"Well that was interesting. I've never seen anything like that before, but then again we own a flying castle, so... I suppose we just watch and wait and reveal ourselves just at the start of the meeting, yes? The castle should be arriving in a few hours."
"How does everyone want to make the approach? A few of us can reveal ourselves as the Harpers requested. Others could be hidden, invisible, or we can all just go together."
“My suggestion is to stick with the original idea of just you and a couple of others. I can watch the meet through my familiar and you can also alert us through the link if something goes awry. I can make those who step out invisible so it’s not obvious where you come from,too. Hopefully, all sides keep the faith and the meeting goes smoothly. “
Ooc- the third level Cure is fine. Dai, how many slots will have used for scouting prior to the meet?
“Can you tell me the difference between a witch and a wizard?" "Sure, a wizard is what they call you when they want to hire you, and a witch is what they call you when they're getting ready to run you out of town.” SunWolf replied ― Barbara Hambly, The Witches of Wenshar
" I will go out with you Velon. We are two of the most well known of the group. Maybe Cratol or Poljen as well... I need to stay close to you to keep up some of Sune's protections for you. " The tall raven haired wood elf begins checking her weapons.
Mari grins as the monotony is about to come to an end. " I will stay here with the others and come to the rescue if needed. Hopefully that won't be necessary. "
Velon notifies Averill about the second orb when Perry finds that.
Later, as new people arrive by boat and begin setting up, Velon contacts Averill again to find out if they know who they are, how the interaction goes, and if they would like Velon and the team to make another appearance or not. He makes sure to take a look first and be sure whoever has been responding to his messages is not within earshot of the new arrivals so as not to risk giving something away.
Dawn arrives, illuminating the beach. The newcomers have set up a simple but sturdy light blue pavilion, well suited for providing shade from the harsh sun. A number of humanoids are seated together beneath it, speaking with each other. Most of the Blaze recognizes two of them. Protanther sits a little apart from the others, his face a study in calm indifference. Otaaryliakkarnos, better known in her human form as Elia, is amongst the others, obviously spending time getting to know the Harpers she was sharing a mission with. There are two other figures present that look just a little off, likely other dragons in assumed human form.
About an hour after dawn, sails are spotted on the horizon. What look to be a matched pair of slender whaling ships approach the island at an impressive speed. Shortly after they anchor off of shore, there is an odd shimmering, and a large pinnace is approaching, far too big to have been stored aboard the ships you can see. It is apparent that some manner of illusion is in play. While the ships fly no flags, the pinnace's sails and flag are brazenly marked with the winged serpent of the Zhentarim.
Velon watches from their hiding places and encourages everyone to get ready. He asks Lia and Poljen to join him as they approach, and invites Cratol as well out of respect for his standing as an original member of the Blaze from before even Velon's time. "Perry, we will handle this one. As much as I value your persuasive skills, I may value your endless supply of clever magic even more. You and Lawrance should provide a solid surprise if we need it, accompanied by the blades of Mari and Morgaine, of course." He turns to Lawrance and asks "where will you all be, or how will you approach?"
Velon turns his attention to the platform crew they've had with them for the duration of this thus far uneventful mission. "The castle is scheduled to arrive just as we depart for the meeting. Please take the platform back up as soon as they are here for your own safety, if nothing else. We all protect one another, and I would not leave you without aid if an ambush of any kind is waiting on this island. I trust you and Sky Captain Poppo will use your best judgement if there is trouble and you must decide whether to return to aid us. We will signal for a pickup once our business is done if all goes well."
"Lawrance, what do you make of this large vessel that approaches? Does it look odd to you?"
Velon awaits the landing of the Zhents. He wants to let them settle in peacefully before making the least threatening approach he can, but does not want to wait so long that the castle arrives before he makes his appearance as that might be more alarming. The paladin takes a moment to survey the skies, the ancient red always clawing at the back of his mind these days.
OOC Sorry if we had agreed on any others going, but if I recall correctly the longest standing members of the Blaze were the ones we'd figure people might expect to see. No big deal to me either way.
Poljen agrees to go down to the meeting. "If anyone, on either side, decides to try any funny business, I want them looking at my big, ugly mug, figuring I should be the first target, so the rest of you can mess them up." He will follow Velon, but keep quiet.
Already in the middle of renewing the telepathic communication, Lawrance finishes it up and replies to Velon "As this should be a quick meeting, I'll see through Gamliel's snake eyes on the ground as well. If we are needed, I will teleport swiftly down with whomever wants to ride along. Should be a bit of a surprise and keeps our redoubt a secret, if needed. Where exactly we end up will depend on the situation, of course. "when the pinnace arrives, Lawrance is less impressed. "While a larger scale, it's merely another illusion variant. Our castle does it better. That being said, I suspect there may be a few other ships lurking in the illusion."
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“Can you tell me the difference between a witch and a wizard?" "Sure, a wizard is what they call you when they want to hire you, and a witch is what they call you when they're getting ready to run you out of town.” SunWolf replied ― Barbara Hambly, The Witches of Wenshar
As they prepare to head outside Lia moves to Velon. " Poljen already has the ability to soak up enemy attacks. Now it is your time. You will not die today my love I swear it. Go forth without hesitation. " She touches his arm gently and murmurs a prayer to Sune for a short time. He feels infused by divine power and life itself. Lia then concentrates on him and her shimmering white bracelet glows. Velon feels a great peace on him.
OOC: She cast warding bond and death ward on him. Lia also used her bracelet to aid him. None of them are concentration. His net benefit is resistance to all damage, plus 5 to his AC and plus 1 to all saving throws. Also if he is dropped to zero hitpoints he will stay at 1. If he is targered with anything that causes instant death the effect is cancelled. Either thing happening will end the spell. Death Ward laats for 8 hours. Warding bond for 1 hour. Plus 4 boost to ac is active as long as she wishes. They must remain within 30 feet of each other for these benefits.
Velon gives Poljen a nod expressing his confidence and says "it is always good to have the mightiest of the Snow Leopards with us."
To Lawrance he gives a pleased grin when he mentions simply teleporting to exactly wherever he is needed from afar. "Excellent, perhaps bring the mighty Morgaine then? Shadowsnacks may be able to carry the smaller Mari for a short distance along with Perry and thus all can arrive swiftly."
To Lia he smiles and says "ah, the burden of keeping we two fools alive daily, eh?" "Thank you my love." He nodded at Poljen in that regard.
Mari looks at her friends as they depart. " Be careful out there. Never underestimate the Zhents. They are usually a step ahead of you. If trouble comes though...we will be there. Death will come for anyone that tried to betray the deal....cultists or Zhents. "
After they leave she rummages through her belongings until she finds a paticular jar. " Everyone...please stay back. " She uses a utensil and removes a greenish substance. Mari smears it liberally on both of her short swords. Afterwards she puts away the poison and sheaths her swords carefully to avoid touching the substance or wiping it from the blades in their sheathes. The redhead has a malicious looking grin as she says, " If i have to use that, someone is going to have a bad day. "
The pinnace makes its way to shore, the rowers quickly securing it. The leader seems to be a tall woman with oddly fluid movements.
The Blaze members attending the meeting make their approach as the Zhent delegation walk up the beach to the pavilion. In the sky, you can see a cloud whose movements are just a bit off compared to the rest approaching, presumably it is the castle. Protanther greets you with a simple nod, Elia with hugs.
The Zhent leader appears to be serpentkin, with slim angular features, scales, and cold eyes. She is accompanied by a fair sized group of people, a mixture of heavily armed fighters of one sort or another and obvious mages. She holds out a palm and declares, "We are here, and prepared to make our exchange, let the witnesses be brought forth." Two of the Harpers unrolls a large carpet with a complex magic circle upon it. Twice a spell is cast, and twice a gate is opened to allow creatures from another plane to step through, or rather float through in the case of the first arrivals.
First to be summoned are a series of indistinct golden lights, each floating through the air. They project an aura of peace and goodwill, and have musical voices that chime out as they float from place to place, chatting amongst each other and commenting on what is seen. Those familiar with the planes would recognize these as Lantern Archons. Lesser Celestials that are often called upon as messengers, guides, and mediators. They are supposed to be relatively weak individually, but dangerous in a group like this.
The archons scatter away from the next figure to emerge, drawing up together in a somewhat menacing formation. His basic form is not unlike that of a tall man. But a crown of short horns encircle his head, and eight much larger ones protrude from his back, curving around to frame his body. a multitude of scrolls are wrapped around the larger horns, each covered in tight script. The Phistophilus, more commonly known as a contract devil, smirks at the assembled members as it steps forth. He speaks in an oddly alluring voice, "My thanks for including me in this most interesting contract, I request that we begin with the signees declaring their intent."
One of the Harpers moves forward and declares, "I am Pim Froy, I and those with me are here in good faith, I have been granted the authority to sign for the promises made in the contract, we have the agreed upon objects to be transferred in our possession and we intend no trickery." The Zhent leader declares bluntly, "I am Darressa, I have the mask you wanted on my ship, and you'll have it once everything's signed. Oh, and I intend no trickery."
The devil nods in confirmation, "I detect no falsehood in these statements." The Lantern Archons speak as one, "Those before us have not knowingly uttered a lie. Shall we begin?"
Someone pulls out a large scroll and unrolls it on a folding table under the pavilion for those present to review.
Just then, the speaking stone connecting you to the castle crackles to life, Poppo saying, "Hey guys, we've got movement. Two or three miles from your spot. Bunch of people came out of the woods and are doing something on the beach there. They're wearing red robes."
Velon lowers his head in respect to Protanther and greets Elia warmly. He's tempted to announce who they are and that they are just there for the security of the meeting but Darressa doesn't seem to pay much attention to the Blaze so he decides to just keep quiet.
When the contract devil and the archons appear he can't hide his amazement and looks to Lia and Poljen with wide eyes briefly. This is certainly a first for Velon, despite all of the creatures they have met on this journey.
Velon listens when Poppo speaks through the stone, hoping not to interrupt the meeting. First he reports the details over the mental link to the Blaze. "Poppo reports activity 2-3 miles to the southwest. Red robed figures up to something on the beach." Then he speaks aloud to those at the meeting, clearing his throat loudly first. "Ahem, terribly sorry to interrupt, but we have a report of activity on the beach to the southwest. Red robed individuals up to something. Are any of you aware of others that should be here?"
Lawrance is watching through Gamliel's eyes intently as the meeting begins, wary of any surprises. When the Haper mages summons the extra-planar beings, he leans forward int he depths of the hillside, wishing he was actually there and closer, to study creatures he has only read about. "Archon's and Devils and Dragons, oh my! I bet that devil has SO many things he could tell me!"Once Velon reports on Poppo's sighting, he readies his magic, sure that trouble is about to ensue. "If they tell us to get involved with the presumably Thay group, a few ballista bolts wouldn't be a bad thing."
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“Can you tell me the difference between a witch and a wizard?" "Sure, a wizard is what they call you when they want to hire you, and a witch is what they call you when they're getting ready to run you out of town.” SunWolf replied ― Barbara Hambly, The Witches of Wenshar
Just as Velon finishes speaking and awaits a response from the assembly here he asks over the mental link "what do you think they are doing, Lawrance, summoning something?"
Cratol tenses up some as he waits to hear what the others at the meeting have to say about the newcomers. Will this be a fight to get the mask now he thinks?
Lawrance nods, then realizes that Velon can't see him and says "Yes, I would bet they are going to summon something of great power and send it over, so they don't put themselves at risk. If the other parties agree, it'd be better to preemptively strike that ceremony and stop it from happening. It's too far for me to know much more"
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“Can you tell me the difference between a witch and a wizard?" "Sure, a wizard is what they call you when they want to hire you, and a witch is what they call you when they're getting ready to run you out of town.” SunWolf replied ― Barbara Hambly, The Witches of Wenshar
Mari stalks around inside the hill angrily. " Damn them. It's all because of that bastard Nikolai. Turned on us and took that hatchling. Now this. As if we didn't have enough problems. He is going to pay for all of this. If i can't catch up to him now I will track him down after we are done saving the world. The last thing he will see is my face when i drive my swords through his body. "
Lia looks around anxiously as the news is shared. She glances skyward fearing the appearance of a dragon or worse....
Poljen's eyes go wide as the various beings from other planes appear. This is by far the most unusual thing he has seen as a member of the Blaze, and that is saying something. Once Poppo reports his eyes narrow. "Whatever it is they are too far for us. We must be ready for trouble coming this way."
Over the link he says, {Let us have the castle start shooting ballista bolts and dropping rocks on them. That should slow them down.} His axe is ready in case anyone close by tries anything sneaky during the trade.
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"Well that was interesting. I've never seen anything like that before, but then again we own a flying castle, so... I suppose we just watch and wait and reveal ourselves just at the start of the meeting, yes? The castle should be arriving in a few hours."
"How does everyone want to make the approach? A few of us can reveal ourselves as the Harpers requested. Others could be hidden, invisible, or we can all just go together."
“My suggestion is to stick with the original idea of just you and a couple of others. I can watch the meet through my familiar and you can also alert us through the link if something goes awry. I can make those who step out invisible so it’s not obvious where you come from,too. Hopefully, all sides keep the faith and the meeting goes smoothly. “
Ooc- the third level Cure is fine. Dai, how many slots will have used for scouting prior to the meet?
“Can you tell me the difference between a witch and a wizard?"
"Sure, a wizard is what they call you when they want to hire you, and a witch is what they call you when they're getting ready to run you out of town.” SunWolf replied
― Barbara Hambly, The Witches of Wenshar
" I will go out with you Velon. We are two of the most well known of the group. Maybe Cratol or Poljen as well... I need to stay close to you to keep up some of Sune's protections for you. " The tall raven haired wood elf begins checking her weapons.
Mari grins as the monotony is about to come to an end. " I will stay here with the others and come to the rescue if needed. Hopefully that won't be necessary. "
Velon notifies Averill about the second orb when Perry finds that.
Later, as new people arrive by boat and begin setting up, Velon contacts Averill again to find out if they know who they are, how the interaction goes, and if they would like Velon and the team to make another appearance or not. He makes sure to take a look first and be sure whoever has been responding to his messages is not within earshot of the new arrivals so as not to risk giving something away.
Dawn arrives, illuminating the beach. The newcomers have set up a simple but sturdy light blue pavilion, well suited for providing shade from the harsh sun. A number of humanoids are seated together beneath it, speaking with each other. Most of the Blaze recognizes two of them. Protanther sits a little apart from the others, his face a study in calm indifference. Otaaryliakkarnos, better known in her human form as Elia, is amongst the others, obviously spending time getting to know the Harpers she was sharing a mission with. There are two other figures present that look just a little off, likely other dragons in assumed human form.
About an hour after dawn, sails are spotted on the horizon. What look to be a matched pair of slender whaling ships approach the island at an impressive speed. Shortly after they anchor off of shore, there is an odd shimmering, and a large pinnace is approaching, far too big to have been stored aboard the ships you can see. It is apparent that some manner of illusion is in play. While the ships fly no flags, the pinnace's sails and flag are brazenly marked with the winged serpent of the Zhentarim.
Velon watches from their hiding places and encourages everyone to get ready. He asks Lia and Poljen to join him as they approach, and invites Cratol as well out of respect for his standing as an original member of the Blaze from before even Velon's time. "Perry, we will handle this one. As much as I value your persuasive skills, I may value your endless supply of clever magic even more. You and Lawrance should provide a solid surprise if we need it, accompanied by the blades of Mari and Morgaine, of course." He turns to Lawrance and asks "where will you all be, or how will you approach?"
Velon turns his attention to the platform crew they've had with them for the duration of this thus far uneventful mission. "The castle is scheduled to arrive just as we depart for the meeting. Please take the platform back up as soon as they are here for your own safety, if nothing else. We all protect one another, and I would not leave you without aid if an ambush of any kind is waiting on this island. I trust you and Sky Captain Poppo will use your best judgement if there is trouble and you must decide whether to return to aid us. We will signal for a pickup once our business is done if all goes well."
"Lawrance, what do you make of this large vessel that approaches? Does it look odd to you?"
Velon awaits the landing of the Zhents. He wants to let them settle in peacefully before making the least threatening approach he can, but does not want to wait so long that the castle arrives before he makes his appearance as that might be more alarming. The paladin takes a moment to survey the skies, the ancient red always clawing at the back of his mind these days.
OOC Sorry if we had agreed on any others going, but if I recall correctly the longest standing members of the Blaze were the ones we'd figure people might expect to see. No big deal to me either way.
Poljen agrees to go down to the meeting. "If anyone, on either side, decides to try any funny business, I want them looking at my big, ugly mug, figuring I should be the first target, so the rest of you can mess them up." He will follow Velon, but keep quiet.
Already in the middle of renewing the telepathic communication, Lawrance finishes it up and replies to Velon "As this should be a quick meeting, I'll see through Gamliel's snake eyes on the ground as well. If we are needed, I will teleport swiftly down with whomever wants to ride along. Should be a bit of a surprise and keeps our redoubt a secret, if needed. Where exactly we end up will depend on the situation, of course. " when the pinnace arrives, Lawrance is less impressed. "While a larger scale, it's merely another illusion variant. Our castle does it better. That being said, I suspect there may be a few other ships lurking in the illusion."
“Can you tell me the difference between a witch and a wizard?"
"Sure, a wizard is what they call you when they want to hire you, and a witch is what they call you when they're getting ready to run you out of town.” SunWolf replied
― Barbara Hambly, The Witches of Wenshar
Cratol follows with his staff and watches as the Zhents approach. He is ready to get this over with but is ready if something goes amiss.
As they prepare to head outside Lia moves to Velon. " Poljen already has the ability to soak up enemy attacks. Now it is your time. You will not die today my love I swear it. Go forth without hesitation. " She touches his arm gently and murmurs a prayer to Sune for a short time. He feels infused by divine power and life itself. Lia then concentrates on him and her shimmering white bracelet glows. Velon feels a great peace on him.
OOC: She cast warding bond and death ward on him. Lia also used her bracelet to aid him. None of them are concentration. His net benefit is resistance to all damage, plus 5 to his AC and plus 1 to all saving throws. Also if he is dropped to zero hitpoints he will stay at 1. If he is targered with anything that causes instant death the effect is cancelled. Either thing happening will end the spell. Death Ward laats for 8 hours. Warding bond for 1 hour. Plus 4 boost to ac is active as long as she wishes. They must remain within 30 feet of each other for these benefits.
Velon gives Poljen a nod expressing his confidence and says "it is always good to have the mightiest of the Snow Leopards with us."
To Lawrance he gives a pleased grin when he mentions simply teleporting to exactly wherever he is needed from afar. "Excellent, perhaps bring the mighty Morgaine then? Shadowsnacks may be able to carry the smaller Mari for a short distance along with Perry and thus all can arrive swiftly."
To Lia he smiles and says "ah, the burden of keeping we two fools alive daily, eh?" "Thank you my love." He nodded at Poljen in that regard.
OOC Wow, that's a lot of protection magic!
Mari looks at her friends as they depart. " Be careful out there. Never underestimate the Zhents. They are usually a step ahead of you. If trouble comes though...we will be there. Death will come for anyone that tried to betray the deal....cultists or Zhents. "
After they leave she rummages through her belongings until she finds a paticular jar. " Everyone...please stay back. " She uses a utensil and removes a greenish substance. Mari smears it liberally on both of her short swords. Afterwards she puts away the poison and sheaths her swords carefully to avoid touching the substance or wiping it from the blades in their sheathes. The redhead has a malicious looking grin as she says, " If i have to use that, someone is going to have a bad day. "
The pinnace makes its way to shore, the rowers quickly securing it. The leader seems to be a tall woman with oddly fluid movements.
The Blaze members attending the meeting make their approach as the Zhent delegation walk up the beach to the pavilion. In the sky, you can see a cloud whose movements are just a bit off compared to the rest approaching, presumably it is the castle. Protanther greets you with a simple nod, Elia with hugs.
The Zhent leader appears to be serpentkin, with slim angular features, scales, and cold eyes. She is accompanied by a fair sized group of people, a mixture of heavily armed fighters of one sort or another and obvious mages. She holds out a palm and declares, "We are here, and prepared to make our exchange, let the witnesses be brought forth." Two of the Harpers unrolls a large carpet with a complex magic circle upon it. Twice a spell is cast, and twice a gate is opened to allow creatures from another plane to step through, or rather float through in the case of the first arrivals.
First to be summoned are a series of indistinct golden lights, each floating through the air. They project an aura of peace and goodwill, and have musical voices that chime out as they float from place to place, chatting amongst each other and commenting on what is seen. Those familiar with the planes would recognize these as Lantern Archons. Lesser Celestials that are often called upon as messengers, guides, and mediators. They are supposed to be relatively weak individually, but dangerous in a group like this.
The archons scatter away from the next figure to emerge, drawing up together in a somewhat menacing formation. His basic form is not unlike that of a tall man. But a crown of short horns encircle his head, and eight much larger ones protrude from his back, curving around to frame his body. a multitude of scrolls are wrapped around the larger horns, each covered in tight script. The Phistophilus, more commonly known as a contract devil, smirks at the assembled members as it steps forth. He speaks in an oddly alluring voice, "My thanks for including me in this most interesting contract, I request that we begin with the signees declaring their intent."
One of the Harpers moves forward and declares, "I am Pim Froy, I and those with me are here in good faith, I have been granted the authority to sign for the promises made in the contract, we have the agreed upon objects to be transferred in our possession and we intend no trickery." The Zhent leader declares bluntly, "I am Darressa, I have the mask you wanted on my ship, and you'll have it once everything's signed. Oh, and I intend no trickery."
The devil nods in confirmation, "I detect no falsehood in these statements." The Lantern Archons speak as one, "Those before us have not knowingly uttered a lie. Shall we begin?"
Someone pulls out a large scroll and unrolls it on a folding table under the pavilion for those present to review.
Just then, the speaking stone connecting you to the castle crackles to life, Poppo saying, "Hey guys, we've got movement. Two or three miles from your spot. Bunch of people came out of the woods and are doing something on the beach there. They're wearing red robes."
Velon lowers his head in respect to Protanther and greets Elia warmly. He's tempted to announce who they are and that they are just there for the security of the meeting but Darressa doesn't seem to pay much attention to the Blaze so he decides to just keep quiet.
When the contract devil and the archons appear he can't hide his amazement and looks to Lia and Poljen with wide eyes briefly. This is certainly a first for Velon, despite all of the creatures they have met on this journey.
Velon listens when Poppo speaks through the stone, hoping not to interrupt the meeting. First he reports the details over the mental link to the Blaze. "Poppo reports activity 2-3 miles to the southwest. Red robed figures up to something on the beach." Then he speaks aloud to those at the meeting, clearing his throat loudly first. "Ahem, terribly sorry to interrupt, but we have a report of activity on the beach to the southwest. Red robed individuals up to something. Are any of you aware of others that should be here?"
Lawrance is watching through Gamliel's eyes intently as the meeting begins, wary of any surprises. When the Haper mages summons the extra-planar beings, he leans forward int he depths of the hillside, wishing he was actually there and closer, to study creatures he has only read about. "Archon's and Devils and Dragons, oh my! I bet that devil has SO many things he could tell me!" Once Velon reports on Poppo's sighting, he readies his magic, sure that trouble is about to ensue. "If they tell us to get involved with the presumably Thay group, a few ballista bolts wouldn't be a bad thing."
“Can you tell me the difference between a witch and a wizard?"
"Sure, a wizard is what they call you when they want to hire you, and a witch is what they call you when they're getting ready to run you out of town.” SunWolf replied
― Barbara Hambly, The Witches of Wenshar
Just as Velon finishes speaking and awaits a response from the assembly here he asks over the mental link "what do you think they are doing, Lawrance, summoning something?"
Cratol tenses up some as he waits to hear what the others at the meeting have to say about the newcomers. Will this be a fight to get the mask now he thinks?
Lawrance nods, then realizes that Velon can't see him and says "Yes, I would bet they are going to summon something of great power and send it over, so they don't put themselves at risk. If the other parties agree, it'd be better to preemptively strike that ceremony and stop it from happening. It's too far for me to know much more"
“Can you tell me the difference between a witch and a wizard?"
"Sure, a wizard is what they call you when they want to hire you, and a witch is what they call you when they're getting ready to run you out of town.” SunWolf replied
― Barbara Hambly, The Witches of Wenshar
Mari stalks around inside the hill angrily. " Damn them. It's all because of that bastard Nikolai. Turned on us and took that hatchling. Now this. As if we didn't have enough problems. He is going to pay for all of this. If i can't catch up to him now I will track him down after we are done saving the world. The last thing he will see is my face when i drive my swords through his body. "
Lia looks around anxiously as the news is shared. She glances skyward fearing the appearance of a dragon or worse....
Poljen's eyes go wide as the various beings from other planes appear. This is by far the most unusual thing he has seen as a member of the Blaze, and that is saying something. Once Poppo reports his eyes narrow. "Whatever it is they are too far for us. We must be ready for trouble coming this way."
Over the link he says, {Let us have the castle start shooting ballista bolts and dropping rocks on them. That should slow them down.} His axe is ready in case anyone close by tries anything sneaky during the trade.