Jek is already taking rope out when Lady Kaede yells. "Umm, anyone want to help here? We really don't need to just kill people." Jek will start tieing up the black armored leader first. Then moving to the others.
Edit for Darla:
Darla sneaks around behind Jek (as much as a terror such as her can) biting the noses of every trooper he ties up. Each receives a nip and a savage twist before she moves on to the next in line.
The leader, still in her charmed state as she is tied up, just looks around. She seems confused that her friends would ask her to yield, but she happily obliges.
"Very well. We yield." She says. She looks really confused by the need for a conversation about not throwing anyone over the edge of the chasm in the moments before the effects of Hypnotic Pattern wear off.
Ro watches as his party opens up the option of allowing the stormtroopers to surrender. There is a hint of disappointment in his eyes, but he does not let it show on his face. Instead, Ro allows Jek and Kaede to take the lead in getting the stormtroopers to surrender. Knowing that the leader stormtrooper is only complacent now because of his spell, Ro supervises his kinder counterparts as they try at diplomacy and bondage; flaming blade at the ready.
Rum shakes his head, “Allowing them to surrender is naivety. We are at war, a small band in unfamiliar territory. We have no capacity to deal with prisoners, especially not ones who outnumber us”, he says in exasperation.
”You think I call for their deaths out of spite, to commit murder. What plan do you have, Lady Kaede? Or you, friend Jek? For when we must leave them behind. We cannot take them with us, or leave them with the dwarves. They will surely not give up the fight. Their red lizard allies will help them get word to those far away before we are even an hour into our journey. And retribution will come both to us and the dwarves here. If you want to be a true leader then stop this foolishness and make the hard choices a leader has to make”, he states almost angrily, aiming the last comment at Lady Kaede.
Greko unaccustomed to this group's dynamics sits and continues to snack and smoke his pipe as the others decide what to do. "Who is in the shadows" Greko wonders aloud to no one in particular as he looks around casting light on his staff
Jek looks down at being called out by Rum. "I don't know, I don't have a plan. It just... It doesn't feel right. But, neither does war." With a sigh, Jek turns away. He thinks on what Dageron would do or say and this situation. "You are right Rum, I know you are. But... I can't. I won't stop you, but I can't do it."
As Greko calls out to the shadows, he first thinks the old lizard is talking to him. "Greko, I AM a shadow, not in the shadows. Oh, wait... Nevermind. What do you see. Argh!" Jek goes to look at what Greko is talking about, and gets a face full of smoke as he approaches Greko. "Blah, ptooey, argh. Why? Just, why?" PerceptionNat 1, 7 total
Lady Kaede is still on the dwarven side of great chasm, as she has no means of flying like the rest of her teammates do. She ignores Rum's rude and emotional outburst, chalking it up to excitement in the heat of battle. Seeing that the leader has yielded, and that she and the rest of her compatriots have been tied up and de-armed by her fellow warriors, she calms down a notch, turns, and calls out to the dwarfs cowering in their homes. "Fear not, my friends, for we have captured the band of brigands who have been threatening you for so long. Come! Come join me! Fear not, and we will interrogate their leader together!" She'll then beckon some of the timid dwarves, especially their elders or ones who displayed any sort of leadership, to join her as she walks across the bridges to the other side of the cavern.
Rum shakes his head, seeing the enemy troops now disarmed and tied up. He totally understands Jek’s point of view, finding he also cannot bring himself to do what needs to be done in the present circumstance.
He growls in frustration, and stands down.
”It seems the time to be sensible has passed, so let’s see how this plays out, fellow Remnants”, he says.
He dismounts by the storm trooper leader, asking Porkins to remain close.
”Tell us what you know of the dwarven blast bellows taken from the settlement in the cavern. Where is it? What is it being used for? How well guarded is it?”.
Perhaps a dozen of the gray Dwarves begin to emerge from the structures around Kaede as she calls them to come out and look across the chasm at the captured mass where the rest of the band is gathered. They look across the bridge, then back to Kaede expectantly.
Across the divide, the Stormtroopers, having been tied up and relieved of their weapons and armor, snarl as spit as they begin to emerge from their magical stupors. They are a combination of races. Orcs. Hobgoblins. Drow. Githyanki. All of them look pissed as hell to find themselves in captivity.
"We aren't telling you anything." The leader snarls as she looks up at Rum in defiance. "You want to know how well guarded our stronghold is? Well guarded enough that if you go there, you will die."
Rum looks at the leader and smiles, showing his feline teeth.
”Well defended, you say. It seems you have told me something after all. It matters not, if those defenders are as easily subdued as you all, it will not be a problem. Perhaps we will simply go to the Great Cavern now and retrieve the blast bellows”, he says nonchalantly.
As he speaks he reads her face and body language, trying to spot any tell that suggests the blast bellows isn’t located in the Great Cavern stronghold.
Ro procures more rope from his bag of holding and secures it to the anchor points the stormtroopers had used for their own rope ladders. He tosses it down the cliff to allow for the duergars and Keade to climb up.
Seeing the leaders outrage just widens the grin on Rum’s face.
He jumps gracefully back onto the back of Porkins.
”Let’s coral them all over to the edge of the chasm”, he says to the Star Lancer in Celestial.
As they do this, he looks to wind the leader up even more. “I can certainly see why your unit was chosen to deal with defenceless dwarves. I expect your leader couldn’t trust you with a proper mission”.
Porkins nudges each Storm Trooper so that they are standing with their heels next to the drop into the bottomless cavern.
The Stormtroopers are all pushed over to the edge of the ledge with relative ease. Few give up much of a fight at all, though all of them look plenty irritated with the situation and ready to throw hands.
"I fear I side with our General on such matters." She states, looking over the edge of the chasm with a grin. "The time for the weak is over. Now the strong shall reign. If a whole civilization of Dwarves can't fend off a squad of Stormtroopers then perhaps they need to fade into the background of history...just like the rest of you."
Greko continues to snack and smoke shrugging into the darkness "Tis a shame" Greko puffs on his pipe "Tis a shame you don't take young....errr...seasoned Ro up on his offer. I know if I had loved ones I'd certainly want to see them again instead of plumetting off the cliff" Greko says to the leader and nods over to Rum who is rounding up the troops to send them to their deaths "Would you like some of these tasty cakes? They are quite delicious...They have these little jams inside and when you bite into them....Mmm"
After Jek is done spitting out the smoke, he looks down into the crevice. "Umm... Greko... Is there something down there? Shine your light down."
Jek pulls his attention away from the crevice once the others start talking to the storm trooper. Jek looks to the leader and to the other stormtroopers, lined up on the side of the cliff. He is sad about the whole situation, but maybe he can help. He looks into the eyes of the lead stormtrooper. "I see. You follow the strong. That is why you followed Lord Vader, right? He was strong? Do you know how many times I came face to face with your Lord Vader? Twice. The first time, I caused him to become afraid of me. The second time... Well, there will be no third time after Greko and I dealt with him."
Jek reaches his hand out, and the shadows on the ground near the leader start to shift and swirl, lifting off the ground. "There is a side to my power that I don't like to use. But, at times lately, I found it necessary to tap into it. But I don't like to." Jek closes his eyes and feels out the swirling shadows on the ground. He feels it, just on the other side, and pulls it through.
From the swirling shadows, a massive clawed paw grabs the the edge of the ground, then another follows. Then, with a leap, a horrible looking creature jumps from the shadows on the ground and lands beside Jek. It is a massive hound, but appears to be made a shadows and haze. And, it's proportions aren't right. It's jaw is much too large, with too many teeth. An ethereal slobber spills from it's mouth, dissipating the moment it hits the ground. And it's eyes... It has glowing red eyes. The creature lets out a howl, and stares straight at the leader of the storm troopers.
It looks like it's about to leap at her, until Jek puts his arm on the hound. He steps right up to the stormtrooper. "I don't like this side of myself. You will most likely fair better dealing with my friends then with me and my hound." The hound is liking its lips and growling, still staring at the lead stormtrooper. " I suggest you cooperate, tell us where the blast bellows are, and give us whatever information my friends and I ask for!" Jeks eyes glow bright as he says this.
Spell: Suggestion DC Wis 17, Disadvantage because of the hound of ill omen.
Greko chokes a bit on his "tasty cake" at seeing Jek summon a large beast from the shadows. As the beast moves closer to Greko and snarls at the leader, Greko falls backwards off his rock. He manages to roll over with great effort and gets up. He decides to move towards the chasm as Jek suggested away from the shadow beast while rubbing his neck "Ah my spinal stenosis....you have to warn an old lizard before pulling shadow beasts from the ground...."Greko shines his light down the chasm and takes a gander
Rum moves Porkins away from the leader when Jek summons his hound, letting his shadow friend take over the interrogation.
He and his Star Lancer move around in a slow circle, and he focusses back in the other issue at hand. Gmork!
His keen feline eyes search the shadows for any sign of their dark pursuer, taking note of Greko shining a light into the chasm and looking himself as well.
Lady Kaede is too busy with rounding up and escorting the dwarves across the chasm to notice that all of her fellow adventurers are staring down into the chasm looking for signs of their dark pursuer, so let's just assume her passive perception (15) is covering her if there is anything to be ... perceived.
Rum descends into the chasm for a short time. When he and Porkins fly back out, he calls out to the others.
”Our dark pursuer is still being shy”.
He manoeuvres close to Greko, so he can speak more quietly.
”We are being stalked by the Gmork. It appears news of its demise are premature. It seems death is not the end for either side in this conflict”, he says pointedly, hinting at Greko’s own return. “What power is bringing combatants back though? Is it good, evil or perhaps ambivalent?”.
Jek is already taking rope out when Lady Kaede yells. "Umm, anyone want to help here? We really don't need to just kill people." Jek will start tieing up the black armored leader first. Then moving to the others.
Edit for Darla:
Darla sneaks around behind Jek (as much as a terror such as her can) biting the noses of every trooper he ties up. Each receives a nip and a savage twist before she moves on to the next in line.
The leader, still in her charmed state as she is tied up, just looks around. She seems confused that her friends would ask her to yield, but she happily obliges.
"Very well. We yield." She says. She looks really confused by the need for a conversation about not throwing anyone over the edge of the chasm in the moments before the effects of Hypnotic Pattern wear off.
DM of AURYN: The Measure of Devotion - Escape from New York
Ro watches as his party opens up the option of allowing the stormtroopers to surrender. There is a hint of disappointment in his eyes, but he does not let it show on his face. Instead, Ro allows Jek and Kaede to take the lead in getting the stormtroopers to surrender. Knowing that the leader stormtrooper is only complacent now because of his spell, Ro supervises his kinder counterparts as they try at diplomacy and bondage; flaming blade at the ready.
Ro Aleron (Ro the Red) -> Illithid, Wizard 8 (Chronugist) // AURYN
Rum shakes his head, “Allowing them to surrender is naivety. We are at war, a small band in unfamiliar territory. We have no capacity to deal with prisoners, especially not ones who outnumber us”, he says in exasperation.
”You think I call for their deaths out of spite, to commit murder. What plan do you have, Lady Kaede? Or you, friend Jek? For when we must leave them behind. We cannot take them with us, or leave them with the dwarves. They will surely not give up the fight. Their red lizard allies will help them get word to those far away before we are even an hour into our journey. And retribution will come both to us and the dwarves here. If you want to be a true leader then stop this foolishness and make the hard choices a leader has to make”, he states almost angrily, aiming the last comment at Lady Kaede.
Greko unaccustomed to this group's dynamics sits and continues to snack and smoke his pipe as the others decide what to do. "Who is in the shadows" Greko wonders aloud to no one in particular as he looks around casting light on his staff
Perc 21
Jek looks down at being called out by Rum. "I don't know, I don't have a plan. It just... It doesn't feel right. But, neither does war." With a sigh, Jek turns away. He thinks on what Dageron would do or say and this situation. "You are right Rum, I know you are. But... I can't. I won't stop you, but I can't do it."
As Greko calls out to the shadows, he first thinks the old lizard is talking to him. "Greko, I AM a shadow, not in the shadows. Oh, wait... Nevermind. What do you see. Argh!" Jek goes to look at what Greko is talking about, and gets a face full of smoke as he approaches Greko. "Blah, ptooey, argh. Why? Just, why?" Perception Nat 1, 7 total
Lady Kaede is still on the dwarven side of great chasm, as she has no means of flying like the rest of her teammates do. She ignores Rum's rude and emotional outburst, chalking it up to excitement in the heat of battle. Seeing that the leader has yielded, and that she and the rest of her compatriots have been tied up and de-armed by her fellow warriors, she calms down a notch, turns, and calls out to the dwarfs cowering in their homes. "Fear not, my friends, for we have captured the band of brigands who have been threatening you for so long. Come! Come join me! Fear not, and we will interrogate their leader together!" She'll then beckon some of the timid dwarves, especially their elders or ones who displayed any sort of leadership, to join her as she walks across the bridges to the other side of the cavern.
Last to know and first to be blamed...
As a free action, can I regret my life choices?
Rum shakes his head, seeing the enemy troops now disarmed and tied up. He totally understands Jek’s point of view, finding he also cannot bring himself to do what needs to be done in the present circumstance.
He growls in frustration, and stands down.
”It seems the time to be sensible has passed, so let’s see how this plays out, fellow Remnants”, he says.
He dismounts by the storm trooper leader, asking Porkins to remain close.
”Tell us what you know of the dwarven blast bellows taken from the settlement in the cavern. Where is it? What is it being used for? How well guarded is it?”.
Perhaps a dozen of the gray Dwarves begin to emerge from the structures around Kaede as she calls them to come out and look across the chasm at the captured mass where the rest of the band is gathered. They look across the bridge, then back to Kaede expectantly.
Across the divide, the Stormtroopers, having been tied up and relieved of their weapons and armor, snarl as spit as they begin to emerge from their magical stupors. They are a combination of races. Orcs. Hobgoblins. Drow. Githyanki. All of them look pissed as hell to find themselves in captivity.
"We aren't telling you anything." The leader snarls as she looks up at Rum in defiance. "You want to know how well guarded our stronghold is? Well guarded enough that if you go there, you will die."
DM of AURYN: The Measure of Devotion - Escape from New York
Rum looks at the leader and smiles, showing his feline teeth.
”Well defended, you say. It seems you have told me something after all. It matters not, if those defenders are as easily subdued as you all, it will not be a problem. Perhaps we will simply go to the Great Cavern now and retrieve the blast bellows”, he says nonchalantly.
As he speaks he reads her face and body language, trying to spot any tell that suggests the blast bellows isn’t located in the Great Cavern stronghold.
Insight: 8+11=19 (Passive: 21)
Lady Kaede leads the gathered dwarves across the cavern to meet up with the rest of the group, as well as the tied up enemy.
Last to know and first to be blamed...
As a free action, can I regret my life choices?
Ro procures more rope from his bag of holding and secures it to the anchor points the stormtroopers had used for their own rope ladders. He tosses it down the cliff to allow for the duergars and Keade to climb up.
Ro Aleron (Ro the Red) -> Illithid, Wizard 8 (Chronugist) // AURYN
Seeing the leaders outrage just widens the grin on Rum’s face.
He jumps gracefully back onto the back of Porkins.
”Let’s coral them all over to the edge of the chasm”, he says to the Star Lancer in Celestial.
As they do this, he looks to wind the leader up even more. “I can certainly see why your unit was chosen to deal with defenceless dwarves. I expect your leader couldn’t trust you with a proper mission”.
Porkins nudges each Storm Trooper so that they are standing with their heels next to the drop into the bottomless cavern.
The Stormtroopers are all pushed over to the edge of the ledge with relative ease. Few give up much of a fight at all, though all of them look plenty irritated with the situation and ready to throw hands.
"I fear I side with our General on such matters." She states, looking over the edge of the chasm with a grin. "The time for the weak is over. Now the strong shall reign. If a whole civilization of Dwarves can't fend off a squad of Stormtroopers then perhaps they need to fade into the background of history...just like the rest of you."
DM of AURYN: The Measure of Devotion - Escape from New York
Greko continues to snack and smoke shrugging into the darkness "Tis a shame" Greko puffs on his pipe "Tis a shame you don't take young....errr...seasoned Ro up on his offer. I know if I had loved ones I'd certainly want to see them again instead of plumetting off the cliff" Greko says to the leader and nods over to Rum who is rounding up the troops to send them to their deaths "Would you like some of these tasty cakes? They are quite delicious...They have these little jams inside and when you bite into them....Mmm"
After Jek is done spitting out the smoke, he looks down into the crevice. "Umm... Greko... Is there something down there? Shine your light down."
Jek pulls his attention away from the crevice once the others start talking to the storm trooper. Jek looks to the leader and to the other stormtroopers, lined up on the side of the cliff. He is sad about the whole situation, but maybe he can help. He looks into the eyes of the lead stormtrooper. "I see. You follow the strong. That is why you followed Lord Vader, right? He was strong? Do you know how many times I came face to face with your Lord Vader? Twice. The first time, I caused him to become afraid of me. The second time... Well, there will be no third time after Greko and I dealt with him."
Jek reaches his hand out, and the shadows on the ground near the leader start to shift and swirl, lifting off the ground. "There is a side to my power that I don't like to use. But, at times lately, I found it necessary to tap into it. But I don't like to." Jek closes his eyes and feels out the swirling shadows on the ground. He feels it, just on the other side, and pulls it through.
From the swirling shadows, a massive clawed paw grabs the the edge of the ground, then another follows. Then, with a leap, a horrible looking creature jumps from the shadows on the ground and lands beside Jek. It is a massive hound, but appears to be made a shadows and haze. And, it's proportions aren't right. It's jaw is much too large, with too many teeth. An ethereal slobber spills from it's mouth, dissipating the moment it hits the ground. And it's eyes... It has glowing red eyes. The creature lets out a howl, and stares straight at the leader of the storm troopers.
It looks like it's about to leap at her, until Jek puts his arm on the hound. He steps right up to the stormtrooper. "I don't like this side of myself. You will most likely fair better dealing with my friends then with me and my hound." The hound is liking its lips and growling, still staring at the lead stormtrooper. " I suggest you cooperate, tell us where the blast bellows are, and give us whatever information my friends and I ask for!" Jeks eyes glow bright as he says this.
Spell: Suggestion DC Wis 17, Disadvantage because of the hound of ill omen.
Greko chokes a bit on his "tasty cake" at seeing Jek summon a large beast from the shadows. As the beast moves closer to Greko and snarls at the leader, Greko falls backwards off his rock. He manages to roll over with great effort and gets up. He decides to move towards the chasm as Jek suggested away from the shadow beast while rubbing his neck "Ah my spinal stenosis....you have to warn an old lizard before pulling shadow beasts from the ground...." Greko shines his light down the chasm and takes a gander
Perc 17
Rum moves Porkins away from the leader when Jek summons his hound, letting his shadow friend take over the interrogation.
He and his Star Lancer move around in a slow circle, and he focusses back in the other issue at hand. Gmork!
His keen feline eyes search the shadows for any sign of their dark pursuer, taking note of Greko shining a light into the chasm and looking himself as well.
Perception: 18+11=29
Lady Kaede is too busy with rounding up and escorting the dwarves across the chasm to notice that all of her fellow adventurers are staring down into the chasm looking for signs of their dark pursuer, so let's just assume her passive perception (15) is covering her if there is anything to be ... perceived.
Last to know and first to be blamed...
As a free action, can I regret my life choices?
Rum descends into the chasm for a short time. When he and Porkins fly back out, he calls out to the others.
”Our dark pursuer is still being shy”.
He manoeuvres close to Greko, so he can speak more quietly.
”We are being stalked by the Gmork. It appears news of its demise are premature. It seems death is not the end for either side in this conflict”, he says pointedly, hinting at Greko’s own return. “What power is bringing combatants back though? Is it good, evil or perhaps ambivalent?”.