Drexon nods, scrutinising Lady Zelena's face and body language to ensure he believes she is not faking.
If he is satisfied, he then holds his finger to his lips and taps his temple.
"Do not be afraid, I can talk for a limited time like this. When I return, I will knock four times, wait for a count of three and then knock twice more. You wait for a count of five before opening, to ensure no more knocks are forthcoming", he says telepathically. "This link will only last a few minutes once I leave, but in that time we can communicate even once I have left".
"Now, will you even be able to open the door in your state. Do I need to move you closer?".
Once the conversation is done, and before he leaves, he will ensure he is protected.
He then re-establishes the telepathic bond so it lasts as long as possible, and leaves the room, ensuring the door is closed behind. He will be careful when leaving, checking the area and moving stealthily if possible.
Cob catches a foot on a piece of cobblestone and trips before he can take flight again.
"At least anyone around will be looking at me instead of Eremoz" Cob thinks to himself.
Not hearing back from Drexon makes him more cautious and while he follows Eremoz inside, he keeps back to let the big cat get in quietly, hoping to draw any unwanted attention on himself.
"Move me closer to the door," Zelena says. "I can have my back on the door, just in case someone powerful enough can breach the door or you need to enter again."
You carefully peek outside to find the western side of the manor abandoned. You easily walk the distance of the inner courtyard in a few seconds before you have to duck down and hide as the west door to the grand hall is opened. You see several people wearing gold and yellow garments dragging unconscious guards and staff and just leaving them out. You note that the yellow-clad people are the guards in Lady Leillana's service mixed with some of the Verdant Mason apprentices you've seen before.
You wait until the invaders leave before you dare to peek into the grand hall room. You can see that some of the guests who have been enjoying the party are also showing the same signs of paralysis. Some can still move albeit with great difficulty, like one halfling woman with a verdant hair who is making a fuss and being extremely annoying to her captors, while some others seem to have lost all feelings on their legs like Zelena. You see Julian Guilleman slumped near the large window of the room, blood slowly pouring from half a dozen stab wounds on his torso. His brother, Fenton, stands proudly with a satisfied scowl on his face.
Standing behind Fenton is the Lady Leillana. She is surrounded by three of her guards who have since abandoned the Clarent livery in exchange for a golden cloak. She is looking mighty annoyed, gesturing wildly at Fenton and the door leading to the back garden. Hotis Garaton, the Grand Mason of the Verdant Mason, stands stiffly in front of the glass door with a hard look of concentration etched on his face. The glass door is glowing with crimson runes, just like when you see the door of the family room.
You look for your other two acquaintances and find them also paralyzed. Dvark is kneeling near the mayor with great difficulty almost at the very center of the room, while Karm is leaning on a table near the east door of the room surrounded by two gold-cloaks, one of whom is slightly covered in rime and frost.
Eremoz and Cob
As both of you make your way to the manor, you veer slightly away to see the fallen watch tower guards. You note that they were not attacked, but had fallen off because they lost all feeling of their lower extremities. They just couldn't hold on and slipped off from the tower. One of them is barely holding on, dying after relaying what had happened, while the other hit the ground head first and snapped his neck.
As you get closer to the manor, you notice that people in gold cloaks milling around the front entrance, just right behind the door. They are visible enough through the glass windows near the front door. They may be waiting to ambush any help that would enter through the front door. Both of you take shelter behind the statue in the middle of the front courtyard. After a little bit of indecision, Eremoz decides to veer away from the main path to circle to the side, but Cob's wings are bright enough under the sun that it would be hard to conceal. However, the day is just getting started.
Just when Eremoz is about to leave, both of you hear a crack from above. The statue, who was looking ahead toward the manor regally just a moment ago, turns its head to look down at Cob. A pulse of fell influence seems to come out of a barely visible marking on the statue's neck before it cracks itself at the waist and bends down to look closer at Cob. Before you can do anything, Cob, you are grabbed by the statue and engulfed by its form.
This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
Cob curses to himself when the stone collapses around him. How could he have let that happen? Needing to use his hands and voice for almost everything he could possibly do, he has only one option and that's to physically try and work himself loose.
Unfortunately, Cob, as hard as you try to wriggle free, the statue's sturdy form is too much for your strength. You feel the statue tighten its grasp on you and you can feel your body being crushed. Eremoz, as you look at Cob and the statue, you begin to notice the statue changing its form. There is a small bulge on the statue's back and its face somehow looks a little bit like Cob.
Q2
{{Eremoz, it's your turn.}}
Inside the manor, Drexon, you can hear Lady Leillana ranting and mumbling erratically.
"Where is it?" She grumbles. "Where is that girl? How can you let her escape like this, Fenton? Haven't I told you to keep a close eye on her? She's wily. And where's the rest of the ragtag group that buffoon David hired? Have you found them yet? You two, help Hotis' apprentice find them."
Two of the guards surrounding Leillana veers off toward the public sitting room.
Drexon stays concealed and continues to listen to what Lady Leillana is muttering.
He is also concerned by Hotis Garaton, and positions himself so that he can see the Grand Mason, but no-one in the Grand Room can see him, assuming that Hotis is distracted. He then speaks a word in Deep Speech as quietly as possible, driving a mental dagger into the Grand Masons mind, hoping he assumes it is the defences of the glass door with runes glowing.
Action: Cast mind sliver on Hotis Garaton - DC 15 Int Save or take 4 [psychic] damage and substract d4 from next saving throw before end of Drexon's next turn
Eremoz, seeing Cob's plight, you try to strike the most visible area of the statue in the hope that it will deactivate it. Unfortunately, your claws cannot penetrate the statue's sturdy construction. However, you do notice the statue turning its Cob-like face toward you, and it starts to lose its resemblance. Instead, its mouth elongates to be a little bit more feline as if mimicking everything it can perceive.
Q3
"Blast it, woman!" Fenton roars, surprising some of the paralyzed guests. When the two guards who are about to leave the room stop to listen, he waves his hand to make them move along with Leillana's order for now. "Listen! Sooner or later, she will be found. Now, compose yourself. I trust my master's ability. Let him work in peace. Now, let's address our main objective."
Fenton bows deeply as he faces the crowd of confused and terrified guests. "Ladies and gentlemen, if you have not yet known me, then let me introduce myself. My name is Fenton Guilleman, now the sole inheritor of the Guilleman fortune, the backbone of this lovely city's economy for the past decade. It is good to make your acquaintance. Now, let's talk business. I'm sure you are wondering what is going on right now. You cannot move your lower limbs. I just killed my brother in cold blood. Leillana, Lady of House Clarent, seems to be in league with this nefarious plan, hunting for her daughter's head. The simplest answer is, of course, greed. But that is not the reason for today's event. No, no, no, not even close. We are here to invite you into a new age."
Hearing this nonchalant way of talking, Dvark [Tooltip Not Found] and slowly regains feeling in his legs. At the same time, Karm relaxes himself and scoots slightly away from the two guards in front of him, preparing in case the situation grows worse.
Q4
Drexon, you move behind the open door to hide yourself better and sharpen your mind before driving it toward the Grand Mason of the Verdant Mason. At first, you feel you manage to disturb his focus, but then you feel a foreign presence that is not the Grand Mason encompassing your own mind. It gives off a feeling of discomfort and reluctance, as if not wanting two of its children to fight with each other. The presence leaves as soon as you feel it, but it leaves a kind of revelatory insight into the Grand Mason's mind. At once, you understand that this is not someone you want to fight now. Hotis Garaton is not here to invade but only to sate his curiosity. You get the feeling that he is here only as a courtesy. Just like when you meet with him at the basement of the Twenty-One Jack, Hotis seems to know about the plan to invade the estate but not actively planning or joining it. If there is not an impossible-to-break enchantment that takes his curiosity, he will be relaxing on a couch somewhere, waiting for whatever Fenton is planning to finish.
{{Back to the top. Cob, take your turn. The DC for the escape check has been lowered to 10 because the statue is currently more fascinated with Eremoz. Eremoz, you might as well take your turn with Cob.}}
This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
Feeling the statue shift a little, Cob tries to wiggle his way out. Bending and twisting are more his style anyway. Brute force doesn't exactly come naturally to someone his size.
Acrobatics to escape: 18 (5 less if it has to be Strength/Athletics)
Cob, as the statue slackens its hold on you, you flare your wings and flit away from the statue's grasp.
Eremoz, with Cob out of the way, you take the opening the stumbling statue gives and swipe at it, chipping the statue's form slightly and leaving it faceless.
The statue looks confusedly at Eremoz before moving to grasp him. You are not fast enough to move away from it. Its hands surround your form and you are restrained by it.
Cob, as the statue grasps Eremoz tightly, you notice that its fingers sharpen to be like Eremoz's claws and the bulge on its back grows to form a wing, just like yours.
Inside the estate, Leillana can be seen looking very angry but keeps mum after Fenton begins his speech.
"And what does this new age entails?" Dvark dares to ask.
"Ah, you must be the new help," Fenton says condescendingly. "And doing his job rather remarkably, standing by our esteemed mayor and guests protectively, defiant until the end."
"Of course, a new age where we, the people of Mantagard, will no longer be reliant to our cutthroat neighbouring cities. A new age where our mayor, corrupt as he is, no longer pander and give in to ridiculous demands from the noble families of this city and our neighbouring cities. The time of the nobility ended long ago, yet here they are still in power albeit in secret. I am offering you an out. Out from nepotism. Out from the shackle that the nobility put around us. We drove out the rot of the Papacy years ago. We drove out the previous corrupt mayor. Help me excise the sickness plagueing our city and we will begin a new age--the golden age of Mantagard."
"Laying it a bit thick, aren't you?" Karm comments and anyone seeing will notice Hotis' nod of agreement at the comment.
Drexon, as you listen, you also hear the sound of footsteps coming closer. The other gold-cloaked guards are still patroling and you will have to move some time soon to stay hidden. You maybe have another ten or so seconds.
Drexon is taken aback by the sensation he feels when he tries to attack the Grand Mason, but he has little time to evaluate it. He listens as Fenton Guilleman monologues and is heartened as Dvark and Karm both challenge him. At least there was fight in them. He hasn't managed to spot Eremoz or Cob though, and if he is to crash this party, he can't do it alone.
And so he climbs up the wall to the roof for a better view around the house.
As he climbs he reports back to Lady Zelena over their telepathic link, "Fenton Guilleman it seems is behind the plot, possibly working for the Grand Mason, but I don't think so. Is there access to the house from the roof?".
Once on the roof, he remains wary for skylight that might give him away.
The inner courtyard is open air, Drexon, so you can climb it easily. On the roof, you can see two chimneys over what you suppose the kitchen and the library room. You cast your eye around the estate and see Cob and Eremoz dealing with the stone statue in the middle of the front courtyard that seems to have come alive.
"The inner courtyard is without roofing for most of the year," Zelena replies. "Be careful of the panels as it can slides off to cover the courtyard in case of extreme weather. The only other entry I can think of is through the kitchen and library chimneys."
There is a long pause before Zelena replies, "I do not know. It is a new addition. Damn them. It must have been the mason's work. My mother bought it from them at the same time she put up the walls. Destroying it may be the only way to make it stop."
This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
Cob floats back out of the grasp of the statue, making sure not to bump into another one. Given how strong the stone felt around him and how hard it was to be damaged he feels safe blasting away at it even while it wraps around Eremoz.
He pulls his fiddle out, thanking Hyrsam that it was undamaged in the attack and he flicks a finger across one string, marking the statue with a hex. He then runs the bow across the strings and a crackling ripple of energy leaps out and slashes towards the statue.
Drexon nods, scrutinising Lady Zelena's face and body language to ensure he believes she is not faking.
If he is satisfied, he then holds his finger to his lips and taps his temple.
"Do not be afraid, I can talk for a limited time like this. When I return, I will knock four times, wait for a count of three and then knock twice more. You wait for a count of five before opening, to ensure no more knocks are forthcoming", he says telepathically. "This link will only last a few minutes once I leave, but in that time we can communicate even once I have left".
"Now, will you even be able to open the door in your state. Do I need to move you closer?".
Once the conversation is done, and before he leaves, he will ensure he is protected.
He then re-establishes the telepathic bond so it lasts as long as possible, and leaves the room, ensuring the door is closed behind. He will be careful when leaving, checking the area and moving stealthily if possible.
Insight: 8+5=13 (Passive: 15)
Perception: 20+5=25
Stealth: 15+4=19
(OOC: He doesn't hear Cob, the telepathic bond with him ended a long time ago. @dm: a lot in this post I admit, if needed can break it up of course)
Cob catches a foot on a piece of cobblestone and trips before he can take flight again.
"At least anyone around will be looking at me instead of Eremoz" Cob thinks to himself.
Not hearing back from Drexon makes him more cautious and while he follows Eremoz inside, he keeps back to let the big cat get in quietly, hoping to draw any unwanted attention on himself.
Drexon
"Move me closer to the door," Zelena says. "I can have my back on the door, just in case someone powerful enough can breach the door or you need to enter again."
You carefully peek outside to find the western side of the manor abandoned. You easily walk the distance of the inner courtyard in a few seconds before you have to duck down and hide as the west door to the grand hall is opened. You see several people wearing gold and yellow garments dragging unconscious guards and staff and just leaving them out. You note that the yellow-clad people are the guards in Lady Leillana's service mixed with some of the Verdant Mason apprentices you've seen before.
You wait until the invaders leave before you dare to peek into the grand hall room. You can see that some of the guests who have been enjoying the party are also showing the same signs of paralysis. Some can still move albeit with great difficulty, like one halfling woman with a verdant hair who is making a fuss and being extremely annoying to her captors, while some others seem to have lost all feelings on their legs like Zelena. You see Julian Guilleman slumped near the large window of the room, blood slowly pouring from half a dozen stab wounds on his torso. His brother, Fenton, stands proudly with a satisfied scowl on his face.
Standing behind Fenton is the Lady Leillana. She is surrounded by three of her guards who have since abandoned the Clarent livery in exchange for a golden cloak. She is looking mighty annoyed, gesturing wildly at Fenton and the door leading to the back garden. Hotis Garaton, the Grand Mason of the Verdant Mason, stands stiffly in front of the glass door with a hard look of concentration etched on his face. The glass door is glowing with crimson runes, just like when you see the door of the family room.
You look for your other two acquaintances and find them also paralyzed. Dvark is kneeling near the mayor with great difficulty almost at the very center of the room, while Karm is leaning on a table near the east door of the room surrounded by two gold-cloaks, one of whom is slightly covered in rime and frost.
Eremoz and Cob
As both of you make your way to the manor, you veer slightly away to see the fallen watch tower guards. You note that they were not attacked, but had fallen off because they lost all feeling of their lower extremities. They just couldn't hold on and slipped off from the tower. One of them is barely holding on, dying after relaying what had happened, while the other hit the ground head first and snapped his neck.
As you get closer to the manor, you notice that people in gold cloaks milling around the front entrance, just right behind the door. They are visible enough through the glass windows near the front door. They may be waiting to ambush any help that would enter through the front door. Both of you take shelter behind the statue in the middle of the front courtyard. After a little bit of indecision, Eremoz decides to veer away from the main path to circle to the side, but Cob's wings are bright enough under the sun that it would be hard to conceal. However, the day is just getting started.
Just when Eremoz is about to leave, both of you hear a crack from above. The statue, who was looking ahead toward the manor regally just a moment ago, turns its head to look down at Cob. A pulse of fell influence seems to come out of a barely visible marking on the statue's neck before it cracks itself at the waist and bends down to look closer at Cob. Before you can do anything, Cob, you are grabbed by the statue and engulfed by its form.
{{Let's just roll initiative.}}
Initiative: 11
As Drexon surveys the scene, he relays what he sees to Lady Zelena over the telepathic link.
Initiative: 1+2=3
(Cob initiative if needed: 17 )
Cob curses to himself when the stone collapses around him. How could he have let that happen? Needing to use his hands and voice for almost everything he could possibly do, he has only one option and that's to physically try and work himself loose.
Athletics: 4 (+5 if Acrobatics instead)
Q1
Unfortunately, Cob, as hard as you try to wriggle free, the statue's sturdy form is too much for your strength. You feel the statue tighten its grasp on you and you can feel your body being crushed. Eremoz, as you look at Cob and the statue, you begin to notice the statue changing its form. There is a small bulge on the statue's back and its face somehow looks a little bit like Cob.
Q2
{{Eremoz, it's your turn.}}
Inside the manor, Drexon, you can hear Lady Leillana ranting and mumbling erratically.
"Where is it?" She grumbles. "Where is that girl? How can you let her escape like this, Fenton? Haven't I told you to keep a close eye on her? She's wily. And where's the rest of the ragtag group that buffoon David hired? Have you found them yet? You two, help Hotis' apprentice find them."
Two of the guards surrounding Leillana veers off toward the public sitting room.
Eremoz bares his teeth and lunges at the statue. He tries to plung his claws into the mark on its neck.
To hit: 8 Damage: 7
Drexon stays concealed and continues to listen to what Lady Leillana is muttering.
He is also concerned by Hotis Garaton, and positions himself so that he can see the Grand Mason, but no-one in the Grand Room can see him, assuming that Hotis is distracted. He then speaks a word in Deep Speech as quietly as possible, driving a mental dagger into the Grand Masons mind, hoping he assumes it is the defences of the glass door with runes glowing.
Action: Cast mind sliver on Hotis Garaton - DC 15 Int Save or take 4 [psychic] damage and substract d4 from next saving throw before end of Drexon's next turn
Q2
Eremoz, seeing Cob's plight, you try to strike the most visible area of the statue in the hope that it will deactivate it. Unfortunately, your claws cannot penetrate the statue's sturdy construction. However, you do notice the statue turning its Cob-like face toward you, and it starts to lose its resemblance. Instead, its mouth elongates to be a little bit more feline as if mimicking everything it can perceive.
Q3
"Blast it, woman!" Fenton roars, surprising some of the paralyzed guests. When the two guards who are about to leave the room stop to listen, he waves his hand to make them move along with Leillana's order for now. "Listen! Sooner or later, she will be found. Now, compose yourself. I trust my master's ability. Let him work in peace. Now, let's address our main objective."
Fenton bows deeply as he faces the crowd of confused and terrified guests. "Ladies and gentlemen, if you have not yet known me, then let me introduce myself. My name is Fenton Guilleman, now the sole inheritor of the Guilleman fortune, the backbone of this lovely city's economy for the past decade. It is good to make your acquaintance. Now, let's talk business. I'm sure you are wondering what is going on right now. You cannot move your lower limbs. I just killed my brother in cold blood. Leillana, Lady of House Clarent, seems to be in league with this nefarious plan, hunting for her daughter's head. The simplest answer is, of course, greed. But that is not the reason for today's event. No, no, no, not even close. We are here to invite you into a new age."
Hearing this nonchalant way of talking, Dvark [Tooltip Not Found] and slowly regains feeling in his legs. At the same time, Karm relaxes himself and scoots slightly away from the two guards in front of him, preparing in case the situation grows worse.
Q4
Drexon, you move behind the open door to hide yourself better and sharpen your mind before driving it toward the Grand Mason of the Verdant Mason. At first, you feel you manage to disturb his focus, but then you feel a foreign presence that is not the Grand Mason encompassing your own mind. It gives off a feeling of discomfort and reluctance, as if not wanting two of its children to fight with each other. The presence leaves as soon as you feel it, but it leaves a kind of revelatory insight into the Grand Mason's mind. At once, you understand that this is not someone you want to fight now. Hotis Garaton is not here to invade but only to sate his curiosity. You get the feeling that he is here only as a courtesy. Just like when you meet with him at the basement of the Twenty-One Jack, Hotis seems to know about the plan to invade the estate but not actively planning or joining it. If there is not an impossible-to-break enchantment that takes his curiosity, he will be relaxing on a couch somewhere, waiting for whatever Fenton is planning to finish.
{{Back to the top. Cob, take your turn. The DC for the escape check has been lowered to 10 because the statue is currently more fascinated with Eremoz. Eremoz, you might as well take your turn with Cob.}}
Feeling the statue shift a little, Cob tries to wiggle his way out. Bending and twisting are more his style anyway. Brute force doesn't exactly come naturally to someone his size.
Acrobatics to escape: 18 (5 less if it has to be Strength/Athletics)
Eremoz readjusts and makes another swipe at the mark on the statue. He hopes the statue will be distracted enough for Cob to get away.
To hit: 20 Damage: 8
Cob, as the statue slackens its hold on you, you flare your wings and flit away from the statue's grasp.
Eremoz, with Cob out of the way, you take the opening the stumbling statue gives and swipe at it, chipping the statue's form slightly and leaving it faceless.
The statue looks confusedly at Eremoz before moving to grasp him. You are not fast enough to move away from it. Its hands surround your form and you are restrained by it.
Cob, as the statue grasps Eremoz tightly, you notice that its fingers sharpen to be like Eremoz's claws and the bulge on its back grows to form a wing, just like yours.
Inside the estate, Leillana can be seen looking very angry but keeps mum after Fenton begins his speech.
"And what does this new age entails?" Dvark dares to ask.
"Ah, you must be the new help," Fenton says condescendingly. "And doing his job rather remarkably, standing by our esteemed mayor and guests protectively, defiant until the end."
"Of course, a new age where we, the people of Mantagard, will no longer be reliant to our cutthroat neighbouring cities. A new age where our mayor, corrupt as he is, no longer pander and give in to ridiculous demands from the noble families of this city and our neighbouring cities. The time of the nobility ended long ago, yet here they are still in power albeit in secret. I am offering you an out. Out from nepotism. Out from the shackle that the nobility put around us. We drove out the rot of the Papacy years ago. We drove out the previous corrupt mayor. Help me excise the sickness plagueing our city and we will begin a new age--the golden age of Mantagard."
"Laying it a bit thick, aren't you?" Karm comments and anyone seeing will notice Hotis' nod of agreement at the comment.
Drexon, as you listen, you also hear the sound of footsteps coming closer. The other gold-cloaked guards are still patroling and you will have to move some time soon to stay hidden. You maybe have another ten or so seconds.
Drexon is taken aback by the sensation he feels when he tries to attack the Grand Mason, but he has little time to evaluate it. He listens as Fenton Guilleman monologues and is heartened as Dvark and Karm both challenge him. At least there was fight in them. He hasn't managed to spot Eremoz or Cob though, and if he is to crash this party, he can't do it alone.
And so he climbs up the wall to the roof for a better view around the house.
As he climbs he reports back to Lady Zelena over their telepathic link, "Fenton Guilleman it seems is behind the plot, possibly working for the Grand Mason, but I don't think so. Is there access to the house from the roof?".
Once on the roof, he remains wary for skylight that might give him away.
The inner courtyard is open air, Drexon, so you can climb it easily. On the roof, you can see two chimneys over what you suppose the kitchen and the library room. You cast your eye around the estate and see Cob and Eremoz dealing with the stone statue in the middle of the front courtyard that seems to have come alive.
"The inner courtyard is without roofing for most of the year," Zelena replies. "Be careful of the panels as it can slides off to cover the courtyard in case of extreme weather. The only other entry I can think of is through the kitchen and library chimneys."
Seeing the situation Cob and Eremoz are in, Drexon quickly asks Lady Zeena for a solution.
”The statue in the front courtyard is attacking Cob and Eremoz. How do I get it to stop and help us?”.
There is a long pause before Zelena replies, "I do not know. It is a new addition. Damn them. It must have been the mason's work. My mother bought it from them at the same time she put up the walls. Destroying it may be the only way to make it stop."
Cob floats back out of the grasp of the statue, making sure not to bump into another one. Given how strong the stone felt around him and how hard it was to be damaged he feels safe blasting away at it even while it wraps around Eremoz.
He pulls his fiddle out, thanking Hyrsam that it was undamaged in the attack and he flicks a finger across one string, marking the statue with a hex. He then runs the bow across the strings and a crackling ripple of energy leaps out and slashes towards the statue.
Bonus Action - Casts Hex on the statue.
Action - Casts Eldritch Blast Attack: 25 Damage: 11
Movement - 30' up into the air
Plus additional damage from Hex: 4 necrotic