Tides of War [IC]

[BelGareth]

The Tides of War
Chapter 1:Introductions

For what ever devil, duke, Master or superior, you work for, the message was short and simple.

You were to go to a specific spot on the Avernus and find the Devil in charge, by all accounts a Pit Fiend looking to promote.

You easily go to the spot, seeing the barren wasteland that is the battlefield against the Ta'nari, rivers of blood still trickling their way down to the River Styx splash at your feet as you move through or over the wasting corpse's of a thousand year old war victims. Devils, Demons and mortals alike, some frozen by devilish magic, others withered by demonic curses, all dead.

You find the outcropping easily enough, and await for your new master, the feeling of something new on the horizon, and with it the possibility of being promoted...or demoted...depending on your ability.

You hear the rumbling of the ground moments your feel the dark presence and the oppressive heat that signals the arrival of a greater Devil. A great gout of flame erupts and a huge Pit Fiend walks through the flames to arrive, it takes stock and looks at each of you in turn (those of you here) and grunts.


http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-54W09BI7MlI/ThHIzP4PkBI/AAAAAAAAAKc/0uFO1nHxaXU/s1600/images.jpg

His skins, like most is a dark red, powerful wings stretch out almost 15 feet on each side, his snout is shorter than most, but his cranial horns are much larger, signaling a distinction from other Pit Fiends. You quickly realize that you are in the presence of a Nascent Pit fiend, you know power when you see it. A shackle hangs from his left wrist, arcane symbols glow with a blue energy that seem to flow an ebb with the shifting of the desert wind.

"You have been chosen." He says simply. "I am your master now, Ahmahn. You will do as I say or I will execute you on the Prime and torture your worthless carcass for a century. I do not care who your master was, at this moment, it is I. You will go through the portal and establish me a base of operations. We will take over this world and we will do it quietly, until I give the order." He disappears in a puff of smoke and where he was standing is an old man, stooped over with a straw hat. "Go now, and take what is ours."

He gestures and a portal opens up before you, you can clearly see a lush green world beyond it.


https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-4CLiKRwoSSA/UTuQWgp0I0I/AAAAAAAACyk/rmVRjbVw7fg/s640/Magical_Portal_web2008.jpg

Walking through the portal you see a mortal woman, one who Sabrina has seen before, a knowing glance flitters back and forth between the two.

The portal dissipates behind you with a small sucking noise, you no longer hear the preternatural wailing of Avernus, but the gently chirping of forest bugs, leaves rustling as the gentle wind finds its path through them to wash your face in the relieving freshness.

Looking around you see the mortal realm you have been sent to submit to your new masters will, and it feels exhilarating.

[Ridai]

Shea stands there, quietly, waiting in silence, almost fading into the background despite standing in plain sight. The seemingly young human, with dark leather armor, a masterfully made bow and, curiously, a blindfold on her, doesn't move until the moment she has awaited comes. Stepping through the portal, her mistress and her companion arrive, the left corner of her mouth rising slightly as she sets eyes upon Sabrina before bowing deeply. "Welcome back, mistress," Shea says devoutly, establishing her connection to the erinyes for her companion. "And welcome to you, mi'lady. My name is Shea, servant of Sabrina." Her tone is genuinely respectful towards the bearded devil, seemingly having expected both.

[MikelaC1]

SABRINA

Sabrina steps through the portal, allowing her back onto the prime, a place she has visited on more than one ocassion. She nods to Shea, acknowledging her greeting and signalling her acceptance of the information for the bearded devil's benefit.

Ahmahn has given the order for us to take this world, but slowly and quietly. We should probably find the closest town and set up our operations from there.

[MikelaC1]

Sabrina is an absolutely striking beauty, which is further enhanced by the fact that she stands a statuesque 6’1”. Everything about her either hints at or reveals her devil heritage, starting with her flaming red hair which is cut in such a way that her small horns are not hidden. Her eyes seem to be coal black at most times, however they will flame red when she is excited or angry. Her figure is very curvy and her skin tight black (with red trim) lingerie does nothing to hide it. Another clear give away is the barbed tail curling out of her cute derriere. A red and black cape billows from her neck, but it is free of any symbols or adornments. She wears little in the way of jewelry, only a small amulet and a golden circlet nestled in her red curls, as well, the belt that holds her scabbard in place is studded with small gems, some of which glow with an inner green fire. Skin-toned gloves are nearly impossible to spot on her hands.
Sabrina is quite clearly armed, she carries a wicked looking long sword of black metal, the length of which flames with small wisps of fire. A longbow is slung over her shoulder, and it too has an aura of flame around it.
Another remarkable thing about Sabrina is her black leather purse, it seems able to hold far more than would physically be possible, and yet, whenever she reaches in for something, it is always right on top. When questioned about it, she refers to it as Prada’s Unlimited Receptacle (of) Sexual Equipment.

[Thump]

"And my greetings to you, Shea. I am Kerimad, or Keri, for short."

A devil steps through the portal, treading surprisingly quietly for one so large. Her scorched armor glimmers in the new, unfamiliar light, with old bloodstains spattered across its various parts. One could not tell what she is, due to her large, horned helmet covering her entire head, save the beard.

"Finally, some peace and quiet. I don't know about any of you, but I strongly dislike the constant wailing."

She then turns to Sabrina, and gives a slight nod.

"Indeed. Knowing mortals, there should be one about a day's walk in any direction, really."

With a slight wave of one hand, her form changes to that of a young tiefling woman, while the glaive now rests on one shoulder.

"Whenever you're ready, Sabrina. I'll always be."

[Ridai]

Shea lowers her head with a little smile in thanks for Keri's greeting, then nods at Sabrina's statement in understanding. "I was teleported to this place moments before you appeared, thus I am sadly not yet familiar with this area. If you allow, I will spot the next settlement from above and then guide you there right away." If she receives the go ahead from Sabrina, Shea jumps and suddenly takes on the form of one of the local birds, taking to the skies. Going high up, Shea looks for the nearest village.

Once she finds it, the huntress descends again, changing back into her human form, attractive, yet seemingly unable (or uncaring) to bring it to bear. The journey is pre-empted by a few spells so that they leave no tracks behind and to cut their travel time in half, the wind expediting their stride.

Pass Without Trace cast on Shea and shared with Sabrina through the Bracelet of Spell-Sharing. PWT also cast on Keri.
Shea also casts Wind at Back, doubling the party's overland speed for 12 hours.

Shea also uses the travel to familiarize herself with these locations for the purpose of Teleport as well as to memorize the local flora and fauna.

[MikelaC1]

SABRINA

Sabrina nods her head in agreement with Shea's plan. While she waits for her scouts report, she uses her hat of disguise to obscure her devilish features.

I hate having to hide this, but its needed. Dont need to be attacked on sight.

[BelGareth]

You take off looking for the closest settlement. Flying up you take a moment or two to gain some altitude and then peer out over the horizon looking for the tel tale sign of industry.

Interestingly enough, you see none. Not close that is, you seem to be in a verdant forest near the mountains, you see an unusual amount of wildlife and the plant life here is wild and alive, thriving without any outside interaction.

It would seem this place has not been touched by the industrious hand of humans.

Moving further you quickly realize that your travels are going to take much longer than expected, it takes you the better part of two days before you find the trailing smoke plumes of a city. Before you even get to it however, you come across a smaller village on the outskirts, miles from the town, but large enough to hold a clutch of people.


Are you wanting to go to the main town or stop here?

[MikelaC1]

SABRINA

Lets take a look at the smaller town, and see what sort of people live in this area. And less likely that someone can spot us right off the bat.
Sabrina takes the lead as they walk towards the village

[Ridai]

Silently, Shea follows behind her mistress and Keri. From the outside, it might seem like her eyes are rendered sightless from the blindfold, though her steps are sure. But in truth, it helps the huntress see, hear and sense what is truly there and truly important, helping her watch out for dangers and those that might follow them.

[Thump]

Once again, Keri alters her form to look more like a human, and has only one sign of devilish ancestry; a small tail, though that is covered by her armor.

"So, we will need a cover to be here, unless you want to just sneak around. Humans will end up asking questions one way or another, especially with Shea's blindfold."

[MikelaC1]

SABRINA

Obvious is best, we're adventurers, looking for hostile monsters that might be inclined to maurader in the area.

[Ridai]

Shea nods before she quietly adds. "There are many dangers hidden from the eyes of most mortals known to druids that would be unwise to ignore." And, obviously, Shea would fill the druidic role, explaining the strange attire and lending believability to the claim. Not that Sabrina would require the latter to convince a few lowly mortals. "A public persona with a striking appearance to build a favorable reputation upon could serve you well." Her advice not having been requested, Shea falls silent again.

[BelGareth]

Shifted into the forms of adventures looking for....well adventure, you wade into the village, its not long before you are seen and there are kids running aside you, on the other side of the fence of course, keeping their distance, yelling and screaming, hollering about what are obviously great adventurers.

As you approach the center of the village, or what takes for it, an elderly man waits you, seems that the welcoming mat was rolled out for you.

He is an ancient looking man, eerily similar to what Lord Ahmahn looked like before you came through the portal, his beard was ash grey, his eyes strikingly green and a straw hat stood upon his furrowed brow as he stared at you with a warm smile.

Nodding he greeted you "Welcome! Tis not much, but our village is a humble one, and we like it so, the village of Guilden Morden recognizes you and welcomes you!" he looks at all three of you "Might I ask what brings such travelers as yourself through our humble village?"

[MikelaC1]

SABRINA

Sabrina steps forward with a smile, if its really Ahmahn, it would be interpreted as a conspiratorial smile and if hes human, it would be the first step in seduction.

My name is Sabrina, my associates are Shea and Kerimad. We are travelers for the moment, seeking our fame and fortune by vanquishing those who would threaten the serenity and peace of civilization. If there are any such denizens in the area, just point us to them and consider it taken care of. If not, we have traveled long for the past few days and would seek only food and lodging for the night.

[roll0] Diplomacy (in case its not Ahmahn, and to impress the locals if it is

[Ridai]

Without a doubt, most eyes are on her mistress or Keri, not on Shea. Leaving the talking to those more capable at doing so, the huntress instead tries to get a bead on the elderly man, whether he will be someone to worry about, given his energy for his age.

Sense Motive [roll0]

[BelGareth]

The old man nods his head as he listens, his face beaming with an ever growing smile.

"Yes! that would be most helpful indeed! The Royal knights from the capital have been late in arriving, we have been having some trouble with a local troll, he has setup in a local cave and is terrorizing our people. I told people to stop going there, but it would seem the best fish are there and some of our more stubborn folk like the taste of a goof rainbow trout!"

He looks to all three of you, squinting slightly as he sees the bandages over the eyes, as if to see if they were needed or not.

"If you could help us with that, we would be very grateful indeed!"


Your diplomacy check works like a charm and he seems to be genuinely charmed by you.

You sense he is hiding something, but nothing more than any normal person.

And sorry about the weekend, I usually drop off from Sunday-Mondays

[MikelaC1]

SABRINA

Troll hunting is just the sort of challenge we were looking for. Just give us directions, and your troll problem is as good as solved.

telepathy to Shea, Kerimad
Do either of you have fire spells? My weapons are my sources of fire.

[Ridai]

I am afraid not, but I can attempt to flash-freeze or polymorph it. Or knock it out for you to cut off its head, as their regeneration is not very fast. I also could not sense any hidden agenda from the elder, unless he is a better liar than you, mistress.

[Thump]

I'm afraid not, ma'am. I have an alternate ability, though; a spell I have can cause wounds that won't heal until they have the curse removed.

She turns to the man, and gives a gentle smile.

"You needn't worry, sir. We can take care of this for you and be back before you know it."

[MikelaC1]

Between all these things, we should be able to put him down...and then my sword can set him ablaze. Do we have any oil to douse him with?

So if you just point the way, we can get this done.

[Ridai]

Pierce its heart and brain with flame once it is down and it won't get back up. But oil should not be hard to acquire.

[BelGareth]

The man lights up, eyes wide with wonder and awe.

"Oh thank the heavens," he points "Its down there, follow the road, which leads to a trail then follow the river north for 5 miles, you should find a ledge with a boulder looks like a sheep. He'll be sleeping in his cave 'neath that!"

[MikelaC1]

SABRINA

Sabrina memorizes the directions, gives the man a smile that would melt a glacier, and then with a sway to her walk, turns to lead the way out of the town.
Usual marching order would be with Sabrina and Kerimad in front, with Shea behind us.

[Ridai]

Shea, as silent as she arrived, bows courteously as a farewell before following her mistress and Kerimad. Let all adoration rest upon them so that their shadow can ensure their glory unhindered.

[BelGareth]

You move out, finding the path easily, and then finding the river.

It takes you close to an hour to follow the path before you see the outcropping the old man described.

Beneath it lies an obvious cave.

Several half eaten bodies lie about the place, peasant farmers, cows, deer and a bear.

You see no sign of a Troll.

[MikelaC1]

SABRINA

Sabrina takes a mixture of powdered diamond out of a pouch and sprinkles it on herself. (Stoneskin)

Everyone take a quick look for tracks and then we'll move in. Try to be as quiet as possible.

[roll0] spot
[roll1] move silently

[Thump]

Keri gives a silent nod of agreement, before doing a quick look around.

Listen: [roll0]
Spot: [roll1]
Move Silently: [roll2]

[Ridai]

Her bow in hand, Shea sneaks ahead, swift and silent, especially looking for tracks.

Shea has the Track ability from her blindfold (Mask of the Tiger).

Listen [roll0]
Spot [roll1]
Move Silently [roll2]
Survival [roll3]

[BelGareth]

Shea easily finds a used piece of ground, close to the river, the tracks are obvious, deep and used often.

They seem large. Larger than most trolls you have seen, maybe a War troll, or even a Mountain troll. Either way, you find a solid set of tracks that lead to the side of the river, underneath the outcropping, the opening is huge, but kept from sight by way of its angle to the path.

Lichen, moss and vines hang down, dripping water from above, the cave seems dark and nothing moves within.

[Thump]

"So he might be out hunting, eh? Let's see what we can hunt for ourselves. Form up on me, we're going troll-stalking."

Keri gestures to the others, and leisurely walks out to the riverside.

[Ridai]

Unless her mistress has a different idea, Shea mutters a spell under her breath, causing her entire being to assume just the right colors to blend into her forest surroundings, her footfalls more quiet than the gliding flight of an owl. Disguised as thus, becoming the perfect scout in this environment, Shea follows the footprints.

Again, this is contingent on Sabrina agreeing to Keri's course of action.

Shea in that case casts Forestfold keyed to a forest environment, granting her +20 to Move Silently and Hide in that environment for 170 minutes.

[MikelaC1]

SABRINA

These tracks are the ones he makes all the time, are they not? So they dont indicate he is out hunting, he might still be inside. Lets go in, and see if we can find him.
And if he is truly out hunting, then we can lay in wait for him and take him unawares when he returns.

Sabrina is ready to lead the way into the cave.

[Thump]

"Oh... right. Silly me. Nevermind then, let's see what's in the cave."

Keri blushes a bit, and follows Sabrina.

"Forget what I said, Shea, let's go with your mistress."

[Ridai]

Witht he course decided, Shea adapts herself to the cave and enhances her senses to feel her surroundings in the dark, scouting ahead of the devils she serves.

Casts Forestfold keyed to underground environments (+20 Move Silently, Hide) as well as Blindsight.

Move Silently [roll0]
Listen [roll1]
Spot [roll2]

[BelGareth]

You move through the and into the cave entrance with the stealth of a jungle cat, your supernatural powers aiding you far beyond the ken of the mortal animals abilities could ever reach.

Your get a clear vision of the cave, it seems to be a natural cave that has been worked by crude tools some time in the past, you pass several paintings that would be quite remarkable had you come on an anthro-archaeological expedition.

Moving further you see signs of living, but not as you would expect.

The first sign is light, and as you know, Trolls are night creatures, preferring the darkness and being able to see through it as clearly as the day.

The second sign was the carpet.

An intricate carpet lies on the floor, a quick look tells you it is one of excellent quality and is in perfect condition, despite the cave it lies in. The floor it lies upon is perfectly flat and plane, seemingly sculpted to be as such or perhaps by magic...

The third clue was the rocking chair sitting next to a fire, being stoked by an unseen hand, to those with extra sensory capabilities, you see the faint outline of a ghostly servant, surmising it quickly to be that of an unseen servant spell or something similar.

And the final clue that things were not as they seemed was the dashingly handsome man sitting in a chair sipping from a glass of cherry red wine.

"Well met, you two...no, three!" he says with a grin "Now you were had to find! Oh my, what do I have the pleasure of having you here for?"

[MikelaC1]

SABRINA

Sabrina moves carefully into the room, examining the "dashingly handsome man" with her true seeing as well as the rest of the furnishings of the place.
(Her response will depend on what she sees)

[BelGareth]

Sabrina sees the double image of the man, one of the man sitting in the chair and overlayed on top of him an immense golden dragon. They eyes and head turn as one, and as his arms move, so do the gigantic claws and steely muscles.

While you have seen such wyrms before, this one is of an immensity not personally interacted with, it reeks power and you can see a scar on his left flank, one that looks as though it had been burned on. But to a Golden dragon, how would that work?

His eyes flash as your vision pierces his veil, as if he knows.

Sabrina, well met. his voices penetrates your internal thoughts with a sudden crispness.



You may make a Knowledge Arcana check to identify him (DC is pretty high)
And yes that was telepathic

[Thump]

Kerimad, not knowing who the man is, greets him courteously.

"Hello! It seems that this wasn't where we were meant to go! We're out hunting a troll for a nearby village, which has been having problems because of-"

She pauses, and then does a double take as he says "hard to find".

"What do you mean, hard to find? We've been out looking for the troll, and... yeah. Have you been looking for us?"

Her eyes take on a more wary look at this point, and she tenses up a little bit. She allows an aura of negation to appear around her, invisible to the man unless he can see magic.

Aura of Dissonance and Negation; if he casts any spells of 5th level and below, they take a -5 to caster level, and if he casts any buff spells, he has to make a DC 39 Concentration check or lose the spell.

[Ridai]

"He means me," Shea terse says, colored like the stone wall, her bow lowered, but ready.

[MikelaC1]

SABRINA

Sabrina is still concentrating on trying to identify the wyrm from her knowledge of things arcane, and is desperately hoping for an answer...even a young gold dragon might be too much of a challenge for her...and by the size of this one, its not young. Kerimad has summed up the truth of the matter and she has nothing to add right now.

[BelGareth]

The man smiles, his eyes bright as colorful, as if molten gold swirled behind his pupils.

"Hello indeed" he said, laughing a loud booming laugh, "Oh I had not expected this!" he waves his hand in your direction while sipping his wine "and you!" he points to Shea "Oh you are interesting, but that's another time and place." he looks back to Kerimad "Indeed, and you have found him! I was hoping to dine upon some fine meat of the noble knights, they always tend to be the very best meat, strong and tender but sweet and juicy from all the wonderful treats they indulge in!" he licks his lips. "but it would seem I will be going without..." he pouts his lips showing his disappointment "...oh dear..." standing, he places his hand on his hip and ponders for a moment as he sips some more of this wine.


http://www.wizards.com/dnd/images/FR_ART/People/ElaithCraulnober.jpg

"Well, this is quite the quandary, you are not what you seem to be, and I well, I am something else entirely, but you have stumbled upon my little abode here, and well, that is something I cannot have." He looks to all, placing his wine glass onto his little side table.

"What do you have to say for yourself?"

[Thump]

Kerimad looks to Sabrina, and taps into her thoughts.

What the Home Sweet Home is this guy?

She turns back to the man, and speaks once more.

"Well, if you are something else, allow me to ask you this. What would one such as yourself be doing, preying on innocent knights and travelers who meet more than what they were looking for?"

She says this with curiosity, and leans on her glaive, holding onto it with one hand while looking into the man's eyes.

"And what's with the eyes? Doesn't that creep people out?"

Activating Aura of Debilitation, the guy takes -5 to Attack and Damage rolls.

[MikelaC1]

SABRINA

Sabrina responds telepathically to Kerimad, and Shea. With my true seeing, I see the image of an ancient gargantuan gold dragon superimposed over him, and if thats what he truly is, we are way out of our league. But if he is a gold dragon, why is he slaying innocent peasants and not attacking us devils on sight. I dont know what to make of him.

As she responds to her allies, Sabrina steels her will and focuses harder with her true seeing, trying to pierce what she has to believe is an illusion.

[roll0]

[BelGareth]

As you gather your incredible will power you focus on the eccentric man-dragon and attempt to garner what is really going on.

You sense that your natural insight is revealing the truth of the situation and your eyes are not lying to you, it is indeed a Gold Dragon.


Metagame - He is a gold dragon and you true seeing is working. Just as evil creatures can be redeemed, so to can good creatures be corrupted.

[Thump]

The tiefling hears Sabrina's words, and then she raises an eyebrow.

"Alrighty. So, what we have here is a gold dragon. As in, you. Then, we hear about you preying on travelers. See, those two things don't quite match up."

She lifts her chin off her palm, and sits down.

"Feel free to sit down, take a sip of wine, whatever it is ya want, because I have to go over a few things first. First off...", she makes a small ting sound on her armor with one finger, "...we have you. A Gold Dragon. Supposedly one of the biggest paragons of good on this plane. Second, we have your own statements, and our job. And third, why haven't you tried to kill us yet? It's not an invitation, as you'd regret it... but really. What's the deal?"

Intimidate check: [roll0]
Detect Good on him.

[MikelaC1]

SABRINA

Sabrina doesnt know what to make of this situation, but the dragon clearly knows who and what she is, so subterfuge is out of the question.

Alright, you know who and what I am, and I know what you are. We were sent to kill a troll, and thats not what you are. But a normal gold dragon doesnt go around slaying peasants and conversing politely with the likes of us. So can you explain a little more?

[Ridai]

The implications of the dragon liking to eat mortals and savoring their flesh are crystal clear to her (insanity or someone pushed him to develop the taste and thus making him a fallen gold dragon), but she feels it is not her place to say so. Still, she makes it obvious what she thinks if the dragon or Sabrina want to check.

[BelGareth]

He smiles as you all speak your minds, a genuine smile of enjoyment, one that a crazed killer would have after talking to the judge on how he murdered twelve people in one night.

He claps his hands and looks to Shea "Oh you are a smarty pants aren't you!" his eyes showing something more, something else is happening with him.

He turns to Kerimad whipping around to face him. "And you, you ask a lot of questions for a Bearded one. Very talkative. Is that why you were sent here, got on the wrong side of someone after you bored them to death, heh?"

He then looks to Sabrina, "Oh but you are a marvel, there is some thing special about you, something happened, didn't it? yes....hmmm, I wander, but oh! you asked me some questions, how rude of me!"

"Well, lets see....2 devils and a slave walk into a cave and meet a Dragon...no that doesn't quite sound good enough...oh bother, lets just cut to the chase shall we?"

He suddenly points to Shea, his smile gone and his demeanor completely changed. "The little bitch here is correct. Well somewhat. I am a Dragon, as you eyes do tell you" he motions to Sabrina "and you are devils, well two of your are. And yes, I do like the taste of mortal flesh." he eyes Shea for a moment or two, his lips pursing slightly "Have you not tasted it yourself, I hear its a delicacy in some places." he waves his hand again "I am here purely for the pleasure of the flesh...so to speak" he says with a smile now returning to his lost temperament. "I think the question, aside from your obvious non understanding of a Golden Dragon being evil is, why on earth are you here? Why would you come into town claiming to be adventurers and then actually go do something for the aforementioned town."

"Stop, don't tell me...I know...well I don't but I can definitely figure it out. Question is, how is this...going to end? Because, if we fight, everyone is going to know you're here." he says the last part with sudden lack of a smile, the tone of the statement more a threat than anything.

"Oh yes, and before I forget." he snaps his fingers and his eyes turn into normal blue ones, all the strangeness and extraordinary gone from them.


Hope you are ok with the coarse language, if not, I'll edit and not use it.

[Thump]

She raises an eyebrow at his comment, and laughs.

"I can be talkative when I want to be. You are right, however; we'd rather not have them knowing what we are, nor having anyone coming to investigate."

Kerimad pursues her lips for a moment, and gives the man a small smile.

"If you can figure out why we're here on your own, well... you've probably figured it out by now, O Great One. Anyways, we have a teensy little problem. We don't want to wipe out the town, as we'd rather not have too many bodies. We also don't want to kill you, as that would alert certain... people, shall we say... to our presence. So how about we reach a deal of some sort?"

She then turns off the auras, as a gesture of good faith. The magic that was wavering in the room returns to its natural strength, and the dragon feels itself return to normal strength.

A thought occurs to her, and she quickly pipes up;

"And no, Shea is NOT edible.
The language is fine, makes it all the livelier to talk to him.

[Ridai]

Slave. Bitch. The first is obvious, the second gets thrown around so often it has lost its meaning and impact at this point for Shea. At the point where she is asked if she tasted human flesh, she drily answers "I hear it has little flavor on its own but makes for a great flavor enhancer. Like chicken and dragon." There isn't even aggression in her voice, simply stating facts.

Whatever the outcome, Shea is ready to go with her mistress' plan. If Sabrina is still tapped into her mind, she thinks Teleport?

[MikelaC1]

SABRINA

Well, I dont know how its going to turn out but I know how its not going to turn out and thats not us fighting you. Because that would be futile for us, and also be at cross purposes. We might be closer in aims than you think. We didnt come into town and decide to help because we were bored. And we did promise to bring them a dead troll. So like my partner said, can we reach some sort of deal?

[BelGareth]

The man laughs again, seemingly happy with your replies. He places his hands behind his back and walks back and forth before you.

"Some sort of Deal? hey, that could be it. I'm assuming you have orders you must follow, and somehow you have come in under the guise of adventures, thus the reason why you need the troll...well, that shouldn't be too big of a problem, there is actually a ward of trolls around these parts, but they keep hidden, not wanting any undue attention. But alas" he says mockingly with arms open wide "that is about to change. Hmmm....some sort of deal...well, I do like these parts, but they are not mine to barter with, but the information herein is something intriguing, what I desire is this: allow me free reign to do as I please, without interfering in your plots of course, and I shall leave you alone. Hell I might even help you out if you help me, so to speak. But I have one condition. Do NOT tell your superior about me. You tell them about me, and the deal is off." he stops walking and looks to you all, one at a time.

"Deal?"

[Thump]

"Sounds good to me, though you might want Sabrina to confirm that; she's the leader of our little band here. We won't say anything of our own wills, if that is sufficient. We may call on your help in exchange for assisting you once in awhile, but hey, that's how things go, right?"

If Sabrina agrees, Kerimad takes out a small dagger, and creates a tiny cut on her hand, allowing the blood to drip out before holding said hand out to the man.

[MikelaC1]

SABRINA

Then we have a deal. One more thing though, can you tell us where the troll lair is? We do need to bring back a dead troll, to make the village think we've done their task.

[Ridai]

Shea simply nods. It is not like her opinion matters, but a question was asked.

[BelGareth]

The overly handsome man smiles at the proffer of a blood deal, it was a strange, eerily clam smile, one that belied the deed before it. Even you couldn't suppress a shiver for some strange reason.

He takes a step or two forward, reveals a jeweled dagger and pricks the tip of his finger and then grabs Kerimad's hand, sliding his bloody finger across her own wound, mixing the blood. A small flash and pop, and a little cloud of smoke fumed from their grip.

You have never seen such a reaction at a blood deal before, how strange...

He then jerks his head toward Sabrina, "But of course, I shall show you the way."

And without another moment, your mind reels as something pushes its way inside, you see a mountain path, trees and a bubbling brook, it takes you but a moment to realize it was outside the cave. Then you are moving, fast, trees are a blur, but you know the direction, its ingrained into your very mind. Moments later, after a hillock with a frightened Eagle and a lumbering Dire Wolverine you find the entrance to a pit, large enough to allow entrance to a troll. It then zooms off, zig zagging through a narrow crevice and past the shoulders of two lumbering troll guards. Past them you see a bustling little village of trolls, in total you see about 30 or so, not including the infants or elderly.

You vision suddenly returns to the cave, and the man smiles at you. "That should suffice I think?"

He then turns around and sits back into his lavish chair, taking his wine glass an another sip.

"I believe we are done here."


Achievement unlocked: Unlikely allies.
You successfully tackled the first obstacle in your path and didn't kill it. Congratulations.

[MikelaC1]

SABRINA

Yes, I would say we are done. Come, lets go do our good deed for the day

Sabrina, still not 100% trusting of the dragon, backs out of the cave, only turning to walk forward when they are out of the dragons view. Once outside, she addresses the group.

Okay, the village only thinks there is one troll, so we dont have to take out the whole troll tribe if we dont want to. Of course, we might want to when we see what they have. The first objective is the two troll guards. Then we see where we go from there.

[Ridai]

Shea follows silently. Once outside: "Would you like me to scout the trolls' cave? If you decide to wipe out the tribe, I should be able to flash-freeze a good number of them before the actual fight begins."

[Thump]

"We could just exterminate the entire village, y'know. Save them some trouble, gain a bit of street credit... the works. Just let me get in there and all will be done in a jiffy. "

Kerimad says this all while wiping her brow clean of sweat. The dragon made her a bit nervous, all things considered, and then she has an idea.

"We could use the village as a place to set up camp, attract a few followers and such... we could make it work."

[MikelaC1]

SABRINA

First things first. We take out the two guards, quickly and quietly. Then we get the lay of the land, see if we can pick off a bunch more without being caught out in the open. Whittle down the numbers, so to speak. Scouting will be valuable. Once we get the numbers more even, then we go in in force.

[Ridai]

"The trolls are more likely to smell us before they can see or hear us, though I can most likely avoid detection." Quickly and quietly, Shea's specialties. The huntress leads the group towards the cave, also making sure they stay downwind from them.

[BelGareth]

You make your way towards the troll lair, easily avoiding anything impeding your journey or anything that might gain attention later. The woods are full of eyes.

Finding the crevice, you see that it heads north, and upon jumping down you can instantly tell that you are downwind to where the troll guards are.

Whatever is leading them, Troll chieftain or something else, knew that it would be impossible to hide from them as the wind here is forced up the crevice directly to the awaiting guards.

If you move further, you will probably alert them, if you haven't already.

[MikelaC1]

(I cast stoneskin on myself before we went into the dragon lair. Stoneskin from me [extended abjuration] lasts 170X2=340 minutes. Is it still active?)

SABRINA

Sabrina casts a Greater Invisibility on herself, hoping that it will be enough to give her at least one surprise attack.
Lets move, try to hit them before they raise an alarm
She moves up, hoping her spell will give her a chance to catch them off guard.

[roll0] move silently

[Thump]

Kerimad nods silently, casting the same spell upon herself before moving along with Sabrina.

[roll0] Move Silently

[Ridai]

"I'll take the right one." Shea nods as well, wreathing herself in greater invisibility and the power of inspiration before sneaking towards the guards, moving at her normal speed and using her preparations to hide from the trolls' sense of scent. Quickly, she positions herself to the side of the guard on the right-hand side, right next to it, silently drawing four invisible force arrows, each aimed at a vital organ and letting loose once either the trolls try to alert anyone or her mistress and Keri attack.

Shea uses her concurrence Improvisation, granting her a pool of 34 points that she can spend on various rolls, with the pool lasting for 17 rounds or until exhausted (max +8 per roll).

Shea then uses her concurrence Greater Invisibility (17 rounds).

Move Silently [roll0] (with -5 penalty for moving at normal speed; no Improvisation points used)
Shea has the Darkstalker feat, so she can hide from all senses with her checks.
If Forestfold (underground) applies in the crevice and it is still active (170 minute duration), add +20 to the Move Silently roll.


The attack action described is a standard action with Greater Manyshot, giving Shea 4 attacks at a -8 penalty each. She uses 8 points of Improvisation on each attack to cancel out the penalty and also receives her Wisdom to attack and damage again from her Close Combat Shot feature because of being in melee range (no OAs provoked), also triggering Point-Blank Shot. In addition, she uses her Called Shot feature to take the maximum penalty of -17 (her BAB) on all her attacks, giving her x4 that penalty as bonus to damage each time.
Attack 1 [roll1], [roll2] force damage (ignores DR) (critical threat)
Attack 2 [roll3], [roll4] force damage (ignores DR)
Attack 3 [roll5], [roll6] force damage (ignores DR)
Attack 4 [roll7], [roll8] force damage (ignores DR)

[Thump]

Keri, seeing how Shea has acted, decides to take an act of her own. She quickly activates an aura of apathy, and then curses the troll to be doomed to fraility, before leaping and cracking the troll's ribcage.

Aura of Apathy, the troll takes a -5 to his Will save against Keri's Dire Curse of the Fateless (DC 27), which will reduce him to 1 CON. Taking 10 points of power attack, and Miser's Fortune allows me to ignore 6 points of the penalty.

[roll0] and [roll1] plus 2 bleed and 1 CON damage, which should reduce him to 0 CON, if all works out.

[BelGareth]

As you approach, you find the crevice is small and forces you to go column of file, making your going extremely slow.

It isn't moments after you enter the revice that you hear whistles and horns blaring, apparently your attempt, even after all of your spells and abilities, was for naught.

And moments after you hear the sounds of alert/panic a ghostly image floats before you all, a magic mouth, and speaks to you all.

"Why have you come here! speak!"

[MikelaC1]

SABRINA

Oh hells Sabrina curses as the stealth approach fails. Abandoning any attempt at subterfuge, she ignores the magic mouth and charges towards where the trolls are, hoping to hit them before reinforcements show up.

[BelGareth]

I may not have described this situation well enough.

The crevice you are going through is quite long, when the magic mouth appears, you still do not see the trolls, and by recollection of the Minds image from the dragon, it would take several minutes to reach the guards.

If you still want to though, by all means.

[MikelaC1]

Would the recollection from the dragons mind image be enough to teleport to the location of the trolls?

[BelGareth]

Yes, yes it would.

[Ridai]

Shea tries to teleport to the guards.

Teleport concurrence

Miss chance [roll0]

Yup, off target

[MikelaC1]

SABRINA

TELEPORT TO THE TROLLS is all that the group hears before Sabrina suddenly disappears. Using the knowledge granted by the dragon vision, Sabrina teleports to the trolls, attempting to take them before they are able to mobilize fully.

[roll0] initiative when she pops into their midst.

[BelGareth]

You cast the spell, sure on your destination, you saw it through the mind link with the crazy Golden dragon, couldn't go wrong right?

You disappear and find yourself entombed in solid rock, the spell fizzles moments after you arrive and shunts you to the surface, pushing you through several tons of rock, mud and earth. After several excruciating moments, you find yourself lying on the dense carpet of a forest, pine needles sticking into your sore flesh.

At least you were in the shade.


You take damage from being shunted through roughly 300 feet of rock
Shea - [roll0]
Sabrina - [roll1]
Keri - [roll2]
Sorry, thought you took everyone. OOh this is going to be fun.

[Ridai]

67/155 HP

Shea writhes in pain, feeling fractures in her bones and the beating her entire body and organs took. Regardless, she forces herself onto her feet. "Teleportation accident, moderately wounded, will arrive immediately," she tells Sabrina through her ring. Concentrating despite the disorientation and pain, the huntress melds into the floor, emerging right at the end of the crevice.
This! This is why I hate per day abilities and prepared magic! I have Master Earth prepared, but I am never sure if I should use it, as it is kind of my emergency getaway spell so I use one of my many concurrence uses! Prepared casters can die in a fire for all I care! :smallfurious:

Shea casts Master Earth to appear where described. Is she still invisible and is Improvisation still active?

[Thump]

Kerimad sees Shea get shunted to the surface, and swears quite vulgarly under her breath.

Coming in on your six, watch it, Sabrina!

Kerimad disappears in a flash of flame before reappearing Sabrina, with glaive out and extended to ward off any who would have flanked her partner.

Greater Teleport 5ft behind Sabrina.

[BelGareth]

Kerimad follows Sabrina and ports over, but you both feel a strange something, grabbing, locking onto you, your self feels as if it was caught in some kind of gravity well, held in stasis or suffocating in the etherese.


~~~~~~~~~~~

Shea appears moments later, where the guards were and where her master Sabrina should have been.

But they were no where to be seen, only Trolls, everywhere you look Trolls all with their backs turned to you, chanting, something the center of the group seems to be glowing.

Two of them start sniffing the air and turn around, noticing you for the first time.


~~~~~~~~~~~

Sabrina and Kerimad appear inside a massive circle of Trolls, all chanting, the closest ones, covered in tattoos and bone piercings, chanting much faster than the others and prancing about like baboons in the mating season.

You both look down and see what is obviously a circle of protection. And it's pointing inwards, towards the center, where the two of you are standing. It looks as though its worn and old, but has recently been renewed. It doesn't look to be too well done, being refreshed with some haste.


Spellcraft to figure out what the hell happened.

DC 23 vs the circle

Circle of Protection from Evil


DC 23 vs Teleport delay affect

Anticipate Teleport

[MikelaC1]

SABRINA

Sabrina's warrior nature (erinyes) wars with her seductive nature (aspiring pleasure devil) for only a moment, before the seductive side wins out. Besides there are too many of them. She lowers her sword.

Hey now, lets not be too hasty here. We only came here to talk, not fight. We just left that silly town and they wanted us to kill you. In fact thats what they think we're doing, but we're not interested in doing that. In fact, theres a deal to be made here that can benefit both of us. Can we just talk?

[roll0] Bluff

[BelGareth]

Your bluff confuses the many faced shamans before you.

"You are here to KILL us, we saw" one of them speaks, pointing to the other shamans "We know better than you, you are weak, and trapped. Yes, we are strong, You not lie to us. Our eyes see far and wide, yes, they see beyond your disguise. Why are you here, we ask, you say. Do now!"

The shaman sways as it speaks, either mesmerized by its own ability to speak, or by the mesmerizing effect of the crowd. Dozens of other trolls, much larger than you've seen before, ring you, and sway with the words of the shaman. A drum beat starts up and they start to stomp there feet in rhythm.

Maps

Large one

https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-ul0BETOEDkw/UVymqNPv10I/AAAAAAAADBs/Z4ovuWh8Z10/s800/bigmap.jpg


Close up of Shea

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-xbDPHapCrpg/UVymokFyudI/AAAAAAAADBo/AMPxPzQ-iaE/s800/Close%2520up%2520of%2520Shea.jpg


Close up of Kerimad & Sabrina (I managed to swap Sabrina's and Sheas image, will fix in next one)

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-JpFIoqwGE4I/UVymqLIZ-sI/AAAAAAAADBw/_GX3WgrYB2M/s912/Close%2520up%2520of%2520CaE.jpg

[Thump]

"Jeez... you'd think we'd have one time where someone didn't have True Seeing... I need to get promoted again just to have that. That's gonna be an issue."

Kerimad thinks quickly, and then raises her chin a bit. She allows her voice to boom in the crevice, taking its commanding, zealous voice that stroke many a foe into cowardice.

"So you believe yourselves to be smarter than us? Despicable...", she spits on the ground, "..absolutely wrong. See, we have a little problem now. You're here, we need the head of a troll, though there's a lot of you here. Either you give us an easy choice; the bravest of you can duel one of us, and we take his head when we win, or we massacre you all. When we're done, there won't even be enough of your carcasses left for the VULTURES."

She then steps forwards, feeling resistance in the circle. However, she attempts to push through and break its magics.
Rolling an Intimidate check with Imperious Command, stepping forwards until she hits the edge of the circle (15ft, if I'm not mistaken.)
[roll0]

[BelGareth]

The shamans recoil at your loud voice, they look at each other with arms sucked in, protecting themselves from...nothing at the moment, more afraid of the situation. They know who you are, from the looks of them, you see a faint aura of magical power, but not enough to pierce the veils you are wearing.

Stepping up you feel a spell, it flashes and the circle on the floor shimmers with an eldritch spirit, but it otherwise offers no resistance.

"It is breaking free!" one of them yells, and the stomping suddenly stops and all eyes turn to you, where once they were concentrating at a point somewhere in there tiny minds.

The shamans before you drop to their knees, and one starts to babble "Yo...you...would fight one of usssss, Troll Champion?" all manner of intimidation from them gone.

[Thump]

"I would indeed. See, if you know what I am... you know we cannot break our word. Therefore, I will offer you this. One of you can step up and face me, and his head is mine. The rest of your tribe will be untouched... by me, at least. I cannot speak for the other. However... we could go about the other way and just slaughter the entire village, and make this our own. What say you?"

Kerimad gives a wicked grin, knowing she has them well within her hands at this point, like clay warmed for the molding.

"Sabrina, the circle is broken. Feel free to move about as you wish."

Her sudden voice change gives everyone around a sudden mood whiplash, reminding the trolls just how quickly her mood can change on a whim.

Intimidate check to keep them in line.

[roll0], and activating the following abilities;
Aura of Negation (Any buff spells must have the enemy caster succeed on a DC 39 Concentration check or lose the spell)
Aura of Dissonance (Any enemy spells of 5th level or lower take a -5 to their caster level)
Aura of Debilitation (All enemies within 90ft take a -5 to their attacks and damage)

[MikelaC1]

SABRINA

Sabrina steps out of the circle, and its obvious to anyone that the seductive part of her persona has been pushed down, replaced by the warrior.

YES, there will be a fight and if anyone thinks to interfere, they will have to go through me

She fingers her blade to make her point.

Afterwards, we will decide what your fate will be.

[Ridai]

Though her hands are briefly surrounded by auras of deathly coldness, Shea backs down when she sees the trolls listening to the devils. Stuck on the sidelines, she can't do anything but heal herself and... wait.

Shea casts Heal on herself.

[BelGareth]

One of the Trolls walks forward, you can tell he is larger than the others, more muscular and taller, maybe a foot or two, but he was hidden by the Trolls disposition of hunching. As he stood up straight, he towered over you by several feet.


https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-DiddtirRmxY/UV2_E7GIh-I/AAAAAAAADCI/XpwN0u3z4hU/s640/LOTRO__Cave_Troll_by_gorrem.jpg

"I be the Champeon, You fight me!" he declared.

He moves to in front of Kerimad ready.


We'll free form this, so feel free to do as you need/want

[Thump]

"Well... aren't you one ugly sonofagun?"

Kerimad snaps her fingers, bringing into vision a hellish red X.

"Do you see this? It's called the Curse of the Fateless. I'd imagine you know what that means."

It then floats towards the trollish champion, unavoidable in its trajectory, and binds itself in its chest, creating a gruesome, lethal wound which is followed by Kerimad quickly lashing out with her own strikes, the glaive seeking its heart.

This is probably my most powerful combo;
Dire Curse of the Fateless to reduce its CON to 1; avoid with a DC 29 Will save, and if he saves, he still takes 43 lethal points of damage, followed by the following attacks, which deal 2 points of additional bleed damage per strike and 1 CON damage, confirming on a 19-20 and doing x3 damage; If he is in full attack range, this all counts, otherwise count the first strike whilst adding 20 damage;

[roll0], confirm [roll1] and [roll2]
[roll3], confirm [roll4] and [roll5]
[roll6], confirm [roll7] and [roll8]
[roll9], confirm [roll10] and [roll11]

[BelGareth]

The red x appears slowly, streams of blood congeal out the very air itself and slight muffled screaming can be heard, as if the blood was being drawn from something forcefully.

It coalesces and forms a solid x, the size of the trolls chest, which is quite large, even in your normal form, this thing would tower over you. It hovers for a moment, almost mesmerizing the brute of a troll and then shoots forward, catching the thing by surprise. It slams into his chest, dissolving the flesh as it did, it didn't stop, merely slowed down slightly as it ate through the things broiling flesh, huge flaps of flesh slapped the ground and began to bubble and sizzle, the innate troll regeneration trying to recreate whatever it was before.

The crowd of Trolls once smiling at the thought of their mighty champeon dueling you are now sad faced and ashamed at what they see.

The red x passes through him and then disintegrates, the blood that had formed it splashing onto the floor harmlessly behind the now, much less intimidating Troll Champeon.

Bit gaping wholes in your chest had a tendency to do that.

The creature dropped to the floor, unable to hold its own weight, or muster the fortitude to do so, its skin began to crack and turn blackish grey, and acid bubbled out of its mouth, until the moment you sliced its head clean off.

A quiet hush went through the chamber, all the trolls present not knowing what to do in the presence of such power.

[MikelaC1]

SABRINA

Sabrina steps forth.
Acknowledge your new king and queen, and you will be spared. You forced us to kill your former champion to prove ourselves, so this death is on you....but you can avoid further ones.

[Thump]

Kerimad strolls over, and picks up the head, looking at it almost curiously.

"Hrm... well, that's that."

She flicks the blood off of the glaive with a quick whoosh, before giving a thumbs-up to Sabrina.

Crowd's all yours. What do you want to do about them if they get rowdy? Also, for good measure, could you come over here and torch the stump of the neck and this?

[MikelaC1]

SABRINA

As she speaks, Sabrina moves to the former troll champion and applies her flaming sword to the stump of the troll's neck, making sure he will not regenerate

[BelGareth]

The trolls all look stunned, which takes a good while to recover from as their brain tries to handle what to do.

The shamans, slightly better at thinking blink at each other in surprise and then almost in sync bow to you, they know when they are beat, and when a superior strength is at hand.

"Wes Bow to you, you ower new MASTER!"

The other trolls look around and see their spiritual leaders bowing and they clumsily do the same, some falling, knocking down others, but, after a few moments, they bend the knee and you have a sea of shoulders and bowed heads.

You manage to see Shea by the entrance looking ashamed and bored.

[MikelaC1]

SABRINA

Sabrina waves Shea forward, while motioning to Kerimad to claim the head.

We will return to the city to collect our reward and then return here to decide how to proceed. You are not going to regret this alliance, I promise you.

[Thump]

"Actually, I was thinking. I'll get the boys here organized after I get a tour of the place, and you and Shea there can head on back to the village; just say that I split off for awhile to take care of some personal matters."

Kerimad starts to relax, and takes a look around.

"Alright, boys! First order of buisness; I'm gonna take a look around the place, so you guys just chill, mkay?After that, I'm gonna start setting this place up; we're gonna be a lot busier from here on out. If I find anyone causing **** here, as in, telling anyone who we are, I'm gonna find you, and you'll end up just like Mister Champion here."

She looks to the still cowed trolls, and gives a satisfied smile.

"Alright, then. Sab, Shea, I'll see you two later. Get to the village and double-time it back here after, let me know how things went."

She then turns to start walking, and notices the trolls.

"Oh, right. You guys can stand up now, do whatever. Just remember; no talking about us outside the cave. Toodles!"

After that, she simply walks through the cave, exploring the area and the village.

[Ridai]

Beckoned by her mistress, Shea takes the direct path, flying over the trolls by briefly turning into an eagle. The huntress silently acknowledges the devils' orders, taking the troll's head, although not nearly with the ease of Sabrina or Kerimad. Both devils can easily tell that Shea knows she was no help, but she isn't sulking over it. She wants to earn her stay, that much is apparent.

Following Sabrina outside, Shea still either awaits punishment or a chance to make up for her failure. Diligent one, that. The scene with the trolls reinforced just how huge the difference in power between the fated mortal and her mistress as well as Keri is...

[BelGareth]

Sabnack -

You are watching over a field of Chain devils torturing thousands of mortals, Dis was pleasant this time of year and well, the sounds of anguish and pain was music to your defiled ears.

The devils below you were doing a respectable job, and none of them showed any sign of disgust at being underneath a fallen Angel, even if they did scream inside.

And you cared not, this was a temporary assignment, one you didn't really care for anyway, other than the sweet music.

And then you received a missive, you were to go to the prime, at last, you were able to exact vengeance!

Leaving the senior member of the detail in charge you left to meet your contact. It wasn't long after that a pale old man came up to him and smiled, a long forgotten memory flashed in your mind, but you quickly suppressed. Merely nodding at him silently.

"You are to go to this world and assist my team, they have already managed some victory, you are to do as you are told. Sabrina is the lead here, her word is my own. Go now, and your vengeance will be ten fold."

Nodding you follow his pointed arm and cross the threshold of the portal he was pointing to. Stepping through you find yourself in a very lush forest, and directly before you are two female humans, one with a cloth over her eyes.

The portal closes and the man shifts into the form of a Imp. "I have done as you asked Master, he has gone to Ahmahns group."


~~~

After Kerimad speaks to the assembled crowd they start to mutter, or more exactly grunt, as she walks off. It is obvious they are more intimidated by Keri than by Sabrina.

Keri walks off into the dungeons and explores the complex...

As she does, Sabrina and Shea take off, finding it very easy to navigate their way to the village but as they do a Strange looking Hound archon steps out of thing air before you.


~~~

Keri -

You find the cave system to be more advanced than you thought, it seems to be an interconnected system of larger caves connected with hand made tunnels. You find birthing chambers with new trollings sqawking, food rooms full of rotten meat and flies that assault you as you peek in, sleeping quarters that similarly stink and maintain a minimum amount of flies and at the far back you find a few caves stuffed with skeletons and the gear that the trolls didn't need, most things are destroyed from time, but several items appear to be in good shape.

Further on, you find a tunnel that turns steeply downwards, and you can easily assume it leads into the underdark. Closer inspection sees recent wear and the path is too small for the trolls to travel through.

You also find a closed door in the very center of the complex. The complex surrounds this area, spanning out in a wide circle, and this is the only door or tunnel leading to the center, it seems to be dwarven, with several runes of protection and an extremely strong aura of magic. You find a claw mark that has been cloven into the door, but when you try to nick the door youself, you are unable to even scuff it. Putting your ear up to the door, you hear a strong *thump* *thump* sound, like that of a heart beating.

[Thump]

Interesting... I wonder what's in this. Another dragon? A champion troll? That's a question worth asking."[/I]

Keri, intrigued by the strange claw-marked door, decides to look around for a shaman. First, however, she has other buisness to attend to.

She heads back to the chamber where the dead champion was, in case he was left unburied. In that case, she orders a few of the trolls to move his body to a burial site and... well, bury it.

Then, and only then, is when she looks for a shaman.

[MikelaC1]

SABRINA

Already a little rankled by being upstaged by Kerimand against the trolls, and being made the errand girl with the head, Sabrina snaps when she sees a hound archon cutting across her path, interfering with her.

Her sword comes out of its sheath with a whoosh, and she beckons Shea to stay behind her. This blood was all going to hers.

I dont know who the hell you are, but you picked the wrong spot to come and interfere with my aims. But dispelling you should easy enough

[roll0] initiative

[Ridai]

Shea does as she is told, stepping behind her mistress, but also quickly casting a spell and sharing it with Sabrina, turning both of them invisible.

Initiative [roll0]

Shea uses her Greater Invisibility concurrence and shares the effect with Sabrina through the bracelets of spell-sharing.

[Chilingsworth]

Initiative:
[roll0]

I see you weren't alerted to my arrival, then.

My name is unimportant, I certainly am not foolish enough to state it in front of these... trolls.

All that matters is that have come from Dis on the orders of the Lord who calls himself Ahmahn. My orders are to place myself at the disposal of Lady Sabrina as my commanding officer. Are either of you her?

If you doubt what I say, by all means utter a blasphemy against me, or try striking me with an unholy blight. I will make no effort to resist. You'll find me quite unaffected all the same.

[MikelaC1]

SABRINA

Sabrina stops at the mention of Ahmahn and the fact that the hound archon knows her name. Sabrina summons up the power of her unholy blight all the same, but knowing the reach and power of her lord, she suspects that it will be ineffective. She uses it nonetheless.

[Chilingsworth]

*voluntarily fail the save*

*no effect.*

Quite refreshing, thank you.

*smirks, then bows*

[MikelaC1]

We arent in front of the trolls right now, Sabrina and Shea headed back to town to collect the reward

SABRINA

Sabrina looks over the hound archon, she is still unsure about working with someone that is normally one of her mortal enemies but he seems to legit. For now.

Alright, you seem unaffected by the spell and you seem to know a few pieces of information. Now, who are you and why are you here? And why is a hound archon working with the devil hierarchy?

[Chilingsworth]

Again, Oops.:smallredface:

You may call me Sabnack. I am here to serve the will of our mutual master. He has instructed me to treat the Lady Sabrina's word as his own. I take it you are she? I am also here to seek vengence against a certain demon cult, but I can do that on my own time, which is to say any time you determine to be my own.

As for why I would serve the Hells' hierarchy... It's the best way to get some shots at demonkind. The hierarchy of Celestia is indecisive and weak, committed only to half measures. I have no further use for them, and the feeling, I believe, is mutual.

Oh, and before I forget:

*whispers a command phrase for his hat of disguise*
*takes on the appearance of a burly, hairy darkskinned man*

http://i1290.photobucket.com/albums/b524/Chad_Picard/8775193-an-image-of-a-hairy-man-in-a-dark-style_zps8c0b7c84.jpg(but with actual clothes) (I kinda thought it was assumed I had my disguise up before I went to the Prime, but I guess I didn't say so, so... yeah. Besides, meeting this way was more interesting.:smallwink:)

[MikelaC1]

SABRINA

All traces of the battle ready warrior are gone, as Sabrina sheathes her sword.

Yes, I am Sabrina. Glad to have you Sabnack. And as long as you do treat my word as that of our master's we will get along fine. Right now, we are headed to a nearby village who contracted us to take out a troll that was terrorizing their settlement. We killed the troll and are headed to collect our reward.

[Chilingsworth]

It's a pleasure to serve, Mistress. May we land many blows against chaos together.

*bows*

[Ridai]

Shea returns from invisibility, her senses having witnessed no attempt at deception (which she whispered to Sabrina). Sabnack can tell that the huntress is very much human, not even corrupted (yet), it seems. Silently, she bows slightly in greeting and follows her mistress back to the village.

[Chilingsworth]

Ah, I thought I smelled two varieties of perfume. Another member of the team? Is it just the three of us?

*nods to the woman that just appeared*

[Ridai]

"I do not use perfume," Shea answers curtly, stepping a little further away from Sabrina to demonstrate. Curiously enough, no smell seems to come from the human (!), while Sabrina's fragrance remains positively intoxicating, subtle yet impossible to ignore, just like the erinyes herself in her human disguise. After a few seconds, the huntress moves back to her position just behind and to the side of her mistress, effectively further cloaking herself with Sabrina's presence. Seems like the devil lady has quite the effect on the archon.

Quick demonstration of Shea's high Hide modifier and her Darkstalker feat.

[Chilingsworth]

*Sniffs the air again*

I... see you do not, my apologies.

Regardless, if I may, Mistress, are we the whole of the team? I'm afraid our Master told me little of the situation here. Other than our ultimate purpose and that you had recently had some success. I presume he was refering to the troll on that point.

[MikelaC1]

SABRINA

There is a fourth member of our team, Kerimad. Right now, she is back at the troll village, getting them whipped into shape. I havent quite decided how I intend to use them, but if we are going to have some sort of army behind us, we are going to need a semblance of organization.

[Ridai]

"I believe they will make good shock troops to get in and out quick with their regeneration and some tactics, whittling away the target's ressources with every attack and drawing attention away from more subtle threats while suffering minimal losses."

[MikelaC1]

SABRINA

With the introductions taken care of, Sabrina, Shea, and Sabnack (assuming they follow) continue their trek to the village to claim their reward for making an alliance with the trolls cleansing the land of the dangerous troll.

And OOC: Thats probably all we can do until Bel gets back.

[BelGareth]

Keri -
Keri orders several trolls to bury the dead, they look perplexed at the order, but obey nonetheless, not wanting the wrath of such a powerful outsider upon them.

Once done to your satisfaction, which admittedly took longer than you had hoped, the Trolls while strong, where not very able to comprehend simple tasks, and the whole ordeal was quite frustrating.

Afterwards, you order them to take you to the Shamans, whereupon you find a side cave with several of the emaciated trolls, feasting on the guts and flesh of other long dead trolls, although the flesh was still...fresh. The look up with a fervor in their eyes and almost attack you on instinct, but think better of it at the last moment, they seem to be in some kind of...trance, or ritual.

Others -
You all take off towards the village, and before you arrive, you either change into an appropriate form or turn invisible, you enter the village boundaries and once again everyone who sees you stops what they are doing. It is the evening of the same day you met the village elder, and he seems quite surprised to see you at all.

"Ah, wow, ah, you are back? We were not expecting you for...some time!"

[Ridai]

Shea brings the head forward as proof.

[Thump]

Keri gives a small giggle, and moves towards the circle of shamans. She taps her glaive's staff-end on the floor to draw their attention, and clears her throat.

"Mmkay. So. I'm your boss now. First things first; the first rule of outsiders? We do not talk about outsiders. Second rule?" Her voice drops slightly, seeming very threatening at this point.

"We do not talk about outsiders. That means me, and anyone else I deem as such. Gotcha? Alright, second point of business; what's in the center of this cave? It's got a bunch of fancy magic on it, and I'm not exactly an expert on that, so one of you minions gets to tell me about it."

[MikelaC1]

SABRINA

Some time? You didnt think we could get the task done? Or that it was going to take so long? You didnt hire a bunch of weak adventurers here.
So, there was a reward offered?

[Chilingsworth]

Sabnack

Keeps an eye on the elder and attempts to determine his intentions:

Sense Motive
[roll0]

[BelGareth]

Keri -

The troll shamans look at you agahst, they almost drop their feast of not-so-dead-trolls at the statement, one goes to get up, but thinks better and just sits back into a pile of excrement, making a large splat sound.

Another looks up at you and trembles slightly...."Dwarveses, thates door leads to the drwavesses!" it speaks out, shivering from fear of reprisal.

Others -

The Elders face pales white as the trolls head is bought forth, he visibly shakes and starts to murmur to himself. "Of...of course...oh my! oh my indeed, no..no, I mean, yes! Yes of course I thought you could do it!, of course! come, come let us feast your...victory!"

He leads you to a hut and enters barking orders to a few people, from the looks of it, it is a bar, or the closest thing. He gestures to a table and smiles furtively as he waits for the food and drink.

They arrive post haste, the meat slightly red in the middle, and beer tasted slightly better than urine, but it seemed to be the best of the place. The elder stammered as he spoke to you again "uh...oh, my, yes, does this take your fancy My lady?"

[Ridai]

Shea, again hardly the center of attention, almost unnoticably narrows her eyes. Things seem more than a little fishy here.

Sense Motive [roll0]

[Thump]

"So it does? All right, then. If the normal rule is to not touch it, then we don't touch it. I'mma check on you guys later, so, you know. Chill."

With that, the she-devil wanders back towards the door, looking at it with fascination.

(Spoilers is in-head thoughts, they're kind of long.)
I should probably have them set up additional defenses, here. I've also gotta get them into more organized fighting groups... maybe smarten up one or two of them... Ooh, I wonder if Dasimox could send a couple of imps down here, and also an osyluth or two to help. I'll see if Shea can summon any. If not, one of the shamans should be able to. I'll do a head count first, though. I should be able to tackle at least fifty of them.

After about ten or fifteen minutes, Keri looks around the area again, making sure no trouble is going on.

[MikelaC1]

SABRINA

Sabrina looks at the food and drink offered, and magnanimously offers It will do. Even with her lack of her ability to read other people's emotions, she knows something is up, but will rely on her second's ability to do, and to communicate any dangers she picks up to her.
It was just a simple troll, I still dont understand your surprise at our completion of the mission. But whatever, we are here to celebrate. And to collect our reward of course, being a heroine doesnt pay the bills in the end. She makes a show of working at the food and drink, but doesnt actually consume any for now.

[BelGareth]

Others -
The man trembles as he talks to you, you are viscerally aware that he is mortally afraid of you.

"Ju...just a troll? My lady...A troll, just one...would, would, would kill us ALL!" he stammered out, he fidgeted slightly "We are...we, we, we are not killers here, we are but...simple farmers...I assure you..."

You are all aware that his eyes keep moving to door of the tavern as if he is expecting something, but nothing as of yet has come. Additionally, you can smell a faint wiff of something acrid, like chemicals of some kind, to you it wouldn't bother at all, but here it is starkly out of place.


Rolling Sense Motive is fine, but its not like Diplomacy, you can't decipher the meaning of life from a tao lin monk or determine whether or not backup is coming from a guards look....


Keri -
Not much happens, the Trolls do as they are commanded, but no one goes near the door.

[Ridai]

Smelling the acrid scent, Shea tries to locate the source... and what exactly it is.

Spot? Can't access Myth-Weavers right now, so I'm approximating a modifier [roll0]

edit: The modifier is +37

[MikelaC1]

SABRINA

Watching the eyes of the elder, Sabrina uses her telepathy to project to Sabnack and Shea.
Try to move unobtrusively in front of the door, Im thinking reinforcements are about to arrive.
Out loud, she continues to speak to the elder
Okay, you are simple farmers and cant deal with a troll. I get that. So back to the issue at hand a bit of iron enters her voice as her eyes narrow just a bit the promised reward?
[roll0] intimidate

[Chilingsworth]

Sabnack

Telepathic reply:
Yes, Mistress.

Attempts to position himself such that he'll be able to see (and target) anything coming through the door, while not being immediately targetable by them. Trying to do so in a manner that doesn't raise an alarm.

a. Is this possible? b. What sort of check would you like?

[BelGareth]

As Sabnack moves around the room, the elder suddenly gets worse, his shakes start to physically stop him from standing and he grabs the closest support beam for support.

It looks as though he is hyperventilating and is possibly having a panic attack.

You smell the acrid cent coming from below you, from between the floor boards, but have no time to deal with it as the door is slammed open and a knight, shining in his armor and purple regalia strides in, sword in hand, and shield pointed to you all (well except Sabnack who isn't in the line of sight)

"WHO ARE YOU, AND WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU ARE DOING!" the knight booms, a quick glance to the elderly man and you can see he is calmed, his panic swept away by this man who just talked to you all like a pack of serfs.


*yeah, I think we should combine spot/listen into perception, cause, you know...there is no smell skill.

anyhoo, Keri feel free to Join the main group somehow...or not, I'll create somehting for you if you wish :smallamused:

[Thump]

Keri gets bored eventually, and gives the trolls the order to stay quiet and keep watch for anyone coming in. After this, she heads back to the village, once again disguised, just in time to hear...

"WHO ARE YOU, AND WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU ARE DOING!"

She strides in quickly, and looks around at the others.

"Whoa, whoa, WHOA! What's going on here? I'm not quite sure what they're doing, but they're here to collect a reward for disposing of a troll that had been threatening the area. So why are you all up in their face about it? They might have been a little... pushy, but we can work this out. Right? We wouldn't want anything rash to happen..."

She positions herself between the knight and her comrades, so that if he tried to make any sudden moves, or did her friends, she could moderate them. Turning her head slightly, she looks at the knight pointedly, looking rather cross.

"...now, would we?"
Weapons are NOT drawn.
Detect Good; GO.
[roll0] Intimidate check.

[MikelaC1]

SABRINA

Sabrina is on her feet at the same time as the knight enters, her hand hovering just over her sword.

Thats exactly right, we took care of a troll and we were promised a reward for doing so. We just want what we are owed. By the looks of it, you could have also done the same job but didnt.

[Ridai]

Shea, while staying ready to act against the knight if needed, tries to determine what is below or if there is a way down.

[MikelaC1]

SABRINA

(telepathically to all allies)
If anyone can detect good on this silly pansy, please do so, I need to know if we are dealing with some sort of paladin or some other goody two-shoes

[BelGareth]

He does not radiate Good.

The knight almost loses himself with rage at being touched by Keri.

"Unhand me, you Serf!" he yells out, obviously not caring to be touched or not used to the intimacy of lesser people.

He looks over to Sabrina with a raised eyebrow "Dispatched to take out a Troll?" he looks to the elder, who is now shaking quiet violently, again. "You SUMMON me and my men, and then ask these...these people to do the same job? WHO IN THE NINE HELLS DO YOU THINK YOU ARE?" He turns around and barks at some men behind him, they rush in and grab the elder "You are coming with us, to show everyone else, that you do not call us out at your whim, a good flogging and a hanging should suffice."

At this point, the old man wets himself, a pool of pee puddling at his feet.

The Knight turns to walk out, but remembers you are still here, "Ah yes" he says as he turns to look at you all "Your reward will be whatever is in this mans house, his holdings belong to the Baron now, good day."

[MikelaC1]

SABRINA

Sabrina, already on her feet, takes a step forward.

Youre not going anywhere with him, not without answering a few questions first.
I don't care what your relationship is with the Baron, we are owed a reward and we are going to get it.

Her hand, hovering above her sword a moment ago, is now directly on her pommel and the sword is about an inch out of the scabbard.

[BelGareth]

The knight scoffs at your attempt to intimidate him.

He walks forward one step "Do you know who I am Lady?" he looks around at all of your "If you but raise that sword an inch more, I'll have you all in chains and drug bag to the keep, I don't care if you killed a Troll, these are my lands, and my fathers, the Baron Keirsgarrd, Nephew to the King!"

Another man comes rushing in, you recognize him from when you first met the elder, "Please milord, they were only wantin their just reward, Ol Peter promised em! He was going ta give them the sack o'gold in ere!" he claims, pointing to the bar, where a sack lies laying on the bar.

[MikelaC1]

SABRINA

Sabrina deliberately takes her sword out of its sheath.

You are welcome to try.

She also activates her shield from Abjurant Champion powers.

Now, if we are welcome to take our bag of gold, we can do without any unpleasantness. But I will not be intimidated.

[BelGareth]

The Knight scowls some more and places his hands on his hips, obviously at odds at what do to, and not used to be countermanded.

"What is your name, my Lady? Might I have that much before I scuttle out of here with my tail betwixt my legs? I am sure my father will have interest of you."

[MikelaC1]

SABRINA

Zarabeth. Zarabeth Sanitar

[roll0] Bluff

[Thump]

"Somebody has a case of not-knowing-a-non-serf when they see it."

Keri steps up beside "Zarabeth", and gives a deep bow to the knight., attempting to please him by showing humility, however much it may be false. Of course, only she knows this.

"Apologies, milord; the scuffle with the trolls was a bit stress-inducing. This is Zarabeth Sanitar, my lady and friend. My name is Namine Kholar."

[MikelaC1]

SABRINA

Sabrina gestures for Shea to pick up the bag, and also to make sure that there indeed is gold in it.

And this is my...squire...Tishtina

[roll0] Bluff

[BelGareth]

He grunts as Keri bows and his eyes narrow, as if he was scrutinizing you, or memorizing everything about you.

"You would do well to come by the castle, the Baron my Lord father would be pleased to meet you."

With that he turns on his heel and leaves, his men sweeping up in his movement, within a few minutes, the village is quiet as before.

[Thump]

"Alright... oh dear! Is the elder alright?"

Keri spins on a heel, looking around for the elder.

"They took him? What the-... what now? We can't just break him out... they'll kill him, though.

[BelGareth]

My bad, i didn't specifically say so: the elder was dragged away.

[MikelaC1]

SABRINA

To all allies
We don't want attention drawn to ourselves. Getting him free would do that. Besides, he seemed to be in charge of the village. With him out of the way, it might easier for us to operate. One mortal life isn't worth worrying over.

If Shea hasn't had the chance to check out the bag, she will.

[BelGareth]

The bag has 100 gold pieces in it. Not much for killing a troll, but a reward nonetheless. The villagers seems to look at you tepidly and go on their way, no one looks you in the eye.

[Thump]

KERIMAD

Maybe not, though at the same time, we can't take this place over the way the trolls were... TROLLS. I have an idea. Probably a stupid one, but an idea nonetheless.

[MikelaC1]

SABRINA

No, no, no don't leave. I know it looks bad with your elder being dragged off and all. But you still have a nice village here. Lets see if we cant work something out together. When...what did you call him, Peter?, isn't able to run things, who is in charge? Lets get together.

What sort of idea? Lets hear it.

[Thump]

KERIMAD

(To Sabrina, Shea and Sabnack)
"If the trolls were to... say, attack a certain village as revenge for their champion being killed... You three can handle a bunch of trolls, right? The survivors of the village can rebuild, and we can help. Establish ourselves as leaders, to start."

[MikelaC1]

SABRINA

Go do it. We'll stay and pretend to start organizing things. But make sure those trolls come at us in waves. We cant handle them all at the same time. And make sure the villagers don't see you in the attack or you wont be able to integrate after.

[Thump]

Be ready in an hour or two..

Kerimad steps out of the building, looking for a small space. Once there, she teleports outside of the troll caverns. She saunters in, allowing her disguise to wear off, revealing her true form.

"Gather the tribe, I expect to see all of you here before I finish cleaning my weapon."

With that, she shifts into a new form; that of a hideous night hag. Wiping the blade off with what looks like the hide of a demon, she gives it a good cleaning with a douse of a strange oil. She bangs the staff of her glaive on the ground with a resounding bang, commanding the attention of the trolls.

"You see all, behind disguises? You know who I am. Tonight, we hunt. The entire tribe HUNTS! You will listen to me, and I will lead us to food. To new ground. TO THE KILL!

She clangs her glaive on the stone floor again, with all of the attention that the trolls can give her.

"There is a human village a short distance here; some call it Guilden Morden, while I call it our battlefield. Everyone capable of fighting, be ready in an hour.

What she looks like in this new form. (http://fc06.deviantart.net/fs21/f/2007/234/2/4/Ravel_the_night_hag_by_Fuflon_by_Deusuum.jpg)

[MikelaC1]

SABRINA

Sabrina waits for the new leader to be brought to her.

[Ridai]

"Tishtina" brings the bag to Sabrina, though she still looks for a way down, inquiring about it if needed. It's a smell that should not be there. She won't risk another danger to Sabrina staying unnoticed or staying oblivious to something her mistress could use to her advantage.

[BelGareth]

Keri -

You Teleport back to the Troll cave and command them to go to war, the Trolls look at you stupidly for a moment, before they realize you telling them "they are going to war", for which they cheer and roar, preparing themselves for the coming battle.

Within the hour they stand ready, within battle ranks, which surprises you, ready for you commands.

Someone, or something has trained these brutes.

"Tishtina" -
You follow your nose, and now with the arrogant Barons son around, you are able to follow it. It leads you downstairs to a locked door, the door is solid oak and quite sturdy, not of local make.

Sabrina -
The man who came to Peters rescue, or atleast the to the villages rescue earlier is the one who comes to you, he is not used to the presence of someone obviously powerful and averts his eyes when he comes "You called fer me yur lady?" he says in the local accent.

[MikelaC1]

SABRINA

Yes, I did. I was not able to save Peter, but with him gone, the leadership of this village now falls to you. The people are going to need you. Im willing to help you. I have some experience with this sort of thing. Hopefully, the Baron doesn't come back, seeking revenge, and hopefully the troll wasn't a member of a tribe. But we need to be ready for these things.
So are you ready to take the leadership role?

She pauses a moment and then takes the sack of coins, handing it to him.

If it means anything, take these coins and use them. Im giving them to you to put back into the village as you see fit.

She then tries to telepathically implant a thought in him, a thought that he wouldn't think was coming from her.
Or I could keep them for myself, she wont know. Ive never had that kind of wealth.

[Ridai]

Shea decides to check out whatever is behind the door and quickly casts one of her spells, collapsing her form and belongings into a cloud of sand and squeezing herself through the cracks of the door (or the keyhole).

Casts Passage of the Shifting Sands

[Thump]

"Nicely done! Alright. Move out in small groups; we're heading out!"

The night hag gives a final signal to the trolls, and they begin heading out towards Guilden Morden.

[BelGareth]

SABRINA -

The man stutters as he grabs the bag, the thought being implanted has him at odds, but then he suddenly looks up at you and his face twists, "You....You..." he then screams and runs off.

Shea -
You flow through the cracks in the door and reform on the other side, and what you see has you raising an eyebrow. Through out the basement is a chemistry lab, everything is pulsing, moving and fumes are wafting everywhere, settling on the floor mostly, but the fumes color make you pause to worry, the color of them seems to mingle and different shades of bright blues, pinks, and yellows emerge every so often.

No one is down here, but you think it is because the fumes are extremely noxious as they assault your senses.


Make a Fort save DC 34
If you are immune to poison or drugs dance a jig.


Shea -
You give the command and within a few moments the War Trolls are Marching towards the village...

[Ridai]

Shea examines the lab a bit more closely, especially noticing the potency of the fumes. Using her ring, she whispers to Sabrina. "Found a lab in the basement, potentially drug-related. Extremely potent, judging by the fumes, unusually so."

Venom immunity

[MikelaC1]

SABRINA

Don't get too far away, Kerimad is bring the trolls to "attack" the village and we'll need be on hand to repulse them

Sabrina considers the man who ran off from her. He shouldn't have been able to detect that she had been the one to plant the thought in him, and she had no idea of what had gone wrong. If he proved to be a problem, she was going to have to make sure that he died in the troll "invasion".

[BelGareth]

The trolls made good time, the village came into view and they even managed to quiet down, only the repetitive food pounding of several hundred trolls smashing through the valley was all that could be heard.

The stopped and looked to the Hag-turned-Keri for instructions, not wanting to disobey or anger such a powerful being.

[MikelaC1]

SABRINA

Sabrina doesn't hear or see the trolls yet, but she knows they are coming, and "calls" to Shea again.
Time for us to find our way out in the city, Keri should have the trolls here soon and we have to repulse them. Do you have any large scale battle magic, preferably fire based.

[Thump]

Keeping her head down, she waves two groups of trolls over to her, and starts giving them orders through her telepathy.

"Alright. I want you... I'll call you First Lance. You guys hit the big building with the beds inside and such. There's lots of meat in there. Hold here until I give the order."

She splits them up into groups of twenty or thirty, and gives them each orders to attack different buildings.

Once this is done, she heads up to the front, still under cover, and gives an awe-inspiring roar.

"SHOW THE HUMANS NO MERCY! FIGHT, TROLL WARRIORS! CHARGE! DEATH TO THOSE WHO HUNT US!"

[MikelaC1]

SABRINA

Hearing the war chant of Kerimad, Sabrina tries to rally the villagers and calls Shea to battle.

THE TROLLS, THE TROLLS, THE TROLLS ARE ATTACKING. FIGHT FOR THE SAFETY OF YOUR LOVED ONES

Note: Sabrina was in her normal form when we encountered the trolls, so they wont recognize her leading the "resistance"

[Ridai]

I have. Shea appears right next to Sabrina out of thin air, dutifully augmenting her with protective and strengthening magics. She realizes this is, to an extent, a theatric display, hence she morphs into a bird and flies on top of a house where people can easily see her and the nearing horde, no sign of fear, scarf blowing in the wind. Analyzing the clusters of trolls, she decides to barrage the still relatively tight frontline first. Chanting, her arms moving in slow, wide patterns, bitter cold visible around her, the huntress opens her arms wide and the spectacle begins. Within mere seconds, deathly cold descend upon the charging trolls and with deep cracking sounds, dozens of them are simply flash-frozen to the core where they stand, lifeless statues of ice. With their allies behind them, the frozen lines in the back are shattered by their own brethren as they crash into the statues, some of them falling over by themselves onto the frozen ground.

Shea jumps to the ground, spotting two groups of trolls nearing her and her mistress. Focusing the one charging at herself, Shea simply swipes her hand as she moves forward, the trolls suddenly being flung upwards as gravity reverses, with one managing to hold onto the ground in panic. After a few moments, the huntress prepares for the cleanup. Another spell is cast and everyone can see the slender human woman morph into a juvenile golden dragon, incinerating the fallen and standing likewise and mauling them otherwise in between. And if Sabrina so desires, she can morph into the same kind of dragon as well while remaining close to her servant, upping the carnage even more.

Shea is the group's weapon of mass destruction, I imagine.

The used spells are as follows:
Teleport
Frostfell (with 17 20' cubes, she can probably target a large amount)
Reverse Gravity
Shapechange (shared with Sabrina if desired)

Shea is hardly killing all of them by herself, but she'll probably kill most of them and also burn the fallen.

[MikelaC1]

SABRINA

As Shea blasts their foes with magic, Sabrina contents herself with buffing herself, in between rallying the villagers. Her Greater Mage Armour is always active, not needing to be cast and her Shield comes up without thought. Depending on how much time she has, she will in order cast Stoneskin, Fire Shield, Haste and Blink.
That's probably all the time she has to buff, but if there is any more time left, she will fire her flaming arrows into their ranks, otherwise she just waits with her flaming sword out. As well, she calls out rallying the crowd and intimidating the trolls...
THIS VILLAGE IS NOT FOR YOU. GO BACK WHERE YOU CAME FROM LEST YOU FEEL OUR WRATH

[Thump]

Unscathed by the various spells thrown her way, the night hag gives forth a series of horrifying cackles, ones that could make mere villagers wet themselves at hearing.

"Bring them together, that's it! SHAMANS! FIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIRE!"

Several thunderclaps are heard, as suddenly, streaks of lightning come through the ranks, flash-frying villagers, even as multiple fireballs detonate near the front lines, lighting fire to a few buildings. Many of the trolls rush forwards after this, catching any humans in their way and tearing them limb from llimb.

[MikelaC1]

SABRINA

Sabrina sends a telepathic message to Kerimad.

Lightning? Really? The one thing we aren't immune to. Keep with the fire, its bound to spread more panic anyway.

[Thump]

It's thematic. They aren't aimed at you anyways, and shame on you if you can't dodge them.

[Ridai]

Dragon-Shea, in mid-air, slams through one particular fireball aimed at a bunch of fleeing villagers, emerging from the cloud of fire with a dive at breakneck speeds, ignoring a lightning bolt slamming into her body (as well as the pain it brings). The main cluster of shamans is engulfed in searing flame rolling over the field as the golden dragon slams into one unfortunate shaman and smearing him across the charred earth before starting to disembowel everything in the vicinity. Then, suddenly... the dragon flies away, landing at the edge of the town. The trolls are approaching fast, but Shea just swings a claw... and suddenly a huge tornado forms in the distance, sucking in the trolls and only really giving strong winds to the village.

Shea casts Control Winds, which at her caster level means a tornado strength wind. Area ends at the edge of the village. Pattern is everything being drawn inwards.

[BelGareth]

The trolls charge in, focusing in on the given buildings as directed, they burst into the houses and grab the men, women and children, gobbling them down like little morsels before moving onto the more 'lively' food.

Several of them burst into the livestock and just start butchering the cows, tearing and ripping into them enjoying the sanguine spray and laughing in delight.

And then the lightning bolts come forth whipping into the humans, frying several dozen at once, the snap and crackle of electricity permeates the air making it stink of ozone and flesh all at once.

The trolls seem happy and even on the verge of victory, a loosely defined term for them, until Shea comes forth and ravages almost half there number with ice, fire and claws. Several dozen fall back, taken aback at what they see as a juvenile dragon still learning how to control itself, they run, many of them into the lightning bolts there shamans are sending forth.

The others set up flanks and charge Shea, grappling her with tooth and claw, bringing her to the ground with a mound of greyish-purple flesh.

The Shamans cackle in glee at the sight of it all as they cast yet more lightning bolts into the houses and fleeing peasants.


Shea loses 1/5 of her hp's from the mound'o'trolls.

[MikelaC1]

SABRINA

Seeing the trolls attempt to dog-pile Shea, Sabrina heads over to the situation, hacking and slashing at the ones trying to take her down.

[Thump]

Ducking out of the way from the massive herd of spells, trolls, and gold-dragon, Kerimad gives a horrid smile that is made all the more grim by the sudden eruption of flame that comes from the biggest building with a snap of her fingers, and she looks at it with narrowed eyebrows. Screams, both man-made and troll-made come from the now-burning building, though anyone with magical prowess can tell that something is a bit off.

Major Image, to scare the crap out of people. She's enjoying this.

[Ridai]

(Well, since there hasn't been any answer from Bel, I assume I can just break free...)

With Sabrina coming to her aid, Shea uses the distraction to simply morph into a will-o-wisp for a moment before resuming her dragon form, fiercely protecting her mistress. Sabrina hardly need the help, vastly the huntress' superior, but it doesn't matter to her, her utter devotion unshaken.

[BelGareth]

As she rips off the trolls on the dog pile, arms flying, legs mangled and heads crushed, it seems one of the buildings erupts into a tower of flame, but to you keen eyes you can tell it is an illusion.

Trolls are starting to look worried, and several recoil from Shea and her master, not knowing who they are however they surge forward.

Sabrina cuts dozens down, while shea assists her with the same ease, and the trolls start to fumble, their belief of not being defeated, shattered by a pair of women!

They break and run, running through fences and houses in a flight of terror unbeknownst to the villagers...of which....only a handful remain....

It takes only 30 seconds for the crackle of fire to return and the silence to permeate the area, as the trolls run for what they think are their lives.

[Ridai]

With most of the villagers dead... Shea can't help but wonder what good all this did. Not that she would voice such doubts, as it is hardly her place. Instead, she remains by Sabrina's side, shifting back to her human form. Of course, she is the one that got wounded again, even despite her draconic form, further cementing her weakness.