Adventure: Trouble at the Arena!

((Jacqueline's equipment sounds accurate, and she is wearing a strapless bra underneath the corset. Just a dress and undergarments doesn't seem like enough equipment for an adventure. I'll also say that she is wearing breeches and panties on her lower half now to avoid any confusion in the future.))

Sticking with her plan from earlier, Jacqueline turned invisible as soon as her face was clean. She figured Contessa wouldn't be much of a challenge by herself and would be much more compliant if thoroughly embarrassed, so the thief made her way back to the stands. She now had a use for her time until the first game ended.

((So, I was/am waiting on Alphalurker to follow up these posts. As usual I'm working through most of the weekend, but will probably have time later tonight (if not tomorrow night) to either make a post in this adventure (since T'Cryse isn't really in the thick of the fray just yet) or start something else like an arena fight or some Ripped Bodice RP))

I have your improved Ash. I think you'll approve.

((I approve heartily! I like the changes to her figure... And actually the choice of undergarment is quite nice. Excellent work as usual sir))

No problem! That's my best thong to work with--it's a little sporty...I guess that could be toned down 10%, but it has nice deformers to make it loose, falling, etc. I made her eyes bigger and her face more heart shaped, also younger, which means the features are a little more tightly grouped.

Hey, I just want to pop in and say that, after reading through this, this is a great adventure you guys have going! Looking forward to seeing where this plot takes things.

((Welcome back again phantom! I wanted to let everyone know my work schedule is kinda jacked up again -- I work again tonight and tomorrow. That said, I'm gonna try to post tonight and tomorrow since alpha lurker is MIA. Also, phantom, there's still room in the adventure if you wanna join in medias res))

Seeing the guard women chasing after Ruby, T'cryse unleashes a chill spell at the guard's metal equipment, specifically her breastplate and sword.

now the guard will have the hard choice of shivering with every step, or dropping the ice cold gear.

((sorry got super busy with things))

((I hear that! And certainly understand. In particular I'm very understanding if someone has to pop on solely for the purpose of letting people know where you are. Like right now, for instance. I'm leaving work and may or may not be able to follow up your post tonight. Tomorrow, as I've said, is practically assured. I'll try to get one in but this crazy ass schedule has me whooped))

I also finally got around to drawing T'cryse

Wow, that's beautiful. You have some talent there!

((!!!!!
I like this picture a lot!))

"What do you mean 'I've got it?'" Ashley yelled, wide eyed. She glanced towards Jacqueline and her jack slackened incredulously as the rogue shimmered from sight, becoming completely invisible. Cursing but putting on a determined scowl, the smith covered her mostly exposed backside with one hand and pointed her sword at Dalla.

"Fine, I can take this trash, just go secure Ruby," she said, resolute, as she and Dalla faced each other.

Meanwhile, Vella had more or less cornered Ruby in a very short amount of time. Ruby was backed against the wall of the arena pit, clutching at the vines desperately and trying to use them to climb out of it. With a red face but no real way to keep herself covered, her firm tits bounced up and down with each attempt to clamber up the wall. Vella smirked, with no preamble, going to tackle the barmaid around the waist. As she leaped at her, she visibly slowed in midair and gritted her teeth -- the reason was immediately obvious. A shimmering orb of frost briefly flickered around Ruby's frame, causing the guard to fall short of her.

Cursing the magical shield T'Cryse had placed on Ruby earlier, Vella got to her feet and clutched her sword tightly. Glancing up at the viewing sphere with confused frustration, it seemed like she hadn't quite pieced together the fact that the barrier was T'Cryse's doing, though. When she looked back at the girl, the protective field of ice flickered and melted away before her eyes, its magic spent. Smiling to herself, Vella raised her blade to this time slash right at the girl's skirt...

Int attack vs Vella
T'Cryse: 8+3=11
Vella:10=critical defense!

Vella stopped and turned as she heard aggressors approaching from behind. T'Cryse's frosty attack manifested as a thick cloud of cold mist around Vella's chest, which she swiftly dove out of. The frost seemed to coagulate and condense around the spot where Vella should've been, but seconds too late. She didn't succeed in freezing her breastplate, but she did draw attention away from Ruby.

"Oh, so you're all a bunch of do-gooders eh? Or maybe you just want the prize for yourself? No matter..." Vella said, gripping her blade and squaring off against T'Cryse. Not long after, Niniane came running up next to the exotic ice mage, jiggling and out of breath.

"And you brought the cow with you... Fine," Vella spat. "Fine, let's be done with this so I can have the girl for myself."

Elsewhere, Jacqueline saw that the fastest way to get to Contessa would be up the walls of the arena pit to the stands. With the vines and trellis, she figured it shouldn't be a problem at all for her to scale quickly.

Dex check vs. 5
4+3=7
Success

One thing she noticed about halfway up the wall was the lively, animated nature of the thorny little vines covering the place. Very suddenly, they began to writhe and lash out, attempting to latch onto Jacqueline's remaining clothing.

Dex check vs 7
7+3=10
Success

Decisively bringing up a dagger to make a few quick slashes, the rogue whacked aside the thorny vines before they could grab onto her fully. Vaulting up and over the wall at last, she surveyed the stands to see Contessa standing nearby, hands at her sides, still shivering and quite upset. In the distance Jacqueline thought she saw a few other figures in the alternate arena, people that were transported there like her, but they were too far away to make out exactly what they were doing. Some must've just been hiding, but she was pretty sure a pair of people in the distance were wrestling in the stands, in some reduced state of dress.

While the noble hadn't yet noticed her (she was quite stealthly) Jacqueline did notice that she'd lost her concentration on the invisibility spell during her scuffle with the vines. It would be possible to sneak up on her with regular ole' stealth, or she could bide her time and become completely invisible again.

Niniane watched the scene unfolding before her as she ran, by now, she also understood that the ice magic was T'Cryse's doing, and was glad to have the help. She arrived panting, out of breath from running, but still managed to glare back at Vella. "Cow?" she huffed, reaching into her satchel one more time, "If you think I'm a cow, I have a little cream for you!"

(Attack Str 6 attempt to stun/blind Vella with a pie in the face. It's her best chance, as Vella is still pretty much fully equipped, and she can give 2 people (maybe 3 if Ruby does more than run away) an attack without being attacked back if successful.)

Jacqueline was startled by the living vines, but she was able to take care of them easily enough. Once she noticed that her invisibility was broken, she decided that she didn't really need it. Even if Contessa noticed her, the thief figured she could easily overpower the noblewoman.

Since Contessa was obviously very protective of her chain, it would be easiest to retrieve if she were in a less resistant position. Jacqueline decided to strip her, starting with the dress. Readying her knives, she sneaked towards her target.

T'cryse gasps as the guard turns her attention. seeing the guard easily dodge her spell weaken's the Ice mage's confidence, and T'cryse regrets angering such a fierce individual

"I'm so sorry miss! I wish we didn't have to fight like this." T'cryse muttered more for her own benefit than her opponents.

in hopes of keeping her distance from Vella, T'cryse cast conjured a patch of ice under the angry guard, combined with the splat of Niniane's pie T'cryse hoped this would send the guard tumbling to the ground.

T'cryse also backed away in the hope that she wouldn't be the target of attack if the spells failed

Initiative:
Jacqueline 8+3=11
Niniane: 10-1=9
Vella:7+1=8
T'Cryse: 6+0=6

Vella frowned with disdain as the unlikely pair of heroines approached her. Leveling her sword in their direction, she said in a confident voice, "This is your last warning you freaks. Back off now and I won't have to-"

Niniane Str attack vs. vella
Niniane: 4+1
Vella: 4+1
Tie! Rerolling
Niniane:10
Vella:8+1
Critical hit!

Niniane's pie hit her in the face very suddenly. The force of it nearly took her off her feet, and she sputtered for a moment as she wiped the cream from her face. T'Cryse had a golden opportunity to trip her up in that moment...

T'Cryse:8+3=11
Vella: 6+2=8
Success!

Vella stumbled about blindly, unable to really clear all the creamy frosting from her face. Very suddenly, the sand beneath her feet got slick, covered in a fine layer of moist ice. The result was instant and comical as her feet went out from under her, the slipping noise clearly audible. With a clang she landed on her butt, pie dripping from her face and very disoriented. Ruby was watching with a confused but hopeful look as the pair of women seemed to have come to her aid. She stopped trying to scramble up the wall, for now.

Jacqueline:4+3=7
Contessa: 7+0=7
Tie goes to the higher modifier!

Meanwhile... Jacqueline stalked right up behind her target and placed the dagger against her dress, aiming to finish what she'd started. Hooking the dagger under the remaining fabric, she made a little flick of the wrist, and Contessa's already damaged dress came free. It took her a moment to realize -- her angrily shaking fists were pointed straight down at her sides, so the damp dress peeled away from her body and fell to the ground very swiftly. She threw a hand over her small, pert breasts, her taut pink nipples stiff in the cool air, and shrieked as she turned towards her attacker.

"Y-You again!? What have you done with my guards...? Help meee!" she shouted, clutching her other hand over her only remaining garment. She had pulled her panties back up at some point, but the belly chain still seemed snagged on them, incidentally.

"Look... I don't know what you want with me, but I'm sure we can come to some sort of arrangement!" Contessa blurted, blushing desperately and glancing around for any possible source of help. Jacqueline noted, up above, the viewing sphere was displaying the helpless, shivering Contessa in little more than her shoes and panties. It hadn't made any declarations or announcements in a moment, though...

(Hmmm, I'm not certain what the grappling rules are...can Niniane attempt to pin her and let T'Cryse finish her off?  Does it only last one round if she does?  Because that's not useful.  I'll assume grappling isn't useful here (we'd need a rule for submission holds or something that could disable her for longer than one round that she's already stunned for) I'll attack normally)

Niniane laughed heartily as she and T'Cryse double-teamed the bullying guard.  While Vella was lying on her butt, in utter shock at what had just happened, spitting pie from her mouth and rubbing her eyes, Niniane noticed that her legs being outstretched as they were made an easy target.  Stepping slightly to the side to try to avoid any blindly-flailing kicks, she aimed her knife at the belt holding her armored skirt together.

"Picking on the tavern girl, hmmm?  I know your type.  But who's laughing now?"
(Str attack 6 skirt)

((basically, how it would work in this situation is you'd make a str v str attack to establish a grapple on her. If successful, she can only attempt to escape or make maneuvers within the grapple. On the turn after you grapple her, you too can make another attack or 'maneuver' to either pin or strip her. Pinning her has the advantage of keeping her vulnerable to other attacks and keeping her locked up. Definitely a good team work ability, or good at pushing your advantage if you're a strength character. I probably just made most of that up and there might be balance problems with it favoring certain characters, but for the purposes of using it against npcs i see no problem with a temporary version of grappling, should you decide to use it.))

(I'll go with the normal attack...I assume from her size she's pretty strong...but it was definitely an idea when someone's down, and it's good we got clarification on that for the future. Renders of this part of the battle coming soon. Renders will catch up with Jacqueline and Contessa later, they're kinda in their own scene.)

T'cryse cannot help but laugh at the perfect re-enactment of classic comedy. "The jesters of my homeland could not do better!"

Eager to take advantage of her success T'cryse lets lose another freezinf charm, this one to freeze Vella's skirt (and quite possibly her panties) solid to the frozen ground under the guard

As always, more on the site.  Also, T'Cryse is totally in the shots...but I need to figure out the forum width so the edges don't get cut off.

Jacqueline figured that she didn't really need to strip Contessa; she just needed the chain. So, the thief attempted to barter. "All I need from you is that chain," she said matter-of-factly, pointing to the magical item in question, "so if you just give me that, I can be on my way."

While she was saying this, she was preparing knives to attack on the chance that Contessa wasn't willing to acquiesce in her request.

((None of the villainous NPCs really act this round, so it should be pretty straightforward and simple... I may continue to forgo the initiative order for narrative sake in such cases, be warned.  The villains are rolling like crap, btw, lol, which is good since this could turn out to be a long adventure and the PCs will need all the clothing they can hold onto.))

Niniane str vs. Vella
Niniane: 8+1=9
Vella: 6+1=7

T'Cryse int vs. Vella
T'Cryse: 8+3=11
Vella: 6+2=8
Successes! Enough damage to her skirt.

"Oh, you dirty bitches," Vella growled, attempting to pick herself up from the ground and occasionally wiping some of the pie from her face.  Her eyes widened visibly from within the remaining cream as she felt the swiping of the knife along her hip.  Simultaneous to that, there was a nearly audible tinkling in the air as the frost magic coalesced around her waist.  With a brief but clear look of apprehension on her face that seemed to say "err, should I stop moving?" Vella paused, braced herself, and her feet abruptly went out from under her.

A 'crack' sound rang out through the area as Vella's now frozen skirt hit the ground.  Niniane's blade had cut the strap on the side, and the frost magic had frozen the garment solid.  The result was that it was weak enough to shatter off of her entirely when her butt hit the ground again.  She let out an "oof" and seemed dimly aware that instead of a skirt she was covered in tiny chunks of ice below the waist.  Her pale, lacy blue panties shone in the moonlight.  On wobbly legs she attempted to get up one more time from the ice and the mess.

Up in the stands, Contessa was indeed seeming hesitant.  Her hands protectively clutched her narrow hips, pressing the chain against her fair skin tightly.  She shivered gently and fixed the rogue with a pouty look.

"So that's what this is all about? This chain is far too valuable and far too special to me..!  Do... do you even know what this does?  It has magic powers!  It-it... it will smite anyone who-Eeep!" she shrieked suddenly, as Contessa slashed out at her.  Her bluff was flimsy, and the rogue knew it.  Figuring she'd be more pliant without her clothing, her next strike was aimed at her only remaining garment.

Jacqueline Dex vs Contessa
Jacqueline: 5+3=8
Contessa: 1
Critical Defense Failure!

Jacqueline deftly wrapped the flat of her blade up in the waistband of Contessa's thong.  With a little jerk, she felt the material bunch up in the girl's crotch dangerously, and the silky fabric began to tear slowly.

"Ahh!" she squealed, standing on her tip toes.  Her hands went to her thong, trying to relieve some of the pressure by pulling back on it, only to have it stretch and tear further.  "Wait, nooo!" she cried with desperation as she stumbled back, the thong biting into her crotch some -- a bit of her nether lips and light blond bush visible now.  Somehow the blade remained twisted up in the waistband, waiting for Jacqueline to merely flick her wrist if she deemed it necessary.

"Okay! Okay!" she cried, her hands back on the belly chain now.  "Just... don't strip me," she whimpered.  Sniffling and hanging her head, it was hard to tell if she was overplaying her discomfort or not.

Jacqueline was somewhat relieved that she didn't have to strip Contessa, but she did her best not to let it show. The thief removed her knife from the thong, trying not to damage the garment as she went. As she waited for the noblewoman to hand over the chain, she inquired, "What does this chain do, anyway?"