Scene #4952: Critical Failures: 2D6: Return of The Fail Rolls.

Owner	Pose
Amalthea	It has been a little over a week or so since the last meeting of the squires of the Proving Ground. This time, with the Ad Coelum complete, Amalthea had sent a missive to all involved parties stating that this time she would be using the training grounds of the gigantic ship, rather than her personal home. And here she is. Not so casual this time, either, but in Paladin dress uniform. Though the majority of her bars and medals are old Union ones, the point is all the same. To appear much more professional as the mechanical unicorn brushes some glitter off her shoulder and stands at the head of a massive hardwood table, polished to perfection. Just a small measure of what the training area can provide. Her books, dice, and materials are set out neatly, and she's already setting up, tugging the upper portion of the table OFF to reveal a playing grid and diorama of a small medieval town and... Starts setting miniatures down.
Na`Sabal-Une Fang	The arrival of Na`Sabal-Une Fang is, as usual... somewhat underplayed to be honest. She just kind of calmly walks in, today she's opted to wear her armor and appears to be in her full Guardian glory at the moment. All four feet of it. Yeah she's not the most glorious thing, though her kukri are at her side, and a subtle glow seems to be surrounding her; one of green life and potent magic. ...Mostly because she'd just come from working in greenhouse 76, AKA: The one that Nasa has claimed to grow shit in. She hasn't brought her own stuff, though she did bring the character sheet for Aestrid, of course! She lifts her hands to wave towards Amalthea with a flashed grin. "Hello, Dame Amalthea." She says in a relatively neutral; though friendly tone as she moves to take her seat. Roughly the same one as she'd taken before. Habit.
Ainsley	Ainsley is here again. She has all of the stuff she had before, and she's even wearing the Moogle pajamas she showed up in last time. She has to wear her druid uniform in order to stay in character! She smiles as she carefully arranges her supplies, such as her pen and pencil, her notepad, her character sheet, her rule books and so on. She spends a minute after this adjusting her seat so that she's comfortable. "Ready~" she says, happily, after all settled in.
Heinkel Wolfe	A particular priest had volunteered to participate in today's exercise, and so a particular priest is ambling through the interior of Ad Coelum. Heinkel Wolfe is wearing her usual cassock-like overcoat, along with her usual combat boots. Her sunglasses are in place on the bridge of her nose. Today's requisite paperwork is tucked into her back pocket. In her hands are a pair of drumsticks as she ambles through the Paladins mothership. As she goes, she's tapping the drumsticks on various things -- sections of wall, her own leg, each other with a wooden click or clack. Everyone's got to have a hobby, right? Even without actual drums, she's a good drummer, and has a good sense of rhythm. The sticks give a final riff against the doorframe of the chamber Amalthea's waiting in, before being neatly flipped and stowed in a coat pocket. Heinkel's hand rises, two fingers fastidiously adjusting the sunglasses into place. "Guten tag, Fraulein Amalthea." The greeting is friendly enough as she reaches into a pocket, withdrawing her neat, crisply-folded paperwork. Her handwriting is shockingly neat. Dropping into a seat close enough to Amalthea to see and hear her, the priest spreads her own items out, offering nods of greeting to the other arrivals, before glancing over toward the miniatures. "Ja, I think I'm as ready as I'm going to be."
Richard Stadler	There had been an invitation extended by the radio, and Stadler was here for it. It wasn't something he normally did, of course, and given the fact that he was still in uniform, he clearly though of it as a training exercise, not an excursion. A bit of wargaming in a fantasitic environment (and who would do this for fun when you experienced more danger on a daily basis?). It certainly didn't hurt... and, to be completely honest, he was looking how Amalthea was handiling the new recruits. His own character sheet is as neatly filled out as Heinkels, the feats, skills, description, powers, weapons all filled out with... what /might/ have been an electric typewriter. A quick reach into his pocket produces a Skilcraft pen, clicked active as he sits down around the table. "Wolfe. Excellent hand writting." He says, simply, before nodding to Amalthea. "This should be... interesting."
Gawain	Gawain is once again present, bringing his set of equipment. His custom dice, bought from Luke A. Fure's Hobby Emporium, his custom Paladin miniature, writing tools, his sheet, and his copious amount of notes. Gawain is actually dressed professionally as well, seeing as this is the Ad Coelum: a black suit with a golden tie, Paladins badge inside one of his pockets. "Curator Amalthea, it's good to see you again! Are we continuing from last time? I have Horza's info here!" A brief wave to Heinkel, Nasa, Stadler, and Ainsley.
Seras Victoria	Seras Victoria's showed up with the same character sheet as last time, dressed quite casually in a christmasy sweater someone probably foisted off to her. She's looking more confident this time too - the bright and merry smile is quite telling! Said smile falters only slightly at the odd sight of Heinkel drumming on basically anything in sight. That gets a few befuddled blinks. Draculina does quickly shuffle her way towards the table and pulls up a seat. "Good evening!" she says Amalthea's way. "Just a game this time or... more surprises.... euh?" Seras, curious, and maaaaaybe a little worried, leeeaaaaans forward to peer at the grid and miniatures suspiciously...
Toph Beifong	Just like last time Toph looks like she's walking into something serious. She's clad in her earthbending clothes, as formal as can be and with a determined expression on her face. Her bag at her side seems to be rather full, and as usual she's here with Sokka. If they were talking it appears that Toph stopped right before they entered the room, and she offers brief nods to the people as she walks past them to sit at the table, following Sokka and letting him decide. Though once they do sit down, Toph pulls her satchel into her lap and pulls out various items. Her reading glove. A small binder with her new character sheet filled out. And a small factorysealed bag of d20 dice made of plastic. The small binder is pushed towards Amalthea without a word, and then the blind teenager gets started on putting on her metallic reading glove. The seriousness is slightly disturbed as she pulls out a drink bottle and takes a loud slurp from it, however.
Sarah Rogers	Sarah enters the room looking considerably more relaxed than last time, at least until she sees Amalthea in dress uniform. She pauses and tugs self consciously at her storm T-shirt. "I thought.. we were gaming again?" She asks after taking a quick breath. Well, there is a gaming table here, and a Lizard in Moogle Pajamas, maybe it'll be okay after all! She makes a point of sitting down somewhere in between Seras and Heinkel, leans the Star Shield up against the back of a chaior, sits down and plops a backpack full of gaming books and such down on the table.
Sokka	Sokka was wearing his trademark fire nation garb today and, for once, no beard. He wasn't like those fancy people with their own dice and equipment. He just brought himself. After all, what was the worst that could happen using Amalthea's dice? They were all the same. He'd even leveled his character to level 2. He chooses a seat near the back and leans back. "So, who's ready to beat up some goblins?" he asked with a grin. "How about we get this game... rolling?" he said with a wink. "I'm ready to slice and DICE. Hopefully we don't do SHEET this time with our rolls." Oh by the heavens he was going to be one of THOSE players.
Heinkel Wolfe	"Hunh?" Heinkel glances up, inclining her chin to the career soldier. "Guten tag, Herr Stadler. Ja, I vas the von who handled a lot of the reports for Section XIII. I vasn't alvays able to get to a typewriter..." A languid wave is offered to Gawain as the Knight of the Sun settles in; there's also one given to Ainsley, Nasa, and a cheerful little wave is given to Seras, because Heinkel lives to troll the hell out of Hellsing's (other) pet vampire. "It vas pitched to me as a training exercise," she explains to Seras. "I haf no idea." Heinkel's brows slowly creep up somewhere into the vicinity of her bangs, but she returns Toph's nod as the earthbender files past. And there's the last one. Sarah gets a brief nod, too. Her pile of stuff also gets eyed, although nothing's obvious through those sunglasses -- they're completely opaque and it doesn't look like she has any intention of taking them off even though she's inside. Weird. Sokka, too, gets a look. Heinkel's heard his voice, but she hasn't seen him in person. The androgynous priest finally offers a friendly grin, except her teeth are very slightly too pointed. It's subtle enough that it might just be one's overactive imagination... right? "Guten tag. You must be Toph's friend."
Amalthea	"Nasa." Amalthea greets back. "Ainsley." Oh yes everyone is greeted by name- some as they enter the room, some as they settle in or say their hellos first. Whether or not Amalthea looks up from her setup is incidental for the most part. "Wolfe." She keeps working on that, indicating people may sit as they please. There's a side table with light refreshments, as would be proper for an actual tabletop gaming session. Though the unicorn does pause to glance up, brow cocking at the Catholic Paladin's drumsticks, she does not comment. "Yes, yes we will be continuing from last time, though with a very brief time gap between last session and this one to account for some changes in our roster." Whatever that could mean though is interrupted as she scans over Heinkel's character sheet, then plucks up Richard's sheet. Everything however is on pause. "Toph." That's before the earthbender is even in the door. Amalthea watches her AND Sokka in steely silence, lip quirking up at the corner by a fraction of a degree at the sight of the factory sealing on her dice pack. She takes the binder and looks it over. "We are gaming. But this is hardly a game, ms. Rogers. Consider it as much a lesson as a day at school. Hopefully a bit more on the fun side... BUT I do remember I did promise no shenanigans this time, so there won't be any shenanigans. At least on my part. Now let us all begin then shall we? By introducing ourselves to one another." She pauses, pulling a red pen from her lapel and making edits. ... To Richard, Gawain, Ainsley, and Heinkel's character sheets before sliding them back and settles in her own seat. "In character."
Sokka	Sokka smiles to heinkel. "Yup! Sokka, nice to meet you." He gave her his suavist grin. "And, if I may say so, an absolute pleasure to meet such a pretty young woman in person." No. No he did not EVER stop. He then proceeded to spread out his wrist computer, put it on the table and give a grin. "So. My guy is known as Wang Fire, the great stabby man of the south!" he said proudly. "A level 2 fighter, master of diplomacy. Which fighters CAN do. And this time I did bring my books. Well, digital versions. You know you can store a whole library on these things! It's amazing! Also, apparently a nigerian prince wants me to help him get his money. Don't know why he messaged me, though." ... Pity toph. He then grinned to Toph, mischievously. "And Toph here is my guy's squire, he's helping to make a man out of her." Patting her on the back. No, she likely wasn't. He just wanted to see the look on her face.
Richard Stadler	Richard Stadler gives a quick nod back to Wolfe. "A regrettable situation, despite the quality of your penmenship. I should have one sent to you. Lord know no one /else/ is using the ones in GSA storage." A bit of a look to Seras... He'd known a few Seari in his time, and they all were inordinately cheerful creatures of the night. Nothing wrong with that, certainly. Would make things interesting, esspecially with at the same table as Wolfe. To the rest... he had to focus on Toph, for a moment. Not saying a word, but noting her professionalism. She was going into this seriously... and tightly. He'd have to see how that would work... and if he could resist hitting Sokka in the back of head. He at least keeps from groaning /audibly/ at the puns, but the look on his face shows as much. He suppresses an invisible flash of mild irritation as Amalthea marks on his sheet. Irrational, but it was there; he'd worked well with that character sheet. Poured over the books, but it was important to remember he was a quiver in Amalthea's quiver of trickers for this training exercise. What she directed, he would do... Taking the sheet back, he pushes up his glasses just a bit. Including that. It would make things interesting. "Well, let's start. My name's Enrich. I'm a witch hunter from a far away city state run by merchants, looking to ply my trade. Hunting those who... practice the dark arts." That was a bit of a change from his secular background, but nothing he couldn't handle.
Gawain	Gawain places his Paladin miniature down where it goes, as he speaks in character, accent becoming his native Welsh. "I am Horzaphir Smith, Paladin of the Justice God, Nameinserthere. As one of the knights of King Fairfax, I'm hopin' to help all of you squires find true justice!" Gawain grins as he glances over his sheet again. And then Sokka speaks up. Gawain nods, replying only at the end. "Oh, I've gotten those emails! I've helped quite a few Nigerian princes before, it seems that dozens of them are having trouble!"
Ainsley	"As before, I am Brook! A druid from a nice little town. I am a /Knight/ of King Fairfax, assigned with helping the other prospective knights on their tasks and making sure they don't get themselves killed!" Ainsley says, with a great big smile on her face and her voice sounding absolutely nothing like her own voice, thoroughly taking advantage of her magic to do this. She is using an accent that sounds Texan. "I can heal a little bit, so it's more than just babysitting."
Na`Sabal-Une Fang	Nasa decides to be helpful, it seems! As she comments in response to Sarah's question, "Well, this is training, but we have the physical skills already. Amalthea is training us in mentality to make us better Paladins." She says with a simple nod, before flashing a grin towards Amalthea when she says 'In Character'. She a-hems slightly, before taking on a very poor Duergar accent. "I am Aestrid, Cleric of th' light and here to protect and heal ye when things go wrong, as well as stop any injustices I see before me!" She says, before looking towards Amalthea. "Aestrid is still standing between the goblin and the townspeople. She turns to look towards the goblin. 'Ye explained that ye are just doin' this out of struggles that ye are having because the humans are overhunting, yeah? The humans look a bit ... well. Like they're in excess. Have ye tried talkin' with 'em before? What ye are doin' is wrong, but there are some issues if yer huntin' grounds are bein' overhunted and ye cannae find any food for yerselves.'" Yep. She has memory. And she is using it. And may get smacked for it.
Toph Beifong	As usual Toph seems immune to Sokka's puns, then again she's the one who's known him since she was twelve. So while he socialises it appears that she is focused, listening to Amalthea as she explains the premise of this session. It's not just a game, that much their Curator made clear the last time they met like this. A heavy sigh leaves Toph. "Sokka, that's another one of those scams. Like those medicine sellers who claimed they could increase the size of your boobs," she explains with a deadpan voice. Oh right, character introductions. When it's her turn, Toph speaks up with a clear voice, clearly playing a part. "I'm Coggurd the psychotic midget tinkerer. And no, I'm not Wang's squire!" she protests. "Coggurd went mad after a mishap in his lab, and now he's obsessed with details that others don't think about as he makes creations that others don't consider a possibility." So there!
Seras Victoria	"Teal!" Seras chimes out cheerily, raising a hand to draw a hint of attention. "Ranger from the deep woods, raised by a reclusive hunter, sent to see the King about a message.... and now I'm here with this crew! And I've never heard of goblins being so friendly and caring. Is it normal?" Seras does remember where they left off too! ... And she's lowered her hand, o course.
Heinkel Wolfe	Heinkel Wolfe says nothing about the sticks. It is a mystery. Once the paper is slid back to her, Heinkel picks it up, brow furrowing as she skims over the changes. The actual changes bring her to snort a little, though whether in amusement or resignation, it's hard to say. Maybe it's a little of both! She sets the paper aside, returning her hands to her lap. Despite sitting up straight at the table, there's still the air of something more languid about her; like a big cat sprawled and completely comfortable in its surroundings. Some have called her lazy. They'd probably be wrong. She's perfectly alert, and although her head doesn't move at every detail, she's watching everything around her -- as much out of curiosity as habit. Heinkel Wolfe has never played a tabletop game before. Her head tilts just a little to watch as Amalthea continues setting up miniatures and preparing the campaign. The priest reaches up to scratch at the back of her head, looking downright baffled when the call goes out to give introductions -- in character. "Hunh." Sokka gets stared at very flatly for about ten seconds; blankly, almost. What. The hand slowly drops. She clears her throat, and when she speaks again, it's like somebody else talking -- a man's voice, neutral and polite. The accent is gone; instead replaced with something more at home in London than Salzburg. On the whole, it might remind Seras of Walter a decade or two younger. "Hmph. I am Eike. I'm a..." Heinkel leans over, eyeing her character sheet. "Witch hunter. I've been travelling with Enrich. We've been plying our trade as we go, and maybe earning coin will mean keeping the streets a little safer as we go." She reaches up, absently rubbing at her throat. It's a little uncomfortable to talk /that/ low, but it's convincing. At least the background is easy. It's not much of a stretch for her, is it? This might not be so bad...
Sokka	Sokka opened his mouth, paused. Blinked a few times. "Wait, what? When have you ever gone to medicine sellers like that, Toph?" Of course, THAT he picks up on. "So... I shouldn't send him money, then? Well... okay then." Also, awwww, seems wolfe rejection! That'd leave him howling. Either way... "Well, the people are safe now, right? I guess I'll wait for the others to finish... actually, I'll try to question some of the kids about what seems to be going on with all the goblins. I'm great with kids." He's really not.
Amalthea	As every character is introduced, Amalthea sets a matching miniature down in a small house at the edge of the diorama town. She uses Gawain's personal miniature for his own. But once introductions are done, she settles back in her chair and calmly flips open her dungeon master's guide. "Yes, yes indeed, that is where you WERE Aestrid. But not any longer. I'll get to that and tell you how that played out in a moment." She says. The unicorn's lone eye flits from face to face, waiting for all to be ready before she draws a breath. Reaches over. And deletes Sokka's email from his wrist computer while staring him dead in the eyes. "It has been one week since the fire, the goblin, and the raging mob at the city of Magnolia. It has been one week since Horzaphir's accidental discovery of a Cult of Lawlessness that has spread through the town. You all barely escaped from the mob with your lives, but your duty has seen you remain in the region; setting up base a short distance away from the town. With the situation as it is, and word sent back to King Fairfax, he has sent you a small measure of forces to bolster your own; Coggur, to replace Mighty Melon after their tragic rock related death, and two of his highest ranking Witch Hunters. You are all currenly hidden in a barn on the edge of the city, plotting your next move." She intones the set, before looking to the full fledged knights, "He has requested your presences to perform in an advisory capacity. You may take over should the situation require it, however it is the king's request that the squires be given a chance to prove their worth." "It is sunset, and the door opens hurriedly. A small figure in black darks in, green warty skin revealed as he pulls his hood back. Kresk, the goblin from the fire and a secret agent in the employ of King Fairfax's right hand: Elias Ness settles in to brief you all..." "Okay see... Me and my boys were already here trying all subtle-like to figure out what was going on round these here parts but then yous mooks came in and busted the scam wide open. That's good though, see, cause now we know about the Cult of Lawlessness. We thought it was just a food and gold smugglin' racket but this is much bigger. But now me and my bosy have done all we can. It's gonna be your job to find and arrest their cult leader. You do that? His hold over alla the town'll break like magic, see?"
Na`Sabal-Une Fang	"Oh. ... We are not continuing where we last were." Nasa says, dumbfounded and completely out of character for a moment. A-hem. She does, however, comment towards Sokka. "I can make most mundane medicines and even some magical ones, you probably could just come to me." She doesn't really comment much otherwise, musing a bit. And then she gets her wits back about her. "'It's a pleasure to meet you, Eike. As well as Enrich." She says, dipping her head in a bow towards Heinkel and Richard Stadler in turn. She takes a slow breath. "Okay, anyway! I am going to do what I did last session, I believe! Can you kindly give character descriptions, Heinkel, Richard?" She asks, flashing a smile towards them. Afterwards, she looks back towards Amalthea, "'H-hey, we're not mooks. We are proud knights of King Fairfax!' She responds to the secret agent, before continuing. 'What should we do next, do you have any leads for us to follow? Or should we just go through and let our paladin do as he did last week to root them out?'" She says, her gaze flicking briefly to Gawain. It was an almost emotionless tease, but that tease was totally there.
Toph Beifong	"I don't go to medicine sellers, they fill my mailbox with spam, and I'm not talking about food!" Toph snorts to Sokka. There's a small twitch of annoyance near Toph's left eye when the fate of Mighty Melon is revealed, though she doesn't say anything. Instead she sits still and listens to Amalthea explain the setting of their current scene. Well, that makes sense. "Coggur greets the goblin with a weird burp," she says. "And then he begins looking through his bag to see if he has any inventions that might be useful to the party so they can sneak around the town," she adds, reaching out to open her factory sealed dice. "Sokka, you'll have to read my dice for me."
Heinkel Wolfe	Heinkel placidly ignores Sokka's disappointment. Aside from the fact that it really doesn't warrant a response, she's here to do a job. Besides, he might as well be talking to a man. He probably /could/ be talking to a man. She looks like it and sounds like it. It's probably kind of creepy how easily she can slip into a deeper voice. Fingers tap oh so quietly on the table, drumming out some manner of swinging jazz rhythm; her chin drops into her other hand. Behind those opaque lenses she's watching everybody else carefully. At least she doesn't have to strain to hear anyone's voice. She drums her fingers again in an almost-silent flourish, considering, and then speaking again in that perfect English gentleman's voice. "Very good, sir. My comrade and I have arrived recently, but we're willing to help out in any way we can." Heinkel's mouth twists, raising one hand and craning her neck to rub at her throat. "We are prepared to assist by any means necessary. What does the situation look like outside? Have the mobs calmed down any?" Nasa is considered for a moment; Heinkel is quiet, as though mulling that over. Fingers drum a riff, and she gestures with one hand, and speaks up with that English Gentleman's voice again. "Well, I've been told that I have a fatherly air; given perhaps to a spot of grey here and there through otherwise black hair and a tidy moustache, but by no means a reflection on my capabilities." Heinkel raises her head, as though to look at Nasa very slightly down her nose. "Will that do, Miss Aestrid?"
Sokka	Sokka blinked a few times as all the spam was deleted and... "hey! There were hot single ladies living in my area!" ... My gosh, Sokka. "Now where am I going to find cute, single girls looking for the great... Wang Fire?" He doesn't look to his right. At all. He then hummed and glanced to the board and... "Okay, we'll need an attack plan. Do we have any maps of the area, or scouts? Those who are good at the sneaking around, see if you can track down their base and gather what information you can. Meanwhile, we can question members of the town on what information they have on this cult." Then glanced to fang. "Mundane medicines? We can use that. Healers can get where normal peopel can't..." He rubbed his chin. "I've actually done a bit of research since our last game so... I go to the tavern and ask the wenches!" He then glances to Toph. "Don't worry. I've got your back, Toph."
Richard Stadler	Stadler gives Heinkel a bit of a look. Looks like they were in this together... and Wolfe would make a frightening spy with the way she managed to switch her accent over like that. Not that he had much experience with spying, but, still. There's a brief though to attempting a German accent, but it's discarded. One bit of diplomacy he followed was to never fake an accent, no matter how convincing, with a friend from that same country. Always caused trouble. Nasa gets a bit of a look. Another advantage to not using an accent is having no reason to drop it. "Short brown hair, muscular, scar across his right eye." Seemed generic enough. "No-nonsense... I'm afraid imagining new people isn't where my skills lie." It would hopefully be enough for the Fae for... whatever it is she planned on doing. And it was, perhaps, that he was one of the only Americans here that he put some things together, looking at Amalthea with a stare as she gives /that/ name and then gives /that/ accent. "Ahhh..." Don't be thrown off! "Well met. my... companion and I detest any prescense of the dark arts and how it can corrupt this town. We'll be of any assistance we can." He defers to Heinkel, for the most part. She seemed to have this well in hand.
Seras Victoria	Seras' adoption of the Teal-voice is by speaking in a more childish and innocent tone! ... So like herself normally, as if the last eight or so years of her life hadn't happened? ... Either way, Teal is clearly either a moron or a genius because the Half-Felf asks, "A Cult of Lawlessness... no law but they have a leader?" This. This seems... backwards? Inconsistent? Teal is confused. Teal is also confused at the Goblin's secret identity. Or maybe that's just Seras giving Amalthea one of the most weirded out looks she can thoughtlessly manage. GOBLIN SECRET AGENTS. WHAT. Though the look swings Heinkel's direction too, rather briefly. Poor police girl's not sure what to make of Heinkel showing three new sides in the same ten minutes... This is a weird, weird evening. "After taking- taking a minute to absorb all this, Teal joins the planning. 'The people know our faces. Going back means trouble! What do we know about such Cults? I've never heard of them.'" Teal hasn't heard of LOTS of things...
Amalthea	"Squire," Kresk corrects Aestrid, "You're a squire, and yer all a buncha mooks until Fairfax says otherwise. 'Cept those of ya that already ARE knights, see." But moving on, Amalthea listens, flicking a page. "The town is currently calm. Though the folk are in high alert, they have not forgotten the knights and squires that discovered them the week before, and have been doing the best they can to scrounge the countryside for all of you, with little intent to let any of you live. Eike and Enrich had difficulty reaching you all unscathed in the sweeping searches." She says before pausing. Toph can't see the brow quirk. "Kresk chokes on gnome breath in the burp, but... Coggur's abilities as a Psychotic Tinkerer Midget are wide and nonsensical. He has noisemakers and fireworks in his Bag Of Stuff that could probably make for good distractions." Apparently Toph rolled well enough. Amalthea moves on. "After a week of hiding, you all know the area fairly well, which is why the whole board is revealed." She motions to the table. There are three locations aside from where the players are. The Church. The Farm. The Town Center. "You know the best places to hide and survive in each, and you know that there are NO cute girls in the taverns, and there are no forgeign princes offereing you money." Goblin secret agents are a thing. "While you all settle down to plan, Wang Fire has walked out the door and headed for the tavern." Holy shit that sounds dangerous.
Heinkel Wolfe	Shifting to rest more comfortably in her chair, the lanky priest reaches up to adjust her glasses. Though round and subtle in their construction, they almost seem designed more like vintage goggles with shielding on the sides, heavy opaque lenses concealing her eyes completely. The bottom line is that no light filters through, and more relevant to the others, her eyes are never actually visible at any point. That's kind of unnerving for some people. Heinkel is probably aware of this fact, and uses it to her benefit wherever possible. Half a glance is flicked toward Seras, before glancing back to Richard. She flashes a slightly toothsome grin. "The life of a Witch Hunter requires the ability to improvise a bit, my dear Sir Enrich." Heinkel smirks, one hand propped against the table at the elbow to massage her throat a little. "Pursuing one's prey involves gathering information, and how better to do that than by fitting in like a chameleon?" She's rolling with all this with frightening ease. Perhaps Heinkel has a hidden knack for playing with details. Taking leadership, too, since she seems to be leading Richard and sidling into 'experienced veteran' territory. Well, she has knowledge about this sort of thing in her own life! Might as well use it, right? Heinkel pauses to fish into a pocket, producing a toothpick, which she proceeds to place in her mouth, nibbling on the end. The alternative is smoking, and probably half or more of the table wouldn't appreciate that much. "Indubitably," 'Eike' states with a knowing nod, toothpick bobbing in 'his' mouth as he speaks. "It does seem a little nonsensical on the surface, doesn't it? I would presume that greed is a powerful motivator; enough for them to form a hierarchy of authority for as long as it proves profitable for them." Heinkel rubs her jaw, leaning forward and resting an elbow on the table as she considers. Her eyes then dart to Wang Fire. "Maybe you'd better wait. Showing your face out there until we're ready may well be throwing fuel onto the fire, hmm?" Those opaque lenses are facing Sokka directly, and her stare may or may not almost seem like a physical weight; the restraining hand on the shoulder.
Toph Beifong	"Those weren't ladies, Sokka. Most likely fat guys living in their mom's basement or something," Toph asides to her friend where she sits. And she has no comment to his follow up question, only a slight blush crossing her cheeks while she tries to act all natural where she sits. Huh, so her character did find something useful in his bag. And her character wasn't here the last time, so maybe... "Coggur shows the others his noisemakers and fireworks, explaining how he can set them up in various places if there's one place we all should go, and that he who weren't here during the group's earlier run in with the cult might have a decent chance of making his way around town unseen" Toph suggests, then groans as Sokka's character walks off. That earns a facepalm, and the blind earthbender mutters something for Sokka's ears only.
Richard Stadler	And Stadler /has/ to look at Sokka as his character goes and wanders off. Really. Toph did say he had a good amount of experience planning, but he certainly wasn't showing it tight now. No matter. If he had some sort of master plan, it would show up. And if he didn't, he'd get a lesson out of this. He nods over to Heinkel as she speaks. "Certainly, it does. But I dislike this... improvisation. Best we find out targets, and ensure that they get what they deserve, quickly." This did seem to be the time to move behind and to the left of Hienkel's position, so to speak. It /was/ a role he was playing, after all, and it was good to show how a chain of command /should/ work. "But, it is understandable. While Lawlessness tries, there is no such thing as true anarchy. There is either structures to keep it there, or a strongman to lead. Either way leads to too much chaos as it is, so such should be stopped as quickly as possible." Another glance and nod to Toph. "Excellent. If we do need to strike quickly and silently, they may be useful to draw the enemy off."
Na`Sabal-Une Fang	Now that Nasa had descriptions, she gives a simple nod towards Heinkel and Richard. After a moment, she lifts her hand, a small shimmering sphere of energy forming. And then spreading out over the area, applying a glamour to each person, and turning them into reasonable facsimilies of their characters. Richard looked especially plain, while Heinkel had a more fatherly heir, and a somewhat noble look to her due to the way she'd been looking at Nasa when giving her description. CONTEXT CLUES! Now that that was done, she muses on the description of what was going on and how they planned things next. "Aestrid grabs Wang Fire by the back of his shirt while he leaves. 'Stay, we might need yer ideas.' She says. She goes over each of those places to hide and survive and what would probably be the best route to get to each place as safely as reasonably possible without alerting people, as well as questions people on their abilities with either disguises or illusions to make disguises." "'Anyway, if they're a cult of lawlessness, there may not be much motivation beyond that they want t'promote as much lawlessness as possible.' Aestrid says thoughtfully. 'I agree with Enrich on makin' a plan of attack 'n figurin' out where th' leader is, it might be a good idea for th' more sneaky people t'do reconnaissance. 'M wearin' too much armor so won't be much help with that...' She looks towards the goblin infiltrator. 'Do ye have any idea of what places are most likely t'have 'em? I'd assume th' town hall, but they might hide somewhere else.'"
Sokka	Sokka opened his mouth to speak, then blinked. His cheeks turned red and he kind of glanced off to the side. "O-oh. Right. Yes. Hiding. I... won't walk off. Right. Eh heh..." He rubbed the back of his head. Seemed someone hadn't been paying too much attention. Maybe he should make less puns and spend more time focusing on the task at hand. "I'm not any good at the whole... sneaking thing. So I'll just stay here." Heglanced to Toph. "Toph, really? What would Pepper say?"
Heinkel Wolfe	"There's more to it than simply destroying targets, you know." 'Eike' snorts softly, lower jaw jutting out for a moment and toothpick bobbing. "There's an art to sussing out creatures of the night. They're hardly stupid. We've made it our art to learn how to reveal them, and that requires a great deal of patience and cunning." She lets her head loll to one side, neck cracking, but she's paying more attention than she might let on. Her thoughts do stumble to a halt for a moment when she suddenly /is/ Elke, brows hitching up under her bangs once more. Well, that does help with the immersion a bit, doesn't it? Heinkel clears her throat, continuing around her toothpick. "Right, then," 'Eike' says. "Perhaps we should infiltrate the town, and see what information there is to be had. Any volunteers...?"
Amalthea	Amalthea rubs her chin. "Sokka, Nasa, 1d20 from each of you please."
Gawain	"If we are to infiltrate," Gawain as Horza speaks up, "then it'll have to be one o' the new arrivals. Which is you witchhunters, or our Psychotic Midget Tinkerer friend. They know the rest of us and as a knight, I'm noe one to wear disguises."
Toph Beifong	Another mutter from Toph to Sokka, and she gestures to the table. "Just focus on the game, Meat Head." "Coggur volunteers to infiltate the town," Toph replies to Heinkel. "He'll disguise himself as a repairman so he can drag his bag with him incase he needs to make something quickly and so he can take his fireworks and noisemakers with him. So the town center might be the best place for him to go to not draw too much attention to himself. And it might be the best place to set up distractions easily..." Toph muses, picking up the plastic dice. "Should I roll to see if Coggur can overhear any information?"
Seras Victoria	Seras once again uses the Teal voice. "I could try observing, see if I can sneak where nobody's looking. If I find anything interesting...?" Seras looks around the table uncertainly. She is so not used to thinking in a fantasy context.
Richard Stadler	Stadler looks at himself for a moment, before looking over to Nasa. HIs mouth opens a little bit, but... then closes. He could argue aganist it, but that would be a bit petulant. Critize in private, and all that. Maybe he'd have a chat with Nasa after this is over. Instead, he looks back to Wolfe and keepsp playing the role. "You know how I am. Destruction of evil is the simpliest of a basis for a plan, but I am not so foolish as to think that attact without pre-positioning is a good idea. I will work with the team moving to the town center, and we will see what their is to see."
Amalthea	Amalthea snaps her fingers when Nasa's character moves to stop Sokka's character. The DM looked like she might have had fun with that chaos, but it is not to be. Though she browquirks at the two whispering squires. But it's back into character for her. "Kresk has left you with detailed maps of the town and a few leads. The townsfolk meet every day at sundown in the town center. They say the leader lives in the church, and every day he checks their supplies at the farms to make sure they will have plenty more for future lawlessness. The rest really is on you guys how to proceed for this." But then she smiles. "But Wang Fire's cloak. Wang Fire is heading for the tavern it looks like. I'll get to that in a second though. As Coggur is unknown to the townsfolk Coggur may attempt infiltration. there ARE high perches in the taller buildings closer to the town center and curch. Teal may also attempt infiltration and a climb check, at -1 penalties due to her apparent lack of confidence." She pauses. "Kresk speaks up, peering at Enrich "Oi? As the King's Witch Hunters I know it's your jobs to sniff out this kinda stuff, but ain't you a little zealous there, boss?"
Heinkel Wolfe	"Very good. I, Witch Hunter Eike, will accompany Coggur into town to see what we will see." Heinkel rolls the toothpick to the other side of her mouth, leaning back more comfortably in her chair. "We have an excellent advantage in that we won't be seen, yes?" She glances at Richard. "Yes. Yes, he is," she states, in a slightly pained tone. "At least try to remember your dignity, Master Enrich."
Amalthea	Amalthea finger-guns at Heinkel's dice, "By all means, Witch Hunter."
Sokka	Sokka shakes his head. "W-what? No, no no! I stopped. Errr, Wang Fire stopped. Sicne we're still planning. Eh heh. I wasn't paying enough attention, sorry. I didn't realize we were supposed to be lying low for now. Wang is good at the diplomacy and stuff, but he's not so good at the sneaking stuff. So he'd wait back at base until it was time for us to make our move."
Gawain	Gawain takes a minute to think, drumming on the table with his pencil. "I will not decide what I am going to do...but instead let one of the squires decide! I am a Paladin, and therefore have holy abilities and a diplomatic charm! Putting you in command, squires, what should I do?"
Toph Beifong	When Amalthea states that she might try to infiltrate the town Toph nods, figuring that she might as well use the fact that she has a new character that is unknown to the town. So Toph rolls her dice, unknowing of the result however. But she does keep in character. "Coggur picks up his bag and goes with Eike to the Town Center, 'fixing' pipes on the way and using the chance to set up remote controlled distractions along the way, listening to people talk and trying to overhear as much as he can. And trying to keep belcing to a bare minimum."
Na`Sabal-Une Fang	"Aestrid opts to stay in the barn, though she keeps her eyes and ears out for potential problems." Nasa comments, idly shuffling over to sit next to Gawain in the 'Staying home because we are bad at the sneaking' corner. Or side. Or something along those lines. Also she grabs a snack to nibble on.
Seras Victoria	"Hard to be confident when you're this out of your element! Yes, Teal hunts out a suitable perch--" Seras rolls her die... bounce bounce stable. 1. At a -1 penalty. "AAAAAAH, what does that even MEAN?! Zero?!" Her mouth goes widely agape in pure shock and horror. Of course that means a clear view of vampire teeth! Oh well.
Na`Sabal-Une Fang	"You are a known threat that is potentially dangerous to the town." Nasa says thoughtfully as she looks towards Sir Gawain. "Perhaps, however, between this paladin and the cleric, we could make a big enough distraction that we could aid the others in their infiltration by 'showing up'? I think with my healing skills and your paladin-iness, we would probably be able to distract them long enough and still be able to escape with our lives." Yep.
Gawain	"If that is what the squire decides, I, Horzaphir Smith, am willing to take part!" Gawain smiles gladly, as he takes a second to think. "Horzaphir will stick together with Aestrid, and follow her lead for this!"
Amalthea	Amalthea claps her hands. "Plans are set in motion, and the team acts. Kresk stays behind in the barn in the event of a tragic disaster overcoming you all. So let's go..." Dice roll and the unicorn's lone eye follows the numbers, she draws a breath and begins narrating. "Coggur, being small and psychotic, goes almost unnoticed somehow through the town, sneaking around. This might be a perfect opportunity to find strategic points to place those firecrackers. Eike is not as small and not as psychotic. And the townsfolk leerily watch a newcomer in their midst, but do not approach, no intent to break the cover of their operation by seeming aggressive. Eike will know that they are being watched, but so far are left to their own devices." She looks to Nasa and Gawain. "What kind of distraction? It may be needed in a second, considering Teal misses a foothold nad lands flat on her ass in a trash can. It slams shut and thankfully no one SAW it happen. Except Enrich, who much the same is an unknown and given the same wary treatment as Eike."
Seras Victoria	"Ewwwwwwwwwwwwww." Seras immediately blurts, clamping her mouth shut a moment later. She immediately sets about working out an action for this turn though...
Heinkel Wolfe	"No sense wasting a perfectly good opportunity, is there?" Heinkel grins around her toothpick, flipping it up to a jaunty upward angle as she shows her teeth. "It would be only sensible for us to find the most at ease-looking villagers and find out what we can about this town; to disguise our more pointed questions among seemingly inane questions about the day-to-day life in this--" Miserable hovel, "--charming burg." The priest lifts a hand to her mouth, idly toying with the toothpick and squelching the overwhelming urge to dig for an actual cigarette. The close quarters is almost enough to drive her to distraction. "I don't suppose there's any chance we would find any useful information by taking the civilised route, and asking subtle questions?" She raises a brow at Amalthea in good-humoured gesture. Half a glance is cast at Seras, but Heinkel is good; she doesn't say anything. Better luck next time, Draculina.
Na`Sabal-Une Fang	"Uhm... well, just us showing up might be enough to get their attention." Nasa muses, looking towards Gawain. She then grins. "Aestrid grabs Horzaphir's hand and begins to pull him along to take him into the town, explaining as they went. 'Okay. So. We're gonna to use our biggest, most visible NON-LETHAL holy spells to try' get their attention while shoutin' at the top've our lungs.'" Nasa nods, as if it made the most sense in the world. "'And then we're book our holy behinds out've there ta not die.' Aestrid adds, beginning to prepare her spell as she heads for a visible but easy to flee area to the center of the town. And then she casts Bless, the spell that grants her allies bonuses! ...Also may make the townsfolk annoyed." Nasa says with a nod. That should help them flee, too! Maybe. Probably.
Richard Stadler	Stadler, or 'Enrich', happens to look to his side, just before Teal drops into the trash can there, eyeing the creature before sighing and pinching the bridge of his nose. Thankfully, he was still actually wearing glasses, so it accomplished the appropriate action of calming him down. Just good to remember this was just a game . And at least they hadn't gotten caught yet. "A few good questions would get us the information we needed, though I am also not much of a liar. Better that we hide our objectives in as much of the truth as we can swaddle them around."
Gawain	"Horzaphir goes with Aestrid willingly, and listens to her plan. He agrees wholeheartedly, and praises her for her creativity!" Gawain looks down at his spelllist, before grabbing his dice. "Horza then casts a spell on an object in the center of town, Protection from Lawlessness! A bright shining glow will appear if it works to show that it is warded from LAWBREAKERS!" And a diceroll!
Toph Beifong	"Coggur works on setting up the noisemakers and firecrackers in various spots, trying to keep them low and hidden so that others won't spot them," Toph states. Then snickers as Teal manages to fall into the trash. "I'll let Einke question the people and use that moment to work on setting up my distractions." With that Toph picks up the dice and rolls them again. Come on, keep the high rolls coming! At least Amalthea can't accuse her of cheating this round when she's got fresh dice from the store made of plastic!
Seras Victoria	"eww ewww." Seras squirms in her seat, apparently disgusted just by the IMAGE of what just transpired in the roleplay. LANDING IN GARBAGE that is SQUUUUUUUIIIIIIRMWOOOOORTHY!$ But she purses her lips and sets things straight. Or tries to... "Okay! Um... Once she's sure nobody's coming, Teal gets out of that... brushes off... and tries again. Climbing up for a perch! ... More carefully this time..." Seras' expression is starting to turn dumbfounded. The purpose of this exercise is slipping from her mind...
Amalthea	"Several of you are making your way through the town. Asking around subtly may find you some more leads or..." Or she trails off as Nasa and Gawain enact their plan. Dice are rolled. She rolls one of her own. "Or the cleric and paladin can unleash what amounts to a holy bomb in the center of town. This sets off the folk. Coming out of their houses, doors bursting open. They have pitchforks and torches in hand. They are yelling for your blood, in spanish. Some of them have bags over their heads and are coming after Horzaphir and Aestrid with chainsaws." She rolls again. "This is when the church doors bursts open-- Teal almost falls off again but manages to reach a perch on the second story." She places a new miniature on the field. "'Knights! You will never catch me!' He cries. It looks like you have found the leader. Everyone has +2 to all actions they perform now thanks to blessings. But an angry mob has formed again, this time out for your cleric and paladin's blood. No one has noticed anyone else out of the lot of you yet."
Sokka	Sokka blinks a few times, then grins. "Wang Fire will take charge! He runs forward, before the crowds and quickly points to the heavens. REPENT!" he roars. "The coming of the great purge of evil has come, it is time for you to throw down your weapons and surrender to the forces of good! Surrender to the king and all will end well, no one needs to be hurt!" He paused. "Except for that jerk. Then my guy motions to the leader with a nod. Listen not to the siren call of evil anymore!"
Toph Beifong	"Coggur does what he can to help the group by setting off the distractions! His companions already know about them, so they are bound to be more effective on the mob and might create openings for the others!" Toph declares and rolls her dice again. Heck, it's weird playing a mostly non-combat character... but it might help. And maybe Wang Fire will help out too if he can do a decent dice roll...
Na`Sabal-Une Fang	"Aestrid runs for the warded center of town as the townspeople start to come out." Nasa says, giving a nod. "And then she casts Sleep at the leader to try to make it so that he can't escape!" She nods again. "'Thank ye for the aid, Horzaphir, yer blessing will probably help with this.'" ... She may or may not have been paying attention to the rolls.
Heinkel Wolfe	Welp. So much for asking questions and being diplomatic. As chaos erupts around the town from that show of holy power, 'Eike' rests his elbows on the table and steeples his fingers. A hand snaps out to point at Richard. "You, Enrich, are coming with me, and we're going to take advantage of this opportunity so kindly provided to us to investigate a little more forcefully." The fatherly 'man' grins. "Let's have a look around while the mobs are busy. Hunting witches also means being able to move fast when the occasion calls for it, my boy! There goes our quarry. Sic 'em," she proclaims, to Richard. "You apprehend our target. Without cutting him in half, preferably. I'll see if our paladin and our cleric need a little help."
Richard Stadler	Well, this was turning into a bit of a clusterfuck, but there were probably lessons to go for in the after action report... Lord, that would be something for the 'squires' to write. The importance of a clear chain of command and an Incident Commander, perhaps. Or what to do when beset by a mob of mostly sentient people without the right riot gear. Heinkel has a different action he would have taken (primarily working to escape the crowd first, before tracking the target), but this was why there was a chain of command. So there's a wordless nod. "All right, then. Enrich heads after the leader, running through the confusion and the crowds, attempting to tackle or smack him in a... non-lethal way with a cudgel." And Dice Roll.
Seras Victoria	"Teal is not a fan of climbing on these crazy buildings! Much prefers trees and cliff faces now." Seras blurts out. Then she raises a hand. "Blunt arrow time! Spotting the man running... and was that really a holy explosion?" Seras blinks a few times, REALLY sunsure what to make of this news. Then she rapidly shakes her head. "Ah, yes, um... right. Spotting the runner, Teal fires off a blunt arrow for the leg. Trip up the runner!"
Gawain	"Horza sticks by Aestrid's side, pulling up his shield and using it to guard her! He shouts from the protected holy domain, "You lawbreakers shall not pass! In the name of King Fairfax, we will bring law and stability to these lands!" Gawain then looks once again at his notes. "Rolling intimidate!"
Amalthea	More dicerolls and the thrilling conclusion is iminent. Tension is high as Amalthea slams her book shut and looks at the results of rolls and actions, tallying them in her head and drumming her fingers on the table with a motorized buzz. She draws a slow breath, letting it filter out as steam from a joint on her neck as she begins to narrate. "The Leader of Lawlessness falters. Like he almost may surrender just from the squire's manly demands. So manly in fact, Wang Fire grows a beard then and there, blessed by the god of Gar. And Nameinserthere, as Horzaphir joins in browbeating intimidation. The wave of blessings over each of you makes his actions harder to perform. He struggles visibly with indecision when Wang Fire demands surrender. Eike and Enrich spring into action, the Knights sent personally by King Fairfax knowing just when to take advantage of the clever support laid out. And then all is chaos. Fireworks and noisemakers everywhere disorient the crowd, the melee is quick and furious, but the mind controlled townsfolk are too dazed to injury any of the group or each other..." "'I will never surre--!' The cult leader begins to speak..." She rolls a die and this is it... The final result... "Teal's arrow strikes true, stunning the cult leader long enough for the two Witch Hunters to bring him down with non-lethal force. If you bind his hands now, he will be Arrested and his curse over the town will break, but you must act fast. They still have chainsaws and are still yelling angrily in spanish."
Sokka	Sokka raises a fist into the air. "YEAH! The BEARD is BACK! Man, it was getting hairy there for a minute, but I really beard with it. I just had to keep my chin out and make sure I was a cut above, didn't I?" He was going to lose it again...
Na`Sabal-Une Fang	"Aestrid stays where it's theoretically safe, letting closer people handle the actual arrest, while her hand is lifted and she prepares a healing spell in case things get hairy. Also she slowly backs away from the chainsaws." ... "Because chainsaws." Nasa says with a small nod.
Heinkel Wolfe	"Well, then," says 'Eike' with a grin, Heinkel's voice still pitched low, "strike while the iron's hot, as the saying goes. Hold him, Enrich, and I'll see to it that this man has no opportunity to endanger the residents of any village ever again." If this were not the scope of a game, she might be contemplating right now whether to put a bullet in his left eye or his right eye, but as this is not, the priest merely rubs her (his?) hands together. "Seems as our brave allies seem to be acquitting themselves with dignity," Heinkel points out, rubbing at her throat, "I'll help Enrich and see to it that our captive remains a captive."
Toph Beifong	What, they're... actually being succesful despite their crappy rolls? Toph blinks and looks amazed where she sits, though she does reach out to punch Sokka in the arm when he continues with the puns. "Watch it or she will make one of the villagers slice it off with a chainsaw next round!" "Coggur will try firing fireworks up in front of the chainsaw villagers to give the others time to arrest the leader. And /not/ aim for them and get them hurt since they're innocent and controlled in all of this," Toph says, grabbing the dice to roll them.
Seras Victoria	"Nothing a few more blunt arrows can't solve! Teal has.. no idea what chainsaws even ARE, does she?" Seras glances around once again. Staring at Amalthea seems to be a thing for tonight. Fantasy world. DUDES WITH CHAINSAWS SCREAMING IN SPANISH? Oooooooooookay. "How about we bonk a few of them too?"
Richard Stadler	Okay, that roll was... well. He stared at the 1 for a moment before taking a deep breath. Things happen, really. That was one of the lessons that you really had to pay attention to. Well, that and having back up could cover for most foul-ups. So, he doesn't end up on one end of this tripped and lost without dingity. Instead, he's taking Heinkel's lead. "I'll press a boot to the man's back, push him over, and use a pair of manacles that I..." He says, flipping to the other side of his character sheet. "Do have. Restrain his stunned form and keep him on the ground." Also, really. He'd have to see what mission reports Amalthea was reading.
Amalthea	What reports Amalthea may or may not have read are irrelevant. She clasps her hands together. "With his hands bound, the result is almost instantaneous. The mob halts. Chainsaws stop. Cries in spanish turn into simple murmurs of confusion. The unconscious cult leader has been arrested. The town of Magnolia is once again restored to its proper state. And there is a fireworks show." She seems pleased with this result, thumbs clicking together. "You all report back to King Fairfax within a week's time, each gaining commendations for your bravery and ingenuity, and for upholding law without shedding blood needlessly. Some of you may make proper knights yet." And with that she leans back in her chair. "A good campaign all around. I think there is potential. The real work will begin from this point onward. In the meantime... Discuss."