Conscripted by the city watch (ARCHIVE)

[Littha]

You find yourselves in a guard office, its quite a majestic building however the clutter of everyday policing strewn around the offices you are sat in somehow subtracts from the overall effect. An obviously important man walks up to you, he seems to be not quite human with solid red eyes but seeing species such as this in a large city isn't unusual. He has a shiny silver breastplate on with a masterfully maintained but obviously well used pistol at his waist.

Guard Captain:
"You have been gathered to help investigate several thefts in the city, you each have your own area of expertise and the city is offering a decent wage for the work."

He hands you a list:
- Amulet, stolen from the repository of dangerous magic.
- Mold for making armor plating, stolen from the smiths guild
- Several shipments of Mithril and other rare metals from Gaile
- Experimental fiber from the alchemists guild
- Some raw crystal from the society of the mind
- A device for binding elemental creatures from the laboratories in the artificers guild.

"Now, we have reason to believe that most of these are connected and the thief is certainly skilled to have managed to break into so many highly guarded establishments. The strange one on the list is the Amulet, apparently it has no real powers that anyone can discern it just has a strong magical aura"

He hands each of you a badge, it is a 5 pointed star with a circle of white enamel with the symbol for law set in the center. Each of the points seems to be made of a different metal. Silver, Mithril, Cold Iron, Adamantite and Steel.

"This is the city watch badge of office, you can use it to gain entry to the crime scenes. DO NOT LOSE IT or you will be paying for a new one, and they are expensive.

Now I want you to investigate the missing amulet, apparently a small girl was seen with it a few days ago and has since gone missing so its our top priority to find her. Any questions? Good, moving on"

He leans back against the wall behind him before continuing.

"The girl's name is Angela and she went missing from the southern quarter... Nolan street I think, near the guild of speech and the bards guild. Her mother is called Delamara, you should be able to find her with little asking about as the whole districts furiously searching for her missing nine year old."

He grabs a file from the top of a nearby stack before motioning for you to leave with his other hand.

[Flay Crimsonwind]

Soon as he gets shoved out the door, Greed gives a bit of an irritated sigh. Great, a thief. And he's got a bunch of expensive shit he probably can't use without a big enough place. With the sigh, he looks over the other, unknown to him members of the group that was gathered in the hall, before turning back to Richard. "So Dick, where you wanna start?" He knew it was his name; they'd been working together for a bit now. But he always managed to put a bit of a sly spin on it so it sounded like he was comparing his "partner" to a phallic biological device. He pinned the star on the inside of his jacket. "Think we should scout people or places? I mean, the thief's probably gonna be easier to find than the girl he's hiding, right?"

He seems to be pretty intentionally not bothering with the others in the group.

[blackfire]

[PhaedrusXY]

Just before he steps through the door with the others, Dick says "Captain... do you know if anything that might have belong to the thief has been found at any of the scenes? I'm sure you're men have probably thought of that already, but I have to ask...

...Otherwise, I guess Nolan sounds good."

[Littha]

He looks up from his papers slightly irritated

"Nothing at all, not even a hair or a magical aura"

Heading through the city streets to the southern quarter you begin to see flyers of the missing girl Angela, in the picture she is about 9 and has long black hair and a pale face. According to the accompanying description she has blue eyes too.

Nolan street is a mess of houses near the theatrical portion of the city, most of the cities entertainment comes from here. You pass a tall building on your left with a sign indicating its the guild of speech and opposite it looks to be a theatre of some kind, obviously the bard's guild. According to the flyer the house you want stands a couple doors down from the guilds and you quickly find it. It is a ramshackle place though it looks like quite a lot of excellent parties have gone on here, big windows and white walls with a blue door that is slightly ajar.

[PhaedrusXY]

Dick sighs and says "That's what I figured..." and turns and leaves.

Then to the others he says "Yeah, I guess we do it the hard way then, and head down to Nolan..."

Looking to the young man with the strange eyes, he says "That sure is a fancy looking bunch of stuff you're wearing there, kid. I hope you know which end to aim at the bad guys. What's your name? As you heard, I'm Dick, and this handsome fellow with the winning smile is Greed. I'm good at snooping around and finding people, and he's good at ripping their limbs off. What do you do?"

[spoiler]I thinking I'm Han Solo, and Flay is Chewbacca.  So what does that make Blackfire? Luke Skywalker? [/spoiler]

[blackfire]

Vrigil paused for thought before giving an answer "I guess I'm an inventer cross engineer cross artisan cross craftsmen cross adventurer, the names Virgil. Virgil Mero, at a guess I'd say I'm the tech and brains of this group" he finishes his words with a cheaky smile crossed his face. from inside his jacket a small rustling occurs before a black cat emerges and systematically claws its way onto Virgils shaulder

"oh and this is legion" the creature purches itself on Virgils shaulder  and begins a lidless unbrakeable gaze upon Dick as they head to Nolan. upon finding the door ajar virgil brings down his craftsman specs and places his face almost on the door looking for any signs of broken entry before standing to the side awaiting another member of the party to lead the way.
[spoiler]
certainly I am R2 D2 or maybe C3PO[/spoiler]

[PhaedrusXY]

"Let's let my little friend take a look around before we go in." Dick says, as he lowers his hand to the ground and allows a spider-like crystalline machine to crawl out of his sleeve.

[spoiler]Psicrystal's Hide: 1d20+22=42
Move Silently: 1d20+6=9
Spot and Listen: 1d20+10=25, 1d20+8=14
"Sight" range is limited to 40 feet, but ignores darkness. [/spoiler]

[Littha]

It looks like there has been a struggle inside, and noises of a woman choking can be heard from the rear of the house. 

[PhaedrusXY]

"Ah crap! Someone's choking a woman behind the house!" Dick starts screaming at the top of his lungs as he runs towards the sound "Unhand her you brute! This is the city watch! You're under arrest! Drop your weapons and lie face down on the ground immediately!"
[spoiler]I'm guessing an initiative roll is called for:
1d20+7=18

Dick's movement speed is 40 (he's focused). He draws a bladder of torchbug paste and a flask of acid as he runs around/through the building (whichever is most expeditious/makes the most sense) (part of his move action). He sends his psicrystal running through the house towards the sound to try and get a look before he actually arrives himself. He double moves if necessary.[/spoiler]

[Littha]

You burst into the building sending bits of furniture and other objects flying as you pass. Finally you reach the source of the noise, it seems to be the kitchen.

On the floor there is a woman clutching at her throat though she does not seem to be having trouble breathing and over her stands the missing girl however around her neck there is an ornate amulet that radiates a sickly green power.

The girl glances up at you, her eyes swirling green pools of light.

"Oh look irate people come to sedate me, too bad they are too late to save you from your fate Delamara"
with this she turns towards you and utters a word that makes the air vibrate "Kzalnart'zimanisnala'toromansis"

You see the colour wash from Delimara's face as the life drains out of her.



Initiative
Alicia:      27 (natural 20)
Phaedrus: 18
Blackfire:  ??
Flay:        15
Nanshork: ??

She has already taken her turn for this round.

[spoiler]
Yep... that's some quality rhyme there...
[/spoiler]

[Flay Crimsonwind]

[spoiler]Greed's speed is 40 as well. 
Initiative: 15[/spoiler]

Hearing his partner's battlecry makes Greed smirk a little, as he pops both of his shoulders. He seems oddly nonchalant about the thought of beating a strangler, and having cracked his neck and knuckles, takes off at a sprint to catch up to his partner. Rounding the corner, he sticks his tongue out playfully; granted, it's only playful because he's so akin to an animal, while the venom-filled eyes and razor sharp sneer make it look a bit more malicious. "Aw, so I have to beat up a kid?" He looks between the child and the woman, loosing initiative at first, then sprinting... straight at the kid! With one brutish gauntlet, he swipes at her, as his muscles seem to ripple from pent-up aggression.

[spoiler]Uses 1 of 3 daily Whirling Frenzys: +4 Str, +2 AC/Ref, optional extra attack if all attacks made at -2.

Disarm attempt to grab glowing amulet - Greed's got his eye on the prize. 

Disarm process 1 - Attempt on necklace counts as a loose item, unless magically otherwise (I mean, it's just hanging there). Provoke an attack of opportunity. Damage dealt means failed attempt.

Disarm process 1 - Assuming attempt is success so far:
Attack with Gauntlet - 1d20+10 (BAB 4 +Str 5 + Magic item 1) = 27

Greed Takes -4 to attack for using light weapon, making attempt a 24, girl takes -4 to attack since item isn't a melee item. If girl is of a smaller size, Greed gets a +4 to his roll (making it once again 27) for each size category different.[/spoiler]

[PhaedrusXY]

[spoiler]That's exactly what I was going to do! Since I have higher initiative, I'll say Dick hears Greed coming and delays, then moves to flank with him and also tries to disarm the girl of the necklace.[/spoiler]

"That's not a very nice way to treat your Mom, kid."

Dick drops the vial of acid, and winces as it breaks and splashes on him, and then moves to flank the girl with Greed. He also decides that the necklace might be what's behind this, and besides it's the items they're really after, anyway. They'll probably pay more for it than the little girl...

He vanishes from sight, and then tries to grab it.

[spoiler]Swift action to activate Cloak of Deception. So that's a +4 in total to attack from being invisible and flanking. The girl is denied her Dex to AC also, presumably. Dick is an unarmed swordsage, and so is considered armed even when making unarmed attacks, if it matters (he's invisible, so she shouldn't get an AoO anyway, unless she can see him somehow.)

Also, can we assume that he goes around with Island of Blades active all the time? Or does he have to activate it when combat starts? It might change where he has to move to to flank.

Attack (disarm): 1d20+6=24
The +2 from flanking and +2 from being invisible are not included above, nor is the -4 from using a light weapon (unarmed strike).

If Greed has already swiped the amulet, Dick will try to knock the girl out by punching her with subdual damage. I guess we can keep the attack roll, since it's the same.

Damage (if needed): 2d6+7=9
[/spoiler]

[blackfire]

Virgil followed the rest of the party in before proceeding to the women on the floor presuming his comrades capable of subdueing a small girl
[spoiler]
initiative 11
http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/2563884/
I'll check the women to see if she is still alive and search her etc - I hope my char isnt oblivious to the struggle near me I'll heal her with light wounds if she aint dead [/spoiler]

[Littha]

You attempt to grab the amulet succeeds and you tear it away from the girl, however in your hand it crumbles to powdery ice.
The flurry of attacks made by Dick and Greed knock the girl to the floor whereupon she seems to dissolve into snow and ice before melting into a puddle.

The woman on the floor is dead, the life drained from her by some mysterious power.

[PhaedrusXY]

"That's... odd. Let's see what we can make of it, though." Dick says, as he spreads his fingers to marvel at the ice on his hand. [spoiler]Activate Gloves of Object Reading.[/spoiler]

[Littha]

The girl's history is incredibly short, about 5 hours between being given life and having it taken away again. Some sort of magical copy.

[PhaedrusXY]

The girl's history is incredibly short, about 5 hours between being given life and having it taken away again. Some sort of magical copy.

[spoiler]I want to read the ownership history of the ice, not the "girl's" history. The ice is an object. Someone must have owned it. Even if you consider the girl to be an owner, I can keep concentrating and learn about previous ones.[/spoiler]

[Littha]

[spoiler]
Nobody else has ever owned the amulet, it was created with the girl.


Though really I gave you a lot more information than I should have.

Last owner’s race.
Simulacrum

Last owner’s gender.
Female

Last owner’s age.
5 Hours

Last owner’s alignment.
True Neutral

How last owner gained and lost the object.
Created with it, Amulet taken in a fight.
[/spoiler]

[PhaedrusXY]

After concentrating for several minutes, Dick says "Hmm... I can't tell much from this. The girl was some kind of magical construct, I guess called a Simulacrum. I can't tell who created her, but it was done 5 hours ago."

[spoiler]Also, I was doing subdual (I guess it's called non-lethal now... I used a 3.0 term...) damage to try and knock her out. So it shouldn't have killed her... If her type was Construct, I guess she might have been immune to it, though...

If you really want her to just fall apart for dramatic effect... I guess that's your prerogative. But we sure didn't mean to kill her. Greed didn't even hit her, and I only did 9 non-lethal.[/spoiler]