Chapter One - The Adventure Begins

Toe thrusts his rapier aimed at the pommel of the creature's shortsword attempting to disarm it.

With a tired and winded expression, Rand makes another soft lunge at the Skulk.

Jaqir pushes his hood back off his head, letting his eyes burn brightly with a guttural roar as he sends another blast of power outward, this time targeting the unarmed skulk.

Casting ray of frost as a fire spell, using my Bloodline Arcana. Ranged touch attack.
AC: 13 | HP: 9/9
F: 2/R: 3/W: 2 | DR: 5/fire
1st 5/5 (DC16/17)

Dracone, not happy with the thing jumping out of the way, decides to strike again. Raising his shield to protect him from his opponents weapon, he spins the flail twice before again taking a low swing at his legs.

"Yield fiend! Lest we make shish kabob (or whatever fantasy equivalent) out of you."

Fhenryl lets out a wild scream of anger as he sees the sun cleric's face contorting in pain as he's skewered by their opponent.
Grunting with rage and effort, the half-elven ranger takes a two-handed swing at the blue-skinned creature's face, putting in all his strength in a mighty sidewise blow.

Feeling his warm blood run from his rib down his leg, Rand can start to feel the cold creeping in, with a throbbing headache drowning out the noise of combat.

He staggering slightly, closes his eyes. A burst of dim sunlight explodes from Rand giving everyone a sense of warmth and energy.

As the skulk's sword clatters to the floor, Toe kicks it over the edge of the balcony to land on the rug below. He demands that the creature surrender. At that moment, Fhenryl lets out a guttural cry of rage and smashes the butt of his warhammer into the face of the second skulk, crushing its skull and killing it instantly. The creature's body slumps to the ground, lifeless. Toe pokes the tip of his sword into his foe, indicating that the same fate would soon befall him unless he surrenders. The skulk slowly puts his hands up, saying nothing but glaring coldly at Fhenryl with his piercing blue eyes. The dark creeper lets go of his weapon as well, putting his hands up from where he lay sprawled on the floor at the top of the stairs.

Keygan rushes through the curtain below and looks up to assess the fight. "It's over already? You guys are something. I just went to lock the front door. It's been less than 30 seconds! These creatures have been tormenting me for months."

His chest still heaving with fury, Fhenryl sustains the glare of the remaining skulk for just long enough to make his thoughts about the creature's chances of survival abundantly clear, while wiping his weapon slowly on the carcass of his dead partner. After giving Rand a quick look to make sure the godly man isn't bleeding out, he approaches the creeper in slow, measured steps.

He comes to a stop mere inches from the half-goat, and stares at him squarely in the face, saying nothing, glowering at the creature and looking very intently at his hoofed feet. Then back at the creeper's face. Then he abruptly head-butts the creeper square in the nose, smashing it in a spray of scarlet.

As the hoofed humanoid screams in surprise and pain and attempts to stop the bleeding, reaching out to the mess of what used to be its nose, the feral half-elven has already grabbed it by the throat and shoved the back of its head against the nearest wall.

His teeth clenched in a rictus of savage, yet cold fury, the ranger pushes his face right against the creeper and roars: "THE CHILDREN: WHERE ARE THEY? I know you took them , you cloven-footed, sorry excuse for a half-human being. You better speak. NOW !!!"

Toe, while still having his rapier trained on the skulk, asks aloud to his companions, "Does anyone have a length of rope with them to restrain these ne'er-do-wells?"

He turns his attention back to the skulk. He speaks in a gentle tone, "Now listen, I know you can understand me. You certainly understood enough to obey. And if you can understand Common, it's likely you can speak it. So speak while there's still chance to hold my friend here at bay." Toe nods towards Fhenryl "I don't know how much longer I can. As you can see, he's a bit... unhinged. Tell us all you know about this kidnapping operation, post-haste! We know you're all part of it."

" We should take them to the authorities as soon as we can."

Holding his side you hear Rand give a small prayer, his hand against his side begins to glow then fades.

It is very obvious that we need to make our way to this fortress as soon as possible. As Rand has stated, these criminals need to be turned over. The question I have though is one: Do we tell the Authorities everything we know and risk a mob of citizens going to free the children or two: do we inform them we have a lead and will investigate it and keep them posted. I personally think, if we withhold specifics, we will have a better chance of saving the children.