"Fully agree not to fight. At least not right away," energetically nodded Irmiel. "But if they are the shadovar we are looking for, we do need to know what can they possibly hope to dig up around here!" She did not go forward herself, but Osrik tried to get as close as possible to listen to the conversation and observe digging. Irmiel herself sat down blind and deaf to her surroundings, concentrating on her familiar senses.

(The familiar is trying to be as discrete as possible, using every shadow and trying to get close enough to see and hear. If needed, his Stealth: 6 and Perception: 12)

Stallock shrugs, "Ya, we can go around them, there's tunnels and buildings all over the place...i was just following the tracks."

Meanwhile, the fluttering owl, silent as it can be, swoops over and crouches in a window nearby, trying to listen.  

The woman seems to be doing the talking, while the Shadovar stands silently nearby, a grim look on his face as he watches the digging passively.  

The woman, "I mean, I suppose it's the finger nails that's the worst. You can wrap everything else up, but the sand always gets under my fingernails. You know, maybe after we're done here you can recommend a nice place to get some very nice gloves and boots from. That'd be a boon. I can send a couple of these ones to go fetch them for me. You know, it's the little things that you find you miss when you're isolated for so long. I mean, aside from the conversation of course. These morons aren't much for conversation, but someone like you, you've been about in the world, seen some interesting stuff. Not that I haven't, its just, it's a long way from here to get someplace interesting. I did go to Silverymoon two years ago though. I forget how pretensious people can be. But, as long as you look the part they treat you well. I really should have got a nice pair of gloves when I was there...."  

She stops suddenly, and glances around.  "Did you hear that? It....I thought maybe I heard a bird flying. Do you think maybe a pigeon or something found its way into caves?" 

The Shadovar says nothing, but continues to look grumpy.  He does glance around though.

Osrik froze in the darkest corner available, stopped breathing even: Hide (another Stealth: 9 - used the wrong bonuses first time)

Should someone move in his direction, Osrik will fly up and away from the group until the shadovar lose his sight, then returns without exposing himself to them.

Irmiel, of course, retells what she saw (the short version). "Looks like it is our shadovar. We kind of have to learn what they are searching for, but I'm afraid they found Osrik and now suspect they are not alone."

As the Stallock pointed the enemy group Llwyd could not help but be unsure if they should fight. They had spent some strength dealing with the drow and considering their last encounter with a Shandovar as well as the number of helping hands this one in particular had, maybe it was better to walk away discretely. At the same time the druid knew that, sooner or later, they would have to confront those adversaries and now, with more certainty than they could ever have in the future, the element of surprise was on their side. Before he could come to a decision his companions expressed the desire to avoid combat. Then Irmiel mentioned that Osrik was noticed.

“I can still use the spell to help us hide, but it may backfire if the Shadovar or the woman can detect the presence of magic.” He said conscious of the possibility since he became capable of doing it himself, although, for the moment, the only way for that was through a ritual. “Should then we take the chance to try ambushing them?” He asked to no one in particular. It all depends on how spent everyone is, the satyr pondered. His forces were enough to another third level, one or two second levels and four first levels. A single Wild Shape remained. Would that be enough? Llwyd was not certain.

"Just one shadovar? Do you suppose the woman is also shadovar?" Sistri asks Irmiel.  She is still hesitant to attack, but considers that perhaps this is an opportunity, "With surprise and just one shadovar, perhaps this is the time to take them on?" 

"It's a big risk," Kris muses.  "We know that the Shadovar are extremely powerful, but we don't know anything about the noble woman's capabilities, nor those of the laborers.  But Sistri's point is fair.  There may not be a better time than now."  She runs a hand over the hilt of her black rapier.  "I say we attempt the ambush."

Irmiel did not look very convinced but quite hesitant. "If you all think we should, so be it. And I have no sympathy towards shadovar, not after what they did. It's just... They are simply digging, not attacking anyone. We do not even know what are they trying to get. Would we do the same if another company would beat us to the supposed prize? Feels more like banditry than treasure hunting."

She sighed but did not argue anymore. If others insisted on an ambush - so be it.

“Feels more like preemptive self-defence than anything else. Or have you forgotten that the Shadovar, of which that individual apparently leading those others is clearly part, have sworn death to each and everyone searching for any Mythalar, which right here and now includes our own company?” He said to the wizard rather surprise by her innocence. “You saw what they did in Suzail and the bodies when we arrived here. You can’t possibly think that they won’t kill us if they have the chance.” No, Irmiel was too smart to such foolish thoughts. “Or imagine that they won’t get a chance if we simply do nothing.” Maybe it was the naivety of city folk, too far removed from the wildlands to think properly about survival. “I vote for attacking now but how we do it?”

Llwyd looked to the others rather expectantly. He was good at noticing things. Danger, trails, emotions. Not so much on making elaborate strategies. Lest of all on such short notice. Gods, he didn’t even know how much strength remained on his companions. In fact, his companions probably didn’t know how many strength remained on him either.

“I am unhurt and can take the form of an animal one more time before resting.” The druid stated to the party. “On regard to spells I can cast one more third level, one or two second level and between four and six first level.”

Sistri looks closely at Irmiel as she explains her position. And then she notes the sigh, "Irmiel, what course of action do you propose? Do we just skirt around them and continue on? Or did you have another idea."  She looks to Stallock, "Does the trail appear to lead to this group? Or do they just happen to be here?" 

She then gives Imriel a smile, "I still think a pre-emptive strike here might be an opportunity for us. But I would want to hear from 'Learned' Irmiel first." 

"'Tis an easy Matter to find a Staff to beat a Dog," cited Irmiel an ancient fable of "The Wolf and the Lamb". She looked at Llwyd curiously: "And here I thought druids are peaceful protectors of life. Live and learn, I guess. Did you spend your free time in the woods exterminating wolves or random wanderers, since potentially they could come and kill you? Must have been quite a busy life."

She turned to Sistri. "I would wait and see what they are about to dig up and what they are going to do next. I, personally, have no quarrel with that particular group. First, in full accordance with the curious views of our druid, shadovar's attack on Suzail was perfectly justified - they simply pre-emptively struck people who were going to steal their property. Second, should it be another company that managed to beat us to this site, I would rather admit defeat and move to the next target. Shadovar here are another company that claimed the spot first. Thirdly, we were hired to retrieve a few objects if it will be possible, not to kill anyone standing between us and the objects. I suspect many people see it as part of the job, but I am not one of them. not to mention. Fourthly, we do not even know what we are looking for and can learn it without killing anyone. The knowledge will be very valuable on its own."

Irmiel took a deep breath and continued. "I can go on but you get the picture of why I do not want to participate in the murder. Why do you want to kill these people, Sisti?"

 “If you want ironies then I will happily give you one – here I thought wizards were supposed to be intelligent and understand reality. Live and learn, I guess.” He answered visibly irritated with Irmiel for trying to speak about druids. She who lived in cities and had no right as far as he was concerned. “Your life was the busy one, considering that you didn’t have time to learn basic things like the fact that killing is part of nature and attacking who is sure to attack you is protecting one’s own life.” Llwyd was surprised an intellectual didn’t know as much. Anyone who spent half a day observing nature would understand that. “And emphasis on the sure to attack part, since by your comparison it seems that you don’t know the difference between a threat and a wanderer. By my not so curious view the Shadovar attack in Suzail lose any justification the moment they involved innocents. And trying to use an idea you are trying to invalidate to justify your point? Spare us the sophistry. Everyone here knows the Shadovar come from a same place. A place in war with the country that hire companies to search for Netherese ruins. The chance that one of them is independently searching a ruin likely to have a Mythallar is astronomically small, and anyone here can tell as much. If you want to bet your life on this chance that is your right, but if you want to persuade someone to do the same be honest, don’t try using argument ad hominis or talking about my culture when you know nothing about it.” The more he spoke the more the elf seemed like a child refusing to accept that things were not moving according to her wishes. Been there, done that. “Now, unless someone want to change positions, I believe the majority decided to attack and that we follow the majority consensus, meaning that instead of discussing about good and evil we should be planning a strategy before they notice us."

Irmiel's tiny owl, spotted, swoops away into the ruins, but not before hearing, "Oooh, an owl.  It just flew away, did you see that? That's unusual.  Hmmmm, Dolf, go check it out." 

As the group discusses the morality of attacking the other group, in hushed though somewhat stressful tones, Stallock takes a quick glance around the corner and then comes back. "There's one of those barefoot, rag wearing guys coming this way.  He put his pickaxe away and has a scimitar.  If we want to hide, I suggest we go over there."  He points to a nearby gaping door of a ruined building. "Otherwise things might get complicated quick!"

"My life was indeed quite busy, thank you. Spent a lot of it learning. History shows that practically every war was justified by the offenders with "but they were going to attack us, we had to strike first!". Hm... Always thought the animal striking from ambush is called a predator and seen as a process of hunting, not self-defence. Guess, another mistake on my part." She shrugged and maybe was about to add something else but Stallock interfered with new information. "Good opportunity to ask some questions before we kill everyone. I might be able to put him to sleep then we can drag him aside and ask about what is going on here."

Stallock looks to Irmiel, "A good plan, though we won't have a lot of time before they start calling for him or wondering where he is. We'll have to be quick, and quiet."

Sistri starts to reply but Llwyd jumps in first to respond to Irmiel.  She stands there feeling a bit awkward as the dialog becomes a bit more tense. When finally Stallock comes back she quickly, in a lowered voice, tells Irmiel, "Thanks for explaining." Then looking to address the others she says, "Let's hide and see what happens."  She moves quickly for the door that Stallock pointed out.

Irmiel moved to the safety too, as fast and quiet as she could. (If by that time Osrik returned, his new assignment was to pretend to be a rock while keeping an eye on the intruder)

Should the party hide effectively, the idea is to let the guy come close and - most importantly! - out of sight from the diggers, then try to drop him with Sleep 2nd lvl for 18

“And this time you guessed right – it was another mistake on your part. Animals will attack anything threatening that enters their territory for self-defense.” Llwyd started with a voice devoid of irony and aggressivity, remembering his days in the forest. “Doing so from ambush is just a matter of efficiency, not exclusively to hunt or prey.” His voice excitement, his mind wandering on memories of home. “That is why the big ones or the ones that don’t live in groups generally opt for intimidation. They aren’t really capable of hi… Ok, I lost focus for a moment. And there comes the formal invitation to put one of them to sleep.” He said as the enemy approached, turning his eyes to Sistri. “I would cast guidance, but in case he can detect magic…”

Fearing the spell would do more harm than good he follow’s the paladin’s cue and try to hide, wishing the enemy scout didn’t have share the magic resistance of the enemies they fought in Candlekeep. If he had, then they would need to act fast and bring the man down before he could alert his companions. That would be even riskier of a bet, the satyr considered. Images of the enemy faced in Suzail, the one who could teleport and become invisible, came to his mind.

The group quickly moves into the nearby building, with Osrik perching in a window sill, staying as still as possible.  With each of the groups breathing loud in their own minds...they wait, trying to keep still and quiet. The quiet scuff of the approaching man can be heard as he rounds a corner in a carved out passage through the stone and stops, glancing around.  Through Osrik's eyes Irmiel can see the man. He wearing a tattered wrap around his lower body and a loose fitting shirt that hangs open around the chest. His body is dirty and his hairy dark tanned skin can be seen along his uncovered legs, arms and chest.  He has a bit of a wild look to him as he looks around, clutching his scimitar with unpracticed hands. The man looks to be human, definitely not a Shadovar.  The man clutches a lantern in his left hand and glares around at the darkness. He sniffs at the air as if he were an animal...though based on his looks Irmiel would guess he's from some primitive clan.  His 'nose' seems good though, because he starts taking tentative steps in the direction of the group's hiding spot as he sniffs at the air.  

Irmiel quietly mutters her words of magic, moving her hands in a complex pattern, and then she finishes it by peering around the corner.....catching the eye of the man...and throwing a bit of sand in his direction.  The man spots her, takes a deep breath in, as if to yell....and then his mouth, face, and entire body go slack...as he begins to fall. 

Stallock rushes out of the door past Irmiel and catches the man as he falls....though the lantern and scimitar falling from his grasp both hit the rocky ground with what seems to the group to be an overly loud and echoing "clang" and "bang".  Stallock slowly lowers the sleeping man to the ground, then sneaks towards the corner quietly.  Everyone hears the womans voice echo from around the corner, "Dolf?"

(not yet in initiative, but time is of the essence. Actions?) 

"Can someone mumble something in the right voice?" Irmiel would do it herself but her ability to mimic voices was... well... non-existent.

(However, if using Prestidigitation is allowed, she can try to shape this "instantaneous, harmless sensory effect" into gruff mumble "I'm fine")