New Year, New Faces, New Troubles

[Tell]

Before Ambergris tries to detect thoughts on the priest, Lesh casts Guidance. Furthermore, if he can get the other's to follow suite he will try to create a distraction. OOC: I'm hoping to give the priest disadvantage .

[hedgeknight]

Hold Still While I Probe Your...

Tommy moves through the crowd getting closer to the priest dressed in seaweed and establishes a mental connection (Telepathic Speech) 
and using subtle spell casts suggestion (only the sea priest receives the mental suggestion)

"in the upper city, the best place would be the upper city"

Abruptly, the leading priest stops and looks around as if he is confused. The six others stop behind him, one going so far as to ask, "What's up boss? Why are we stopping?" the man looks around at the growing crowd and is no longer jovial and smiling. He looks nervous. One of the carriers of the box sighs and groans, "This damn thing is getting heavy! Let's get to the docks as planned."
"Shut up, you idiot!" one of the women hisses. Her eyes bore holes into the man and he ducks his head and shuts up. Then the same woman approaches the priest and says in a low voice, "What's wrong? Are we --"
"Which is the fastest way to the upper city?" he asks, cutting her off.
"Up-upper city? Why would we want to go there?" she asks, her forehead furrowed in confusion.

Ambergris uses this opportunity to do some mind probing of his own, attempting to ascertain the contents of the box and the reason for this course of action. But his attempts fail as if a mental door is slammed shut, locking him out! The sea captain watches the priest shake his head and pinch the bridge of his nose as if he has a headache. Then, the man does something unexpected:
"What is the quickest way to the upper city?" he asks some in the crowd.
"What are you doing?" the woman hisses under her breath.

Before Ambergris tries to detect thoughts on the priest, Lesh casts Guidance.

This would be very difficult to ascertain because Ambergris has already contacted the man's mind.

A few yards away at the docks, Yarl, Hazm, and Telurion see the progression come to a halt as its leaders seems...confused.
"Should we be worried about this?" - Telurion asks those closer to him (Yarl and Trueshot?) - "Or is this some sort of religious procession?"
Not a fucking clue but it looks like its gonna bad.. Yarl looks at Haim to see his reaction before continuing, Get ready fer trouble.
Haim nods and gives a low whistle, alerting his crew. Folks milling about on the docks immediately clear out of the way, fearful of what might be going down.
Hazm looks back at Yarl, "Looks bad is an understatement. We should move back and see what starts this mess getting worse."

"It appears the leader is...having second thoughts," Trueshot adds. Sure enough, the man with a seaweed kilt and bare chest has halted the progression, and his followers are looking askance as the crowd gathers a bit closer. They are a very odd group, wearing shades of blue and green amidst leather armor. Their swords appear to be lined with sharp teeth or some such; difficult to tell at a distance. Two are carrying a rather large box with a padlock on the lid. None look happy with what is going on.

The crowd is restless, having their fun spoiled by nothing happening. Then, the priest begins walking again, heading for the docks. The rest fall in place, resuming their progress...but when the leader reaches the docks, he abruptly turns right and starts down the boardwalk heading in the direction of the Upper City.
The woman speaker is in his ear and buzzing like a gnat, and he ignores her, giving it right back to her face. Snatches of their conversation float along the foggy docks offering words and phrases like: "Gar...pissed!" and "Olhydra...new target." and "Thing...detonates...kill..." and so forth, but the priest keeps walking and the others keep following him.
(They are currently on the docks just south of Jopalin's on the main map.)
Actions?

Rolls:
Suggestion save: [1d20]=4
Probing save: [1d20]=17
Perception: [1d20+2]=3+2=5

[Rex]

Hazm

"Crap, I think it is another bomb."

[Spearmint]

Ambergris

The ex-whaler understands the Crushing Wave is a death cult and these devotees are about to instigate mayhem and murder in the city.

He invokes a Chill Touch, which manifests as a ghostly skeletal hand that suddenly appears upon one of the box carriers 'nether regions' and gives him a violent twist to hamper his movement and possibly drop the box.

Ambergris cast Chill Touch [1d20+6]=9+6=15 skeletal hand grabs nether regions [1d8]=6

[Edeldhur]

Telurion

Hazm

"Crap, I think it is another bomb."

"What? Really? Then we must stop them, no?!" - Telurion is clearly confused and hesitant.

[Computer +1]

Yarl agrees with Hazm over Telurion, Lets pull back an' see where this goes. I ain't gettin' blown up for these fucks.
He keeps his eye on the scene but moves back a bit.

[Rex]

Hazm

Hazm will back off with her boss (Yarl).

[Belkregos]

Tommy
follows the procession from afar in expectation

reaches out mentally to Ambergris and Tell and tries to make eye contact with them and give them a wink
i pushed them out to the upper city, maybe in the confusion we can slip in and get some payback from the Vanthampur's

[hedgeknight]

Great stuff so far!
Will give Tell another day to post

[hedgeknight]

Takin' It To the Streets

Hazm - "Crap, I think it is another bomb." The Halfling rogue exclaims, watching the progression of strangely dressed folks, particularly the two carrying the large box.
"What? Really? Then we must stop them, no?!" - Telurion is clearly confused and hesitant...and likely wondering what the hell he has gotten himself into!
"Lets pull back an' see where this goes. I ain't gettin' blown up for these fucks," Yarl says, moving back a bit, while keeping an eye on the scene as it unfolds along the docks.
Trueshot remains silent, following the wishes of his kingpin, like Hazm and the stranger from upriver, Telurion. As the four watch, the crowd seems to thin a bit, and they see four figures, three of which Yarl recognizes, following the procession. There is a Tabaxi, a Lizardman, an aging sea captain with a hook in place of his left hand, and a barbarian woman...who Telurion recognizes immediately! It's Talian.

Before Telurion can speak or react, a ghostly hand suddenly appears behind one of the box carriers. Unnoticed by himself, or the ones in front of him, he only has a word of warning from the ones behind him, when the "hand" flips over and grabs him in the groin! He bellows like a cow and drops his end of the box, which cracks open a bit, spilling straw on the hard-packed street. While the man flops and rolls on the ground, cupping his balls, the Rats watching from the edge of the dock can see a glimmer inside the box; something large and shiny...and pulsing with power!

Actions!

[Spearmint]

Ambergris

Ambergris cast Chill Touch [1d20+6]=12+6=18 skeletal hand grabs nether regions [1d8]=7

Continues his Chill Touch cantrip torment, invoking the spell to afflict a second box bearer.

My aim is not to kill these cultists if I can, but effectively, to drive them back into the sea or boat or from whence they came.

[Belkregos]

Tommy
takes a step back in reaction to the threat 
with a tone of urgency he continues his communication with Tell and ambergris

WHO IS DOING THAT! we must stop it! we dont have time to escape whatever its in there, and we dont want to be this close when that thing goes off

OOC: assuming Tommy does not know ambergris is doing it
Tommy tries to find who is controlling the spectral hand
a few rolls if needed


---

[Spearmint]

OOC: assuming Tommy does not know Ambergris is doing it

I would concede that Tommy & Lesh have seen my invoked cantrips and be familiar with this Chill Touch & Mage Hand as I usually describe both as 'a skeletal left hand' (for RP flavour), the spells still involve some somatic gestures when cast.

[hedgeknight]

OOC: assuming Tommy does not know Ambergris is doing it

I would concede that Tommy & Lesh have seen my invoked cantrips and be familiar with this Chill Touch & Mage Hand as I usually describe both as 'a skeletal left hand' (for RP flavour), the spells still involve some somatic gestures when cast.

Agreed. Tommy knows Ambergris is up to something...per usual.

[Edeldhur]

Telurion



Telurion rushes forward without hesitation, trying to warn the mob - "Get back! There is something! It might be a bomb!"

[Tell]

Lesh

WHO IS DOING THAT! we must stop it! we dont have time to escape whatever its in there, and we dont want to be this close when that thing goes off

He looks around confused, eager to act of Tommy's instructions (and hit something) but unsure what to do exactly. He spreads the fingers of his left hand mutting a prayer to Kelemvor , a large werepanther appears and attacks the large box in an attempt to push it into the ocean away from the town.

Spiritual Weapon: [1d20+7]=6+7=13, damage: [1d8+4]=7+4=11

[Belkregos]

Tommy, recognizing that the disturbance is coming from his team, addresses them again (mentally to Lesh and Ambergris).

"You old hook, let them be. If we attack now, whatever's in there will be released. Let's wait. They'll take it to the Upper City. The rich folk up there are better prepared to deal with whatever it is than the workers here."

[Computer +1]

A lot of things start happening at once and time seems to slow down in Yarl's head. He starts to mutter out loud hey, I know those guys... at the site of the cat the lizard and the pirate just as the ghost hand appears causing the box carrier to drop his end of the box. "Thats not good" is all he can think before Telurion moves forward and shouts out about it being a bomb.

Yarl takes a unconscious step back and braces for a rush of the mob of people fleeing. He doesn't know what to do....

[hedgeknight]

I just want to say, I really enjoyed your replies after my last group post. Fucking chaos at it's finest!

Before Telurion can speak or react, a ghostly hand suddenly appears behind one of the box carriers. Unnoticed by himself, or the ones in front of him, he only has a word of warning from the ones behind him, when the "hand" flips over and grabs him in the groin! He bellows like a cow and drops his end of the box, which cracks open a bit, spilling straw on the hard-packed street. While the man flops and rolls on the ground, cupping his balls, the Rats watching from the edge of the dock can see a glimmer inside the box; something large and shiny...and pulsing with power!

Hazm's statement has chilled Yarl to his bones and frozen his black tongue to the point where he keeps taking steps away from the conflict. Telurion, on the other hand, spurred perhaps by his conscience, dashes forward in an attempt to warn the mob.
"Get back! There is something! It might be a bomb!"

Tommy quickly realizes Ambergris is up to something and mentally tells him to stop! But, the aged captain, with layers of wax in his ears and a brain addicted to Jopalin's special tea, has other plans...as does Lesh.
The ghostly hand deftly cups the balls of the second box bearer, causing the man to drop the box to the street, and grab himself as he hops around, trying to get some relief.
While his comrades stare at the pair of box carriers with astonishment, a large spectral panther emerges from the fog and literally attacks the box! Pieces of the crate fly off it as the panther attempts to push it toward the harbor!

Telurion is rushing forward, waving his hands and shouting for the people to get back, while two of the procession are holding their genitals and a spectral panther is pushing the box toward the harbor.
Behind him, Tommy hears one of the townsfolk say, "This city has gone batshit crazy!"

"What the hell are you doing?" yells the priest in front. "We are heading for the Upper City and that is final!!"
The woman arguing with him continues, "That was not the plan! We were to...Who is that?" she points in the direction of Telurion. Then she notices the box on the ground, and the spectral panther, and the object inside pulsing with power.
So does the priest...who begins to cast a spell!

Actions!

[Rex]

Hazm

"The panther is pushing that box closer to us!"

She moves east to put some distance between herself and the box in case it explodes.