Akyan, during your training, you almost felt like a distant memory was trying to surface, like when you walk into a room and you know you came in here for a reason, but now you haven't the faintest notion why you're here. But the memory slips out of your grasp and fades.
Percy instructs you all to be ready for the simulation in one hour. "Some of the beings you encounter inside will be illusions or constructs, because many of our agents are off in Athkatla for the investigation. And this challenge won't, or shouldn't involve much straight-up combat. It's more a test of quickness, both of your brains and your feet."
Mina is surprised by the embrace from Breezy, but accepts it gratefully. She isn't used to physical positive touch and she feels a bit awkward as she does. "That makes sense. I just wish I knew how to determine if he is really working for the Serpents or some kind of agent like us? I'm not sure how to go about it as I don't want to compromise anything with the Circle, but at the same time, I hope you can understand how it plagues me."
When the question of the simulation comes up, Mina agrees with the rest.
Percy gathers you all together for the simulation, with Breezy standing by, having put together another Magnificent Mansion spell that will house the exercise.
"Remember,"Percy says, "That to be unseen you don't necessarily need to be magically invisible or unnaturally silent. Mundane tricksters simulate magic all the time using simple misdirection. One of the beauties of working with a team is that you can use distraction and deception to draw your opponents' attention away from your true objective. What our friends the dwarves don't realize sometimes is that full-frontal assault can waste a lot of energy and blood which a subtler approach can spare. But, each team must find its own style, what works for you.
"This exercise is simple, but not easy. There is a large building inside the pocket dimension. Somewhere within this building, a hostage is being held. The mission objective is to get the hostage out of the building alive. There may be more than one way to accomplish this. You have 90 minutes. Questions?"
When ready, your team enters the pocket dimension created by Breezy's spell. A large clock hangs magically in the air, counting down the time until the simulation is over. It can be seen from anywhere in the mansion, even through otherwise solid walls.
A large, round building occupies most of the area. Its walls are smooth stone, and approximately 15 feet high. There are second-story windows spaced evenly around the perimeter, which are covered by iron bars too narrow to simply slip between. There are two ground-level entrances into the building. From your current position, you cannot tell if there is a means of entry on the flat roof. One of the entrances appear to be guarded by three catlike creatures, with tentacles growing out of their shoulders.
The other entrance is a door with no lock or handle, guarded by a strange, stone-faced creature.
"Who or what are the hostage we are looking for extraction?" Asks Lyrandar before they enter the simulation. "How long has been captive? Did we know if they are injured or somehow incapacited?"
Once inside Lyndaran crouches down to not being seen by either of the guardians.
"Well that was.. unexpected"he says to his companions.
Mina takes in her new surroundings once inside the portal and nods at Lyndaran's comment. The guardians themselves seem pretty intense and from what she can see, getting past them is the only way in the building. She focuses on the stone-faced creature and uses her Hunter's Sense..
Hunter’s Sense
As an action, choose one creature you can see within 60 ft. You immediately learn whether the creature has any damage immunities, resistances, or vulnerabilities and what they are if the creature is not hidden from divination magic. You can use this feature 2 times per long rest.
"Who or what are the hostage we are looking for extraction?" Asks Lyrandar before they enter the simulation. "How long has been captive? Did we know if they are injured or somehow incapacited?"
Percival replies, "The hostage is the child of a newly elected member of the town council, who campaigned on being a reformer. Those who prefer the status quo have taken his young son as incentive for him to look away from their corruption. As far as you know, the boy is not injured, but he is young and unable to assist you in combat or to find his way out without direct supervision."
Lydaran asked the only question Kyrsa could think of already. She's assuming that her team knows nothing about the layout of the building, so they will have to be even more cautious.
Noting that the only entrances are guarded, she eyes the guard-cats. The three must be weaker than the single one, otherwise they would be more spread out. Since there is only one stoney one, she's guessing that one is pretty strong. She looks to Mina, "Do you know anything about these animals?"
Then she says, "Seems how these are the only entrances, we're going to have to create some sort of distraction. Jhaarteal, could you create a magical distraction for us?"
Before entering the simulation Lyndaran has one more question
"How does the boy recognizes us as agents of his father? Do we know, at least the name of the council man? I wasn't planning on the hostage to fight, but I think it is better to have him walk and collaborate with us by following us instead of just bump his head and carry the uncousncious hostage along " he smirks
While they are studying the entrances and the guardians he asks
"I cannot see any easy access point along the wall. Maybe we can climb it and access the building, but anyone at the windows of the second history could easily spot us. I agree that a distraction is the better way to act. "
This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
While pondering what he might remember about the animals, Jhaartael lectures to the air, "Percival did seem to suggest that we should use more than just spells as our distractions. I am trying to think what would distract those beasts. At the same time, I could probably figure a way to get a rope to the roof top for those up for a climb."
He whispers quietly to Artaquetië, and releases the bird to fly high above the rooftop and report back what he sees of it. (Artaquetië perception: 11)
Before entering the simulation Lyndaran has one more question
"How does the boy recognizes us as agents of his father? Do we know, at least the name of the council man? I wasn't planning on the hostage to fight, but I think it is better to have him walk and collaborate with us by following us instead of just bump his head and carry the unconscious hostage along " he smirks
Percy regards Lyndaran silently a moment, then sighs. "We didn't want to endanger a real child for a simple training exercise. We have made a simple substitution, which you will recognize when you encounter it. You will have no trouble convincing the substitute to come along. For the purposes of this simulation though, you are to treat the subject as if it were a young child. In this scenario, you are not given more information than this, including the name of the councilman. Information on these missions is often need-to-know, which I know irritates you, but it limits our exposure in the even of your capture."
Mina takes in her new surroundings once inside the portal and nods at Lyndaran's comment. The guardians themselves seem pretty intense and from what she can see, getting past them is the only way in the building. She focuses on the stone-faced creature and uses her Hunter's Sense..
Hunter’s Sense
As an action, choose one creature you can see within 60 ft. You immediately learn whether the creature has any damage immunities, resistances, or vulnerabilities and what they are if the creature is not hidden from divination magic. You can use this feature 2 times per long rest.
Mina learns that the creature is a sphinx named Hammurabi. However, she seems to be blocked from learning anything else about the creature. The sphinx turns to look in Mina's direction, as if sensing her presence.
Jhaartael places his finger to his temple coaxing his memory as to whether he can recall ever reading anything about the cat creatures:
Nature check: 11
From the depths of memory, the wizard dredges up from his studies of the native creatures of the Feywild the name "displacer beast" and that these creatures are more intelligent than most beasts, that they kill for sport as well as for food, and that they're notoriously hard to hit with normal attacks.
While pondering what he might remember about the animals, Jhaartael lectures to the air, "Percival did seem to suggest that we should use more than just spells as our distractions. I am trying to think what would distract those beasts. At the same time, I could probably figure a way to get a rope to the roof top for those up for a climb."
He whispers quietly to Artaquetië, and releases the bird to fly high above the rooftop and report back what he sees of it. (Artaquetië perception: 17)
The raven sends back confusing thoughts: "There... not there. Danger. Hungry. Shadows." If Jhaartael looks through the familiar's eyes, have him make a Nature check for me.
Akyan doesn't bother to try to recognize the creatures. Aside from horses, animals aren't things he knows much about for the most part, besides he's sure one of his companions probably knows at least a little about them. So, rather than studying the creatures, he studies the building and the area surrounding it. He's not against climbing up, but he doesn't want to do that unless he knows here is a way in from up there. Otherwise it would just be a waste of time and energy.
He's specifically looking for windows, though if the house has a chimney that looks large enough for them to fit through that could work as well. He's also keeping an eye out for any other guards, whether they are outside or if there are windows if he can see them passing by.
(Also, what time of day is it? Need to know if I have to roll at disadvantage...)
Perception: 16 (with or without disadvantage since the second roll was 18)
This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
Startled by his familiar's thoughts, Jhaartael reaches out and attempts to see through Artaquetië's eyes. As he does so, his own eyes go black, mirroring those of the raven.
"Ok, here me out," Mina whispers to the group, "normally I would just go do it, but I'm working on my teamworking skills. I want to try and talk to this sphynx. I have a feeling it is intelligent and we might get some information from them. I am open to suggestions on what to ask it for, other than entrance into the building.." she looks a little at a loss at this point.
Before entering the simulation Lyndaran has one more question
"How does the boy recognizes us as agents of his father? Do we know, at least the name of the council man? I wasn't planning on the hostage to fight, but I think it is better to have him walk and collaborate with us by following us instead of just bump his head and carry the unconscious hostage along " he smirks
Percy regards Lyndaran silently a moment, then sighs. "We didn't want to endanger a real child for a simple training exercise. We have made a simple substitution, which you will recognize when you encounter it. You will have no trouble convincing the substitute to come along. For the purposes of this simulation though, you are to treat the subject as if it were a young child. In this scenario, you are not given more information than this, including the name of the councilman. Information on these missions is often need-to-know, which I know irritates you, but it limits our exposure in the even of your capture."
"I got that we are looking for an illusory kid or something like that " replies Lyndaran more surprised than offended at Percy's words "And I know all about that need-to-know I wasn't asking for specifics only for something to easy one scared and kidnapped kid but whatever suits you Percy" he replies and shrugs.
"Well... Climbing could be an option for us to go in, but I don't see a kid climbing that wall or the chimmeny even if we are able to pull that off. So if we are going to distract the guards... either of them, we better make a good distraction or just fool ones in our way in, and the others in our way out. But besides making the panthers go after a rabbit or something for chase, and I doubt it would work, I have nothing..."
He hears Mina's idea
"I do not know... " he says " We may gain some information but that will expose at least you, and I doubt we can enter. In a real scenario we could make some digging before and try to learn the name of one of the opposing members of the council so we could try to pass as members of their enroute but here... Unless you can charm it I doubt it will allow us to pass... "
Akyan glances at Lyndaran, "The kid might not need to climb if he's small enough. We can either just carry him or use ropes to lift or lower him. Depending on what goes down inside, that might be safer than trying to rush past, or take out these creatures." Then he looks to Mina, "If it is actually intelligent, then I could make a link with it and talk with it telepathically. If you have specific things you want to ask it, I can act as a medium between it and you. Then even though it's aware that someone is here, it won't know exactly where we are unless it leaves it's post."
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"I like the sound of that," Kyrsa says to Percy.
Akyan, during your training, you almost felt like a distant memory was trying to surface, like when you walk into a room and you know you came in here for a reason, but now you haven't the faintest notion why you're here. But the memory slips out of your grasp and fades.
Percy instructs you all to be ready for the simulation in one hour. "Some of the beings you encounter inside will be illusions or constructs, because many of our agents are off in Athkatla for the investigation. And this challenge won't, or shouldn't involve much straight-up combat. It's more a test of quickness, both of your brains and your feet."
Mina is surprised by the embrace from Breezy, but accepts it gratefully. She isn't used to physical positive touch and she feels a bit awkward as she does. "That makes sense. I just wish I knew how to determine if he is really working for the Serpents or some kind of agent like us? I'm not sure how to go about it as I don't want to compromise anything with the Circle, but at the same time, I hope you can understand how it plagues me."
When the question of the simulation comes up, Mina agrees with the rest.
Percy gathers you all together for the simulation, with Breezy standing by, having put together another Magnificent Mansion spell that will house the exercise.
"Remember," Percy says, "That to be unseen you don't necessarily need to be magically invisible or unnaturally silent. Mundane tricksters simulate magic all the time using simple misdirection. One of the beauties of working with a team is that you can use distraction and deception to draw your opponents' attention away from your true objective. What our friends the dwarves don't realize sometimes is that full-frontal assault can waste a lot of energy and blood which a subtler approach can spare. But, each team must find its own style, what works for you.
"This exercise is simple, but not easy. There is a large building inside the pocket dimension. Somewhere within this building, a hostage is being held. The mission objective is to get the hostage out of the building alive. There may be more than one way to accomplish this. You have 90 minutes. Questions?"
When ready, your team enters the pocket dimension created by Breezy's spell. A large clock hangs magically in the air, counting down the time until the simulation is over. It can be seen from anywhere in the mansion, even through otherwise solid walls.
A large, round building occupies most of the area. Its walls are smooth stone, and approximately 15 feet high. There are second-story windows spaced evenly around the perimeter, which are covered by iron bars too narrow to simply slip between. There are two ground-level entrances into the building. From your current position, you cannot tell if there is a means of entry on the flat roof. One of the entrances appear to be guarded by three catlike creatures, with tentacles growing out of their shoulders.
The other entrance is a door with no lock or handle, guarded by a strange, stone-faced creature.
"Who or what are the hostage we are looking for extraction?" Asks Lyrandar before they enter the simulation. "How long has been captive? Did we know if they are injured or somehow incapacited?"
Once inside Lyndaran crouches down to not being seen by either of the guardians.
"Well that was.. unexpected" he says to his companions.
PbP Character: A few ;)
Mina takes in her new surroundings once inside the portal and nods at Lyndaran's comment. The guardians themselves seem pretty intense and from what she can see, getting past them is the only way in the building. She focuses on the stone-faced creature and uses her Hunter's Sense..
As an action, choose one creature you can see within 60 ft. You immediately learn whether the creature has any damage immunities, resistances, or vulnerabilities and what they are if the creature is not hidden from divination magic. You can use this feature 2 times per long rest.
Percival replies, "The hostage is the child of a newly elected member of the town council, who campaigned on being a reformer. Those who prefer the status quo have taken his young son as incentive for him to look away from their corruption. As far as you know, the boy is not injured, but he is young and unable to assist you in combat or to find his way out without direct supervision."
Lydaran asked the only question Kyrsa could think of already. She's assuming that her team knows nothing about the layout of the building, so they will have to be even more cautious.
Noting that the only entrances are guarded, she eyes the guard-cats. The three must be weaker than the single one, otherwise they would be more spread out. Since there is only one stoney one, she's guessing that one is pretty strong. She looks to Mina, "Do you know anything about these animals?"
Then she says, "Seems how these are the only entrances, we're going to have to create some sort of distraction. Jhaarteal, could you create a magical distraction for us?"
Before entering the simulation Lyndaran has one more question
"How does the boy recognizes us as agents of his father? Do we know, at least the name of the council man? I wasn't planning on the hostage to fight, but I think it is better to have him walk and collaborate with us by following us instead of just bump his head and carry the uncousncious hostage along " he smirks
While they are studying the entrances and the guardians he asks
"I cannot see any easy access point along the wall. Maybe we can climb it and access the building, but anyone at the windows of the second history could easily spot us. I agree that a distraction is the better way to act. "
PbP Character: A few ;)
Jhaartael places his finger to his temple coaxing his memory as to whether he can recall ever reading anything about the cat creatures:
Nature check: 11
Eryndor - Red Dead Annihilation | GM - Volo's Trade Franchise - PF2e Adventures set in the Forgotten Realms
While pondering what he might remember about the animals, Jhaartael lectures to the air, "Percival did seem to suggest that we should use more than just spells as our distractions. I am trying to think what would distract those beasts. At the same time, I could probably figure a way to get a rope to the roof top for those up for a climb."
He whispers quietly to Artaquetië, and releases the bird to fly high above the rooftop and report back what he sees of it. (Artaquetië perception: 11)
Eryndor - Red Dead Annihilation | GM - Volo's Trade Franchise - PF2e Adventures set in the Forgotten Realms
Percy regards Lyndaran silently a moment, then sighs. "We didn't want to endanger a real child for a simple training exercise. We have made a simple substitution, which you will recognize when you encounter it. You will have no trouble convincing the substitute to come along. For the purposes of this simulation though, you are to treat the subject as if it were a young child. In this scenario, you are not given more information than this, including the name of the councilman. Information on these missions is often need-to-know, which I know irritates you, but it limits our exposure in the even of your capture."
Mina learns that the creature is a sphinx named Hammurabi. However, she seems to be blocked from learning anything else about the creature. The sphinx turns to look in Mina's direction, as if sensing her presence.
From the depths of memory, the wizard dredges up from his studies of the native creatures of the Feywild the name "displacer beast" and that these creatures are more intelligent than most beasts, that they kill for sport as well as for food, and that they're notoriously hard to hit with normal attacks.
The raven sends back confusing thoughts: "There... not there. Danger. Hungry. Shadows." If Jhaartael looks through the familiar's eyes, have him make a Nature check for me.
Akyan doesn't bother to try to recognize the creatures. Aside from horses, animals aren't things he knows much about for the most part, besides he's sure one of his companions probably knows at least a little about them. So, rather than studying the creatures, he studies the building and the area surrounding it. He's not against climbing up, but he doesn't want to do that unless he knows here is a way in from up there. Otherwise it would just be a waste of time and energy.
He's specifically looking for windows, though if the house has a chimney that looks large enough for them to fit through that could work as well. He's also keeping an eye out for any other guards, whether they are outside or if there are windows if he can see them passing by.
(Also, what time of day is it? Need to know if I have to roll at disadvantage...)
Perception: 16 (with or without disadvantage since the second roll was 18)
Startled by his familiar's thoughts, Jhaartael reaches out and attempts to see through Artaquetië's eyes. As he does so, his own eyes go black, mirroring those of the raven.
Nature check: 18
Eryndor - Red Dead Annihilation | GM - Volo's Trade Franchise - PF2e Adventures set in the Forgotten Realms
"Ok, here me out," Mina whispers to the group, "normally I would just go do it, but I'm working on my teamworking skills. I want to try and talk to this sphynx. I have a feeling it is intelligent and we might get some information from them. I am open to suggestions on what to ask it for, other than entrance into the building.." she looks a little at a loss at this point.
"I got that we are looking for an illusory kid or something like that " replies Lyndaran more surprised than offended at Percy's words "And I know all about that need-to-know I wasn't asking for specifics only for something to easy one scared and kidnapped kid but whatever suits you Percy" he replies and shrugs.
"Well... Climbing could be an option for us to go in, but I don't see a kid climbing that wall or the chimmeny even if we are able to pull that off. So if we are going to distract the guards... either of them, we better make a good distraction or just fool ones in our way in, and the others in our way out. But besides making the panthers go after a rabbit or something for chase, and I doubt it would work, I have nothing..."
He hears Mina's idea
"I do not know... " he says " We may gain some information but that will expose at least you, and I doubt we can enter. In a real scenario we could make some digging before and try to learn the name of one of the opposing members of the council so we could try to pass as members of their enroute but here... Unless you can charm it I doubt it will allow us to pass... "
PbP Character: A few ;)
Akyan glances at Lyndaran, "The kid might not need to climb if he's small enough. We can either just carry him or use ropes to lift or lower him. Depending on what goes down inside, that might be safer than trying to rush past, or take out these creatures." Then he looks to Mina, "If it is actually intelligent, then I could make a link with it and talk with it telepathically. If you have specific things you want to ask it, I can act as a medium between it and you. Then even though it's aware that someone is here, it won't know exactly where we are unless it leaves it's post."