The group finishes their questioning of the guards and follows their lead into the settlement. The surrounding tents are newly placed and well secured, signs of a group that has seen many a stormy night. As the approach the large tent in center, the guards turn around and say "We look forward to your planning. This plague must be taken care of."
The group continues forward, lifting the flap of the tent and entering the a large area, about 50 feet long and 30 feet wide. Ahead of them they see the familiar face of Melcher, lit by the torches surrounding the walls of the enclosure. Melcher stands at the end of a large table with a piece of parchment sprawled on it. As the group approaches, they recognize the map as a map of the town of Odaigo. Upon approach Melcher speaks and says "Thank the Gods you arrived. I was worried that you weren't going to make it and our cause may be lose." He turns to the table and introduces the group to them saying "These are the heroes I spoke of. They were tasked with finding a secret weapon to tackle Sozos. I hope their journey was a success."
He then turns back to the group and says "These are two friends and allies of mine, let me introduce you to Thorius Illhard" The group looks over to see a man with chestnut, oily hair clumsily hangs over a furrowed, charming face. Heavy gray eyes, set a-symmetrically within their sockets, watch the group. A large beard graciously compliments his eyes and mouth and leaves a captivating memory of his fortunate survival. Melcher continues by saying "This is man is the leader of the Eastern Mages. I once worked with him on some troubling magical crimes in Odaigo."
Melcher then shifts his hand to the woman across the table and says "This is Ezolian Xamira, she is the lead cleric from the Temple of Ytdos." The group looks over to see a woman with amber, short hair double braided to reveal a thin, frowning face. Hooded green eyes, stare deeply into the group, almost as in an attempt to prod them for their secrets. A tattoo of a X enclosed in a circle is almost hidden just above the side of her left eye. Melcher continues "Although we have never done work together before, they are a quite the zealous attitude against creatures who would threaten this realm. Demons and their order of chaos bring most annoyance to them and have sworn an oath of elimination with me on ridding this plane of them."
He then turns his attention to the group and says "Now, let us focus on the business at hand. As I have mentioned earlier we need to eliminate Sozos and that means getting to him through his army of demons and demon spawn. I have heard from the inside through a rebel dwarf friend of mine, that what resistance remains exists in the sewers. They are allied with a group of wererats and luckily due to their shapeshifting ability, they are able to keep us relatively well informed about the situation in Odaigo. The short story is that there is not much of a town left to be saved. Everything inside the walls is either dead or loyal to the demons. The demons are led by Graxxy which I think Darrimus may have the best insight about. Tell me Darrimus, what would Graxxy do and what do you think we should do to prepare for an assault against him?"
Ash looks to Thorius Illhard as Melcher introduces him, then to Ezolian Xamira. He observes the odd tattoo on her head, before stopping at her eyes. "I dont' have any secr-" he begins to say, before interrupting himself upon hearing one word.
...
"Did you just say...sewers?" Ash asks, his face turning blue as he looks to Melcher.
“Graxxy always seeked conquest. You are right that we must stop this plague as he has no intentions of staying in Odiago. The only reason he is still there is to gather his forces before proceeding to the next city and taking it over for Sozos. Right now, Graxxy would be bolstering his defenses to ensure no one retakes Odiago once he leaves and recruiting more demons from the other Plane...”
Darrimus looks to the mage leader.
”My first move would be to cut off their supply lines to begin withering them down. However, their supplies are not coming from this plane... Do you have any way of contacts the Devils?”
Darrimus looks to the Cleric.
”Don’t worry I’m not making a deal with the Devils. I simply want to let me know we will be putting pressure on the demons on this plane. The Devils care about their own cause and can use this to attack to Demons on their home plane forcing them to fight on two fronts. “
" A wise decision. " Laurentia says nodding. " take advantage of the old hatreds without putting ourselves in the crossfire, I only hope we don't need to get in contact with the witches again to contact some devils.."
stilgar scans the tent and notices that in a crowd of new faces his elf friend from the previous encounter is absent. hopefully he’s left all this conflict behind him to purse a life of deliciousness... Stilgar smirks at the thought of the elf truly indulging himself before returning his focus back to the present...
“you mentioned an informant on the inside? can you be sure he hasnt been...comprised?”
he gives his chin a thoughtful scratch.
”sewers would be an unfortunate place to find ourselves ambushed.”
The mage, Thorius, gains a slight smirk on his face as Darrimus asks and Laurentia agree in using devils, but his eyes quickly dart over to Ezolian and speaks to her as he answers the question "Devils? Never would I ever tamper in the magics to associate with them. We mages have respect for all that is natural to this plane and besides, from common knowledge, devils only sign deals and there is only one thing I would bargain for right now." Thorius raises his eye brows at Ezolian before turning to Darrimus and giving him a sly wink. Darrimus looks over to the Cleric to see her green eyed gaze locked intently onto Thorius. After a long drawn out gaze, her eyes immediately snap over to Darrimus as she says "I agree there is no association with devils and nothing of value lost. I have no intentions of associating with them or anyone who does." Ezolian brings turns her head to Melcher and says "I am here to rid the plane of demons and evil, not ally with them. I will withdraw if...." Melcher raises his hand and says "I understand. Let us not fracture so easily here. It was just a suggestion."
Melcher then turns his face to Ash and says "Yes sewers. The network does run the course of the city and it is how I escaped." He then listens to Stilgar before saying "I can not guarantee that this information has not been compromised from within the city. I have done the best I can and sent Loramir as the relay man from the sewers's informant to our base. I am confident that there is no breakdown once it leaves the city. Loramir has reason to believe that the dwarf Gorlock who helped me escape, has been freed and is a major part of the resistance in the sewer. Although I originally questioned Gorlock's alliance with wererats, it has seemed to come in handy for the time being."
"You fools. I never said anything about allying with the Devils. Do you think I would ally with a Devil? No... Are we fighting Devils? No... Are we fighting Demons? Yes... Whose sole purpose in their many lifetimes is eradicating Demons? Devils. I didn't want to release them on this plane I wanted to tell them we would be attack on this plane which would encourage them to attack on their plane. You know nothings of tactics and that's why you're still here relying on us to find a way to banish this demon... Which we have do so. We have done and will continue to do part. I hope you can find some form a value to bring to this battle as so far you are disappointing and leading me to believe my chance of survival is dwindling."
Darrimus draws his sword.
"Nevertheless, this sword will be killing Demons... With or without your help. Based on this latest development and my assessment of your skill we are better off engaging in small skirmishes rather than fighting head on. Therefore, our best chance is to link up with Loramir who can lead us back to the sewers and then link up with this Gorlok. We can emerge from the sewers at random parts of the city and hit fast and hard before retreating. This insurgency will create terror within their ranks.. Never knowing when we will hit next... Graxxy will take this assault personally and will come looking for us. We will need to be ready."
Darrimus places his sword back in his hilt.
"Unless of course one of you has a better plan to save the city and thus save the realm?"
"With as much time as the demon has been running Amonk in the city, I also doubt we can face him in anything, but small skirmishes. Darrimus, you know this Graxxy best among of, if you think he will respond I am hopeful, but I am not sure we should hope to sow fear in creatures such as demons. We will slay them one way or another, but we should work on a backup plan in case he doesn't respond as such." Laurentia looks at the fools across the table. " You have already sent us to the swamp of witches in search of a way to slay this abomination. I am in no hurry to part with allies, but I am also not one to turn down help even from less than savory sources. You just told us how even the ratmen have proven useful. In the wars at the dawn of time, they say even the gods did whatever they could to fight back these creatures. And so still exists the church of Asmodeus. Only a fool would deny the expertise of devils in fighting demons. We do not wish to ally with them, but for the same reason we wish to avoid making a deal with them, a small slip of information is all they might need to help tip some scales in our favor. " She leans back and sighs. " As one who has just returned from the swamps with long-forgotten forbidden magic that no being should have learned, let me just say, we are in no situation to be turning down anything that might tip the balance in our favor. Take heed the words of our paladin."
Thorius pulls his hands up to his chest and twiddles his fingers in frontof him as Darrimus speaks. His eyes dart quickly back and forth between Darrimus and Ezolian. After Darrimus finishes speaking, there is a brief pause in the room which is quickly filled with Laurentia. Ezolian does not hesitate before saying "I have swore an oath to destroy evil and I can not associate with them. I will in no means be any part of this, and if for any instant I think that any of you are compromised by evil manipulations, I will personally take it upon myself to purge you."
Melcher shakes his head and lets out a heavy sigh "Well let us hope that it never comes to that. Let us move on from these discussions. Perhaps afterwards. Ezolian, I will personally promise you and keep you updated on that discussion."
Ezolian looks over to Melcher and her normal piercing gaze turns into a light blink followed by a smile. She says to Melcher "Thank you."
Thorius lets out a brief laugh before saying "Of course, anything for Melcher... Well I guess I could ask around and see what my mages know."
Melcher then nods his head and says "Now, if you really think our best plan is to make it into the sewers and attack from within, let us discuss how we can do that. There are demon scouts that patrol the city from the ground, and the air. The wererat is able to meet Loramir in the nearby woods by shapeshifting into a rat, but I am worried that us trying to make it into the sewers may draw attention of the demon patrols. What are you thoughts Stilgar? I am sure you are used to finding ways to be places you are not supposed to be sometimes.." Melcher says with a grin on his face.
Stilgar performs his trick, sending a thick fog dispersing throughout the tent. For a few seconds their is silence before Thorius speaks up and says "My, my I can't happen to see anyone! What a thick fog to shroud us in! Delightful. How big can you make this cloud?"
stilgar snaps his finger dissipating the fog cloud back into nothingness. he shurgs, looks to ash and stretches his arms trying to imagine the distance...
Still uncomfortably aware of Ezolian Xamira's gaze, and not yet recovered from the mention of sewers, Ash returns Stilgar's look with a face that seems to imply: "What are you looking at me for?"
Ash then snaps his fingers, resulting in one of the torches near Melcher to extinguish. He snaps again, causing it to light ablaze again. "If you are looking for a distraction, I may be able to provide one. Something subtle...or more direct." The light emitted from the torch starts to expand, this time in a blue fluorescent hue.
"Calm Stilgar.... I like the fire in this one... The threat of being purged is something I haven't heard in some time."
Darrimus nods in an excited motion.
"Yes, if you survive the coming battle Ezolina I hope that you would grant me the honor of a duel. That way we and our gods will know who would be purged and who would reign superior."
Thorius responds to the table and says "Hmm, I believe we have someone that can make tunnels, but I do not know how long it will take him to do it... We may have to wait a few days while he digs."
Ezolian responds to Darrimus and says "Well I am glad to see you are as hot headed as I perceived earlier. Your personal quarrels against me are not my concern, but if my God so deems, I may have angst against you in the future."
Melcher then rubs his chin and says "Well, what is the final verdict on the plan or do we want to wait until Thorius can talk to his mage?"
"We cannot wait. For every day that passes Graxxy's forces grow stronger and deeper within their ranks."
Darrimus looks to Stilgar.
"We will use the fog clouds. Before first light in the wee hours of the morning when natural fog would be present."
Darrimus looks around the room..
"We have 300 feet to cover. The fog lasts one hour. Moving at a half stealthy pace every man should be able to move 15 feet every 6 seconds. We should clear the field before the light hits the morning dew. We will need some of the mages to assist Stilgar in this endeavor."
"What are these mages capable of?" Ash asks hesitantly, remembering the intimidation he felt from the group's experience with the witch. His eyes shift from the blue-glowing torch back to Melcher and Thorius.
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The group finishes their questioning of the guards and follows their lead into the settlement. The surrounding tents are newly placed and well secured, signs of a group that has seen many a stormy night. As the approach the large tent in center, the guards turn around and say "We look forward to your planning. This plague must be taken care of."
The group continues forward, lifting the flap of the tent and entering the a large area, about 50 feet long and 30 feet wide. Ahead of them they see the familiar face of Melcher, lit by the torches surrounding the walls of the enclosure. Melcher stands at the end of a large table with a piece of parchment sprawled on it. As the group approaches, they recognize the map as a map of the town of Odaigo. Upon approach Melcher speaks and says "Thank the Gods you arrived. I was worried that you weren't going to make it and our cause may be lose." He turns to the table and introduces the group to them saying "These are the heroes I spoke of. They were tasked with finding a secret weapon to tackle Sozos. I hope their journey was a success."
He then turns back to the group and says "These are two friends and allies of mine, let me introduce you to Thorius Illhard" The group looks over to see a man with chestnut, oily hair clumsily hangs over a furrowed, charming face. Heavy gray eyes, set a-symmetrically within their sockets, watch the group. A large beard graciously compliments his eyes and mouth and leaves a captivating memory of his fortunate survival. Melcher continues by saying "This is man is the leader of the Eastern Mages. I once worked with him on some troubling magical crimes in Odaigo."
Melcher then shifts his hand to the woman across the table and says "This is Ezolian Xamira, she is the lead cleric from the Temple of Ytdos." The group looks over to see a woman with amber, short hair double braided to reveal a thin, frowning face. Hooded green eyes, stare deeply into the group, almost as in an attempt to prod them for their secrets. A tattoo of a X enclosed in a circle is almost hidden just above the side of her left eye. Melcher continues "Although we have never done work together before, they are a quite the zealous attitude against creatures who would threaten this realm. Demons and their order of chaos bring most annoyance to them and have sworn an oath of elimination with me on ridding this plane of them."
He then turns his attention to the group and says "Now, let us focus on the business at hand. As I have mentioned earlier we need to eliminate Sozos and that means getting to him through his army of demons and demon spawn. I have heard from the inside through a rebel dwarf friend of mine, that what resistance remains exists in the sewers. They are allied with a group of wererats and luckily due to their shapeshifting ability, they are able to keep us relatively well informed about the situation in Odaigo. The short story is that there is not much of a town left to be saved. Everything inside the walls is either dead or loyal to the demons. The demons are led by Graxxy which I think Darrimus may have the best insight about. Tell me Darrimus, what would Graxxy do and what do you think we should do to prepare for an assault against him?"
Ash looks to Thorius Illhard as Melcher introduces him, then to Ezolian Xamira. He observes the odd tattoo on her head, before stopping at her eyes.
"I dont' have any secr-" he begins to say, before interrupting himself upon hearing one word.
...
"Did you just say...sewers?" Ash asks, his face turning blue as he looks to Melcher.
Darrimus puts his hand to his chin...
“Graxxy always seeked conquest. You are right that we must stop this plague as he has no intentions of staying in Odiago. The only reason he is still there is to gather his forces before proceeding to the next city and taking it over for Sozos. Right now, Graxxy would be bolstering his defenses to ensure no one retakes Odiago once he leaves and recruiting more demons from the other Plane...”
Darrimus looks to the mage leader.
”My first move would be to cut off their supply lines to begin withering them down. However, their supplies are not coming from this plane... Do you have any way of contacts the Devils?”
Darrimus looks to the Cleric.
”Don’t worry I’m not making a deal with the Devils. I simply want to let me know we will be putting pressure on the demons on this plane. The Devils care about their own cause and can use this to attack to Demons on their home plane forcing them to fight on two fronts. “
" A wise decision. " Laurentia says nodding. " take advantage of the old hatreds without putting ourselves in the crossfire, I only hope we don't need to get in contact with the witches again to contact some devils.."
stilgar scans the tent and notices that in a crowd of new faces his elf friend from the previous encounter is absent. hopefully he’s left all this conflict behind him to purse a life of deliciousness... Stilgar smirks at the thought of the elf truly indulging himself before returning his focus back to the present...
“you mentioned an informant on the inside? can you be sure he hasnt been...comprised?”
he gives his chin a thoughtful scratch.
”sewers would be an unfortunate place to find ourselves ambushed.”
The mage, Thorius, gains a slight smirk on his face as Darrimus asks and Laurentia agree in using devils, but his eyes quickly dart over to Ezolian and speaks to her as he answers the question "Devils? Never would I ever tamper in the magics to associate with them. We mages have respect for all that is natural to this plane and besides, from common knowledge, devils only sign deals and there is only one thing I would bargain for right now." Thorius raises his eye brows at Ezolian before turning to Darrimus and giving him a sly wink. Darrimus looks over to the Cleric to see her green eyed gaze locked intently onto Thorius. After a long drawn out gaze, her eyes immediately snap over to Darrimus as she says "I agree there is no association with devils and nothing of value lost. I have no intentions of associating with them or anyone who does." Ezolian brings turns her head to Melcher and says "I am here to rid the plane of demons and evil, not ally with them. I will withdraw if...." Melcher raises his hand and says "I understand. Let us not fracture so easily here. It was just a suggestion."
Melcher then turns his face to Ash and says "Yes sewers. The network does run the course of the city and it is how I escaped." He then listens to Stilgar before saying "I can not guarantee that this information has not been compromised from within the city. I have done the best I can and sent Loramir as the relay man from the sewers's informant to our base. I am confident that there is no breakdown once it leaves the city. Loramir has reason to believe that the dwarf Gorlock who helped me escape, has been freed and is a major part of the resistance in the sewer. Although I originally questioned Gorlock's alliance with wererats, it has seemed to come in handy for the time being."
Darrimus smirks.
"You fools. I never said anything about allying with the Devils. Do you think I would ally with a Devil? No... Are we fighting Devils? No... Are we fighting Demons? Yes... Whose sole purpose in their many lifetimes is eradicating Demons? Devils. I didn't want to release them on this plane I wanted to tell them we would be attack on this plane which would encourage them to attack on their plane. You know nothings of tactics and that's why you're still here relying on us to find a way to banish this demon... Which we have do so. We have done and will continue to do part. I hope you can find some form a value to bring to this battle as so far you are disappointing and leading me to believe my chance of survival is dwindling."
Darrimus draws his sword.
"Nevertheless, this sword will be killing Demons... With or without your help. Based on this latest development and my assessment of your skill we are better off engaging in small skirmishes rather than fighting head on. Therefore, our best chance is to link up with Loramir who can lead us back to the sewers and then link up with this Gorlok. We can emerge from the sewers at random parts of the city and hit fast and hard before retreating. This insurgency will create terror within their ranks.. Never knowing when we will hit next... Graxxy will take this assault personally and will come looking for us. We will need to be ready."
Darrimus places his sword back in his hilt.
"Unless of course one of you has a better plan to save the city and thus save the realm?"
Intimidation: 6
"With as much time as the demon has been running Amonk in the city, I also doubt we can face him in anything, but small skirmishes. Darrimus, you know this Graxxy best among of, if you think he will respond I am hopeful, but I am not sure we should hope to sow fear in creatures such as demons. We will slay them one way or another, but we should work on a backup plan in case he doesn't respond as such." Laurentia looks at the fools across the table. " You have already sent us to the swamp of witches in search of a way to slay this abomination. I am in no hurry to part with allies, but I am also not one to turn down help even from less than savory sources. You just told us how even the ratmen have proven useful. In the wars at the dawn of time, they say even the gods did whatever they could to fight back these creatures. And so still exists the church of Asmodeus. Only a fool would deny the expertise of devils in fighting demons. We do not wish to ally with them, but for the same reason we wish to avoid making a deal with them, a small slip of information is all they might need to help tip some scales in our favor. " She leans back and sighs. " As one who has just returned from the swamps with long-forgotten forbidden magic that no being should have learned, let me just say, we are in no situation to be turning down anything that might tip the balance in our favor. Take heed the words of our paladin."
16
Advantage Roll: 6
Thorius pulls his hands up to his chest and twiddles his fingers in frontof him as Darrimus speaks. His eyes dart quickly back and forth between Darrimus and Ezolian. After Darrimus finishes speaking, there is a brief pause in the room which is quickly filled with Laurentia. Ezolian does not hesitate before saying "I have swore an oath to destroy evil and I can not associate with them. I will in no means be any part of this, and if for any instant I think that any of you are compromised by evil manipulations, I will personally take it upon myself to purge you."
Melcher shakes his head and lets out a heavy sigh "Well let us hope that it never comes to that. Let us move on from these discussions. Perhaps afterwards. Ezolian, I will personally promise you and keep you updated on that discussion."
Ezolian looks over to Melcher and her normal piercing gaze turns into a light blink followed by a smile. She says to Melcher "Thank you."
Thorius lets out a brief laugh before saying "Of course, anything for Melcher... Well I guess I could ask around and see what my mages know."
Melcher then nods his head and says "Now, if you really think our best plan is to make it into the sewers and attack from within, let us discuss how we can do that. There are demon scouts that patrol the city from the ground, and the air. The wererat is able to meet Loramir in the nearby woods by shapeshifting into a rat, but I am worried that us trying to make it into the sewers may draw attention of the demon patrols. What are you thoughts Stilgar? I am sure you are used to finding ways to be places you are not supposed to be sometimes.." Melcher says with a grin on his face.
while the alphas boast strategy and threats, stillgar watches as the mage twiddles his fingers possibly casting a spell
arcana check: 18
...untill something steals his focus
”sorry cleric, i must have misheard you... did you say youd PURGE us?
stillgar flashes a mischievous grin daring Ezolian to make a move.
”id suggest you choose your words more carefully... you may find life tragically dull without a tongue.”
stillgar flips and twirls a dagger which seemingly appeared out of no where
sleight of hand: 26
without breaking eye contact with Ezolian, stillgar addresses melcher
”if we want within the city gates without being detected the sewers are our best shot. i can get us in without drawing attention.”
stillgar snaps his finger and the tent suddenly fills with a thick fog!
fog cloud
Stilgar performs his trick, sending a thick fog dispersing throughout the tent. For a few seconds their is silence before Thorius speaks up and says "My, my I can't happen to see anyone! What a thick fog to shroud us in! Delightful. How big can you make this cloud?"
"If any of the mages among you can mold earth, we could quickly dig tunnels to get close without arousing suspicion."
stilgar snaps his finger dissipating the fog cloud back into nothingness. he shurgs, looks to ash and stretches his arms trying to imagine the distance...
”i dunno...20ft? 40ft if i had to.”
Still uncomfortably aware of Ezolian Xamira's gaze, and not yet recovered from the mention of sewers, Ash returns Stilgar's look with a face that seems to imply: "What are you looking at me for?"
Ash then snaps his fingers, resulting in one of the torches near Melcher to extinguish. He snaps again, causing it to light ablaze again.
"If you are looking for a distraction, I may be able to provide one. Something subtle...or more direct."
The light emitted from the torch starts to expand, this time in a blue fluorescent hue.
Control flames
Prestidigitation
Control flames
(3 rounds of action)
Darrimus pats Stilgar.
"Calm Stilgar.... I like the fire in this one... The threat of being purged is something I haven't heard in some time."
Darrimus nods in an excited motion.
"Yes, if you survive the coming battle Ezolina I hope that you would grant me the honor of a duel. That way we and our gods will know who would be purged and who would reign superior."
Persuasion: 14
Thorius responds to the table and says "Hmm, I believe we have someone that can make tunnels, but I do not know how long it will take him to do it... We may have to wait a few days while he digs."
Ezolian responds to Darrimus and says "Well I am glad to see you are as hot headed as I perceived earlier. Your personal quarrels against me are not my concern, but if my God so deems, I may have angst against you in the future."
Melcher then rubs his chin and says "Well, what is the final verdict on the plan or do we want to wait until Thorius can talk to his mage?"
Darrimus breathes in then out.
"We cannot wait. For every day that passes Graxxy's forces grow stronger and deeper within their ranks."
Darrimus looks to Stilgar.
"We will use the fog clouds. Before first light in the wee hours of the morning when natural fog would be present."
Darrimus looks around the room..
"We have 300 feet to cover. The fog lasts one hour. Moving at a half stealthy pace every man should be able to move 15 feet every 6 seconds. We should clear the field before the light hits the morning dew. We will need some of the mages to assist Stilgar in this endeavor."
"What are these mages capable of?" Ash asks hesitantly, remembering the intimidation he felt from the group's experience with the witch.
His eyes shift from the blue-glowing torch back to Melcher and Thorius.