Pulling at the Root of Evil

[Zhym]

Is Kjelti battle axe proficient?

Gaerys is—not that he's likely to use one as long as he has Giantsbane (unless we're talking about a +5 vorpal battle axe or something). But if we need someone to spar with the axe to suss out its properties, Gaerys can help.

[Magnus]

Date: Autumn, 432 ca., Campaign Day 4
Time: 09:04
Weather: 45 degrees; drizzling
Location: Steading; Upper Level
Magic in Effect:

Antheris:

-- Obscurement: Expires in 1.2 turns
-- Protection from Fire
-- Speak with Animals, expires in 16 rounds

********************************************
HP:

Antheris - 32/41
Ethan - 27/71
Kjelti - 25/56
Vorsyin - 19/48
Gaerys - 44/56
Hollis - 14/50
Blue - 27/48
Wolves - ? ? ? ?

[Party has 2 healing shrooms left]

*******************************************
Gaerys takes Antheris's cloak, the keys and a mushroom from Vorsyin. He quietly steps down the stairs, slowly enough to let his eyes adjust to the light, head as low as possible, to try to get a look at what's in the main room. He is ready to run if spotted.

GW recover 20 HP

The ranger brings himself to a screeching halt as he reaches the bottom. Directly to his left, not 10 feet away, stands one of the fire giants, directly in front of the now-open secret door. Another two hill giants, garbed in "juggernaut" gear, stand directly to his (FG's) west. Standing just inside the door is none other than THE HILL GIANT CHIEF, NOSRA.

The fire giant and Nosra are having something of a heated discussion, seemingly about the next course of action. They, along with the two juggernauts, are oblivious to the ranger's presence.

Ethan's stakes lie on the ground, bent and unusable. Gaerys's eyes widen as he realizes that Ser Blacktyde's securing of the secret door likely saved the party's lives.

Five hornfeet, including the now burnt leader, stand roughly in the center of the room, slightly north of the obscurement, which remains in place. As they poke and prod at the bodies, the hornfeet sniff the air quizzically...though the stench of blood and death seems to cover the ranger's scent - for the moment.

Just then, the unmistakable roar of at least one more manticore thunders from behind the secret door...the ranger cannot help but shudder...

[Zhym]

Gaerys verrrry carefully backs up the stairs back to the party.

"Well, they haven't lost interest," the ranger quietly tells the others. "There's still one fire giant, a couple of juggernaut hill giants, five hornfeet, and Nosra. The fire giant and Nosra seem to be arguing."

Magnus: could Gaerys understand the arguing? I guess it's too late to say that one of Gaerys's languages is hill giant?

"I think the rescue can still work if Antheris is willing to go with the plan," he says. "As long as Antheris can't be seen within the jail cell, we can rescue Lorath right out from under Nosra's ugly nose!"

[Eulalios]

Kjelti tucks the great axe in a corner and re equips her sword and board. "I could do with a bite from one of those mushrooms," she says, jutting her chin toward the wound in her shoulder. Blood is streaked down her left side from the dent in her bashed up banded mail.

[drpete]

Ethan Blacktyde

Ethan nods. "As I thought. The force is several times what we barely escaped. We are in no position to deal with them. You are undeterred. I invite you to rescue them, Gaerys. Good luck. I think it's time to go."

Ethan will nod, and leave out the hole mentioned by the wolves.

[Magnus]

Magnus: could Gaerys understand the arguing? I guess it's too late to say that one of Gaerys's languages is hill giant?

Essentially, they were fighting about why Nosra did not join the fight against you guys.

[Zhym]

Gaerys sighs and wonders what part of avoiding the giants entirely while still rescuing a prisoner right out from under them he didn't understand. Perhaps the fighter's world is divided into situations that can or cannot be solved by swinging edged steel at things. Or perhaps Gaerys has such a low charisma he'd have a hard time convincing a fish to go for a swim.

He turns to Antheris, "It's your neck that's on the line, so it's up to you. I have outlined what I believe is a solid, low-risk plan (outlined in OOC chat). I would execute it if I could, but I have not your shapeshifting abilities. Will you try to rescue the Valyerian while we still have benefit of the obscurement spell and the giants are distracted?"

"If you will attempt the rescue, I and anyone who is willing to remain will stay at the top of the stairs waiting for your return. If the giants come up the stairs to attack, we will fight them at the doorway. That should keep more than one or two of them from being able to fight us at a time."

He offers the cloudform potion to Antheris.

[Magnus]

[2 rounds pass]

Gaerys makes his way back up the stairs safely.

The Nosra-Fire Giant Argument seems to grow more heated as they call each other cowards and worse. The party can hear the booming shouts up the stairs.

Ethan leaves the room and realizes the hole mentioned by the wolves is the same one that the Treants tore into the giant kitchen. He stands just under the edge of the roof, out of the drizzle. The knight squints, seeing

an odd light in the distance. As it comes into focus in the grey mist of the autumn drizzle, it seems to be Crowseye and a few other Children chanting in front of a large fire...

[Zhym]

Ooooh. If Nosra and the fire giant are about to fight, this is a perfect opportunity for our rescue plan.

And if one of them kills the other: so much the better.

[Eulalios]

Kjelti (25/56) stands ready at one side of the stairs. In case there is no railing, she is at the deep edge of the floor opening, waiting to strike down upon a giant skull.

"Vorsyin, Hollis, you should leave now," she says. "You are badly hurt. Blacktyde already led the way out. Follow him. Believe me, I will be right behind you - as soon as I see Antheris back."

[NJWilliam]

Antheris

Antheris nods, scratches Blue's neck, and says, "Alright, once more into the fire. Let me have that cloak and boots of elvenkind, just in case. Someone have some clairaudience to listen in in case things go sour in there?"

Antheris then asks the wolves to protect the party until he returns, and if things require a fight asks them to fight only if they are willing to do so.
He dons the cloak and boots of elvenkind, takes out a sprig of mistletoe, casts Summon Insects at the top of the stairs (casting time 1 round; duration 8 rounds). And once the potion and note are complete takes it, and shapechanges into a small chameleon.

The antheris-chameleon darts up the wall of the stairs into the room with the arguing giants, over to the obscurement and through it to the jail cell, in the jail he quickly looks at the prisoners in the cells seeing which the Valyrian is and who the others seem to be (using his bizarre chameleon eyes of course)

Antheris Summon Insects (70% flying swarm chance): [1d100] = 48 Flying Insects!

[drpete]

Ethan Blacktyde

Ethan looks back over his shoulder to see if anyone is following him, then shrugs and runs off away from the Steading.

... towards the fire in the distance.

[sulldawga]

Hollis says, I will stay, in the back. Perhaps I have a spell that can be of use if another fight arises.

[sulldawga]

Kjelti tucks the great axe in a corner and re equips her sword and board. "I could do with a bite from one of those mushrooms," she says, jutting her chin toward the wound in her shoulder. Blood is streaked down her left side from the dent in her bashed up banded mail.

Can we not eat any more of the mushrooms unless we're sure we're getting in another fight? Because if we leave, we can save that mushroom for another day.

[Zhym]

Gaerys gives Antheris his cloak back and swaps boots with him. "Last cell, east end of the prison, is the Valyerian" he reminds the druid.

For now, Gaerys saves the clairaudience potion but listens carefully to the sounds from downstairs. If the summoned insects swarm off to a target suddenly, or if he hears that the giants have discovered an intruder, he will run down the stairs just far enough to shoot an arrow at a giant, hoping to draw their attention upstairs. If that doesn't draw any of them up, he will engage with Giantsbane.

[sulldawga]

While Antheris casts Summon Insects, Hollis will cast Protection from Evil on him.

[Computer +1]

Vorsyin nods at Kjelti's words. He grabs her arm. Kjelti come with us. Dying a warriors death in these circumstances is foolish. We will all return to fight when we are at strength.

He will wait a moment for her reply before quickly catching up with Ethan.

If she insists on staying he will give her the any healing potions or mushrooms he still has.

[Zhym]

"You and Denys should get out of here too," Gaerys tells Tanner. "Neither of you is fit to face giants right now, even if our intention is to run if they chase us."

[Magnus]

Date: Autumn, 432 ca., Campaign Day 4
Time: 09:08
Weather: 45 degrees; drizzling
Location: Steading; Upper Level
Magic in Effect:

Antheris:

-- Obscurement: Expires in 7 rounds
-- Protection from Fire
-- Speak with Animals, expires in 11 rounds
-- Summon Insects: 6 rounds left

Hollis

-- PfE: 6 rounds

[Time is as of completion of spell casting/transformation]

********************************************

Antheris and Hollis cast their respective spells on Antheris, and then Antheris summons a cloud of biting horseflies, which hovers disgustingly at the top of the stairs. The druid then takes the form of a chameleon. Every nerve in his body is screaming for him to start eating flies, but his human consciousness resists.

Going to consistently start accounting for the "transformation takes one round" rule now.

Appropriately buffed, Antheris-chameleon darts up the wall of the stairs into the room with the arguing giants, over to the obscurement and through it to the jail cell, in the jail he quickly looks at the prisoners in the cells seeing which the Valyrian is and who the others seem to be (using his bizarre chameleon eyes of course).

The entry goes flawlessly! The giants continue their arguing and the hornfeet do not seem to notice the small reptile making its way through the fog.

Antheris makes his way into the prison room, passing two empty cells, a cell with five human(?) skeletons in it, and a cell with five rather sorry looking wildlings. The druid, still in animal form, reaches the final cell. In it sits a tall, thin man with platinum blond hair and piercing purple eyes. He is dressed in fine, but ragged, clothes. He sits pensively, looking downward while touching each of his fingertips to the same finger on the opposite hand. He breathes slowly but deliberately, as if in careful contemplation.

His silence is broken as Antheris-chameleon approaches. In a smooth, silky voice he looks down at the chameleon and, with a wry smile, he says: And what do we have here?

[NJWilliam]

Antheris-Chameleon

The antheris-chameleon goes into the Valyrian's cell, to the back corner, and remaining motionless as possible shapechanges back to human, hoping the cloak of elvenkind helps to conceal his presence from any unwanted onlookers.

Pressing his finger to his lips, Antheris hands the note about the potion to the Valyrian, and when he nods or indicates his assent, hands him the potion of cloudform with a quiet whisper, "Quaff the entire potion. A bank of mist is outside these cells for the next four minutes. Head up the stairs opposite these cells, they lead to the surface and my companions."

After seeing that the Valyrian understands and has no brief questions, and assuming the coast is clear, he will change back into a chameleon and dart out the way he came, taking a position as close to out of the chamber as he can while being able to watch for the Valyrian from a very inconspicuous position, probably the ceiling above the stairs.

If the hornfoots are looking into or walking toward the Valyrian's cell, Antheris will not shapechange but will rely on the cloak and boots of elvenkind to conceal him in the far corner of the Valyrian's cell (unless he is absolutely certain he has enough time to complete the shapechange to a chameleon).