the brigands still at campfire, right as he motions to Estaban. The signal is clear, fire at those chasing Kenna to slow them down non-lethally. Sparte and Kenna probably know what to do and it's harder to get off more than one command when assailing someone. He does however make sound as the flat of his weapon swings at the man.

Sparte checked dexterity + huge wpn at difficulty 35, rolling 13 higher.

Estaban checked dexterity + stealth at difficulty 40, rolling 19 lower.

Thena checked dexterity + stealth at difficulty 40, rolling 7 higher.

Kenna checked dexterity + athletics at difficulty 20, rolling 6 higher.

Thena checked dexterity + small wpn at difficulty 25, rolling 40 higher.

Estaban checked dexterity + archery at difficulty 25, rolling 17 higher.

Calaudrin GM Roll checked dexterity(3) + medium wpn(3) at difficulty 25, rolling 5 higher.

Calaudrin GM Roll checked dexterity(3) + medium wpn(3) at difficulty 25, rolling 0 higher.

Calaudrin GM Roll checked dexterity(3) + medium wpn(3) at difficulty 25, rolling 13 higher.

Calaudrin GM Roll checked dexterity(3) + medium wpn(3) at difficulty 35, rolling 0 higher.

Calaudrin GM Roll checked dexterity(3) + athletics(3) at difficulty 20, rolling 7 higher.

Sparte checked strength + huge wpn at difficulty 15, rolling 0 higher.

Kenna has two coming at her now in the dark. This is comparably worse than the drunks earlier. Still, she makes a concerted effort to get away-- maybe with awareness of hacking and slashing blindly not being the best strategy here. Until it's not, and.. she's tackled.

Estaban spots the men as they start to run about stay as hidden as he can but its not going work, "FUck it." he growls out moving to aim for one of the mems knees and let a arrow lose hope to hit him, then he is cocking another arrow and getting ready for the next.

Thena jumps up from her hiding spot and pelts after the two men going for Kenna. She tries to grapple one in order to haul him off of Kenna and put her knife to his throat. /Nicely/. She's trying to be good.

Cue chaos! Merek doesn't surprise his opponent but he does manage to disarm him when he turns around to face the Iron Guard officer. There's a muffled "ARGH" as he gets whacked straight in the forehead with the flat of his blade. He crumples to the ground unconscious. Sparte sees a similar stroke of good fortune and also manages to knock out his new friend, seeing him collapse to the ground in a heap. Kenna is not so lucky, as she flees the two men chasing after her and one manages to actually catch up, knocking her to the ground. It's a short lived victory, as Thena successfully tackles him to the ground and knocks him off of her, pinning him to the ground with a knife at his throat. While the other man was tracking his prey, Sparte has apparently picked up a human being from the ground and thrown him. Said human being crashes into the second fellow pursuing Kenna. That man is knocked over and gets thwacked with Estaban's arrow. Right through the knee. "NOOOO" He arglebargles as he thrashes around on the ground.


A messenger arrives, delivering a message to Calaudrin before departing.

Kenna has had the wind knocked out of her, and takes a few seconds recovery on the ground. As she becomes aware of 1) Thena, and 2) the other guy flopped on other ground guy, she's both relieved and perplexed. There was /2/ guys chasing her. Where the eff did the third come from? Well, story for later on.

Sparte dusts his hands, bending down to scoop back up his sword before stalking after the man he threw. "Threatening people isn't very polite. I'd like an apology, please."

    Merek takes a moment to lift his blade and twirl it once the man is unconscious. He then looks around a bit, before he nods in satisfaction, "The others should be here soon, knock out that guy if you would, Guard Grayhope?" He then hefts his blade up and moves around a bit. He attempts to find cover once more, "We'll make sure that they are all cleared out before we take them in." He upnods to Meeka, "Go bring reinforcements." And so his secretary moves off to find more Guards while the rest do their thing! "With any luck if they come back they'll surrender, if not we'll have to chase them down."

Thena presses her knife into the man's throat, telling him very firmly, "Do. Not. Fucking. Move." It's not enough pressure to sever anything important, but it's enough to call forth a trickle of blood from her victim. She's /trying/, guys, really. Then she calls out to the others...hopefully /her/ others..."Watch out for the other ones! There were three more, I think. And a well. And a box."

Merek checked perception + investigation at difficulty 20, rolling 3 higher.

Kenna checked perception + investigation at difficulty 20, rolling 23 higher.

Sparte checked charm + leadership at difficulty 30, rolling 9 higher.

Estaban moves to Kenna to make sure she was okay and then does not leave her side he decides to stick with her just incase he moves them both back into cover and waits for Mereks command.

Estaban checked perception + investigation at difficulty 20, rolling 15 higher.

Thena checked command at difficulty 20, rolling 8 lower.

Kenna nods to Thena's words, after a briefly murmured but appreciative "Thanks." for the crew. She looks around as she quickly pushes herself upright and standing. She does scan the area, walking a bit, but states towards Estaban with good natured pluck (but maybe a touch of regret also) just so he knows, "I swear, I didn't get mooshed. Much."

"Knock me out?!" The man squeals as he hears Merek's words. "Don't you even want to talk to me?" He's afraid of Sparte though. Sparte threw a human being. "Ah, sorry, sir. And miss." That's to the woman with a knife at his throat. This all escalated very quickly.


Thena does not knock her new friend out. Instead she asks, "What was in that box? The one you took into the bushes?" Thing is, she's not always good at the talking parts. But she gets an apology!

Estaban Looks to Merek, "Psst." he waves his hand and points to the bushes near him. Once Merek is close enough he speaks softly. "There is a path over here and I think there is something else, I think the bushes are just cover."

"It was our stuff! We picked up a bunch of stuff. Good stuff. Really good stuff." This guy is dressed in really smelly leathers. It's hard to tell if what he thinks is really good stuff is ACTUALLY good stuff or if it sucks. He glances furtively towards the bushes, his eyes wide as he stares at Thena with her knife.


    Merek moves over to the bushes when Estaban speaks, to investigate and see if there is something in the cover of them. You know, like secret entrances perhaps. "Cheap honey in ale is not the good stuff man," he tells the criminal, while he shifts his weapon and then motions for those not holding hostages to follow him, "Need some help over here."

Sparte follows the look from the man Thena has, glancing between him and the bushes again before wandering over in that direction. His claymore is put away, Sparte bending to pull a bit of wood from the fire for a light. "Someone come take a look over here."

Kenna moves a bit stiffly (mooshed, in fact, a little). Her forehead wrinkles at the bushes as she pokes around them in turn. "Yes-- here, in the ground." She moves aside some carefully, having identified something already, and points. "Trapdoor."

"No, don't go down there! There's nothing down there at all!" The man wails.


Estaban has his bow out still cocked and ready if needed, his eyes searching about making sure nothing comes out at them.

    Merek takes a moment and instead of opening the trapdoor like a normal person, he twirls his diamondplate blade and slices clean through the handle so that it will fall open.

Merek checked dexterity + medium wpn at difficulty 15, rolling 31 higher.

Thena watches as the others move towards the bushes, measuring her options. Finally she tells her hostage, "You try to run, I will fucking perforate you. Or he will." She jerks her chin at Estaban standing sentinel with his bow. "It'd be fun, t'see which one of us could do it first. So stay." She doesn't leave him alone, but she takes a few steps away from him and towards the location of the trapdoor.

The trapdoor into the earth is sliced open, apparently. When the doors fall into the tunnel leading down, the group loses whatever faint advantage they might have had. "WHAT ARE YOU DOING UP THERE?!" There's torches already lit, illuminating a short flight of stairs into a small cave area. It's cellar like, with several wine kegs and quite a few crates. Inside are the three men from earlier. It won't take them long to realize that their den has been invaded by a bunch of guardsmen due to all the noise and you know, their inevitable sighting up there. Two of them are as well equipped as the four jerks outside. Which is to say, not really. However the third man is a bit of a problem. He's two hands taller than his average sized companions, heavily muscled and wielding a big sword. He's also armored and he looks pissed off. The crate they carried in rests on a table, but it appears to be locked. What's your next move?


45 for the diplomacy. He's not terribly thrilled ATM. ^^

Merek checked charm + diplomacy at difficulty 45, rolling 14 lower.

    Merek leaps down into the small den, and then lifts up his diamondplate blade which is twirled once or twice, then he speaks to the leader in charge. "Listen, that armour won't do you much good against this, and we've taken care of all your other men... So why don't you all surrender and make this nice and easy?" he asks, offering a cheshire grin as he lifts his shoulders a bit. He waits to see the response, "We have a whole armed contingent coming to back us up too."

Estaban moves closer he has his bow trained on Merek so if he needs to make a quick shot he can, he smirks hearing Thenas words to the criminal. He waits at the top but does not jump in.

The Bandit Leader's two men look confused when Merek jumps into the room. The Bandit Leader (whose name is apparently Erek the Red) himself looks less than impressed, he snarls at Merek. The twirling of his sword seeming to infuriate him. "You dare attack my men? You dare threaten me with your fancy sword? IN MY OWN HOUSE?!" Nevermind that this is clearly a random cellar under a bridge. He spits on the ground by his feet and charges him. The other two men join in with their leader and quite quickly Merek is descended upon by three opponents at once.



Merek checked dexterity + medium wpn at difficulty 30, rolling 39 higher.

Merek checked dexterity + dodge at difficulty 15, rolling 20 higher.

Merek checked dexterity + dodge at difficulty 15, rolling 19 higher.

Estaban checked dexterity + archery at difficulty 30, rolling 17 higher.

    Merek looks to the three men and lifts his shoulders, "Worth an attempt," he states, as he then takes his blade out and weaves through two of the men, knocking their weapons askew in parries as he comes around and swings his weapon with the flat past the bosses guard. He is the night, the whisper in the wind. And hopefully not a target for Estaban's arrow.

Leaving Guard #4 to his own devices, Thena makes her way to the trapdoor and looks at Estaban, brows arched quizzically at him in the dim firelight. "He down there by himself?" Obviously he /is/? But it's hard for Thena to process. She sighs as her fellow guard fires an arrow into the fray and wipes the blood on her dagger off on her pantsleg. "Gods, I hope I don't need to throw this, it's the only one I brought."

Calaudrin GM Roll checked dexterity(4) + huge wpn(5) at difficulty 30, rolling 52 higher.

Kenna keeps a clear path for Estaban's arrow as it fires, but she's going after the officer in the tunnel. Maybe Sparte'll follow, and throw someone again.

Ouch.

Merek takes moderate damage.

Erek the Red might have armor that can be sliced apart by Merek's fancy sword, but he is quite large and quite angry as well as fast and strong. He's nicked by Merek's blade, a thing that just makes him that much more furious. He surpasses the man's next attempt, crashing his sword down on him and drawing blood. "YOU SURRENDER!" Estaban's arrow flies through the cellar and neatly takes out the other man, who seems QUITE SURPRISED by this development. "Hey, there's more of them up there!"


There are more of them! Sparte takes that as his signal to swing on down, landing next to Merek. Sparte's weapons are both sheathed and his helmet is still on his belt, but hey, why worry? "Can you please not stab my commanding officer? I'd rather take you alive. Don't be stupid."

Merek checked dexterity + dodge at difficulty 15, rolling 19 higher.

Sparte checked dexterity + dodge at difficulty 50, rolling 21 higher.

Merek checked charm + diplomacy at difficulty 40, rolling 15 lower.

Thena crouches next to the trapdoor, making sure she's not blocking Estaban's path to a shot...he's quite the loose cannon. The woman shows little interest in diving in, but if a bandit should happen to try to come out, there's a chance of dagger to the eyeball.

    Merek takes a moment to try and parry the blade, but it comes right past his defenses and cleaves into his right arm, which splatters blood, causing him to shift that arm a bit while blood trickles down it onto the floor. He steps a foot in it while he talks to the man, "Come on, you're already going to be held for criminal activity, now it's assault on a Guard," he states, as he flicks away an attack with a swivel of his blade, and he looks to Sparte, trying to keep the man from getting between any shots. "And I /won't/ let my fellow Guards get hurt. You and me, one on one, if that's what it has to be," he tells them. He looks back, "Guardsman Saik, can you knee the other one that can't learn that the only sword he knows how to use passably is the one between his legs to piss? Bet his aims off there too."

Estaban hears Mereks words and nods his head kneeling down to get a better sigh and letting lose the knocked arrow for the other mans knee.

Estaban checked dexterity + archery at difficulty 25, rolling 24 higher.

Sparte takes the rubicund helmet off his belt, flipping it around like a second layer on his gauntlet. He then starts sticking his hand out, batting the weapons away before they can even get close to Merek. Merek's attempts at keeping Sparte out of the way are likewise dodged. Sparte is making a point, while shaking his head at the thugs and Merek alike the way a disappointed marm would. "Can we wrap this up? I need to find Tom." The Stoat again.

Erek the Red is still not impressed by Merek's attempts at diplomacy. Beyond furious now, he slashes at Merek only to be thwarted by Sparte's antics. He roars with irritation and flings himself at the other man. So much for that one on one with Merek. Taking a swing at him instead of the officer. The other fellow is neatly shot by Estaban, it doesn't totally debilitate him. He stumbles towards the stairs and begins climbing out, stumbling past Kenna and then shaking his sword at Thena as he makes the worlds worst escape.


Merek checked dexterity + medium wpn at difficulty 25, rolling 53 higher.

Merek has rolled a critical success!
Merek checked dexterity + dodge at difficulty 20, rolling 23 higher.

Thena checked dexterity + small wpn at difficulty 15, rolling 48 higher.

Calaudrin GM Roll checked dexterity(4) + huge wpn(5) at difficulty 30, rolling 13 higher.

Thena squints at the man who crawls out, arrowed in the knee and /shaking his sword at her/? Then her arm snakes out and she swiftly hamstrings the guy, not paying him much mind at all after that and turning her attention back to the men in the under-bridge cellar.

Estaban loosk back once the guy who thought he was getting away is dealt with and he looks back down in the cellar he knocks a arrow into the bow and levels it back down watching and waiting.

    Merek takes a moment when Sparte has Erek distracted, and he lifts up his blade, before he comes around with it and shifts his foot. He only has one hand to work with while the other is dripping blood from the arm, and he attempts to drive all attention on him as he pushes his body forward with momentum into the steel armoured man while the flat of the blade tries to upend him behind the helmet, then he does his best maneuver to try and avoid being struck back.

Calaudrin GM Roll checked willpower(4) + survival(3) at difficulty 25, rolling 15 higher.

Calaudrin GM Roll checked willpower(4) + survival(3) at difficulty 30, rolling 8 higher.

Sparte checked strength + huge wpn at difficulty 20, rolling 4 higher.

Sparte now has big Erek's attention. "Right, good, progress." Sparte ducks a swipe, slapping the helmet onto the downed thug on the floor and with half the heave-ho lifts him up to smack into Erek's face, using the freshly helmeted head of the downed thug as impromptu club. "Hug it out, I gotta find my stoat." And there Sparte goes, trying to climb back out of the hole.

Turning his back on Merek turns out to be a mistake. When he tries to get at Sparte, he fails miserably. And he's smacked in the head with his own man. From behind, he's also hit again, this time by Merek. Effectively rendering POOR EREK unconscious. He just wanted a life of crime you guys! He falls into a heap on the floor. There's probably a ringing in his skull after all of that. A quick inspection of the room will lead our friends to discover these guys were some low rate smugglers and petty robbers. The crate on the table is mysteriously open...


Calaudrin drops Loot Crate.

Loot Crate is now unlocked.

Calaudrin puts Glass Parrot Sculpture in Loot Crate.

Merek gets Brand the Herald of Silence Figurine from Loot Crate.

Thena offers an arm to Sparte, for what good it'll do him, to help him out of the hole and then jump down now that it's clear that Erek the Red is extra, extra red. Seeing Merek's wounds, she sighs, unbuckles and wriggles out of her leather cuirass, and tears the sleeve off the linen shirt she has on under it. "C'mere."

Estaban gets Glass Parrot Sculpture from Loot Crate.

Merek gets Crow's Red Rum from Loot Crate.

Thena gets Double-Sided Coin from Loot Crate.


Merek takes a moment to back up once Erek has hit the floor, "Let's get the evidence all cleared up, and the people secured. The reinforcements should be on their way." He looks as Thena bandages up his arm a bit. He allows her to, and then he checks the things in the loot crate. Oh interesting. Some of this looks like personal belongings, not smuggled goods. He'll check it out later! He then squints at the Brand figurine after a moment, "Of all the Figurines to keep for himself, it's this one... This might go deeper than we think. These people might've been supporters of Brand during the siege." He states it where people can hear. And the figurine is proof. The lower boroughs folk can be upset about people doing Guard work on their turf, but turning over some guys that possibly worshipped the Herald of Silence? He scratches his chin.

"That's from one of Magpie's mystery bags," Thena notes, of the figurine. "Probably just excited to have the newest one, poor bastard." Combat medic duty done, she climbs nimbly back up to the surface.

Kenna presumably is in a shape to help with the return topside for Merek and though not able to bring down the hulking menance of a thug as well as Sparte and Merek, any soon to be jailbirds. The crate gets some attention from her (oo, interesting trove) though she makes herself ready for wrap up activities.

Kenna gets Jar of Salty Nuts from Loot Crate.