Headhunters!!!

[Belial_the_Leveler]

Atop the Spine of the World, Faerun's tallest and most impressive mountain range, are hidden many wonders. In heights inaccessible to all but the very powerful or the very unwise, often hidden under glaciers or deep within stone, lie marvels of ages bygone.
This one is less marvelous or hidden than one might expect; a single granite spire towering over a mountain's broken peak, battlements and lesser towers forming a ring of ancient fortifications upon the grey, snow-covered rock. Crystal-clear sky hangs above for the keep is often higher than the clouds most days - as anyone that climbed over twenty thousand feet up from sea level to reach it could tell you. Of course, they would have had to travel over a hundred leagues of progressively taller, steeper, nigh-impassable mountains if they traveled on foot, most of which would be within the cloud layer and hidden from prying eyes, covered in eternal snow and ice. And with the air having grown too thin for either breathing or flying long since.

So perhaps this ancient fortress is as inaccessible as anything else here, despite being in apparent plain sight. But it is also of elven make and over five millennia old, and that means it was once tied to the network of portals that linked the ancient elven empires.
A couple of years ago, the destruction of an ancient elven prison saw the return of some ancient and corrupted elven houses from that time, a remnant of elven nobility that practiced infernal arts. Since their return, they waged war upon human nations that occupied those long-ago elven lands, awoke ancient horrors believed lost, activated then sundered the ancient elven portal network - and were subsequently defeated at the hands of their modern cousins. It was at this time that Greyspire Keep was rediscovered. As armies fought in the field of battle and borders changes while chaos grew, the ancient fortress fell into the hands of adventurers... which died horribly shortly after they brought word of their discovery. More people investigated - and suffered premature and violent death. And before they died, they carried the evil of the Keep back to civilized lands.
Months passed before powerful adventurers, mercenaries, knights and mages could be hired or otherwise persuaded to investigate and get rid of the danger. They discovered that Greyspire Keep was the site of an ancient elven Mythal, a magical construct that infused the area with permanent magic. But that magic had been altered and used to continually call forth a legion of spirits from the lower planes. The adventurers fought the spirits for days. Some of them died. Others were dragged down into the Abyss. But the strongest, smartest and most capable finally won the day, plundered the riches of Greyspire Keep, won glory in the world for getting rid of that evil... and unwittingly became caretakers of the old Mythal.

You are those adventurers. Greyspire Keep lay quiet after your victory and you went on to have more adventures - but you soon found out that you were somehow aware of that old fortress in some part of your mind; you knew where it was and its general state. Nothing alarming or negative per se - but you did find it more relaxing to visit on occasion and after some experimentation, you learned you could teleport to and from it with a few minutes' concentration... something that nobody else seemed able to do.
In your line of business, an isolated, easily accessible to you but highly private fortress was a great bonus. People you had fought with at least once before and knew you could count on in a fight were an even bigger gift. So why play against type and fortune? You decided to form an adventuring party - or a mercenary group, to be more precise - and take up business as muscle for hire; powerful, prestigious, usually legal and very well paid muscle for hire.
With Greyspire Keep as a base for this "Headhunters" guild - a team of seven, so far - you quickly became moderately famous in the grand scheme of things. Once per week, you would gather in the ancient fortress, discuss those bounties and contracts in need of your high level of professionalism and skill, and decide which one to deal with. And given the strength and varied talents of your team combined, you could take up some very lucrative offers indeed.



So this was a day just like any other; a morning gathering to your unofficial headquarters after having arrived sometime during the night. And having been contacted by the right people, you had come down with three potential contracts;
The elimination of a powerful (and supposedly corrupt) noble of Waterdeep, the killing of a rampaging dragon, and dealing with a Gatanothoa-worshipping cult (whatever that might be).



OOC:
1) Players post an intro of your character. You know the other characters and have fought with them at least once - but you don't know each other well yet. For some of you, this may be your first meeting since clearing out Greyspire Keep

2) Feel free to describe a portion of the keep you've chosen as your personal quarters while there; a tower, an old support building, a dungeon, a gatehouse - whatever your character would have picked for him/herself.

3) What did you do during the night? What did you try to find out about the contracts? (roll specific skills/abilities you think might help and/or cast divinations - but the divinations will have to come out of your spell allotment since you haven't had time for another rest since you got the contracts)

4) Coming into the Keep or teleporting away can be performed with five minutes of concentration but normal teleportation doesn't work directly to it. You can only take yourself plus your max load. This is the second of the two uses of the Mythal you've found so far, the other being keeping the air breathable and the weather bearable around the keep.

[Llewelyn]

As the cold morning wind blew across the battlements, it ruffled the fur of a silvery-furred snow leopard, perched on top of the wall as if scenting the wind. With a slight nod, the great cat turned and bounded down the ancient stone stairs to the courtyard below.

As the snow leopard reached the spire that the walls stood to protect, his form shimmered and changed. Rising up onto two legs, paws became clawed hands as clothing appeared on the lean, furred body of the now humanoid feline. As the change completed, he reached forward, the door opening at his touch, and Caerwyn stepped into the stone halls of Greyspire Keep.

Making his way along the corridors with practiced ease, the faux-werecat padded into the room that they had appropriated as their meeting room, nodding a greeting to anyone already present. Feeling the room already warmed, he changed yet again, his form shrinking slightly as he resumed the elven form he had been born into.

Taking up his usual spot against the wall, he thought back over the contracts that had arrived through the usual network. The first was some corrupt noble, but then, aren't they all? A promising challenge, considering that the noble was in Waterdeep.

The second one hadn't really caught his eye; tracking down and dealing with(eliminating, was what he read between the lines) some new cult. It seemed there was a new cult of some unheard-of deity every other week. Not that it mattered; usually it was just some some powerful mortal creating a following for some reason of his own. Now that leader might make a worthy target...

The dragon however-- that had made him lick his fangs mentally when he had heard of it. Dragons were the cream of the crop, but they were so few and far between that he seldom got to test his chances against one. Unfortunately, the contract hadn't stated much, presumably due to a lack of survivors to describe the beast. He had ported out there last night to try and see if he could make any determination of size or type. It wasn't much, but there wasn't much else to find out on such short notice.

Once one was chosen, the real hunt would begin.

Survival check, primarily trying to determine size of dragon from whatever tracks may have been left, and what type breath if any was involved in the destruction: [roll0]

[Chambers]

Ilya Dlardrageth

The devil spread its wings out and stretched, the tips of her wings almost touching the high ceiling of the library. "While your sentiments are touching sister, there's no need for the dramatics. Put your sword down and join us downstairs." She said and yawned as her black leather wings slowly refolded.

Ilya held her blade low and shifted her back foot. "You think to entice me with some promise of profane power?" Ilya said and narrowed her eyes.

The fiendish elf laughed. "No, merely dinner. Watch that sword or you'll cut your tail."

Tail? Ilya glanced back over her shoulder and saw yes, she did indeed have a tail and her own pair of bat wings sprouting from her shoulders. The fiend smiled at Ilya as she passed her. "Apparently mother has arranged for a real treat tonight. Don't be late."

Ilya woke up and reached behind her back and then sighed in relief as she found no wings. Just a dream. She rolled out of bed and began her morning exercises but found herself distracted by the nights vision. Ilya's quarters within Greyspire Keep wouldn't impress a noble from Waterdeep or elsewhere, but styles change in a few thousand years. She chose a room near to the armory and decorated it by removing most everything in it. What was left was a simple bed, a privacy screen, a low writing desk, clothes dresser and her weapon and armor stands. A woven reed mat lies in the middle of the floor and three cushions sit stacked next to a small sideboard where Ilya keeps a collection of exotic teas.

Just a worthless dream. Her focus was elsewhere when she was sharpening her blade and she knicked her thumb, the keen edge of the sword slicing through the meat of her finger. Damn! Frustrated by the dream and its ruining of her morning rituals she dressed and went to meet the others. Look on the bright side, you might get to kill something today.

"Fair morning." Ilya says though her tone implies it has been anything but. There's a bandage on her left hand that looks new and she seems slightly distracted. "Has everyone had time to consider the proposals? I like the cultists not at all and the dragon less than that. If it's just a rogue wyrm upset that its hoard was stolen that's one matter, but if its behavior is an indication of a possible dragonrage then I'd prefer not to get involved." She says and winces as she rubs her neck, trying to work out a kink. "The Waterdeep contract sounds like a more interesting opportunity."

No spells or such to cast during the night, though Knowledge: History [roll0] might be useful for the dragon, assuming the contract offers enough details to make some educated guesses (Color of the dragon, where the attacks have been occurring, the target of the attacks, etc).

Her knowledge of History probably wouldn't be useful for anything dealing with Waterdeep as it was created after she was sequestered. Knowledge: The Planes [roll1] might tell something about what Gatanothoa is. It sounds like some obscure deity but could always be an infernal prince of some sort. One can only hope. :smallwink:

[BelGareth]

Slate kneeled down and sniffed the air, it had been several days since he had a scent, and it had finally come back to him, just moments after he decided to turn to the divine assistance of his deity. He smiled at the irony of it, he could have easily managed to find it with a simple prayer on pursed lips, but he wanted to hone his skills, or at least keep them as razor sharp as they were.

He had always thought it important to not abuse magic, and to hone your innate abilities.

He enjoyed the hunt more than anything, and this was relaxing after completing his previous job, that petty noble was tiresome to listen to, and in the end he had decided to gag him. Not his best moment, but a good decision none the less. His ears had thanked him afterwards.

The drop off went smoothly and he accepted his payment gratefully, even though it was a pittance to his usual fees. Such is the role you must play for favors.

His client was another noble of some such city, he cared not for the details, except that the man was a relative to a pasha in Calimshan, recently married to his cousin twice removed. Are particularly powerful pasha.

He sighed as he thought about it, the noble was most likely going to lose his life, having fled his family due to some issues with a local girl. But having stolen several family artifacts, a bounty for his heady was quick to appear among the circuit of Hunters.

He had seized upon the chance quickly, making the nobles connection to a particular newly wed Pasha.

He sniffed the air again and realized his stomach was growling and he had nothing on him, not wanting to wait any longer he let the game he was hunting go with a wave of his hand. It was long time to get back to the Greyspire Keep, he could get something to eat there and see what news was present.

Taking a few steps back he found a good spot and concentrated for 5 minutes on the old keep, memories flooded back to him, demons and abyssal warriors, death and sacrifice, joy and relief. He smiled a smile of genuine recollection as his body shimmered from view, the animals of the forest looking on him quizzically as he disappeared like some desert mirage.


~~~

Appearing in his chambers the first thing he noticed where the slips of parchment lying on his desk.

Ah, yes, more work! He always enjoyed reading the possible jobs, and he couldn't wait to do so now, but it must wait he thought to himself as his stomach growled at him.

He washed his hands, changed into robes out of of his armor and headed to the kitchen, a magically animated place with animated pots, pans and knives. He always marveled at the elegance of the room, at first he thought he was being attacked as he explored this area of the castle, but was amused when he realized its purpose. It had several rooms that were even still partially stocked. It seemed they kept the food from spoiling, and the main room was an actually fully functioning kitchen. It took him several weeks to figure it all out, having to endure some...interesting food, but he had done so and all it took was a little command in elvish and it would cook up a meal for you.

It was part of the reason he chose the room he did, due to its proximity to the animated kitchen it was also close to the main greeting hall, he surmised it was the chambers to the original acting senechal, or whatever the ancient Miyeritaran elves had.

He ate his meal in silence, reflecting in his current actions, analysing his actions in combat and striving to hone and practice a certain sword stroke until he figured out how to not make the mistake he had done.

After thanking the mindless magically animated cookware he departed to his room, looking to the parchments laying on his desk.

Ah, a dragon hey? well that would be interesting, but rather bland I would fear, maybe if I can figure out who it is...

He fingers the next parchment. Another noble...seems like the world is full of them, No. I've had enough of those recently...looking at the next one his eyebrows rise.

Now this looks interesting, Gatanothoa? Hmm, it doesn't ring a bell...let's see what I can find out...

He looks to his books and tries to find some additional information regarding the dragon, noble and Gatanothoa...or whatever that was....


For dragon:
Knowledge (Arcana) see ooc

For Gatanothoa:
Knowledge (Religion) see ooc
Knowledge (Planes) see ooc


Having found out what he could, he moved to his bed and laid down for the night, his mind on a previous mission of his, one he had failed...unsure of why he was thinking about it, maybe the dragon had struck a chord within him, awakening the memory of one of his failures...either way he recalled, vividly the failure of not being able to catch Kathramandas, a particularly powerful Black dragon, one who eluded him for weeks, she enjoyed to take the form of a human and take the lives of powerful nobles, taking on their whole life until her lies started to unravel. He had just managed to ID her and she vanished form him, leaving behind the desecrated bodies of the entire noble family. He had to escape the city watch himself, not being able to prove his innocence...

Shaking his head away from the memories, he closed his eyes hoping for the feeling of warm sleep to come...


~~~

The next day he awoke, dressed in robes and strapped his sword Justice to his hip, he walked to the meeting area with plenty of time to spare, sitting and reflecting on what he had learned about the possible marks.

[CowMasterTrojan]

Inside the smoky bar, a man in a dark cloak slid from the door to the corner as discretely as he could. The Infernal Salmon was perhaps the best bar in Waterdeep to visit when you didn't want to leave an impression. On any given night, the place was packed with different patrons. No doubt it was why his contact insisted on meeting here. He wouldn't have done it, but he needed to get out of the city. The thieves guild thought he was guilty of stealing the loot from the stage coach heist last week. He tried to explain he was set up, that his partner Bannon was responsible, but no one listened. Word on the street now was that there was a bounty on his head.

Edgily watching the doors, he ordered a ale. Stressed out as far as he could take it, he wanted to get smashed. But he needed his wits. That's when he saw her. A beautiful woman in a purple dress. She wore a iris in her long blonde hair, and let it flow over her shoulder. Her blue eyes met his like a lion meets a zebras. Sliding into the booth on the left with him, she got close immediately.
"Hi, My name's Ivy. You look lonely."
"Ga.. but... Gary. A pleasure." He said stumbling on every word.
"You look like times are tough. You need to relax friend" she said, putting her arm on his shoulder. He could smell her perfume.
"Y-you could say that..."
"Well do you think you'd like to blow off some stress with me sometime. I'm worth the gold piece."
He swallowed hard. A whore this good? For only a gold? What a deal!
"I can't" he said, kicking himself. "I have business."
"Oh yeah? The thieves guild, right? They get a discount."
"No, no. I.. uh... don't do business with them. N-not any more." He said, immediately regretting it.
"Oh, that's too bad honey. See you around." She slid out of the booth, his eyes following her as she moved away.
"No she won't!" He heard from his right. Before he could move, metal claws went straight into the side of his head. Dead immediately, he slumped over with his head bleeding out. Besides him sat a attractive catfolk female, dressed in light clothing. She had slipped up next to him without him even feeling the weight on the booth change. Cleaning the metal claws on her hands with a napkin, she turned and pulled the hood over his head. Leaning him back, no one could even see his face. They wouldn't notice him til the place cleared out. Easy job, She thought. Flipping a platinum piece across the room to the hooker, she slipped out of the booth and through the crowd. For a woman with dark brown fur with black stripes and cat like ears, no one even noticed her as she slipped out.
__________________________________________________ _______________

Stella sat up quickly from her dream, covered in a a cold sweat. Rubbing her eyes she groaned at the time. Couldn't be any later than 3am. Another night ruined by bad memories. Getting out of her round bed, she quickly dressed in the few clothes she ever wore. Her armor, a loose black shirt, and a cloth just big enough to cover her butt. Her legs and tail needed the stretching room.

Quietly exiting her room which was adorned with landscape paintings, she made her way to the top of the tower. She moved to the edge of the Merlon, and scanned the keep for trouble in the moonlight. She didn't see anything thankfully. Sitting in the corner of the keep, the Bastion tower had no entrance that anyone could find. The only way up was to fly, or to climb the side. A natural climber, Stella had declared it perfect for herself.

Moving down to the kitchen, she gathered up the food she had gathered the day before. Diligently cooking, she made herself three eggs and a fish. Practically drinking the runny eggs, she gobbled them up first. Then she impaled the fish on her claw before moving to the arm chair, slowly nibbling at it. Her favorite thing of the middle of the night was that it was rare anyone was up. Not that she minded the company of others. This guild had been her idea originally after all, or at least that's how she remembered it. And slowly everyone came around to the idea.

After cleaning up, she moved to the window and sat in it sideways like it was a chair. In a few hours they would meet and discuss the next contract. How dull. She didn't enjoy the committee aspect of the guild. We should just pick one person to make all the decisions. It would be faster. For a second she thought she would make a good leader. But the longer she thought about it, the more she realized she didn't want to be. This was just a job, she didn't need to start worrying about other people's life.

Sitting in the window with just her thoughts for several hours, she slowly became drowsy again. Watching the sun come up, she decided she had a few hours before anyone got up. Might as well take a quick nap. Slumping against the wall in the corner, she slowly scanned the room before dozing off.

When she awoke, she realized several of her companions were up and talking about the marks. They probably hadn't even noticed her behind the chair. Leaping over the arm chair, she landed on all fours to get her companion's attention.
"I can't tell you much about the targets. Intel isn't my department. But Waterdeep is my terf. A noble, no matter how powerful he thinks he is, wouldn't be a challenge for us. My second choice would be the cult. If you want to worship a some ancient god that eventually will destroy the world, you're asking to be killed. Of course I'm not against killing the dragon, I just prefer my targets to be 20 times my size." Angrily letting her tail jet back and forth, she waited for her companions opinions. Hopefully this wouldn't take too long.

[Golden Ladybug]

The City of Splendors was not the same at Midnight as it was in the day. Most of its citizenry would be asleep, or at least at home, and the streets that bustled with masses of humanoids were empty.

But for a girl, alone in the night, strolling down the centre of the street with a long, black cane in her right hand. She was pretty enough, her alabaster skin unblemished and a pleasant smile on her lips. Her long, brown hair was held by a red headband, and she wore a light, blue cloak. Looking closely, one could see the cause of her limp; her foot, which was twisted and set at an unsettling angle. She seemed not to be inconvenienced by the damaged limb in the slightest, and walked breezily down the street. She walked with purpose in her stride.

She also wasn't real.

I followed, maybe fifty paces, behind the illusion and stuck to the shadows. The Illusion wasn't hard to maintain, keeping the image fixed in my mind second-nature after years of practice. Not that I was expecting anyone to attack me (I forced back a tinge of disappointment), but old habits are hard to break. My cane clicked in time with the illusory one of my Silent Image , and the sound resonated in the empty streets. I hoped that someone listening was confused by that.

I stopped outside the circle of light coming from the tavern at the end of the street, and walked my Image right past it. Right on schedule, a member of the City Watch rounded the corner and passed by my illusion. He doffed his cap to the figment, who waved and smiled at him in return, before continuing quietly. He was a tall man, well-built, with red hair. I eyed him up and down, and seeing no reason not to, promptly ignored him. Even if he were to intervene, by some odd chance, he wouldn't be much of a threat.

I waited for the Watchmen to pass by, and then gave it five minutes for him to get out of earshot. Unless the Waterdeep City Watch had defied years of tradition and changed their patrol routes, the next time one passed close enough to hear the racket would be in...about six minutes. More than enough time.

I walked into the tavern, closing the door behind me as I did. A quick glance around the room showed a fair selection of people, some sailors from the port and about two thirds of their number in locals. I pushed a chair in front of the door, carefully wedging it underneath the handle.

Calmly, I walked over to the bar, and with a small leap, flew up to the counter. Before anyone could react, I swiped My Blade from its sheath and beheaded the Bartender.

I held one finger up against my lips, and said in a calm, authoritarian voice "Shhh... I don't want any noise besides gracious and prompt answers to my questions. No screaming."

The room was quiet as the grave (no pun intended), the tavern-goers stunned at the abrupt death of the barman. I pulled a rolled up piece of paper from one pocket, and unfurled it with a flick of my wrist. I'd been led to believe that the painting was a good likeness of the man we'd been hired to kill.

"The first one to tell me everything there is to know about this man gets to leave here alive, completely unharmed. If I get this information promptly, I might even let the rest of you go as well!" Blatant lies of course, but hope was an excellent motivator, "I have...oh, lets call it five and a bit minutes. If I don't have what I want by then, I'm going to end the lives of everyone in this room. And I'm going to enjoy it."

"Keeping in mind my previous instruction regarding noise, let's get started, shall we?"

- - - -

Almost exactly five minutes later, I left the blood-soaked Tavern behind. As I walked down the cobbled street, I began to think of the dungeons of Greyspire Keep. It was a cozy place, all things considered. The keep had been carved from the mountain, and its bottom levels descended into the Mountain itself. When the seven of us had won the keep, and forged whatever bond between us and the Mythal that resided there, I'd taken an instant shine to the Keep's dungeons. They were clean, unlike some I'd had the displeasure of experiencing, dry and well-kept. Not to mention, it was below (relative) ground level, and ever since my first ventured into the Underdark, I'd felt more at home below ground.

I'd taken the third largest room in the Dungeons for herself, clearing out the most of the torture equipment and converting the Rack into a bedspread (I'd taken advantage of the Keep's abilities to teleport myself to various metropolises to find the most comfortable pillows and mattress that money could buy). I'd placed a number of bookcases around the walls, but I've only managed to fill one so far, barely. There was also a number of soft, overlapping rugs covering the stone floors, and hanging from the wall behind the bed is a rather large collection of bladed implements. Mostly for show of course, since I can summon My Blade to my hand with a moment's notice.

Thinking about my room only focused the Mythal's magic, and the tingling sensation she always got when she teleported began to take hold.

"Oh, right, almost forgot" I said to myself, before pointing back at the massacred pub and making a hissing sound. Three red jets of flame shot from my fingers, igniting the wood and thatch in an instant. The building began to burn, but I had already disappeared.

I'm going to roll Knowledge Local to gather information about the Noble [roll0]

Between this post and my OOC one, I think that I've addressed all the points you wanted, Belial?

[Belial_the_Leveler]

After a very thorough examination, Caerwyn is fairly certain that the dragon involved is very old at least, and almost certainly ancient; the size of the gaps in the woods where it broke trees in its passage, the occasional footprint where it landed give its size fairly accurately. And it is a red dragon - not only are the areas through which it passed blackened as if by exposure to a searing desert wind but dozens of small fires started out and there are patches of earth where the ground has been turned to volcanic glass. It is fairly easy to follow the dragon's path back towards a very large cave in the northeastern foothills of the Spine of the World. Following the paths of its many attacks is a bit harder given the great area they cover but Caerwyn manages; the dragon has been attacking villages up to thirty miles from its apparent nest over the past week, ignoring the insignificant humans and gorging itself on cattle. The one attack that doesn't fit the pattern is the very first - the dragon then attacked a towerlike structure only a few miles from its cave and from all evidence all but melted it down to a barely recognizable ruin...


In the city of Waterdeep, Klara is making her inquiries. This new noble sounds like someone who rose to power rapidly through foreign money and almost entirely shady deals, only to claim a noble title and have it approved through both bribery and strongarm tactics; they even claimed one of the old estates of a noble family ruined years ago in a secret war among the nobles. But however much persuasive she is, Klara can't find anything concrete beyond rumors - even faced with death, the lowlifes are either too scared to talk or don't know much to tell. Most probably both.
Back in the team's base, Stella is able to recognize the Amcathra estate from Klara's description of the old manor this new noble supposedly acquired through shady deals. And from all appearances, the building is as dilapidated and boarded up as it has always been since it fell into disuse at the old master's inexplicable death so many years ago.


Discussing the contracts, Slate and Ilya come to the same conclusion about the third; the name "Gatanothoa" is not one belonging to the higher or lower planes - to their knowledge, no fiend or celestial of such name exists. And if it isn't a fiend, they will need someone with deeper knowledge of the various planar powers and obscure religious practices to identify it.

[Elbeyon]

Faunra pushed the kitchen door with a balled fist, easing it open as she shuffled in. She pointed to the stove, dishes, and food she wanted, giving the eleven commands to each as she went through the list. Effortlessly dancing the kitchen came to life, a mix of ingredients poured out of storage. Her ingredients, she didn’t much care for the foods that were originally stocked here so she took special care to bring foods she liked when she felt like eating. The knifes readily chopped her spices while throwing them into an oily skillet. Soon a Sauté of onions, garlic, and more exotic spices topped a mess of small wiggling grubs. As the stove did its magic she moved back into the pantry taking a look for her, trying to pick out quality fruits. She moved a couple items to the side as she dug through the containers; finding what she wanted she grabbed a fruit similar to a pomegranate except the size was closer to a honey melon. A few steps back towards the kitchen and the fragrant smell brushed up against her. She took a deep sniff and started to gather her food. In total, her Sauté of spice and insects, a bowl of water, and a melon sized fruit, plus the exquisitely designed utensils to eat it all. This time both hands full of either food or a cane, she pushed the door open with her back as she started to make her way towards the meeting room.

Click-clack click-clack echoed through the hallways as she made her way there. Each time her cane softly touched the ground, the acoustics amplified it more than she liked. Once she arrived she opened the door in a similar manner as before. She pushed her back against it and slowly opened it to the side. A cold breeze nipped at her skin, the warmth of the kitchen and the cool morning air in stark contrast, and a shiver went down her spine. She looked around, seems like she was a bit late. She made her way to her spot and sat down her food and pulled herself up to the table. Another shiver and she began to prep her food. She sliced her fruit and started to soak it while she began to pick at her crunchy food.


Spells Used:
Restoration, Lesser. Faunra has been up all night gathering information and used a lesser restore to get rid of her fatigue for the day.

Noble of Waterdeep:
First anything that includes nobles is often messy and its always better to be cautious; it's doubtful that the messenger would know but it's worth checking.
Sense Motive: [roll0]

To see what she already knows about him.
Knowledge Nobility: [roll1]
Knowledge History: [roll2]
Knowledge Local: [roll3]

A roll for what information she could of found during the night.
Gather Information [roll4]

Rampaging Dragon:
A roll for what information she could of found during the night.
Gather Information [roll5]
Plus a educated guess from what she's learned form damage and information she's found.
First a Spellcraft: [roll6] to see if she can identify any signs of magics.
Plus a Knowledge Arcane: [roll7] to take an educated guess at its type(and the knowledge that would ensure from knowing its type)from what she's learned form damage and information she's gathered.


Gatanothoa-worshipping Cult:
Asking questions about this one alone and at night? No thank you. Just checking to see if she knows anything about this Gatanothoa.
Knowledge Planes: [roll8]
Knowledge Religion: [roll9]

[Belial_the_Leveler]

Faunra's knowledge and skills allow her to uncover a lot of information regarding the contracts, even given an entire night to search for it and with a method to move between regions quickly available.

First, she doesn't uncover anything about the "corrupt" noble in Waterdeep's history. Since her knowledge is substantial, this probably means there is no information to be found and that the more disquieting rumors are true; the noble did arrive only a few months ago. In addition, from what she can tell by reading the moves of the other nobles over those months, it is apparent that while they have no information on the newcomer, the newcomer has a great deal of knowledge about how and why Waterdeep high society works - as much as would be expected by someone of at least Faunra's information-gathering skills or an actual member of that high society with an information network in place. The newcomer certainly seems able to play one noble house against another, interfere between allies, divert attention with disinformation and scandals and knows exactly whom and how much to bribe.
It is why Faunra is beginning to suspect something is seriously wrong with this whole scenario, especially since the newcomer appears to be a young lady in her early twenties... that nobody had even heard of six months ago. But try as she might, Faunra cannot find anything about the lady's household itself.
Information about how said young lady works is only indirectly available and mostly rumor. As far as Faunra can tell, any spy or informant the other nobles sent into her enterprises has been quietly disappeared or has switched sides for no apparent reason. The usual rumor mill is suspiciously absent of concrete information but full of horror stories of what happened to those that started rumors containing concrete information in the first few months, before everyone knew better. And to all appearances, the actual starters of the rumor were punished, and in very creative ways.


Faunra can do little more than confirm Caerwyn's information about the dragons. However, when questioning witnesses about the dragons' appearances and attacks, she finds out two slightly different eyewitness descriptions (or rather, lots of eyewitness descriptions that can be put in two subtly different groups) that differ in small ways that most people would consider inconsequential. What matters if somebody says the dragon's eyes glowed like coals instead of like molten gold? Who cares if one dragon ate cattle in the field while the other carried them away? Where's the difference between a dragon that casually burns those who oppose it and one that ignores the pathetic humans and goes straight for its goal?
Well, Faunra does. And by combining the information, there's only one logical conclusion; there are two dragons. One male, and one female. Why or how dragons of that age would form a couple is anybody's guess and beyond Faunra's inquiries for now.


Having no time and too much caution to investigate the name of a potential dark deity or abomination alone and at night, Faunra is still able to piece together some information; the name indicates an origin more unusual than a Lower Planes archfiend. Indeed, as far as Faunra can tell, the only mention of similar-sounding names that are etymologically related exist in Abolethic or Illithid heretical religious texts she once read as a curiosity. There and among some of the more obscure treatises of the most accomplished plainswalkers are mentions of the Far Realms - a catch all name referring to planes and realities beyond the normal cosmology. Specifically, there are references to "Far Outsiders", beings that exist in such distant planes and the horror that results if they, with their nature so alien and antithetical to normal reality, are allowed passage or influence into the Prime Material planes.
She can't remember any references specifically to Gatanothoa though.

[Elbeyon]

“Oh. I almost forgot.” She slides her chair out and grabs her cane from the table and starts moving to each person, retrieving and handing them a piece of paper from her satchel. Each piece filled with the details from the nights escapade, hastily and sloppy written down. The messy style makes it almost illegible, almost.

As each slip finds its new owner she starts walking back to her seat “I spent some time last night looking into the bigger contracts.” She says in a matter of fact tone as she takes her seat again. Expecting them to look over the papers before any more comments, she weaves her hands over her food performing a simple orison.

She takes her first bite of food, savoring the taste, and then takes some off her plate and gently places it in her satchel, “[Here you go]”.

Turning to the group, “Do you already have preferences?” She asks to no one in particularly. “I certainly do. Killing nobles is always a messy business, often just as messy as the politics they are tangled in. And it’s very possible that this new comer has a powerful supporter pulling the strings; though I’ve have no findings to directly suggest that. The pieces of the puzzle can be arranged that way. Perhaps even worse, this younger looking woman could actually be so powerful as to enter the political state only a few months ago and dominate it so fiercely. Either way it could be a very messy situation.”

“The rampaging dragon couple... Well I’ve dealt with dragons in the past. Certainly not of this size, but even still they are not something you fight on a whim. Two of them on a feeding gorge will certainly be a challenge. It’s best if we handle that one with the utmost care and even still we’ll most likely have a few deaths.“

Her face turns sour and she lets out a frustrated breath at the last one, “Religion is often even messier than politics. Cults just aren’t my usually business.”

“So. My preference is this up and coming noble, with the dragons closely behind then the cult.”

[CowMasterTrojan]

Stella turns her head sideways as she recognized the Amcathra estate. Why that dump? This noble was much too odd, and growing much too powerful. Everything about this just didn't seem right. But being waterdeep, and a type of mission she was so familiar with, she couldn't help but feel curious. Slowly the well trained professional part of her pushed that curiosity back.

"I'm familiar with the estate she's using as a base of operations. The place is not well defended. So my gut instinct says something extra-dimensional is being used inside. That or illusions. Frankly it stinks of trouble. But it's still my first preference. Waterdeep has 76 houses of nobility, and those houses in a constant power struggle is more work for us in the future. Plus it would help this guild get some infamy faster." She's probably a demon, Stella thought.

"On second thought, I would vote the dragons for my second choice. The money would be good. And if we plan right, it should be simple. Leave the cult to some hapless adventurers who aren't getting paid."

[Golden Ladybug]

Sitting in my favourite Armchair, with My Blade resting in its sheathe on my crossed legs, I kept my face neutral as I listened to the conversation. All the jobs were good ones; they payed well, and a challenge each one of them. My shakedown of that Pub in Waterdeep hadn't eventuated in much, certainly less than what Faunra had managed to find out. She was certainly a clever one, to find out so much on such short notice.

And, of course, she also walked with a Cane. I didn't know how I should react to that.

"Why do the Dragons sometimes take their prey back to their lair?" I mused aloud, tapping my fingers along My Sword's sheathe "They both hunt, and meat spoils. Why bring it back? Do they have something that needs feeding? Maybe they rear a clutch of Wyrmlings, or even worse, a Wyrm of size and age too great to hunt for itself..."

I sighed, and ceased my tapping. We knew next to nothing about the wyrms; nothing about their lair or the defences that surely guarded it, nothing about their goals or the reasons behind their provocative behaviour. A Dragon does not reach Old Age by being stupid, and the relentless attacks of this pair could not be classed as anything but.

"Those Dragons don't make sense. They are aren't acting their age; they ravage the countryside without fear of retaliation, and they do it often. Something is making them act like this, I'm sure of it" I elaborated, addressing the rest of the group "If they'd always acted like this, they would have never gotten this old, and its very hard to break the habits of a lifetime. They are acting like instinctual predators, not Dragons"

I pursed my lips and continued to think about the Dragon Conundrum, as I mentally decided to refer to it, but left it at that. I only knew what the others had told me about the pair of Ancient Reds, so anything I suggested would only be based on speculation.

"If we are to kill them," I said to the others, "going in without knowing everything we can about the situation would be suicide. That tower you mentioned, Caerwyn, the site of their First attack? I suggest we take a proper look at it before we face the Dragons. If we can learn why they attacked it, maybe we can learn some clue to their behaviour?

"Also, they cannot be allowed to leave their lair. We fight them there, where their size is pitted against them. If we fight them out in the open, then we are committing suicide." I stressed, meeting the eyes of each member of the Headhunters Guild. I'd fought a Dragon once before, and I knew some of the others had too, but that fight had almost been the end of me. I did not relish facing two powerful Wyrms at once. It would be better if we dealt with them separately... perhaps when one of them went Hunting, we could strike at the other one?

Shrugging, I reclined back in my armchair, seemingly unconcerned once more "As for the other two jobs, I have no objections. If anything, I'd prefer them. I have killed Nobility before, many times. This woman doesn't seem much different to others I have been asked to kill. And slaughtering a group of crazy cultists should prove to be no trouble"

Listlessly, I went back to tapping on the length of my Cane, smiling as My Sword purred happily in the back of my mind. It doesn't matter whether they worship some Abomination from beyond the Great Wheel. They will die nonetheless.

So, in summary, let's not go fight the Dragons unless we go armed for Bear, with absolutely every preparation we can think of. We need to be buffed to our eyeballs, know as much about these particular dragons as we can, do it on favourable ground and make sure we have a contingency plan. I want to know why they're attacking (and, if there are any clues to that, we might find them in those burnt out ruins).

Also, you may have noticed that Klara considers the Dragons a threat, and so she affords them a certain amount of respect and caution. She does not, however, believe that either the Noblewoman or the Cultists have what it takes to threaten her, so she writes them off.

[Llewelyn]

Caerwyn nodded, arms crossed as he leaned against the wall. "Someone must know who the tower belonged to, and that may be a lead as to why things have changed. It may also be worth checking out that cave in advance, and see what it is they may be protecting, if the ruins tell us naught."

Levering himself away from the wall, he began to pace slightly. "Politics on the other hand is a dirty business, and I like it not at all. Dragons are at least straightforward, in their own way, rather than slicing you to death with ill words behind your back. I also do not like that those who went against this 'noble' turned to her side; it reeks of mind controlling magics."

"As for this cult-" The silver-haired moon elf paused in his pacing, turning back to the rest of the room. "That would be my second choice, with what we have uncovered. The fact no one had encountered them before now suggests they are fairly recent, and if we remove the leader, the rest may scatter like sheep. At worst, they will be but rabid dogs, waiting to be put down."

[AttilaTheGeek]

"You are the first of our conquering army. The heralds of the destruction of the material plane. The first bearers of the infernal battle standard." Asmodeus' voice rumbled through the vast room as Solan stood among a crowd of powerful schemers, tempters, and manipulators. Devils, demons, and tieflings were a part of the crowd, but there were also humans, elves, and dwarves who had traveled, willingly or not, to the lower planes, and had chosen to serve in the army of Hell. "You are to infiltrate the material plane and weaken it for our invasion. Political leaders, servants of the gods, and those who serve peace- let them give their lives for their cause. But though you seem to be many, against the assembled celestial armies you would be but a speck. Your mission is not to destroy or overrun, but to weaken and infiltrate. Secrecy is your most powerful weapon. Should you fail us- if even one of you is exposed- the our invasion could fail. The most searing depths of the Nine Hells would not be punishment enough for your incompetence. Now go! Prepare the world for our unholy invasion! Your careful strikes will ready the world for the coming of the next dark age!"

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Solan wakes with a gasp. He tries to forget the inevitable punishment for his failure as he gazes out the window from the highest tower. Surely, all the way up here, they can't come for me from below? I certainly hope so. And if they do...I'd better be ready.

He walks downstairs when he overhears conversation about the Headhunters' next marks. Skimming over the three contracts, he says, "We need to not only consider our own fates and chances of success, but the fate of the rest of the world as well. If we slay the dragons, we save some peasant farmers. If we kill off the cult, no one would know the difference, unless their strange beliefs are actually true, in which case it's a very different story. But if we stop a noble who's rising through the ranks of politics this quickly, we change the course of the region's politics for decades to come. If she was unknown six months ago, and is this powerful already, who knows where she might be in another year? Ruling the land with an iron fist? Assassinating her is definitely my first choice. The cult is my second choice, because in the event that they do carry out the will of their strange god, we don't know what would happen. I've never heard of Gatanothoa, so if they're allowed to go on their objectives could have a huge impact on the world. The dragons, on the other hand, are just dragons. I don't think we need to bother with them."

[CowMasterTrojan]

Both exited and worried, Stella jumps out of the arm chair and moves closer to the others. "So it appears we're going after the noble. I can start doing some recon from afar for a few days, and see if I notice anything. Obviously it sounds like some mind control is being used, so we'll have to be ready for that. How do we want to go in? Front door, back door? Window? Through the wall? Quietly?"

[Elbeyon]

As the talks first matter comes to a close Faunra clears her mouth of any food and follows Stella's lead, "So it seems. I think recon is a wonderful idea. In fact, I think a peak behind the veil is almost necessary before we can plan much farther ahead. Our information is too limited."

She leans over and shifts through a backpack near her; seconds later she sits back up and lays four finely engraved, golden brackets each with a green gem dotted with red flakes in front of her. "First, I'd be more comfortable if everyone would wear one of these during this mission. And yes before you ask, they allow me to observe your location. But not only that, with the proper spells it allows me to heal you without being next to you. So watch were you put it, and if you absolutely need privacy just cover the gem. It only has sight, no other senses. It'll be useful if we separate." She pauses for a second, "Sorry, I haven't had enough time to make one for everyone so we'll have to share for now. Try not to lose them they cost about 100 platinum."

"As for the enchantments, I should be able to provide a suitable defense and perhaps even immunity to them. The immunity will be a guess at this point, as it's impossible to provide a guarantee without knowing more about our target. One of the reasons more information would be useful."

"As for the recon itself. Well, every time we take a peak they get a chance to peak back. So lets try to do this in one clean go. And every magic has a counter. So any well prepared individual, such as are noble friend here, will most likely be well defended against any form of ranged recon. So I believe Stella has got the right idea, our best form of recon is our own eyes. Most of us know how to move around unseen so that's the first bit of good news. We've got some excellent choices of who to send on the job. I'll of course provide whatever defenses I can, but I'd like to go overboard if possible on protecting our scouts. They might very well need it. I could provide magical invisibility, mental protections, the ability to see invisibility creatures, moral boosters, freedom of movement, immunity to most magical sights, telepathic links, some form of flight, various other magics but really there is something else that I think could really help. I purpose that we shift one of our scouts, perhaps all if you all think it's a better idea, to the Ethereal Plane. It'll allow them to move through walls, giving them a much greater range of movement. The obvious downside is that they would be alone, even when they are standing next to us, until someone picks them up with another spell and they would be unable to interact with the physical world."

"If a permanent shift is considered too dangerous or unwise, I could do a temporary one. But it'll only last around four minutes. Not sure that's long enough." She picks up her fork again, taking a piece of food while waiting for a reply.

[CowMasterTrojan]

A look of annoyance crosses Stella's face. "If you think it's really a good idea for someone to go in alone, then that person should be me. I'm already familiar with the building layout, I can see in the dark, climb ceilings, move through walls, and move about unnoticed better than anyone here. Frankly the less magic we have to stick on one person, the better. So throw some mental protection on me, and I'll be off tonight." Standing up straight, she crossed her arms defensively in anticipation that someone would argue with her.

[Elbeyon]

She shook her head, "Not alone. I'd prefer two or three people to go. I was only suggesting that one should be able to pass through physical barriers.... and since you can already do that. I see no reason to take that risk now." A slight frown appearing upon her lips as her statement finished. The last thing she wanted to do was send someone alone or under prepared. Heck, she didn't even think her suggestion would of offended someone.

With the frown soon dissipating, she answered compliantly, "I can see you off whenever you decide to leave, and cast whatever needs to be before you leave."

[AttilaTheGeek]

"Solan mentally reviewed his list of spells. He then added "Why sneak around through a window or a wall when we can walk right in the front door? I can Alter Self and Disguise Other the rest of us- we could arrange a meeting with the pretext of making a deal, get in, kill the noble quietly, and then teleport out before anyone's the wiser. It's unlikely she'd have guards posted with True Seeing. At the very least, I'd like to go to bring spells like True Seeing, Dispel Magic, and Getaway (http://paizo.com/pathfinderRPG/prd/advanced/spells/getaway.html). Ideally, I shouldn't be needed, but if, or when, something goes wrong, I don't want anyone to be stranded there without an intantaneous escape route.

[BelGareth]

Slate watches as the others arrive, some later than others and some more extravagant than most.

He either new of them, from his past interactions or actively engaged with the others, nothing here surprised him.

He listened and watched, hearing what the others had to say, he was hoping to play of what they said to try and manipulate them some how, but he he should have known better. That only worked with simple minded fools, and any one here was anything but.

Piping up he looked at everyone as he stood.

"It would seem the noble has taken the majority vote, I would suggest we make a formal affair out of it, but that would probably only prove to validate what we all ready now."

He stands with his hands clasped behind his back, "So I do believe the questions we are bringing up about the mission are pertinent, however slightly rash.

The question of who and how many are to go scouting is an interesting one, the question should be if we go scouting, or if we all go in at once."

He turns making sure to meet some of the others eyes.

"I for one would suggest, some subtle and maybe not so subtle scouting, prodding and general poking of the beast. For how are we going to best figure out how to manipulate our target into overstepping her bounds, being overconfident in an asset we have already compromised and so forth? I am all for the bravado of instantaneous action, but lets face it. the more Intel we have, the more we can act upon it, the more we can effectively shut down anything that can get in our way.

No one here has gotten were they are now due to rashness and bravado"

he turns and looks at some, "well maybe a few, but as a group, it behooves us to scout out the target. Here is what I suggest.

One, We send in two covert scouts, working as a team, they infiltrate the estate and find all they can about it, watching and listening only. The more covert, the better, and Intel only, no messing around with anything. What we need is eyes and ears on the inside, not an alerted target.

Two, a distraction, something big that will get the city guards, most of the city folk and quite possibly the target out of her house. Maybe we could host a ball of some kind?" he shrugs his shoulders "I'm not great at that, but it would allow us the time to send out scouts in and out.

Three, Eyes and ears on the streets, we pay commoners to do our dirty work, or we do it ourselves, find every rumor, every far fetched thing regarding this new Noble and we analyze it with our scouts. And we keep eyes on that estate.

Four, we find out what her assets are and then abuse them, put her on a heightened alert, making her think someone is going after them, and then we hit her from a different angle.

As for billets, well, its obvious that Caerwyn and Stella are the best for the scouting mission, Faunra and Solan are the most capable of keeping eyes on the target, Ilya and myself could find out any info regarding the estate and then Klara would be the best at distractions...unless of course we're looking for a nonviolent distraction, in which case, then Klara could help Faunra organize some kind of event."

He stops short, "you know, the more I think about it, the better it sounds, why not host some kind of high nobilatas event, we scout the estate, insert ourselves and grab her when she gets back to the house."

He stops and sits, "heh, that's just a thought though."

[CowMasterTrojan]

Stella's ears perk up at Slate's suggestion. She scratches them casually as she speaks. "That's actually a perfect idea Slate. Really the biggest mistake would be going in on her terf, where she controls the scene. A target on the move, partially out of their element, is exposed and significantly weaker. Although no one here has the prestige to gather all the nobles. We may have to pose as a currently existing noble. Which means they have to go away for a while..."

[AttilaTheGeek]

Solan responds, thoughtful. "I think it's a good plan in theory, but it seems vulnerable. How would we successfully take the place of a noble without letting it on to their second in command, or to anyone else? If we just kidnap them and drop in, then whoever takes their place would have no clue about their contact networks, but if we hold the unlucky noble and question him/her, then they're absent from the city for however long it takes us. We could try to bribe someone to our cause, but nobody gets to the top of the totem pole by being honest and helpful, and our combined cash is probably chump change to them. And it only takes one person with True Seeing to see that whoever we send isn't who they say they are."

[CowMasterTrojan]

That evening, Stella teleports back into waterdeep, a city she knew like the back of her hand. Appearing in a dark alley, she quickly climbed the side of a building and made her way to the roof. From there she began to jump from building to building, trying to move along unseen. Like a shadow, she moved quietly and quickly. With no light source other than the moon, she set herself up not far from the Amcathra estate, well hidden between a chimney of a nearby building. Being a catfolk, her eyes were naturally sharp in the moon light. With her googles of keen sight, they were twice as good as normal. It allowed her to watch easily from the darkness. Silently she observed the place, watching any movement around the area. (Is there light inside?)


If I can take 20 on perception, I will. It seems like she would have the time to watch carefully. Giving me a 44. Otherwise the roll is below.
[roll0]

Stealth [roll1]

Acrobatics and Climb she would take 10 on.

[Belial_the_Leveler]

Stella easily sneaks up to the estate unobserved with her skill. Her own observations however cannot prove if the estate is being used; the boarded-up windows and doors are entirely dark. Either no light is being used in the estate at all or heavy curtains have been placed behind the wooden planks - or the openings have been covertly walled over.

The building however is not abandoned. There aren't any overt hints but small things still give out the activity that must be happening inside. First, Stella can see none of the usual city birds or bats taking shelter on the building itself - this indicates at least some activity from inside that scared them away. Secondly, the plants in the manor's front lawn and back yard are too well developed for city plants left untended; someone is watering them and even taking further care of them, and frequently.

Stella wonders if her hearing would be good enough to listen through the boarded-up windows or even thin brick walls for signs of activity if she put an ear to them. Light is easy to block; sound not so much.

[CowMasterTrojan]

Slowly making her way off the roof, Stella makes her way into the estate. As she continues to remain in the shadows, she becomes invisible and moves herself next to the window. Slowly but surely, she listens at several windows and a door.

Telepathic Message to the others. Estate appears dark inside, but it's clear someone is tending the grounds and moving through here on a regular basis. Moving adjacent to the the mansion, to see if I can hear anything.

Stealth
[roll0] Incase someone has true seeing, I can still attempt to be hiding.

Perception [roll1]- Window one
Perception [roll2]- Window Two
Perception [roll3]- Window on second floor (assuming there is one)
Perception [roll4]-Front Door

[Llewelyn]

Caerwyn watched most of the meetings proceedings, contenting himself with a simple nod here and there. The contract on the Noble appeared to be the job of choice, and despite his personal preferences, he'd learned the hard way that some things, you just don't tangle with solo.

With no objections to the plan, he had joined Stella after their preparations were complete, teleporting into a nearby alley that she had described well enough for him to focus on. Rather than climbing onto the roof however, he merely slipped from shadow to shadow, in full feline form given the invisibility already placed on him.

As he drew near, he leaped up, running along the air to the roof of a nearby building, then creeped along, taking a overwatch position along the edge of the roof overlooking the estate as he waited for further news from Stella.

Stealth for the trip(invis bonus included): [roll0]
Stealth once in position(including invis bonus): [roll1]
Perception for the overwatch: [roll2]

[Golden Ladybug]

I watched with eyes half-lidded as Stella and Caerwyn prepared to teleport back to Waterdeep, feigning disinterest.

In reality, my mind was racing. When Slate had suggested his plan to entrap the noble, he'd put me forward as the person to plan a social event. Clearly, someone had misjudged someone else at this meeting, and I wasn't sure who. Not that I minded, of course.

I waited for the two of them to leave, before moving back into the conversation.

"So, you want me to organise a distraction? Well, I think I can arrange something. I have been meaning to pay a visit to Skullport..." I suggested, although it was clear enough that the "violent distraction" ship had all but sailed. Shrugging, I changed tact.

"On the other hand, if we're going to stage a Social Event to draw this "Lady Aria" out, then we should probably consider the risk of consolidating her control of the city. If we grant her access to the Aristocracy she does not already control, and we are right about her using Mind Magic..."

I tilted my head to the right, trying to act as if I were having a sudden epiphany "But...that could be our bait. Perhaps we find out what Nobility she does not have control over, invite them all. If she does want Control of the city, then we dangle what she wants in front of her. She'll show. Then we block off all the exits and deal with her there"

I rapped my knuckles along the expertly fitted wooden sheathe of my Blade, and smiled absent-mindedly. I decided not to tell the others about my plans for the Nobles in attendance. It would probably just upset them.

[Belial_the_Leveler]

Stella considers each of the boarded-up windows carefully as she listens - it doesn't take her sensitive ears long to hear the clang of metal on metal coming from behind the walls over the usual sounds of the city at night. If she didn't know better -and she really doesn't- she would swear there are pairs of fighters dueling or doing weapons practice behind these walls. Many dozens of fighters. The sounds however are quite faint even for boarded-up windows and they get stronger the lower she goes; they must be coming either from deep inside the building or from some sort of basement...


Caerwyn easily jumps from rooftop to rooftop, getting closer to Stella and observing her actions carefully - or he would if he could pinpoint her at all; her skill at stealth is high enough that even his practiced scout eyes cannot find her in the darkness. Shame - he might have liked to watch her work.
On the other hand, he does not fail to notice a small team of patrolling guards in full plate armor making their rounds around the area. One of them, apparently their senior, halts the group exactly where Caerwyn appeared via teleportation and peers at the empty alley intently for a few moments. He pauses to say something to the other guards and one of them vanishes - literally dissipating before Caerwyn's eyes. The others turn around and go through the streets - but they aren't looking at ground level. No, they are looking at the tops of buildings. Caerwyn can see the head guard's eyes glowing green against the darkness even through his helmet and at that great distance as the guard quickly follows the scout's own course.

Caerwyn halts in surprise for a moment - how did a city guard, however well-trained, spot him or track him in the night, let alone discovered his arrival point with such ease?
Then Caerwyn realizes the guard couldn't have. And in normal circumstances wouldn't have. But that greenish glow in the guard's eyes is something he has seen before - the side effect of a spell. A fairly low-power and not often used magic that would enable someone to see magic auras. And magic auras tend to linger. A teleportation would leave an aura behind that might last for some time - that's how the guard saw his arrival point.
But far, far worse would be the auras on Caerwyn himself. Every single spell on him -his invisibility included-, every magic item, every magical effect would have its own aura. So for those that had this spell on, Caerwyn would be someone trying to sneak around while carrying dozens of lit torches...

[Llewelyn]

Thinking fast, Caerwyn turns and continues off at his full 50' cat form land speed, as quick as his stealth will allow, but in a direction angled to take him past the estate towards whatever was in the direction he had already travelled, as if his true destination was beyond there.

Magic-detecting patrol. Able to see auras. Acting as decoy. More may be near. Beware. He thought quickly across the bond as he dashed towards whatever sector of the city he was headed towards. As he moved, he kept an eye out for sewer entrances.

Once he was well past the estate, the number of entrances thin out, or he is starting to reach an area where the roof travel starts getting unmanageable, he will move within range of the nearest one and shadow-jump into the sewers.

Stealth: [roll0]
Perception to spot sewer grates: [roll1]

[Belial_the_Leveler]

Caerwyn easily outpaces the patrol; he is faster to begin with, he can go through build-up areas while they are streetbound and their heavy armor is slowing them down even more. Since this is the district where nobles have their estates, he's in luck; there are sewers large enough for him to fit in and vanish. Were he in the docks or in some poorer neighborhood, the sewers might have not been big enough... or existed at all.


As he goes through the small, manmade, extremely stinky cavern, it occurs to him that a noble's manor would definitely have a link to the sewers.

[CowMasterTrojan]

With no idea of her companions trouble, she carefully switches the gloves she wears. Putting on her gloves of reconnaissance (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/magic-items/wondrous-items/wondrous-items/e-g/gloves-of-reconnaissance), she then receives the message from Caerwyrn. Turning she glances in their direction. They were still far enough away to not be a threat, for now.

Thanks for the heads-up. I'm almost done here I hope.

Placing her hands over the wall, she uses the gloves. If the wall is less than 15 feet thick, it allows her to see inside. She looks inside for 2 rounds, and if she sees no one then she will spend 1 ki point and step through the wall with ghost step.

[Belial_the_Leveler]

The house is entirely lightless, and very dusty and spooky but Stella is not frightened. After all, the corridor she can see is entirely empty. Using her supernatural mastery of the arts of hiding and sneaking, she crosses through the wall and into the building.

As soon as she does so, she suddenly feels heavier. Her weight doesn't increase but the feeling of carrying around a metaphorical anvil or having thrown a metaphorical anchor persists. And a light greenish glow plays against her skin and clothes.

[CowMasterTrojan]

Clearly magic is in use. Thankfully no one is around. Yet. Knowing this isn't her area of expertise, Stella uses her telepathy to get the information of others.

Just barely inside the house. As soon as I entered, I immediately felt some sort of metaphorical anvil on me. Not weighing me down, just doing something else. I also seem to be glowing light green. Anyone have any idea what this is?

Stella uses another Ki point and tries to leave. Knowing that she can leave at any time is worth 2 extra ki points being spent to come back inside. If this does what I think it does, and she can't, priorities will be different.

[Belial_the_Leveler]

Stella is unable to phase through the wall; her form remains stubbornly corporeal. She suspects the greenish aura on her is to blame, the magic anchoring her in some way.

[CowMasterTrojan]

Dimensional Anchoring inside the house.

Stella quietly begins making her way towards the nearest exit.
Stealth[roll0]

[Belial_the_Leveler]

The house remains dusty, dark and empty. Ancient, cobweb-covered, slowly rotting furniture adorns every room in this floor and the interior doors have long-since been broken or collapsed under their own weight as they rotted. Decorations of brass, copper and iron have mostly rusted away, carpets and curtains have been reduced to moldy patches of slime and even the marble statues of the once-proud manor are blackened and pitted. The building might have remained unused for years but this isn't the kind of wear and tear that happens in a decade or two; this would need centuries... or the corrupting touch of some foul power.

Stella can't find an exit that hasn't been walled over and covered with thick iron bars. Opening one of the windows would take nearly as much effort as pounding through a brick wall now - and she hasn't seen the main door yet.
And the more she stays in the house - nearly a minute by now - the more danger she's in. The clang of weapons from below has stopped and the atmosphere is getting thicker, puffs of mist rising through cracks on the floor...

[Llewelyn]

On hearing about the anchoring, Caerwyn cursed softly. He could either try and see if the sewer entrance was still present and unguarded, which didn't seem likely given that finding, or he could teleport back to the castle and rejoin everyone else, by which time everything might be over.

Turning, he began to make his way back through the sewers in the direction of the estate, padding carefully through the murky depths. Attempting return and entrance through sewers. Continue or rejoin at home?, he sent back.

[CowMasterTrojan]

They are coming. They likely know someone is here. So be it. I will not go quietly.

Stella begins looking for stairs as well as a door out. If she couldn't escape outward, she would escape upward. As she moves, she changes her gloves back. She was trained for this. Calming her breath and heart rate, she moves swiftly through the shadows.

Do you know for certain there's a way up through the sewers?

[BelGareth]

Slate gets dressed S he sees the others prepare to head out, he knew he was going to have to go into town and probably bash some heads in.

Sighing as he donned his armor, he strapped his trusty shield to his back and re-strapped his sword belt back on.

Returning to the meeting area, he stalled for a moment to listen to the two scout already afield.

Good thing too.

Her quickly turned to those present.

"quick! Who can get us there now?"

[Golden Ladybug]

"I can teleport us to Waterdeep" I told the others, Slate's urgency clear to all, "I've been all over that city, including the area around the Estate, so there shouldn't be any problem getting there"

I held out one hand to the others, and looked down at My Sword in the other. Knowledge was what I needed right now, and the Blade - My Blade - was what taught me this Magic in the first place. It knew exactly what I needed.

My Blade's voice whispered instructions directly into my mind, and I felt our bond waver ever so slightly... then the Spell blossomed into my Mind.

"Shall we go?" I asked, broadcasting the same question along the Telepathic Bond to the two scouts.

Spend 5 Points from my Arcane Pool to prepare Teleport. We're probably going to need to get there faster than 5 Minutes if we're to bust Stella out of the Dimension Locked House before Vampires start rocking up. Or Half-Aboleth Vampires. Or Normal Humans (but who would be cruel enough to do something like that :smallbiggrin:)

Ready an Action to Cast Teleport. I'm treating Klara's Familiarity as Studied Carefully, if you've got no objection to that Belial?

No one open this until we Teleport, 'kay? :smallbiggrin:
[roll0]

[Llewelyn]

Don't know for sure, but if not can try coming up near there.

Quickly, the elven snow leopard made his way through the pungent tunnels. Once he was fairly close by his reckoning of distance traveling, he began to look for any signs of a way up, either to the street above or into the building itself, while keeping a wary eye out for any signs of magical protections.

Survival(for reckoning of distance): [roll0]
Stealth(just in case): [roll1]
Perception(to find a useful way up and avoid any protections that True Seeing etc might spot)[roll2]

[Belial_the_Leveler]

As Stella moves to the top floor of the mansion, she hears the flapping of hundreds upon hundreds of wings. In moments, the entire corridor is filled with countless winged things the size of mice that bite and scrape at her with tiny claws; bats. Literally thousands of them.
Stella takes 5 swarm damage. DC 11 fortitude save or be nauseated. She also has HP bleed 1, meaning she'll be losing 1 HP/round till she receives healing magic or a DC 10 heal check.

Also, she doesn't find any exits this round.


In the sewers below, Caerwyn finally finds those tunnels that lead close to the mansion above. The smaller path to his left leads to a sewer drain exiting before the mansion at ground level. A much bigger path, wide enough for a small boat to float in the foul stream of sewage, appears to lead beneath the mansion itself. Unsurprisingly, this second path has recently seen maintenance, new supports and quite a bit of cleaning to the subterranean sidewalks; it is obviously being used by someone... or something.

[AttilaTheGeek]

Before accepting the teleport, Solan casts Overland Flight, Haste on the party, and Getaway. "I have gold for spell components, but I don't have them on me and we don't have time to zip down to the local magic shop." He turns to Faunra. "Can I have a True Seeing, please?". He then turns back to the rest of the party. "Does anyone want invisibility?" ((If so, he gives them Invisibility.)) He then casts Invisibility on himself.

[Llewelyn]

Entrance below. Well-used, probably guarded or trapped. What is teleport destination?

After sending the quick query, Caerwyn remained in the shadows at the fork, waiting for the answer to determine which way he goes.

[CowMasterTrojan]

Fort Save (if it's 2+, I make it) [roll0]

Stella uses a her move action to move out of the center of bats. She spends two ki, as a standard action she throws a ki charged shuriken into the center of the bats. The shuriken explodes with destructive fire, a 5 ft radius.
Shuriken attack roll [roll1] (Supposedly if it hits, the creature takes a -2 to saves. How that works with swarms it doesn't say.)
Damage [roll2] (DC 27 reflex for half)

Finally, no longer invisible from fauna, Stella uses her vanishing trick to become invisible once more.


Yeah, this mansion is definitely a trap. They knew I was here as soon as I entered. Currently being attacked by a ton of bats.

Stella makes a few swipes in the air, but is no fool. There are too many, too scattered to hope to kill with her claws. Cartwheeling backwards, she tries to put a small amount of distance between her and the bats. Stopping only 30 feet away, she turns and slips a shuriken into her hand.

"Try a taste of this!" She cries, and tosses it into the center of the bats before they could follow her. The shuriken glowed as it traveled into the center of the bats, before exploding in fire and shrapnel.

[BelGareth]

Seeing solan casting he too casts several spells, and then wastes no time, grabbing a hold of Klara's offered hand.

"I am ready"


Divine power
Greater Invisibility
See Invisibility

[AttilaTheGeek]

Solan slings his two rods across his back as he takes Klara's other hand.

"Let's go."

[Chambers]

Ilya

<<Discovered already?>> Ilya thinks through the mental bond. She stands up from the table and checks that her blade is loose in its scabbard then walks over to Klara.<<Our priority should be in evacuating Stella and Caerwyn . The reconnaissance has been ruined; we must retreat. It would be most unwise to attack her in her stronghold.>>

Activating her Scabbard of Keen Edges (last for 50 minutes).

[Belial_the_Leveler]

Stella's supernaturally charged shuriken explodes and takes out the swarm of bats that was attacking her. Stella is about to go invisible when she hears the flapping of more wings from other directions and more swarms appearing from every direction. She's not sure if her invisibility would even help in this case - don't bats navigate perfectly even in total darkness? In any case, these swarms each take up the width of a corridor - they'll bump onto her, invisibility or no.
3 more swarms coming up. Stella realizes invisibility is not very useful against bat swarms - you can have her go invisible anyway but that would be a waste of ki
Also, she'll be covered by a swarm again by turns end so take another 3 damage and DC 11 nausea effect.


waiting for the teleportation destination from the others - before the mansion, inside the mansion, under the mansion or somewhere else?

[BelGareth]

I would say the same spot as they did, or is Karla trying to Port directly to one of them?

[Golden Ladybug]

Klara's intention was to land the teleport outside the mansion, presumably on the street in front of it (although our friendly neighbourhood teleport alley would also be fine).

Klara's hasn't been inside the compound before, so aiming for it would' e been somewhat ill-advised. If we all land outside, we can still easily storm the place and rescue Stellafrom the feared "mildly annoying bat swarms" before actual vampires start showing up.

[Belial_the_Leveler]

The teleportation spell deposits the team -minus Stella and Caerwyn- before the manor's heavy double doors. The portal is ten feet wide and fifteen tall, made of once exquisitely carved, iron-bound heavy oak but now blackened, its decorations worn away. Thick wooden planks have been used to board up the entrance and, presumably, it has been sealed from the inside as well given what Stella saw of the windows.

At almost the same time, Caerwyn comes out of a nearby sewer grate, having felt the group's arrival through the telepathic bond.

As far as you can tell through that same bond, Stella is on the mansion's third (and top) floor, in a corridor not far from the building's front.

You guys post actions and roll initiative. If you want to wait for someone else's actions first, please indicate so.

[Golden Ladybug]

I staggered slightly once the spell discharged, the sickly feeling that always accompanied teleportation fading too slowly for my liking. I shook my head, and pushed off into the sky.

"I'll try to give Stella an exit" I told the others, welcoming the others to do the same.

Overland Flight is already active, cast while I was burning down taverns for rumours. I'll use at least one move (two if I have a second. Depends on whether we arrive the same turn I used teleport) to fly up to the third floor, and then to the closet window to Stella I can reach.

For initiative, [roll0]

[AttilaTheGeek]

Looking at the large imposing gate, Solan warns the rest of the party. "If we just stroll nicely through the front door, they'll be waiting for us. Best to go around the side and find Stella." Solan flies up next to Klara, and tries to find a way to open the window quietly.

If I have enough actions left to cast a spell, and the window is locked, I cast Knock.

If the window is just boarded up (as opposed to locked shut), or if you rule I can't Knock it because it's a window instead of a door, I turn to Klara and say "Should we just use some of our trademark subtlety and blast our way in?"

[Llewelyn]

Caerwyn senses the two take off into the air, and takes off running into the air after them by way of the Air Walk. If he had been visible, anyone watching would have seen him change as well, his form shimmering as he shifts from a snow leopard into his hybrid form.

Once there, he took up an offensive stance, muscles taut under spotted silver fur as he prepared to face the enemies within.

50' move ought to be plenty enough to join them up there. Using the standard to shift, since that's normally a move action. Once up there, activating dragon stance as a swift action.

If the window is boarded up, after Solan's question Caerwyn shrugs and says, "They already know we're here, so why not announce ourselves properly? When feint-and-pounce fails, there is always scream-and-leap."

Initiative: [roll0]

[Chambers]

Ilya Dlardrageth

<<I will guard the front.>> Ilya says through the bond. <<Maintain silence, speaking only through the bond until we've escaped.>> She walks down the steps slowly as she watches the street for approaching guards, her right hand lightly gripping the handle of her sheathed blade.

Initiative [roll0]

Ilya will spend her turn getting familiar with the area and looking for anyone either hidden or approaching.

Perception [roll1]

[Belial_the_Leveler]

Using the telepathic bond, the team can easily coordinate with Stella inside the building and thus the flying team members reach the third-floor window closest to her.

But the boarded-up, barred, walled-up window responds to no unlocking attempts, not even magical ones. Probably because it no longer has a lock any more than a wall does - it will have to be destroyed or bypassed.

[AttilaTheGeek]

Solan says, through the bond, "Well, then. Shall we?"

He points his index finger at the center of the boards over the window, and a thin green beam strikes the building. "Disintegrate!"

[BelGareth]

Shamus stays on the ground, not having the combatative means to fly as some of the others of the party, with his two signature weapons in hand and ready he searched about, making sure no one was approaching to make things worse for them.

<<I shall remain down here and secure the area from the ground, we need to keep control of the area, get them out, and fast!>> He thinks to the rest of the team, he always hated it when he was out of his element, and others were leading the charge to the enemy.

He would have to by some boots of flying, because a flying carpet just doesn't cut it sometimes...

[Golden Ladybug]

Satisfied that the others could Disintegrate their way to Stella's aid without my help, I floated calmly above the nearly created Hole in the wall, keeping an eye on those rushing inside and those still on the street.

Eyeing the streets and the hallways, I eased My Blade slightly from its scabbard.

Just delaying my Action at the moment, and waiting for something that requires stabbing/debuffing

[Llewelyn]

Caerwyn's stance changes slightly, dropping into a more balanced form as he observes the results of the spell, waiting a moment for the dust to clear to see how far the spell had penetrated.

Activating Crane Stance - both stances are now active. Waiting on the rest of my action until we find out how well the disintegrate worked.

[Belial_the_Leveler]

The emerald beam hits the boarded-up window and with a flash of light the barrier is gone; planks, window, bars and brick are all reduced into fine dust blown away by the wind, leaving behind a ten-feet-wide hole in the manson's front.

Through the gap, Stella can be seen, harried by the terrible monsters that guard the mansion; a large swarm of bats!

[Belial_the_Leveler]

Mist pours out of the tiny gaps in the old mansion's main door and ground-floor barred windows... and a few moments later solidifies in a dozen heavily-armored, helmeted forms with longswords and tower shields. Well over six feet long, the towering black knights spread an aura of otherworldliness...

In the skies above, thousands of bats pour out of small holes in the mansion's roof and form into several dozen swarms - most probably summoned by the vampires below as soon as intrudes were detected.

[CowMasterTrojan]

Fortitude Save [roll0]
Fortitude Save [roll1]


As the dust clears from the barrier, a form quickly shoots out like a bat out of hell. Landing close to the others with a rolling landing, Stella lands near the others gracefully and painlessly. Now cut all over her body by bat bites, she stands up and watches as the vermin follows. "Welcome to the party guys."

Spells on Stella

Extended Mind Blank, Level 8 (Greater Extend Rod)
Freedom of Movement, Level 4
Air Walk, Level 4
Heroism, Level 3
Extended Invisibility, Level 3
Magic Circle against Evil, Level 3
Extended True Seeing, Level 6 (Rod of Extend)

[Golden Ladybug]

I smiled cheerfully at the appearance of the Black-clad Knights; I'd been waiting for something to kill!

With a savage movement, I slashed my left hand down towards them and an explosion of sound and light seared the air around my fingertips; a baleful arc of Lightning erupted from my index finger, tremendous heat and light ignored by habit and my protective lenses.

The bolt of Lightning I had conjured tore through the air, striking the foremost guard squarely, the charge exploding through her metal armor. The Electricty Surged, separating and sparking through her backplate, more Bolts spearing into the rest of her cohort, striking each in turn.

The final bolts, out of Guards to strike, flashed into the air, tearing holes in the nearest swarms of Bats.

Teeth glinting, I flew down into the crowd of injured Guards, My Blade flashing from its Sheathe, pitch-dark blade scything invisibly through the Night.

So, lets open up with a Chain Lightning on our Vampire Friends, hitting them once each (with the final six bolts being aimed at any Bat Swarms that are in range)

DC 22 Reflex Save for Half Damage (DC 20 for all targets after the first, who take half this damage automatically, and a quarter on a successful save)

[roll0]

Then spend my move action to fly over to them (so, if they're within 40ft, I'm there!)

[AttilaTheGeek]

"Let's do this.", Solan mutters with a glare. "Time Stop."

I'm doing what you think I'm doing. [roll0] rounds of apparent time. Buffs up are Haste (~13 rounds), Overland Flight (the rest of the day) and Invisibility (17 minutes, unless Disintegrating the window broke it)

[AttilaTheGeek]

Round 1:Summon Monster VIII for [roll0] Greater Fire Elementals (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/bestiary/monster-listings/outsiders/elemental/elemental-fire/greater-fire-elemental).

Quickened Summon Monster VI (quickened through metamagic rod; rod has 2/3 charges left) for [roll1] Large Fire Elementals (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/bestiary/monster-listings/outsiders/elemental/elemental-fire/large-fire-elemental).

Round 2:Delayed Blast Fireball, to detonate in 2 rounds. [roll2], reflex DC 29 for half.

Quickened Greater Invisibility.

Round 3:Delayed Blast Fireball (on the same half as the first fireball), to detonate in 1 round. [roll3], reflex DC 29 for half.

Quickened True Strike.

Buffs up afterward:
Haste (~10 rounds)
Greater Invisibility (17 rounds)
Overland Flight (several hours)
True Strike (1 round, or until my next attack roll)

[Llewelyn]

As the lightning and fire blossoms around the armored figures, Caerwyn bares his teeth in a feral grin. Launching himself off the air itself, he shot down at the lead guard like an arrow, slamming headfirst into him before exploding in a whirl of claws on his unfortunate target.

Pouncing charge at the lead guard to full attack at the end.
Unarmed strikes(using head, so no bite):
Attack:[roll0][roll1][roll2]
Damage:[roll3][roll4][roll5]
Claw attacks(including the rakes from the charge):
Attack:[roll6][roll7][roll8][roll9]
Damage:[roll10][roll11][roll12][roll13]

If the lead guard goes boom before my turn comes up, then I'll go after whichever guard is behind him.

Spells active:
Extended Mind Blank, Level 8 (Greater Extend Rod)
Freedom of Movement, Level 4
Air Walk, Level 4
Heroism, Level 3
Extended Invisibility, Level 3 <--- this'll go poof after I attack
Magic Circle against Evil, Level 3
Extended True Seeing, Level 6 (Rod of Extend)

[Chambers]

Ilya Dlardrageth

<<Everyone regroup outside the mansion.>> Ilya narrows her eyes as the soldiers form up out of the mist and five quick steps takes her to the nearest one, her blade out and flashing through the air without a sound. <<Our goal is to rescue the scouts, not a frontal assault. Form up on the street behind me, we need to disengage.>>

Swift Action: Challenge nearest soldier.
Move Action (50ft speed): Move to soldier.
Free + Standard: Draw katana and Iaijutsu Strike (Power Attack + Furious Focus) soldier.

Iaijutsu Strike
Attack vs Armor Class [roll0]
Weapon Damage [roll1]
Iaijutsu Damage [roll2]

If she hits, all foes within 30ft must make a DC 23 Will save or be Shaken for [roll3] rounds (most likely irrelevant - vampires) and a DC 23 Fort save or be Deafened for [roll4] minutes (most likely irrelevant - undead).

Also if she hits she'll attempt to Demoralize him as a free action. Probably won't work (vampires), but it's her style.

Demoralize [roll5]

AC 34 (36 versus her Challenge target)
HP 167/167
F/R/W +20/+19/+12

Spells & Effects: Haste, Challenge, Scabbard of Keen Edges

[Belial_the_Leveler]

The brilliant arcs of electricity strike the armored knights in a torrent of sparks and thunder but -surprisingly for such heavily armored individuals- they dodge out of the way, taking little apparent damage. The lightning arcs to the swarms of bats overhead - but to even less effect.

A split second later, Solan's magic takes effect; several towering figures made of red flames in vaguely humanoid shapes appear before the mansion, crowding the enemy. But that is far from all Solan did; blasts of fire powerful enough to crack stone and melt metal roar against the enemy. The mansion's front door is blasted inwards, its wooden beams and bars no match for the blasts. Cobblestones and the brick of the mansion's outer walls fare better, but even they turn red-hot, their surface melted and blasted away to the depth of several inches. But the dozen enemy knights have apparently prepared for such attacks; those within the blast radius roll aside, catching as little flame as possible... and the fire that does touch them is absorbed, drunk in by an invisible layer of protection before it can burn them. Solan recognizes the effects of a magical protection from the elements - almost certainly attuned against fire, a vampire's enemy.


Caerwyn strikes out at the closest guard, his claws and fangs combining with his training to dish out a great deal of punishment. Except that the "heavily armored" guard dances away from one of his blows, several more are deflected by an unseen force and those that do strike do not hit armor. What they do hit is soft yet unyielding, with the properties of unarmored flesh and iron both, clothed in a silk sheet light enough to be all but nonexistent. Caerwyn's target grunts softly - a high pitched, feminine grunt - and his claws come back coated lightly with silvery ichor at the edges.

Illya has fewer troubles than the others with their foes' apparent invulnerability; she jumps close to another guard at the frontline and draws her blade in a lightning-fast motion, its arc intended to take it through the target's guts as it comes out, combining the force of a deliberate blow with the momentum of a lightning-fast two-handed draw. The elven knight's target screams, silvery ichor splattering pavement and combatants both. The scream is unearthly, musical and feminine, its tone even more ethereal and magical than that of an elven singer, from what Illya remembers of such things from her early years.



The enemy growls in outrage at their vanguard's receiving such powerful attacks. More than half of them turn towards the two apparent frontline combatants - Illya and Caerwyn. Two of the knights turn to face them directly, seemingly glaring at them with fury... and the weight of the fury hits Illya and Caerwyn like a hammer to the head. Caerwyn's target reaches out towards him with a light touch despite her apparently gloved and unarmed hand. Unarmed or not, Caerwyn has heard of the life-draining abilities of vampires and is not about to underestimate that gesture. Similarly, Illya's opponent performs exactly the same attack upon the elven warrior.

The remaining fiends of darkness search a moment or two for the sorcerer that blasted them with fire and summoned the elementals. Not finding them thanks to Solan's greater invisibility, they all focus on what they've identified to be another spellfaster - Faunra. Their supernatural stares hammer at the oracle, knocking her to her knees...

@true seeing:
Those of the group with true seeing can see the nature of the enemy now that they have come close enough to attack and out of the strange mist that suffuses the mansion's lower layer;
All of the "knights" are female; tall, lithe women with the pointy ears of an elf, the dainty fangs and claws of a vampire, the coal-red eyes of a demon and the curves of any man's dreams. They are unarmed and unarmored, clad only in a gossamer gown of spidersilk, sheer, sleeveless and ethereal, tied with a simple silvery sash at the waist. Despite their lack of weapons, shoes or other articles of clothing or war, they fight with a feral ferocity to match their looks.

[Golden Ladybug]

I scrunched up my lip in annoyance as the Knights danced away from Flame and Lightning, pondering the situation. They were clearly more agile and evasive than anyone wearing Heavy Armor had any right to be.

This might be a challenge I thought to myself, not particularly upset by it. Challenges that could be surmounted were always enjoyable.

Briefly touching each of the four daggers at my belt, I whispered the spell that would turn them into a whirling storm of Mithral. The Blades unsheathed themselves and floated into Orbit around me, quickly picking up speed as did so.

I considered roaring loudly as I cast a second spell at the closest Knight, sending a shock of Electricty along the Length of My Blade with a quick gesture and a whispered Arcane syllable. Practised motions, guided by My Blades own skill and power, whipped around the Knight's armour and struck between the gap between her Breastplate and Helmet; the Lightning discharged from My Blade and arced into the Knight.

I twirled around on the tips of my feet, falling into a half-crouch, My Blade twisting like a snake and hooking around, and slashed across the back of the Knight's Legs, aiming for the flesh behind her knee joint Armor. The black metal of My Blade cracking like a whip, I slid back and performed a half pirouette, changing my grip so that I could strike again on her other leg. Satisfied with my work, I bounced back to my feet, and ran the dark edge of My Sword two-handed along the Elbow of her Sword Arm.

Executing another Pirouette, I whipped My Blade around my body and released my left hand from the hilt. Moving my now free hand to her Breastplate, I drove the point up of My Sword into her Armpit.

I pulled in close to my foe, as close as a Lover, and sighed, before pushing hard against the Breastplate and pulling My Sword free, the pitch dark Blade now stained with silvery blood. With a flick, I dislodged most of it from My Blade, which was purring in pleasure.

<<We drew a lot of attention to ourselves. We kill the Noblewoman here and now, before she has time to properly retaliate, or to escape. We might not get another chance>> I sent to the others through the Telepathic bond, watching my enemies through the Ring of Daggers orbiting me <<So, what am I fighting?>>

Klara doesn't have any ranks in Knowledge: Religion, and I don't think identifying Vampires falls under DC10. So, she doesn't actually know what these guys are :smallbiggrin:

First, using Spell Combat to cast Wreathe of Blades (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/magic/all-spells/w/wreath-of-blades), to provide myself with a bit of extra damage to throw around against them, if I'm going to be in the thick of Melee. I'll get around to other Defensive Buffs... soonish

When we get to combat, the first thing I'll be doing is use an oh-so-precious Free Action for Black Blade Strike, giving me +4 to hit and damage for the next minute. This, along with Haste, means that I've payed for my Combat EXpertise and Spell Combat, which is nice.

Next, a Quickened Instensified Shocking Grasp, channelled through my Black Blade with Spellstrike. Sadly, they're not actually wearing Metal Armor or wielding a Metal Weapon, so I don't get the nice +3

To-Hit [roll0]
Damage [roll1]
Shocking Grasp [roll2]

Then, my Full Attack routine.

To-Hit [roll3]
Damage [roll4]
To-Hit [roll5]
Damage [roll6]
To-Hit [roll7]
Damage [roll8]
To-Hit [roll9]
Damage [roll10]

If, at any point during this routine, my target stops being Alive, then I'll switch targets to the nearest enemy within range of my Blade and/or 5ft Step.

I think at this point that we should go on in. If the Noblewoman isn't dead by the end of this, its unlikely we'll get another chance to hit her. She was not necessary likely to come to a social function we put on, and she's certainly not ideal to leave around. Also, if we don't torch the Coffins the Vampires are hanging out in, then we'll have to destroy them again

And stabbing multiple times probably counts as interaction, at least enough for a Will Saving Throw [roll11]

EDIT: Buffs and Other Relevant Statistics inbound!

Buffs:
-Haste (Duration 9 Rounds)
-Overland Flight (Duration ~15 Hours)
-Scabbard of Keen Edges (Duration ~49 Minutes)
-Wreathe of Blades (Duration 18 Rounds)

HP: 174/174
AC: 51 (T31 FF38)
F: +21
R: +23
W: +17

[AttilaTheGeek]

Solan looks down, irritated. They don't want to burn? I'll make them burn! "Greater Dispel Magic." How do you like that?

Hearing the conversation through the telepathic bond, Solan comments. <<We're here, now, fighting guards and making a huge scene. If we back off now, she'll be even more prepared for the next fight. We need to press forward. As to exactly what they are, I'm guessing vampires, but that's about it.>>

Greater Dispel Magic as an area dispel, naming Resist Energy. Dispel check: [roll0] against DC 11+ CL. I'm aiming the 20' radius to catch as many as I can in it.

No move action- I'm still 40' in the air.

HP 111/111
AC 29, Touch 17 FF 17.
50% miss chance for invisibility.
F/R/W +13/+12/+15

Buffs:
-Haste, 9 rounds
-Overland Flight, ~18 hours
-Greater Invisibility, 16 rounds

[Llewelyn]

Caerwyn nimbly sidesteps the touch, much the same as his opponent had avoided the weakest of his earlier strikes. <First blood! They wear illusion. No armor, only flesh. Avoid their touch.>

The elven leopard leaped back again into the air as he took their measure, watching the strange creatures warily. Quickly, he scratched out a strange gesture. In response, his claws and teeth seemed to grow slightly sharper... or was it just their imagination?



Moved back up 50ft into the air. They can try an AoO against AC53 if they really want to, and even if the first one does manage to land a blow, I can deflect the first melee attack this round with no issue. After that, casting Strong Jaw on myself.

Buffs:
Strong Jaw (7 minutes) <--- just cast
Extended Mind Blank (48 hours)
Freedom of Movement (~170 minutes + perm from ring)
Air Walk, (~170 minutes, assuming 10 min from scout arrival until combat start)
Heroism (~170 minutes)
Magic Circle against Evil (~170 minutes)
Extended True Seeing, (~26 minutes)


HP: 185/185
AC: 49 (T33 FF41)
F: +24
R: +26
W: +22

[Athaleon]

Without warning a heavily armored figure wades recklessly into the fray, his polearm gleaming as it slices deadly arcs into several of the false knights. As his weapon spins this way and that, the warrior cuts a savage path through to his allies. His body language and contemptuous leer practically dares his enemies to attack him.


One month later, reinforcements arrive!

- As a free action, activating Haste via his Mithral Full Plate of Speed.

- Using the Lunge feat to extend his reach by 5' while taking a -2 penalty to AC.

- Activating Robilar's Gambit (http://dndtools.eu/feats/players-handbook-ii--80/robilars-gambit--2465/). Final AC of 31, and enemies get +4 on attack and damage rolls against him.

- As a free action? Designating the most dangerous-looking enemy (or else the nearest one still standing) as the subject of his Ring of Foe Focus. +2 AC and Saves. vs that one enemy.

- Using his archetype (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/classes/core-classes/fighter/archetypes/paizo---fighter-archetypes/dawnflower-dervish)features, he will combine 50' of movement with a full attack action. The attacks can be made at any point during his movement.

He will attempt to move into cohesion with the rest of the party, hitting enemies on the way there. Trying not to get in the way of their spells and ranged attacks.

He will put one attack into each enemy within reach. If he misses an enemy, he will retry with his next attack.

- Automatically makes Trip attempts against any enemy he hits and deals 10 or more damage to, via the Knock-Down (http://dndtools.eu/feats/sword-and-fist-a-guidebook-to-monks-and-fighters--50/knock-down--3189/) feat.

Full Attack Routine:


First Iterative:
Attack: [roll0]
Damage: [roll1]
Trip Attempt: [roll2]

Haste Attack:
Attack: [roll3]
Damage: [roll4]
Trip Attempt: [roll5]

Second Iterative:
Attack: [roll6] (with +5 bonus from Weapon Supremacy (http://dndtools.eu/feats/players-handbook-ii--80/weapon-supremacy--3125/))
Damage: [roll7]
Trip Attempt: [roll8]

Third Iterative:
Attack: Flat +44 (taking 10 on the roll, again via Weapon Supremacy)
Damage: [roll9]
Trip Attempt: [roll10]

Fourth Iterative:
Attack: [roll11]
Damage: [roll12]
Trip Attempt: [roll13]


Note: Pierce Magical Concealment (http://dndtools.eu/feats/complete-arcane--55/pierce-magical-concealment--2158/) ignores miss chances from spells and SLA's. Miss chances from mundane causes still apply.

Attack & Damage Accounting (for me as much as for the DM):

Attack:
+18 (BAB)
+12 (STR)
+5 (Enhancement)
+4 (Weapon Focus, Greater Weapon Focus, Melee Weapon Mastery)
+6 (Weapon Training + Gloves of Dueling)
+1 (Haste)
-2 (Lightning Strike)
= 44

+2 on the Trip attempts (Improved Trip)

Damage:
+18 (STR w/ two-handed weapon)
+5 (Enhancement)
+6 (Weapon Specialization, Greater Weapon Specialization, Melee Weapon Mastery)
+6 (Weapon Training + Gloves of Dueling)