Maerwyn listens to the sorcerer intently, reconsidering his extent of wisdom with earnest attention. Then her gaze is averted from him, eagerly tracing the silvery intricate patterns decorating her tabaxi companion that shines in bright gray under her darkvision surveillance. She has subconsciously started to rub her cheek with her thumb, then stops abruptly in caution so that the facepaint concealing her tattoo does not wear off.

"That's really an impressive idea, Grom! Besides, I'd like to be assisted by both Dusk and Magron"- she accepts the suggestion without further debate while nipping on her lower lip with pearl white canines. "Where is that little badger buddy of yours, Magron? Couldn't he/she fit into the hole? We should send your buddy inside before trying to sneak in, let's see if the pea brains will let him/her pass unscathed!"

Charisma: Persuasion 3(gamelog)

"Excellent ideas," Dusk muses, "my ability towards direct battle are limited anyway, when we are ready I can send in Wispy in against the rats - with his whirlwind ability he could potentially scatter them and break up the swarm. This would clear the way to the intellect devourers. You said there were three? If I get close enough I could send in a bubble of acid - a simple cantrip - and that might cause them to come outside where Maerwyn and this magnificent metal badger could be waiting - as soon as they leave they strike with claw and blade while the sorcerer and I hurl our cantrips. If we succeed, we can pick off any remaining rats and proceed further. Does this seem agreeable?"

Quote from InkedBee >>

Maerwyn listens to the sorcerer intently, reconsidering his extent of wisdom with earnest attention. Then her gaze is averted from him, eagerly tracing the silvery intricate patterns decorating her tabaxi companion that shines in bright gray under her darkvision surveillance. She has subconsciously started to rub her cheek with her thumb, then stops abruptly in caution so that the facepaint concealing her tattoo does not wear off.

"That's really an impressive idea, Grom! Besides, I'd like to be assisted by both Dusk and Magron"- she accepts the suggestion without further debate while nipping on her lower lip with pearl white canines. "Where is that little badger buddy of yours, Magron? Couldn't he/she fit into the hole? We should send your buddy inside before trying to sneak in, let's see if the pea brains will let him/her pass unscathed!"

Charisma: Persuasion: 3(gamelog)

 *It fails. In fact, I wouldn't even have the persuasion work against PCs no matter the roll. I hope you understand my decision.*

(Sounds alright, @secretfool you can decide for yourself, mate! Maerwyn will hold onto her proposal, also the one from @cyb3rm1nd seems appealing to her)

"Sound like a plan as good as any, Dusk. Let's do it."

(Sorry for the late reply, had some keyboard troubles.)

Maerwyn waves at Magron after sending quick nods of agreement towards Grom and Dusk. The gesture indicates her wish to be accompanied by both Magron and the mechanical badger when she will try to move near the hole as silently as possible, analogous to the stealthy advancement of a predator about to hunt for a potential prey. She starts to tiptoe around the swarm of glowing rats cautiously so that they don't get stepped on, at the same time extinguishing her temptation to kick them out of her path.

She unstraps the crossbow slowly, then attempts to load it with crossbow bolts with more care than before. Knealing beside the badger, she'll aim for the entrance of the hole. If anything goes wrong, she will be ready to provide the group with the first line of defense instantaneously. 

Dexterity: Stealth10(gamelog)

"Very well. Let us get closer, if we can, without altering any of them. Once the badger and Maerwyn are in position I will send Wispy against the swarm, Grom and I can then go in throwing our cantrips. "

Dusk will try to sneak in closer, the air elemental in tow.

Dusk Sneak: 21

Wispy Sneak: 23

Magron and the badger will follow Maerwyn close, the badger will stand next to Maerwyn while Magron stays a bit more to the side to not block either Dusk or Grom.

Stealth Magron: 17

Stealth badger with guidance: 23

She waits for the perfect moment to start the turmoil, her keen senses remaining at highest level of alertness. Although Maerwyn is uncertain about the extent and consequence of her sneaky movement, she has decided to advance instead of retreating to a safe distance. She's well aware of the fact that the presence of intelligent creatures around the enemy is a temptation for the Intellect Devourers, they would rather devour someone who are not merely elemental beings or mechanical creatures. Why not lure them into devouring one of her companions? Is she efficient enough to exorcise herself or others if they fall victim to the enemies malevolence?

The intellect devourers don't make any reaction at all.

Grom scowled at the devourers' inaction. "They're baiting us, daring us to attack. I wonder... is the door trapped?" It probably won't do much to them but he didn't like the idea anyway. He turned to the mage. "You said you're a conjurer, right? Do you want to summon a minion and send it ahead, to see if it triggers any traps? Or maybe a familiar...?" He added that last one remembering his own advice against using high level spells.

OOC

So I understand, there's a hole in a wall, the int devs are inside, outside the hole is a swarm of glowing rats. Right?

(Plausibly, both Badger and Maerwyn are waiting near the hole for Dusk to attack, see #190)

Quote from Cyb3rM1nd >>

OOC

So I understand, there's a hole in a wall, the int devs are inside, outside the hole is a swarm of glowing rats. Right?

 *Yes.*

Quote from InkedBee >>

(Plausibly, both Badger and Maerwyn are waiting near the hole for Dusk to attack, see #190)

 *I understand.*

Dusk speaks in Primordial (Auran) to command Wispy to enter the swarm's space and use its Whirlwind ability.

Each creature in the elemental's space must make a DC 13 Strength saving throw. On a failure, a target takes 13 bludgeoning damage and is flung up 20 feet away from the elemental in a random direction and knocked prone. If a thrown target strikes an object, such as a wall or floor, the target takes 3 (1d6) bludgeoning damage for every 10 feet it was thrown. If the target is thrown at another creature, that creature must succeed on a DC 13 Dexterity saving throw or take the same damage and be knocked prone. If the saving throw is successful, the target takes half the bludgeoning damage and isn't flung away or knocked prone.

Wispy will then get out of the way as Dusk moves into position and raises a hand, speaking words under his breath as a bubbling black and dark green liquid sphere of acid appears floating above his palm. He quickly outstretches his hand sending the acid sphere towards the Intellect Devourers, aiming, if possible for two that are next to each other.

Acid Splash vs 1 (or 2 if next to each other) Intellect Devourers. Targets need to succeed Dexterity saving throw of DC 19 or take 15 Acid Damage.

Quote from Cyb3rM1nd >>

Dusk speaks in Primordial (Auran) to command Wispy to enter the swarm's space and use its Whirlwind ability.

Each creature in the elemental's space must make a DC 13 Strength saving throw. On a failure, a target takes 20 bludgeoning damage and is flung up 20 feet away from the elemental in a random direction and knocked prone. If a thrown target strikes an object, such as a wall or floor, the target takes 3 (1d6) bludgeoning damage for every 10 feet it was thrown. If the target is thrown at another creature, that creature must succeed on a DC 13 Dexterity saving throw or take the same damage and be knocked prone. If the saving throw is successful, the target takes half the bludgeoning damage and isn't flung away or knocked prone.

Wispy will then get out of the way as Dusk moves into position and raises a hand, speaking words under his breath as a bubbling black and dark green liquid sphere of acid appears floating above his palm. He quickly outstretches his hand sending the acid sphere towards the Intellect Devourers, aiming, if possible for two that are next to each other.

Acid Splash vs 1 (or 2 if next to each other) Intellect Devourers. Targets need to succeed Dexterity saving throw of DC 19 or take 10 Acid Damage.

 *Swarm: 2. How far does Wispy fling them?*

*Int dev: 1. 17. 2. 15.*

OOC as far as possible, to clear the way.

((Twin Spell toll the dead: each makes a WIS save vs DC 17 or takes 34 necrotic damage. ))

Grom rested his staff against a crook of his right arm as he made the gestures and spoke the words of one of his cantrips, then banged his right fist against the shield in his left hand. The resulting sound seemed to rush at the two devourers hurt by the acid, seeking to blast them with necrotic power.

*Int dev WIS saves: 16.

Damage for getting flung (swarm): 3.5.*

The intellect devourers are dead and the rats stare at the party as if they're studying someone. They are very wounded, but they still don't attack.