Kobolds: Plan of Attack
Log Info
- Title: Kobolds: Plan of Attack
- Emitter: Cryosanthia
- Characters: Aryia, Jinks, Randolf, Seyardu
- Place: A03: The TarRaCe
- Time: Sunday, October 17, 2021, 2:24 PM
- Summary: Some of the cave-diving adventurers meet with the adventurers they rescued at the Tarrace. The Explorer's Guild has withdrawn support, continuing will be unsanction, but who you gonna call, the guards? Nanjusha and Endril have recovered from their experiences, Loci, local kobold guide, sneaks into Alexandria disguised as a gnome. Aryia, Seyardu, Jinks and Randolf meet with them. They go over what they've been able to find, Nanjusha and Endril provide their experiences with the Sith'Makar Black Rose Knight, and the Witch-Queen, who is not a reincarnated Altima, but simply one who likes the title. Also a kobold. Nanjusha explains that she and Ace were hostages to force Qio's cooperation, to make magic items for the Witch-Queen. The dragon holds Ace. The Dark Rider shows up at the kobold training camp and also attacks along the Eldwyn road. They decide to do some follow up, but go for ambushing the road ambush.
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Appearing, in Order =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Aryia 4'8" 110 Lb Shadow Elf Female A heavily scarred mul with a resolved look about her. Jinks 3'4" 39 Lb Gnome Male A gnomish fellow in fancy garb and jewelry. Randolf 4'10" 280 Lb Mountain Dwarf Male A burly, well-dressed Khazad in wizardly robes. Seyardu 5'6" 150 Lb Sith-Makar Female A friendly silver sith-makar with a perpetual squint. -=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=- -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= NPCs of Note -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Endril Human Male A rescued adventurer, fighter. Nanjusha Tifa Human Female A rescued adventurer, ranger / rogue. Loci Kobold Female A garter kobold warrior disguised as a gnome. -=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--= -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= As the GM =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Cryosanthia 6'9" 291 Lb Sith-Makar Female A dashingly tall, elegant white-scaled lizard woman. -=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=
The adventurers were last seen in a cold, dark, underwater cavern. Disguised as kobolds, under illusion spells to look like kobolds, or actually being kobolds, helped. A little. Especially the ones who were actually kobolds at the time, it made it easier crawling through water-filled, freezing passages that had names like 'headbumper' and 'more knees please'. They weren't likely to get stuck.
The less said about shoving a well padded, human-sized Dax-bold through the tiny crevasses, the better.
It wasn't easy-going for the rescued human prisoner either. All told though, everyone might have suffered a moment of panic in the cold...
In the dark...
feeling the weight of rock pressing down... pressing against...
Water... everywhere. One failing spell away from drowning, plugging the passageway and entombing everyone else in the depths.
The adventurers pushed through, and the disguises helped. A little misdirection, a little truth, 'there are humans disguised as kobolds!' which the pursuing kobolds would gladly confirm, bought an escape. The garter kobolds may be poking noses and pulling tails for many weeks to come.
Many weeks was how long it took Nanjusha to recover from her ordeal. Things happened in Alexandria and it wasn't clear what the next steps would be. She, and Enril were recovering in the Temples, and when the Temples closed were judged 'recovered enough' and set loose.
They looked around to find their rescuers and discuss with them the next steps, as well as getting their two other party members back. It's been... months. The Explorer's guild had marked the mission as 'pending completion', but with the change in attitude towards adventurers, it's stamped as 'complete'. Two rescued, two lost. They can't devote resources to rescuing failed members when there are noble homes to be rebuilt. Good Enough.
Properly completed or not, spending time in the wilderness is sounding a whole lot better. Kobolds aren't demons, after all.
Even if they can be a little slimy.
Tracking down the folk that pulled the two souls out of that hell hole was going to be easier said than done.
That is, until a major cultural hub of the city locked down. And the Explorer's Guild was becoming vilified. So where do adventurers go then? That's right.
Back to their roots.
The TarRaCe was having another busy day, half with patrons, the other half with worshippers. A section is roped off to separate the two, and both sides mingle fairly often due to the gods practiced there.
Escaping the chilly air and damp outside was that of a scarred mul'neissa woman in a verdant green jacket, a few buckles dangling from where they should fasten it closed together. She's sitting at a table, looking pensive, lips quirked off to the side and tapping a pen against an open journal with another book open next to her.
Jinks occupies a table upstairs, slouched down into a chair with the back supporting the base of his skull. One of his legs is kicked over the chair arm and a squat glass balances precariously on his opposite thigh, held in a loose grip. A green glass bottle lies empty and on its side atop the table, joined with a bell-shaped brother drained down to its last third of amber-colored spirits.
Eyes closed and mouth agape, the gnome likely snores-- but this far away the sound is lost in the quiet din of the pre-rush afternoon clientele. Someone's tried to drape a blanket over him but it's fallen, crumpled, to the ground in his shifting attempts to get comfortable.
Inside, far away from the baths, sit two humans at a table. They wear gear which marks them as adventurers and have that flirtatious yet hostile manner which suggests they might be bickering lovers, but are far more likely to be forced together by circumstance and working through whether they will or they won't. One, the woman, is instantly recognizable as Nanjusha, the prisoner of the water cave. The other, the man, is harder to recognize with all his pieces restored and a full suit of armour. It's Enril, the fighter, from the cage. Not a cage fighter.
They have drinks, and food, and a plate of apetizers. Their table looks inviting and they are inviting their rescuers to it.
Randolf can be found on the patron side of the TarRaCe, rather than the religious side. He's a devout Reosite, but he's come to really quite enjoy the food served here. The remnants of one such meal is scattered on the table before him--a dinner plate with a few crumbs and a greasy bone stripped clean, a bowl emptied of its contents and the spoon resting within, and his third mug of dark lager. He settles back in his seat, conjuring a spark of flame to get his pipe fired up, patting his hefty middle as he sighs contentedly around a billow of sweet vanilla-honey pipe smoke. "Och, delicious as always," he says with a cheerful smile to his server. Glancing over across the way, he spies Aryia and Jinks. "Oh! Hello, Aryia. Jinks. All right?" he calls. He's in a noticeably more buoyant mood than the last time they saw him. The lack of rain soaking him from tip to toe might be a factor in that.
Seyardu was one of many who frequented the Tarrace. She was already situated at a table, with a plate of bread and meats in front of her. She turns and waves over Aryia, and the dwarf she recognizes. though she does not linger, as her plate is scooped up, and she goes to investigate the table with a wave to those present. "Good evening, I hope you are all doing well this day."
"Hey, get up." An unsympathetic voice says, shaking Jinks gently. The blanket is pulled away and the gnome made to sit up. "Drink this."
It's a glass of amber liquid. "It's apple juice." The woman holding it is dangerously attractive, very dangerous. She isn't smiling, "Your friends are calling for you downstairs. I don't want people looking around up here. Go down. I have to get back to guarding Sabina's lingerie drawer."
Aryia, already at the table with the rescued folk, slides over her journal to the two.
"I hope you both have been recovering okay, all things considered."
Compared to last time when the two saw her, the mute woman looked far more composed and confident about herself. And if rumors were true, far more capable.
She gives a wave to Seyardu, as well as to Randolf.
"Much better." Nanjusha says, reading Aryia's not first, smiling at Seyardu, then answering both. "We wanted to thank you." Enril nods, adding, "and see about getting Aseaecrnoss and Qiolveylraed back." His hands flip through a few quick gestures, glancing at his partner, "We know handsign."
"And complete each other's sentences." Nanjusha signs. They make a cute couple. <handsign>
Jinks has that confused, slightly offended look of someone both roused unexpectedly and unsure of where they are. A clatter draws his gaze from Rupi to the floor, the forgotten glass having dropped down from his lap. Then he's standing at the gentle insistence of Sabina's... devotee and accepting the glass of juice. "What time is it?" He groans, looking at the tall, unhelpful windows.
Sounds of complaint herald the gnome's descent down the stairs. His face is a grimace and he looks at the juice in the glass as if he's been poisoned. "... not even a cider."
Randolf looks up as Seyardu arrives, and he lifts his hand to toss the silverscale a wave. "Oy, Sey! Peace on yer nest!" he booms cheerfully. He turns his gaze back to Aryia and her companions. Seeing the handspeech flicking back and forth, he perks a bushy red brow. Tucking his pipe in the side of his mouth, he draws his wand off his belt, giving it a quick flick. "Re ex re usara especho!" he incants. A gauzy band of blue light lazily drifts out from around his head, rather like a smoke ring from his pipe, fading out of view with a shimmery sparkle.
He hops to his feet, lumbering over to their table. "Well met," he says to Nanjusha and Enril, reaching up to take the pipe from his mouth. "Randolf Axepeak o' the Clan Axepeak. Student o' wizardry here at the university. Did I hear ye say ye've got comrades in need o' rescuin'?" Jinks is given a glance and a wry chuckle. He flicks his wand in the gnome's direction. "Re ex re io prestos!" Shimmery golden sparkles percolate like fizz in the gnome's juice. "Try it now," he says, puffing up his burly chest with a hint of dwarven pride. Sure enough, should Jinks sample the magicked beverge, it will indeed taste like a very fine cider. "It's just the flavor, but it'll do in a pinch. Nothin' worse than bein' caught out in the wild wi'out any reliable source o' booze." Because of -course- the dwarf considers things like booze sources in his wilderness adventuring.
Seyardu smiles back, which perhaps was not the most settling of things. But the sentiment was there.
"This is good, but your thanks is not necessary." She replies. "That you are doing better is good enough. But ah, yes, if that is what this about, we could see about how we can help further."
"Peace on your nest, Randolf." She replies. "I hope the day finds you well enough."
The minstel stands there, rode hard and put away wet. His eyes narrow and his nostrils flare when Randolf has a go at the drink-- he holds the glass delicately, with two fingers, and looks like he might just set it down on a table to be forgotten. But then he realizes he's already likely poisoned-- Rupi hasn't ever been a fan-- and decides to endure the difference between penny and pound. He still wrinkles his nose but he doesn't gag. Maybe that's tacit approval.
The unfamiliar duo earn an inquiring look. His pace slows a bit as he considers Enril. A hint of recognition conjures a low, rumbling belch of complaint hardly stifled by sealed lips and a quick fist. Jinks pales and stumbles towards the bar, pushing a chair out of the way so roughly it topples, his torso lurches and he finds the mopping bucket just in time to drop to his knees and surrender last night's bounty up in defiance of gravity.
A look of relief crosses Aryia's visage. "Oh thank fuck that makes my life ten times easier," she crudely motions, shoving her writing implements away and leaning back. "Glad you two are doing better."
Her expression turns more serious. "Right. Do you have more information on where we can find them? I've been meaning to get back to helping with that, but shit's been fucked for all recently."
A glance is stolen towards the heaving gnome. Her white brows pinch in concern. "... do you need a healer? Or a... therapist?" Aryia motions slowly, unsure of the last word, as it was only noted in passing. <Handspeech>
GAME: Cryosanthia rolls 1d20+12: (13)+12: 25 (Loci Stealth) GAME: Cryosanthia rolls 1d20-3: (10)+-3: 7 (Loci disguise as Gnome) GAME: Aryia rolls perception: (8)+22: 30 GAME: Randolf rolls Perception: (3)+5: 8 GAME: Jinks rolls Perception: (14)+7: 21
The Mul'niessa had been seeking some other ways to get to Sunken Hope, as the previous methods of going through a valley or underwater caverns weren't ideal. She got some results, three references. A Road Map a map of Bright Hope before it fell into the sinkhole, and a sailor's map of the waterways.
The road map shows straight lines with slashes showing turn offs. These are evenly spaced but the distances are written between them, and suggest that they are not. Roadmaps are useful on roads, and not much off them.
The waterways map seems the most useful of the three. All the details are in the water, usually relating to depths and underwater hazards. Landmarks are noted, but often only in the sense of mountain peaks or their profiles as visible from a boat.
The mute scratches her head before snapping her fingers, a hand pulling out an old journal and yanking free a few folded pieces of parchment. She slides it over to Nanjusha. "Can you understand these? Been trying to find a way in but I'm dog shit at reading these."
The smaller woman looks up at the duo with wide, glowing eyes, ears pinned against the side of her head with a pleading look about her.
She's kind of terrible at pulling that face off, to be completely honest. Looking more snarky than cute. <Handspeech>
"Well, I have some idea. I can tell you how things were when you rescued me." Nanjusha says, glancing sideways at Endril. He's watching Jinks throw up, and asks something similar to Aryia's signs, "You okay there little man?"
Nanjusha, the ranger, looks over the maps. She snorts at the roadmap, "Well this is useful if we want to ride up."
The map of the town, before it's submersion accident gets a longer perusal. Her mouth frowns into a straight line, "Well... the church, yes, that's still there. Some of these buildings... most of them collapsed. They have used a few for foundations."
She taps at the sailing map, "this one, this is useful. At least the land layout is shown."
Another gnome pops up suddenly at the table. A surprise to some, she was notable to others as an odd looking adventurer making her way through the worshipers. They usually don't go about town with a full backpack, especially one that has a dangling bedroll. Chainmail armour is common enough, but... anything longer than a quick glance and it's obvious. She's in a terrible disguise.
It's not as terrible as a trenchcoat, but it's pretty obvious she's a kobold, disguised as a gnome. No amount of foundation can disguise those scales. She also has no idea how to put on lipstick, or mascera. Eyelashes are painted on. Paper Mache ears are stuck on the side of her head. Her hair is straw coloured, because it's straw.
Nanjusha and Endril tense, perhaps Jinks isn't the only one that gets twitchy around kobolds.
"Ahhh... you're... one of the friendly ones, right?"
"I'm Loci," Loci says.
"Good days. Bad days." Jinks waves at Aryia, returning from dumping the bucket outside and giving it a good prestidigitizing. The shoulders of his coat are dotted wet from the rain as he passes to return the wooden plate from whence it came. He's making a point not to look at Enril. Just in case.
A few copper on the bar buys the gnome a draught of alchemist's soother-- fizzy water-- and cold rolls leftover from the midday deal. He sets the plate and glass down at the neighboring table, his back to the rescued-and-restored adventurer. "Long night keeping an eye out for Sabina."
The one boon of his being out of sorts? Jinks doesn't have the presence of mind to take offense at Loci's disguise. Turnaround remains in fair play today. <handspeech>
"Jinks, if you are throwing up, you should be drinking water than anything else." Seyardu advises. Then she turns her attention to the kobild, whi she waves to. "Loci! peace on your nest, it is good to see you this day. I hope that things have been alright of late. Have the caverns been drained yet?"
Then she turns to Randolf. "And you? Have you been alright since I saw you last? You got hurt fairly badly, but you should be alright now."
Randolf can't resist a good map. Maps are written things, and wizards -love- written things! He leans over to peer at the map as it's passed over to Nanjusha, his shaggy brows drooping low over his eyes as they furrow in concentration. Of course, he can't really make heads or tails of the lines and curves, but the ranger says the words 'sailing map'. That's enough to make the burly dwarf draw back with a distasteful scowl. "Faugh. -Water-. I dinnae care fer water. Fish fuck in it," he grumbles. He glances over at Jinks with a wince as the gnome upchucks in the bucket, but he sees that the minstrel has things in hand. Loci's sudden appearance has him startling back. "Gyah!" He claps a hand to his chest, scowling at the kobold-gnome. "Reos' bloody blue -balls-, dinnae creep up on folk like that!"
He harruphs, giving the lapels of his robe a tug to compose himself. He looks back over to Sey, nodding his head. "Aye, thanks tae you, missus. Yer healin' magicks patched me up right as rain!" He looks back to the assembled group, then down at the map. "Is -this- where yer friends were last seen, then?" Again, he scowls. "Bright Hope. That place is a nasty, soggy, squelchy mudhole now, innit?" He sighs heavily. "I remember bein' nice an' dry. It was -lovely-." He pulls heavily at his pipe, letting loose a billow of smoke with a gusty sigh. "Right. When do we leave?" For despite his distaste at--well, -everything- about this, really--he's a good man at heart, and isn't one to shirk from do-gooding when needs must.
"A little," Loci shakes her head at Seyardu, one ear coming loose and hanging down. She pushes it back into place. "An underwater entrance is a good barrier for the nest, so it's mostly only been re-arranged."
The gnome-bold hunches when Randolf chastizes her, "Sorry sir."
"I'll start Nanj, I've got less to talk about." Endril interrupts, attempting to answer Aryia. He sits up. His helmet, a plate helmet is beside his goblet. His head juts out of the gleaming armour, framed by the neck guard, humanizing his otherwise full metal presence. He takes a drink, a long one. Perhaps not the only one that needs some steel or to forget.
"The Dark Rider pretends to be an honourable Knight, but isn't. That symbol of hers, the Black Rose, that's an order of Knights that bring back the restless dead." He takes a long guzzle, "She played a game. Pretended she'd let me go if we had an honourable duel. Anyhow, you know how that ended."
"Right." Nanjusha says, nodding to Endril, then Randolf, "It's a Kobold lair, now. Hers," she points at Loci, "Well, she's an exile. There's some kind of civil war going on, between their Witch-Queen and her friends. On the Witch-Queen's side is a dragon, and a Knight, and I suspect Qiolveylraed."
"What?!" Endril stares at Nanjusha, "Why didn't you say something."
The woman shrugs, "Because you'd react like this, and I wasn't sure." She looks to the rest, "the Witch-Queen was holding me hostage so Qio would make magic items for her." There's a slow glance at Aryia, "No offense meant, but Qio's... always kind of been pretty easy going, loyalty wise. He's a Mul, from an important family... and..."
"'Oh well! Guess I'm crafting magic items now! Totally against my will. Whatever will I do?'" Endril sneers.
GAME: Jinks rolls Disguise+10: (10)+13+10: 33
Aryia blinks as Loci pops up, but she gives a little wave in greeting. Was good to see them. At least now they could have some current happenings be spoken of.
She gives Randolf a long, long look. "And people fuck on the land, yet you still stand on it," the mul'neissa sailor snips back with her hands, a slight smirk cresting her lips.
Her attention goes back to the task at hand, snowy brows pinched together as the duo explains further. One of them grows higher at the woman's warning. The mute shrugs, and motions, "That tracks." She didn't hold her kind in high regards, it seemed. <Handspeech>
Something has changed. At some point when folk weren't paying attention Jinks was replaced by a very Loci-looking blue kobold. The degrading, racist lens removed from a gnome's interpretation on this most recent adaptation. Faux-Loci sips the fizzy water and nibbles the cold rolls, taking it easy. Trying to sooth his stomach.
"The small bit of good news is that this 'Witch Queen' is not THE Witch Queen. Altima is still dead." Taloned fingers turn over the roll as the small lizardman chews. "One gods damned problem stays dead, at least." <draconic>
"I do not think Aryia will take offense to that." Seyardu sighs. "They, if you are gone though, that leaves the question of what leaves them there. Perhaps they do not care their actions will make it more difficult to rescue people."
"Ender," Nanjusha says, glancing at her companion, "to be fair, I was being held as a hostage and the dragon took Aseaecrnoss, and all four of us together couldn't beat them. Qio is probably biding his time, waiting for the guild to send a rescue party."
She stabs a piece of meat, "Which isn't happening now, for _reasons_."
"Well if we're lucky his obsession with his craft won't turn into masterwork magic for them." Endril grumbles, "I guess waiting and hoping was a strategy."
Enduring worked for him, and he grew stronger!
Loci knocks of the glass that was on the way to the appetizer tray when she sees a blue version of herself. She stares at Jinks, jaw dropped, looking even less like a gnome, although, a little more like a goblin. "That's amazing! Can you show me how to do that?" She's interested in either a proper disguise or makeup tips, perhaps both.
"So," Nanjusha says, tapping places on the map, "We have Qio and the Witch-Queen in the Cathedral, Ace and the Dragon on the Island, and the Knight and the Training camp on the cliff. And Kobolds everywhere." More appearing at this very table before one's eyes.
"Um... ma'am-sir," Loci taps the road-map, "the Knight has been showing up here, attacking travellers. No one wants to fight her. Because if you die, she brings you back. I've seen some of my friends... as her dead troops... it's... I really don't want to die like that. We all kind of run away if she shows up now."
Randolf scowls at Aryia as she makes that particular point. And damn his logical mind, he can't argue with it. So he settles for harrumphing and puff-puffing at his pipe, rather than attempting a refutation. Instead, he turns his attention to the discussion at hand. He looks over the map again, shaggy brows once again furrowed in his -thinking- look. "Hrrm." Puff puff. "Well. I'm nae ashamed to admit that my magic is still undeveloped. I cannae even manage Third Circle spells yet. But... I think I could raise some hell fer a knight an' a trainin' camp. Fire works -wonders- 'gainst deadwalkers." He looks back up at the gathering. "Might could be we raise a big enough ruckus at the camp, an' it'd be enough of a distraction that we can send some others tae get yer people back."
The new kobold makes Aryia blink a few times, her looking between them and Loci, brows knitted together. Did... another one of the clan come too? Further words shared make her smack her forehead. Yes. That made sense. Of course it was Jinks, even though she hadn't a lick of an idea of what was being spoken of.
A bit of a triumphant grin is shot towards Randolf at him pouting. Score: 1 - Aryia, 0 - Mages. No one was keeping track but her.
Back to the topic at hand, she rubs her chin. "If the mul'neissa is biding his time, then he's probably still thinking you're still captured. A smart person wouldn't say their bargaining chip was lost." There's the Charn in her. "Maybe if we can get to him to let him know, he can get out easily."
She pats Randolf on the shoulder. "Maybe we can, but last time we were there, there was a fuck load of kobolds and that rider was terrifying. I'm more confident now, but we don't have the numbers to deal with that." <Handspeech>
"The dragon was quick to arrive when the camp raised its alarm and the knight made pursuit." Jinks remarks, his form shifting again as the magic spirals around his form in clockwise tendrils, then back again in the opposite direction. His solid-black eyes aren't red-rimmed and a bit of the color has returned to his face, the wrinkles are out of his clothes. Either it's another illusion or there's something amazing about those biscuits. "The blackrose Sith sounds the best target if he's pulled away from their staging area and isolated himself. Far better than a kobold witch queen or a dragon, each surrounded by their soldiers and sycophants."
"There is no reason to engage in honourable combat with an undead summoning knight." Seyardu shrugs. "They should be slain so they cause no more trouble. If that requires ambushes or traps, so be it."
Seyardu sighs. "We cannot take all of their forces at once. But our focus should be on rescuing first."
"Right." Endril points at Aryia, "She wouldn't tell him, he wouldn't know, and Ace is still hostage with the dragon. Nanj, any idea what the dragon is doing with her?"
The ranger shakes her head.
"The dragon is building a castle on the island," Loci says, fascinated by Jinks' change from kobold to gnome, "Well, we're building it. The dragon is watching it go up. There's a cave and I guess he wants a castle too."
She nods at further observations, her helmet falling forward and scraping a line of makeup off. Now she's a gnome with a scale-condition on her immense nose. "The ... deadwalkers aren't at the camp, but show up with the rider at the road. You'll still have soldiers... just... undead ones."
Begging the question, which make better troops, live or reanimated kobolds?
Nanjusha doesn't address that unknown, instead answering Seyardu, "I agree, but I'll defer, as your organization seems better than ours. It would seem there are four tasks, we can split up and do some or all simultaneously, or choose an order of attack, and some are better than others." She looks at Loci, "Are the exiles going to help?"
"A little..." Loci says quietly.
Jinks sets the biscuit down, sips the tonic water, and turns to full-face the table. His jaw goes tight when he considers Endril again-- is it the gnome's imagination or are the man's lips less tan where they had to be regenerated? "A counterpoint."
Taking a deep breath, he holds a hand out with one finger up. "We make a prelude of the knight while he's vulnerable. Before he can rejoin his allies." He glances from Seyardu, to Aryia. This is certainly more tactful than his previous approach of 'this is how we NEED to do it. "The two needing rescue have kept this long. Months. We know where they are. If we can eliminate the blackrose Sith it might destabilize the staging grounds and we don't risk him cutting off our exit when we make our escape with your comrades." Now he's looking at Nanjusha and Endril.
Aryia holds up a hand, about to pitch in a suggestion, but it stops short when the small-man pitches his point. Said hand alters course to rest on her chin, and she thinks critically.
Damn. Jinks was right.
Fingers flex and twist to set her chip down on the options presented. "... yes. We need to do that first. How would we go about doing that, then? I'm not sure how we can get the Knight by themselves." <Handspeech>
Randolf doesn't seem bothered by the image-shifting of Jinks. That's a typical Monday morning in Retransfigurations and Introductory Illusionary Studies for him. He glances around, quiet except for his soft 'puff puff' sounds he makes. He may be a brilliant genius when it comes to the fields of arcanima, but he's no military strategist. Jinks' logic does seem to be sound, and he nods his head. "Aye, that sounds firm," he says. "So the question now becomes... how do we -do- it? If we kick the door in an' go in swingin', we'll have the whole damned camp on us, I'll warrant."
He droops a little bit at the thought. Dwarves -do- so love kicking in doors and going in swinging. "But if we manage tae creep up on 'em an' hit hard an' -fast-... might could be we can keep 'em off kilter long enough tae take this knight down." He looks over to Aryia, headtilting thoughtfully. "Could we find some way tae lure 'im out in the swamp, maybe? Get 'im chasin' after us? Should be pease porridge tae deal with 'im if we can manage that."
"According to Loci, the knight is the most direct threat to the new colony at moment." Seyardu seems to agree. "Strange how the town guard hasn't done anything about them, though perhaps the leftenant is being as useless as ever and outsourcing this work. Or did not bother to read reports properly."
Seyardu grumbles somewhat and shakes her head. "If they are mounted, we could catch them off guard, dispatch their mount while they are not ready and go from there."
"We're travelers. The exiles takes us to where the blackrose is ambushing folk on the road. The Khazad burns the undead while Seyardu drowns them in divine wrath. Aryia punches the evil sith really, really hard." And Jinks makes sure everyone does what they normally do a little better. "From the kobold's description it sounds like the knight is out looking for a fight."
"Well... she pretends to be honourable." Endril growls, "She promised to spare my companions if I fought her in an honourable duel, and even my life. And she did. Of course her idea of honourable was chasing me around the swamp on her swiftclaw while I was in full armour, then letting the kobolds eat me alive after."
"So, there's some pretense."
Loci the gnome shrinks smaller in her seat. A hand that's far too ugly even if it has painted claw-nails and a lot of glitter taps at the map. "The Dark Rider attacks caravans along here, with her undead troops when she isn't at the camp." She's hiding almost completely under her helmet. "Maybe someone could challenge her...?"
"Might work." Endril says, "Might work better if it wasn't me or Nanj, she's already fought us. We've got her number. Us asking for an honour duel might tip her off."
"I can mark ambush points for the road." Loci suggests.
Nanjusha sprays her tea out of her nose. "Town guard. Good one."
Aryia uncomfortably shifts the mention of Endril being eaten. Yeah. It was still a sore spot. But she bobs her head, taking in Jinks's suggestions. They did bring up a good point. Oddly, they were rather well composed to deal with undead.
Glowing eyes glance to the ambush points on the map. A hidden tension in her frame makes her signs hesitate before committing. "I can..." A pause, a gulp, then resume, more firm. "I can do it. Take them on if others work on the undead. It's hard to get away from me." <Handspeech>
"The knight is pretending to look for a fight." Seyardu notes. "Chasing someone around is not a fight. If they come with their undead, perhaps this once could clear many of them out quickly with their magic."
"Perhaps this one could speak to one of the cavaliers they know, dame Faranmidahn or Paenitia, or some others from the chapter houses. If any know the weaknesses to avoid for mounted combat, it would be those engaging in it. But if we can remove them from their mount, they should be more manageable."
Seyardu growls low and turns away. "Kin resurrecting the dead, it is as if they have no shame whatsoever."
"I'm almost as close to the Hymn as I ever was." Jinks continues, a careful confidence creeping into his voice as he reveals recent advancements. "I can bolster us; speed our legs, blades, and bludgeons." He sniffs and shakes his head. "And gods damn any pretense at an honorable fight. I'll blind him. Burst is eardrums. Topple his mount. A one-on-one duel. Hah." He tilts his head, looking at those gathered around that other table. "I can pull the whole weave down around him, set a stage, and confound his senses so he thinks there's no escape."
Randolf considers. "I have the Expeditious Retreat spell in me codex," he says. "Gimme a day or so, an' I can scribe some scrolls fer us tae use. Despite the spell's nomenclature, it's nae -just- fer runnin' away. It speeds ye up right good an' ye can run -anywhere-." He considers a moment longer. "'course, that might be more trouble in a boggy swamp. Way -my- luck's been of late, I'll just run smack intae a mudhole an' get stuck." Grumble grumble puff puff harrumph harrumph. It's small wonder most other races see dwarves as a bunch of surly, unsmiling grouches, the way Randolf comports himself.
He looks over at Jinks as the minstrel describes his own magical prowess. Despite his sour mood, a sly half-grin perks up the corner of his thick mustache. One of the best cures for dwarven grouchiness--kicking ass and taking names. "I love the way you think, laddie," he says. "I can add me own flair tae yer performance. Beams o' searin' heat, missles that strike wi'out error, an' spells tae make us all stronger, faster, better. We can do it. We have the arcanology." He puffs his burly chest up, his grin broadening. "Lemme at this bastard knight. I'll blast 'is dozy arse straight tae hell!"
"She hits hard, and her swiftclaw is no slouch." Endril says, without any respect at all. "Dismounting her will be hard. Granted I didn't see a lot of her, a bit at the training camp, at Sunken Hope, but she's bolted to her saddle as tight as they come. I never saw her out of it."
"I don't think I did either." Nanjusha admits. "Speaking to Knights would help, they could tell you more, and about the Black Rose."
Loci's spirits are raised, Seyardu called her kin! It's an unexpected acknowledgement from a much larger scalie. The gnome's bedroll wags happily, in a way that bedrolls don't. She bobs her head eagerly as the former blue-bold gets on a roll. "Uh-huh! Uh-huh! Yes." All teeth and wide grins, Loci points at the map, "there's spots, where the road is tight between cliffs, or it's forests or a swamp on one side, or some scrub where you have long sight lines."
She looks at Randolf, "You don't have to fight in a swamp if you don't want to. You can almost pick."
Aryia reaches out towards Seyardu and pats her on a silver arm. "That would be a good idea. We should speak with with them. And don't worry. We'll make sure they know shame."
Her attention shifts to Jinks as he lists off the things he can do. Normally, she'd be against seeing the full effects of the Weave being used. But was that... respect showing on her face? To Jinks?
Her face firms, and a confident sort of grin cracks her lips as she gives a /firm/ thumbs up at Jinks.
The mute listens to Endril carefully. And she gestures with a glare of nefarious intent in her gaze, intended towards the Death Knight. "I'll make sure that Knight is disgraced by flopping around in the seat like the little bitch they are." <Handspeech>
"You have spells for making areas slippery, yes Jinks?" Seyardu asks, remembering something she saw. "We find a spot with a cliff face on one side, forest on the other. prepare a rockfall to cut off the road, use this magic they cannot climb the cliff. this forces them to the forest, where we can maneuver better than the mount."
Seyardu chuckles. "Brae told this one a story once, they did something similar to deal with an overconfident mounted knight."
Seyardu squints at Loci, and chuffs. "By the way, this one, knows kin who is good with adornments. This one should ask them for tips to share with you."
Seyardu grows a bit embarassed, and nods. "And perhaps for myself, as well."
Randolf draws one final pull from his pipe, gusting the smoke as he upends it over a nearby ashtray and knocks the ashes out of the bowl. "Well," he says around a billow of pipe smoke. "Tell me where ye want me tae be an' what spells ye want me flingin', an' I'll see it done." He looks up to the two hunters with a firm nod. "Not tae fret, tallfolk. We'll get yer mates back. Reos witness me."
"Of course," Jinks answers Seyardu. "I can also make a good portion of the world look however I please. Though the blackrose could potentially pierce the illusion... however unlikely that may be." He turns and looks back at his plate. Half a roll and a glass of water for breakfast. He's turning into a regular health-nut.
Aryia looks between everyone, then glances over to Loci and Nanjusha. "I think we know what we're doing now. This will certainly cause a bit of diversion once it's said and done. Maybe you two could poke your head around the queen or the castle to get us some info? Anything really. Guard's useless, we're all we got."
The mul looks nervous, but determined. <Handspeech>
The bedroll waggles some more at the suggestion of adornments. Loci grins happily at Seyardu.
Nanjusha watches Aryia's signs, nods, glances at the gnome-bold. "I can check things out. They aren't too hard to sneak up on."
She gets a stare.
"Well, you're not. You don't see well in daylight, and several times I've had one of you staring directly at me and they didn't react." The woman tells the kobold, "setting off a trap and getting spotted that way is a bigger risk. Anyhow, you can still get closer. You're from the area, they aren't going to think you don't belong, long as no one recognizes you."
"Ya...." Loci says, all points hard to argue with. She bobs her head towards Aryia, "I'll see what's changed."
"Okay! Sounds good!" Endril slaps the table, "get some prep, find the spot, don't tell the guards, take this knight down and weaken the other two strongholds."
OOC
<OOC> Aryia says, "Endril: "And break!" Everyone: "Break!""
<OOC> Cryosanthia says, "heehee!"
<OOC> Cryosanthia says, "it could be end pose if you want. Heh. Endril the Endposer"
<OOC> Aryia says, "lol"
You paged Khamsin with 'Rupi sends Sabina a note, by messenger. It's a heart with a ? in the middle of it.'