Alexander will hesitantly place a hand on the gryphon's neck, stroking her softly in attempt to calm her down. He isn't sure she'll appreciate this or not, considering it's kind of their fault she's in this cage, but he wants to try. 

Animal Handling: 20

Upon seeing Taliyah placing a meal on the ground, she sticks her beak out and inhales all the food in an instant. A few seconds later, she licked her beak, the was no trace of food left in sight.

She does the same with Alex's rations, but before she can take her last gulp, the crazy half-elf lady kicks her in the face. "ÁHH!"

"Take that, you little flying kitty!" The half-elf turns to your direction and shouts. "What the hell are you doing!? You aren't supposed to feed her! Keep her weak, keep her injured, and keep her scared so the price can be higher!" She rears her leg back in an attempt to kick the gryphon again, but this time, she slips and falls face-first to the ground.

She lays there for a while before she pushes herself up from the ground and spits a mouthful of dirt on the ground. "You think you're a hero, huh!? Why do you care about her, anyway, she's just an animal, you can do whatever you want with them and no one will bat an eye. They're just resources for profit, just like the forests and the rivers around you. People slaughter swine for food and harvest foxes and sea otters for their fur and you don't complain, but you act like it's the end of the world as we know it just because I propose a genius and flawless plan of selling a gryphon!? Are any of you mentally stable!?"

"One day, all of you will learn that money is everything! You will need money for survival! You will need money to rule the world! Once our plans come to fruition, I will make sure that all of you will work and pay me for the rest of your pathetic lives. You will all be dirt poor and I will be the richest of them all!" She walks toward the camp, still looking at you, "You will pay for this!" Eventually, her rambling and screaming slowly grows more distant... then silence. She won't be bothering you... for now.

The gryphon is curling up in a ball, she rubs the part of her face where she got kicked with her claw. It might not be her that much physically, but emotionally? That's a critical hit.

"Por qwe haćer?" ("What did I do wrong?") The gryphon makes a soft, whining noise as if she's crying, "Ẽ qwere liber só, favõr..." ("I just want to be free, please...") Right now, the guards are all asleep... and you can't see Maigurs and Laine anywhere (They're probably asleep too), so there isn't anything you could do but to rest and wait for the guards to wake up.

Gryphons such as her are very strong, no mere rope can hold her, only an iron chain will do, and even then, it will hurt her a lot. Besides, unicorns and gryphons are eternal enemies, they are programmed to fight each other, and it's almost impossible to override their instincts.

But, there is one more thing she wants to say. She sticks her claw out and gestures in her direction.

"Nomé...?" She points to herself. Nomé, name, she wants someone to give her a new name. As mentioned before, since her former master abandoned her, Felića isn't her name anymore, she'll be known as something else, and it's up to you to decide.

For Maya and Renar:

 When Maya hears the ruckus outside she follows her son out of the tent. "Uh? Doshitano?" She asks the others before noticing the gryphon wincing in pain. She walks over to the gryphon, hands out her own rations like the rest and give it a comforting pat with her clawed hands; Though they remain sharp, she retracts them as to not injure her any further. "Daijōbudesu yo. Watashitachi wa anata no soba ni imasu. Watashitachi wa mō dare mo anata ni kigai o kuwae sasemasen. Kore made. (大丈夫ですよ。私たちはあなたのそばにいます。私たちはもう誰もあなたに危害を加えさせません。これまで. You'll be okay. We're by your side. We won't let anyone harm you again. Ever.)"

Taliyah sinks down to kneel next to the poor gryhon, letting the last dregs of golden light spill from her hands into the spot where the half-elf had kicked her. "Here, this should help you feel better. As for a name, I have one if you'd accept it. Yusra, meaning prosperous or one blessed with good fortune. The last Yusra I knew would honored for her name to be passed on to someone in need of such an omen." As she speaks, a few tears begin to drip down her face as she reaches out to carefully stroke the griffon if she accepts it.

The gryphon regains 8 hp from the healing light.

"I heard some screaming and I got woken up because of it. What is all of this ruckus?" Oh right. That gryphon. She must be going insane "Right. You must be pretty hungry. And lonely too. Have some of my food. Maya-san will be here shortly." *But he notices her eyeing the unicorns* "Yeah... best not to release her; I can't fathom the damage she might do to this peaceful place..." I don't want to take advantage of what this place has to offer anyways, now that I know what's going on in this world... and what those telepathic faceless creeps told me... *He picks up the map and examines it again, but not before he hears something else* "Sigh... If she must know... Maya-san's saying she gonna be okay. And we won't let anyone abuse the gryphon, under her watch... I hope."

"Nome... Hmm... Yusura? That's her new name? Ok..." I mutter. I'm honestly not bothered, but at least that poor gryphon will at least have someone to understand her rather than let it run rampant. *He tosses a third of his rations* From that word, I can at least comprehend that she wants a new name after Stupid Rixi abandoned her, but that's about it. Besides, I need a new game plan for tomorrow, otherwise we'll all be in the pits within the next five days... "So... since I can't sleep, what's our game plan for tomorrow? Are we gonna hunt down those crystals in the threat level 6 and 2 cave or are going straight to that glitched area on this map? Or should we kill two birds with one stone instead? I don't like where the latter choice with the glitched place is going but I need to know so that I can work things out by morning. Also, is there anything else you guys want to look for along the way to Paulis?"

If the jerk half-elf hadn't fallen on her face, Shugo would have stepped in and shoved her on the ground anyway. Normally he'd laugh at someone for falling over their own feet, but the woman's words were too infuriating. There is a difference between slaughtering an animal for food, and hitting one just because. Slaughtering an animal is not causing needless pain, but beating one for no reason is the same as torture. He does snicker at her last comment though. Really? She seriously thought her plan flawless? And she's questioning their mental stability? Heh.

He watches her leave with a look of satisfaction, though her mention of "we", does make him frown. Is she still talking about Cezars? Or is the other person the one who hired her in the first place? He shakes his head. He doubt's anything that woman could do would ever place her above him...even if he wanted to do that it would just be impossible. Nope. He may be practically penniless now, but back home well that's a different story. He shakes his head again. Best not to think about home, not until he's closer to his goal.

Clearing his mind as best he can, he watches the others interact with the gryphon. He doesn't offer food, mostly because he knows he'd regret it later if he did. He looks up when Renar comes over, then shrugs. "I say we take the easiest route. We do need to find some sort of artifact for Paulis. I'd bet that we'd find something in that glitched section, but you never know. Either way I don't want to get into any more danger than necessary do I'd vote no to your 'hit two birds with one stone' plan." He rubs the back of his neck, "I'd prefer to just take the most direct route, but we do want to make sure we get our piece offering if we do plan on seeing Paulis."

"You are a terrible person," Alex says, his voice lower and harder than normal. "Someday you are going to learn that money can't buy happiness. And selling your soul to gain the world is not a good bargain." He grits his teeth, but keeps himself from saying more as the elf falls before stumbling away. 

Turning back to the gryphon, he lifts a hand with the intent to heal as well, but it seems someone else beat him to it. Smiling softly he says, "Yusra sounds like a good name." He nods to Taliyah before looking to the gryphon and pushing the rations towards her again. "Here, that wicked lady is gone. You should be able to eat in peace now." 

He looks around, taking into account the fact that the guards are all asleep, "I... wish we could let you out now, but I'm not sure that would be a good idea. Maybe we should wait until we move to a new area so we don't disturb the peace?" He looks to his comrades, wishing that they could just let the gryphon go. 

In response to what to do tomorrow, he says, "Well, I'm all for going straight to Paulis. We just need to find something to give him first... which I'm not sure where to look for something like that." His eyes drift to wherever Maya and the Myconids are, "... do you think Maya would ask the... uh... her friends if they know where we could find something? It would be best if we didn't have to go wandering aimlessly... even if it takes some of the fun out of it." He gives a chuckle at the last part. 

"Xu... Xu... Xu... No büno" ("Not good...") It seems like the gryphon is struggling to pronounce it because in the Alharisian language, there is no 'y' sound (Or voiced palatal approximate, otherwise known as [j] in IPA), the closest thing would be 'x' which is pronounced like 'ch' (Or more accurately, it's [tʃ], voiceless postalveolar affricate)

The Gryphon looks at Taliyah and shakes her head... she doesn't accept that name because she can't pronounce it. If someone decides to give her another name, it shouldn't start with 'y' 

She takes the food from Alex and Renar, but this time, she eats it at a much slower pace. She swallows the last bit and rolls on her back.

"Ẽ sono ahora, amigós. Graciás muxas." ("I'll sleep now, friends. Thanks a lot.") She turns away from you, closes her eyes, and sleeps. Having an animal turning away from you is a sign of trust... but it seems like she's upset too. The food is good and at least one of them tried to give her a name which she couldn't pronounce, but they didn't let her out for a good reason.

The right to be free is part of every creature's instinct, it might not be the case for the rest of the multiverse, but in Lancea, it is. You know what they say: 'Better to die free than to live as a slave.''

You all go to sleep at your camp too, it's a long day just like yesterday, and tomorrow will be even longer... except for Shugo and the two 'shifters,' of course.

You gain the benefits of a Long Rest.

6th April -1C 4983 CY

Everything is quiet and serene, bugs chattering, fairies fluttering in the night. This cave is a lot like an ideal fairytale, filled with peace and tranquillity.

That is... until Shugo, Renar, and Maya (Who all don't need sleeping) hear the woosh sound of a spell being cast. In the corner of your eye, you see a fire Genasi and a young Aasimar girl standing over the sleeping half-elf who just kicked the gryphon earlier. That's Cezars, Laine, and... someone in respective order.

With each step the two make, there is no sound from them at all. Cezars has a limited spell availability since he's an Oathbreaker, so Laine must be the one who cast Pass without Trace to mask their footsteps. The Aasimar pulls out a key from her pocket and unlocks the half-elf's shackles.

Laine is a rat, no guards would unlock a prisoner, especially one who almost bribed them without a reason, and she also walks side-by-side with Cezars without bothering to do anything.

"Ugh... five more minutes..." The half-elf groans, rubbing her eyes.

Cezars walks to her and slaps her on the face, "Wake up, Birute!" He whispers 'loudly,'

"Ah! What the heck!?" Birute quickly stands up and rubs her face,

"You'll get more than just a slap in your face, you got our covers blown by those stupid wannabe heroes!" He balls up his fists.

Birute crosses her arms, "Don't blame me, blame Radions. First, he forgot to tell us which races the adventurers are, and yesterday he couldn't even properly sever the bridge. And because of him, you also got lectured by that stupid flying lizard too, am I right?" So... Radions is a rat too

Laine jumps in, standing between the bickering couple. "Now, now, don't get ourselves into a scuffle." She gestures, "Let's debrief again, you two. What do we do when our plans fail?"

"What plan are we talking about? A? B? Seriously, I have no idea what to do anymore, everything is so disorganised!" Cezars throws his arms up.

"Well, come up with Plan C, then." Laine crosses her arms.

"Alright..." Cezars paces back and forth. "Our main objective is to find the artefact before those brats, Elmars, Paulis, and the People's Army, and the only way we can do it is to either get them to fight with each other or distract them long enough until we find a way to get inside Paulis' tower, then we torture him and his apprentice until the old man reveals his information—then we go to the ruins, get the artefact, and hope that our space Golarian overlords will let us go and actually grant us our wishes." Well... what Cezars said just confirmed that Lancea made the first contract with an alien civilisation for the first time after who-knows-how-many. It's not a surprise to you at all that an alien civilisation exists, Lancea is one of the four planets in the Muphrid-Saak system with water: along with Lancea, there is the tropical Marciu, the icy Tiberion, and an unnamed planet orbiting a habitable zone of Saak (According to the observations of Saak dimming through a telescope). But Golarion isn't the name of a planet in the Muphrid-Saak system at all, which means they must come from somewhere outside the observation limits.

It also seems like the three are being forced to do this against their will... however, both Cezars and Birute seem to be overly enthusiastic about it.

"So..." Cezars digs through his pocket and pulls out a sealed flask filled with tiny, brown pellets. "I got some bat droppings in here, one of them might contain a strain of SARS or so. We dump them into the refugee's water supply, the adventurers will drink the water, they'll get infected but their symptoms won't show up until four days later, they go to Paulis and spread the virus to him, then once their symptoms show up, we split into teams and capture both of them and force them to lead the way to the artefact. They will be weakened enough that they won't put up much of a fight."

"WHAT!?" Birute's eyes almost pop out from her head, "Didn't the GM say to avoid as much collateral damage as possible? You're going to start a friggin' pandemic!" This 'GM' seems to be an abbreviation of the leader of whatever organisation they're part of, and they're probably Golarian and not Lancean too.

"But they also say to do it by any means necessary, that will distract them no matter the case. That's what they get for wanting to be a hero so much, after all." Cezars rolls his eyes, "Besides, SARS is like a spicier version of the flu, a good rest and a warm soup and it'll be gone in a few weeks; everyone will forget it ever happened in a few months."

"Good idea, Cezars." Laine nods.

"How is that a good idea!? This is absolutely insane!" Birute quietly screams.

"The line between genius and insanity is blurry, Anyway, I have a plan D too in case this one fails." She snaps her finger, her body bursts into a smoke cloud, and she transforms into Maigurs.

Laine isn't an Aasimar, she's a Changeling, a race that can seamlessly transform into another. 

"It's simple: I transform into my 'crush,' then I pretend that I got kidnapped by our forces. We lure them somewhere where we can set up traps, and then we kidnap them and beat them into submission." She says in Maigurs' voice, then transforms back into her old Aasimar self. "If we can lure them into the necropolis, it will be perfect, the undead will be under your command, Cezars."

"Hold on!" Birute raises her hand, then points at Cezars "What happened when you got captured by the dragon? Did she know you?"

"Not me, but apparently my ancestor rode her, and she thought I was him. She took me into the cave and started trauma dumping me, asking why am I doing all of this and how she lost so much of her stuff." He sighs, shuffling his feet, "I admit, I kind of got a little angry, so..."

Birute gasps, putting her hand over her mouth. "Did you kill her?"

Cezars bare his teeth, "What kind of savage do you take me for!? No, I didn't kill her!"

"Oh God..." The half-elf breathes out a sigh of relief.

Cezars digs through his backpack, and after a few moments, he pulls out a brown, scaly egg about the size of a queen-sized pillow—it's a copper dragon egg. "But I did kidnap her unborn child!"

The egg still looks a bit slimy, which means it must still be fresh because you don't recall seeing her with an egg the last time you met her either. Dragons in Lancea can perform parthenogenesis (along with regular reproduction): in an eggshell, it's when a female creature (oftentimes a reptile or a bird, the latter is the relative of dragons in this world) fertilises themselves without the help of a male. That bronze dragon doesn't seem like she has a mate either, because if she did, there would be two dragons in one den, not one.

Quote from Rynn_Elocin >>

 Clearing his mind as best he can, he watches the others interact with the gryphon. He doesn't offer food, mostly because he knows he'd regret it later if he did. He looks up when Renar comes over, then shrugs. "I say we take the easiest route. We do need to find some sort of artifact for Paulis. I'd bet that we'd find something in that glitched section, but you never know. Either way I don't want to get into any more danger than necessary do I'd vote no to your 'hit two birds with one stone' plan." He rubs the back of his neck, "I'd prefer to just take the most direct route, but we do want to make sure we get our piece offering if we do plan on seeing Paulis."

"Sigh... Ok then. I guess judging from the map the fastest route would be through that threat level 6... area. Assuming you guys are prepared to embrace the cold. I can handle it fine but I don't know about you guys." Sigh... I should have known that Shugo would just be direct and blunt. What was I expecting other than that? Or maybe whatever those mushrooms warned us about might have gotten to my head a little bit...

Quote from Aroc_of_Eaf >>

In response to what to do tomorrow, he says, "Well, I'm all for going straight to Paulis. We just need to find something to give him first... which I'm not sure where to look for something like that." His eyes drift to wherever Maya and the Myconids are, "... do you think Maya would ask the... uh... her friends if they know where we could find something? It would be best if we didn't have to go wandering aimlessly... even if it takes some of the fun out of it." He gives a chuckle at the last part. 

Come to think about it... he's right. We need to find something for Paulis... and I don't have a single clue of what to look for in this underground chasm. "I... I don't have any ideas on what to get. And besides... you guys look tired so I probably shouldn't disturb you guys any further, but I take it we're just going straight through the threat level 6 area and to the glitched site? If that's the case then I say we leave early in the morning in case we stumble on some roadblocks along the way, especially in that ice cave. My hopes about that place remains as low as my hopes about myself and a certain someone too." I don't mean to sound negative but, well... if everyone's settled then I may as well leave to help Okaa-san with her Lancean. But... maybe i should ask them something. "Don't answer this to me but... has anyone heard of 'Golarion' or what it is?" As I finish my question and head back, there was this sense of insecurity that something bad might happen whilst everyone is asleep. Something that would force me to change my plans for the journey ahead.

Quote from ACNSuphalak >>

 "Ugh... five more minutes..." The half-elf groans, rubbing her eyes.

Cezars walks to her and slaps her on the face, "Wake up, Birute!" He whispers 'loudly,'

"Ah! What the heck!?" Birute quickly stands up and rubs her face,

"You'll get more than just a slap in your face, you got our covers blown by those stupid wannabe heroes!" He balls up his fists.

That night, I felt a stream of constant disturbance whilst I both recovered my energy and helped Okaa-san with her Lancean knowledge later that night in the tent. My fox ears kept twitching especially with my hood let down right in front of her closed eyes; There was always a part of me that felt insecure. Something that made me want to zip out of the tent, sharpen my katana and lash out at the closet person who dared to spread evil intent throughout even amongst the entire cave system. And that night... it happened. My fearful gut was right... when I heard a spell being casted whilst Okaa-san was about to speak to me in Lancean. *He peeks from the tent cover alongside Maya whilst he holds his spellbook in his tail for the time being* There's no doubt. Nothing ever sounds distinct like that with all of this aura and sparkles creating the sounds of shimmers...

Wait what the- how did he escape-?! *His eyes widen in horror as realization hits him in the face; He grits his bared teeth* I knew it... that stupid dragon must have forged an alliance with Stupid Rixi hadn't she?! *When he hears Laine, he grits his teeth even harder* Wolfy! How did you manage to fall for her tricks?! I knew she was up to no good but this?! And... what the?! What kind of plan are they talking about... a pandemic? Infecting our water supplies?! Wait a minute... "Okaa-san... are you hearing this?" *He releases the spellbook from his tail and starts jotting down notes, starting with...*

Quote from ACNSuphalak >>

 "Alright..." Cezars paces back and forth. "Our main objective is to find the artefact before those brats, Elmars, Paulis, and the People's Army, and the only way we can do it is to either get them to fight with each other or distract them long enough until we find a way to get inside Paulis' tower, then we torture him and his apprentice until the old man reveals his information—then we go to the ruins, get the artefact, and hope that our space Golarian overlords will let us go and actually grant us our wishes." Well... what Cezars said just confirmed that Lancea made the first contract with an alien civilisation for the first time after who-knows-how-many.

These guys want to find the artefact too, huh? I had a feeling that we would have competition... But... he wants the two sides to fight? So that... he can get inside Paulis' tower before we do? This is bad... *He scribbles a note in the spoiler* He wants the feud between the People's Army and Elmars to heat up- Wait... Golarion?! Wasn't that what the mushroom guys warned us about earlier?! Ad they want the artefact just for... hang on... is the artefact Golarion related?! I... *He shudders as his tail becomes rigid* What the hell... this is more messed up than I thought... how did this baka evolve from some typical Oathbroken paladin into one of our most hated enemies to exist? I can't imagine what they would do to Paulis either if they reach his lair... What are his actual wishes? If one of them culminates in the destruction of this world, let alone Toril or the entire multiverse, then he needs to be stopped...

Quote from ACNSuphalak >>

 "So..." Cezars digs through his pocket and pulls out a sealed flask filled with tiny, brown pellets. "I got some bat droppings in here, one of them might contain a strain of SARS or so. We dump them into the refugee's water supply, the adventurers will drink the water, they'll get infected but their symptoms won't show up until four days later, they go to Paulis and spread the virus to him, then once their symptoms show up, we split into teams and capture both of them and force them to lead the way to the artefact. They will be weakened enough that they won't put up much of a fight."

"WHAT!?" Birute's eyes almost pop out from her head, "Didn't the GM say to avoid as much collateral damage as possible? You're going to start a friggin' pandemic!" This 'GM' seems to be an abbreviation of the leader of whatever organisation they're part of, and they're probably Golarian and not Lancean too.

"But they also say to do it by any means necessary, that will distract them no matter the case. That's what they get for wanting to be a hero so much, after all." Cezars rolls his eyes, "Besides, SARS is like a spicier version of the flu, a good rest and a warm soup and it'll be gone in a few weeks; everyone will forget it ever happened in a few months."

*Renar's eyes squint with disgust as he again jots down more evidence* That has got to be the dumbest Plan C I've ever heard of. Seriously?! You're trying to cause a pandemic to slow us down?! By infecting out water supplies?! I'm not even shocked; Just irritated. When I heard the word SARS, I already knew that was the same virus that infected when I stayed in Japan. Everyone had it at that time. Yet... this planet doesn't have what I heard a 'vaccine' for this disease, which mean the people here will be much more vulnerable than me or Okaa-san.

*He notices Laine transforming and feels the nerves of his fox eyes twitch* So Wolfy ended being charmed and tricked by that stupid girl huh? My assumptions were right. That girl pretended to be his boyfriend just so she could gain advantage of him? Another reason why I grew up to loathe even the prettiest of woman known to exist... *He hears the name Radions and puts a hand to his chin* Wait... Radions? I thought I've heard of that name before... *He flashbacks to that one gnome who refused to even talk to anyone and gasps softly* Wait... no way... did the People's Idiots realise that they have a traitor?! Does anyone over there know?! What was the leader's name I forgot! Are they stlll okay?! What did he do to them and where are they?! And... was he the one that smashed down the bridge and nearly killed Okaa-san?! I... *He clenches his fists as he immediately makes his mother concerned* Damn it... I hope me and Okaa-san aren't the only ones who have caught on with this betrayal... Also what is GM? Again something I need to find out before it's too late...

Quote from ACNSuphalak >>

 "Hold on!" Birute raises her hand, then points at Cezars "What happened when you got captured by the dragon? Did she know you?"

"Not me, but apparently my ancestor rode her, and she thought I was him. She took me into the cave and started trauma dumping me, asking why am I doing all of this and how she lost so much of her stuff." He sighs, shuffling his feet, "I admit, I kind of got a little angry, so..."

Birute gasps, putting her hand over her mouth. "Did you kill her?"

Cezars bare his teeth, "What kind of savage do you take me for!? No, I didn't kill her!"

"Oh God..." The half-elf breathes out a sigh of relief.

Cezars digs through his backpack, and after a few moments, he pulls out a brown, scaly egg about the size of a queen-sized pillow—it's a copper dragon egg. "But I did kidnap her unborn child!"

I... *He remains completely silent both physically and mentally as he slinks his head back into the tent. How did Cezars manage to get away with this?!* This idiot... If it wasn't for Lancea being a peaceful, passive place I would have ripped out his flesh and torttured him to the poitn where he would not be able to do the most basic things for the rest of his life. If not, get Rixi to do so before he goes down the same path as him... *Slaps himself* No! Get ahold of yourself! It's just like what those mushroom guys said... about people going against the laws of nature and causing chaos... you call us savages? If you want savages these are the guys you're looking for! Not us! You want someone to tell the truth about themselves?! Tell that to those chaotic stupid idiots! Whatever you said about Golarion... I... Speaking of which... this may seem like a dumb idea but...

Perception through the tent hole for any mushrooms: 15

*He shuts his eyes and yells in his thoughts, blindly assuming the myconids are somewhere in the vicinity* Ok... Where are you guys right now?! If you guys hear me... I mean... We're deeply sorry that we tried to counter your viewpoints of us but we need your help. If you guys hear me, this is what me and Okaa-san have found out: A half-elf, Fire Genasi, Changeling and some other person that I can't see are aiming for the artefact. They want to get to Paulis before us. They want to torture him. Force him to reveal the artefact's location. Worse still is that they want to slow us down with a virus, plus some disguise trick just to lure us towards their trap so they can get the advantage. And what you warned us about Golarion right? They want to summon them, whoever the hell you think they are. I'm not joking at all. And they've stolen a dragon egg too... Are you seriously gonna let them get away with this or are you still perceive us as the killers you think long ago? This is the exact kind of situation me and Okaa-san are trying to resolve despite being total outsiders to this entire world...!

*He blinks his eyes as he realises he might have ranted on for far too long* Uh- I mean I... I'm sorry if I sounded aggressive from earlier as well as now but... if Okaa-san trusts you... I'll go with whatever she believe about you guys. This is your one chance to prove to me that you fungi are not gonna stab us in the back like that Aasimar-turned-Changeling plus Radions, another silent guy like me that we met before we came here. That means anything more than having to fight that idiot and his goons again. Also, is anyone else awake? If so, then relay everything without being caught. I don't want to risk a fight whilst there are innocent people here trying to rest. I doubt they'll last unlike before, let alone be able to handle the egg without cracking it! 

I have a few backup plans up my sleeve for this kind of scenario, but right now I just want to see if they are still willing to listen and believe us. After all, I hope to see more of those guys if they truly trust Okaa-san to the fullest. And also, from what I learnt, both a hero and a villain also has something more important than what these guys don't: Morality.

*If Renar sees Shugo confronting the trio, he will step out of the tent too and ready his gear; If they decide to attack he'll strike before they do with a Shocking Grasp*

"Oh? Hai. (ハイ) Coming." Maya replies back as she follows Renar back to the tent where they rest. Amidst her Lancean practising though, Maya notices that her son had became more erratic as time passed. As he peeks out of the tent, she follows suit... and realises why her son must be restless and scribbling notes in his spellbook. She immediately witnesses the half elf being helped by... wait... wasn't that the unconscious Fire Genasi she had punched in the rain? 

Again though, she couldn't understand what they are saying, since her son hasn't translated for her yet. But there was an exception for two things: SARS and Golarion. The former she knows because her son fell sick whilst contracting that strain during their visit to a shrine in Japan. That strain was all over the place and they needed a vaccine for it. The latter because... well... no wonder why her mushroom companions warned her about it. They want to get in contact with whoever that is huh? What a disgrace. And she and her son were the ones being called savage. Upon seeing the dragon egg she also gags upon seeing how slimy it is and reels back in the tent.

Speaking of which, she also wonders: Are the myconids still here? Ever since she had to absorb this mentally straining pep-talk with them she hasn't seen them at all. Though they might not look like they can fight those guys, maybe she can offer them to help provide recon for the rest, especially the villagers who seem the most vulnerable. She concentrates hard, assuming they might be watching somewhere. Oi! Anata wa mada koko ni iru no? Watashitachi o uragitte inai to itte kudasai! (おい！あなたはまだここにいるの？私たちを裏切っていないと言ってください! Oi! Are you still there? Please tell me you haven't betrayed us!) She concentrates really hard, praying that the mushrooms haven't stabbed her in the back as she had feared since she fell down that cave. Moshi anata-tachi ga mada watashitachi no soba ni irunara, anata-tachi no hanbun o nokori no hanbun o mezame saseru hitsuyō ga arimasu! (あなたたちがまだ私たちの側にいるなら、あなたたちの半分を残りの半分を目覚めさせる必要があります,  If you guys are still on our side, I need half of you to help me wake up the rest!) Nokori no hanbun wa buki o te ni irete, shizuka ni karera no ugoki o kansatsu shite kudasai! Faia jenashi, hāfuerufu, soshite... Kigae-chū no on'nanoko ga imasu... Karera wa watashitachi o kansen sa seyou to shite imasu! (残りの半分は武器を手に入れて、静かに彼らの動きを観察してください！ファイア ジェナシ、ハーフエルフ、そして... 着替え中の女の子がいます... 彼らは私たちを感染させようとしています! The other half get some weapons and watch their movements quietly! There's a Fire Genasi, Half-elf and... some changing girl... they're trying to infect us!) Karera mo gorarion ni aita gatte iru… sore ga nandeare! Anata ga watashitachi ni keikoku shita tōridesu! Konna koto ga okotte hoshīdesu ka? (彼らもゴラリオンに会いたがっている…それが何であれ！あなたが私たちに警告したとおりです！こんなことが起こってほしいですか?! , They want to see Golarion too... whatever it is! Just like what you warned us! Do you want this to happen?!) Dekirudake shizuka ni yatte kudasai! Chikaku de nete iru hito ga iru toki ni konran ga okoru no wa nozomashiku arimasen! (できるだけ静かにやってください！近くに人がいるときに混乱が起こるのは望ましくありません! Please do this as quietly as you can! I don't want chaos to erupt when people are asleep nearby!)  This isn't the best stealth order she could deliver to her fungi friends but it's at least better than nothing. The last she needs is for them to consider her as traitors to a planet that she hasn't familiarized with at all.

Regardless of if they respond to her or not, Maya decides to sneak out of the tent to wake up the others straight away; Her armour isn't on her right now compared to her son so she feels like she can make the distance. Besides, as she tries to adopt her son's thinking, if she happens to distract, she might be able to stall them long enough and create an opening for her son and anyone who is awake to strike should the opportunity arise whilst she wakes the rest up. Then again, she's not stealthy so maybe not...?

Stealth: 15

As soon as he hears the "woosh" Shugo jolts out of his meditation and peeks out to see what's going on. He squints at the noisy people and frowns. There's no way he's just going to rush in like the last time someone came to help a prisoner escape. No way. Especially not when there's three of them now and not just two....wait. Where's Wolfie?! That little changeling brat must have done something to him. Ugh. That lot is such a bunch of idiots. So far none of their plans even make any sense. Well at least he can alert someone...

His eyes widen when Cezar's pulls the dragon's egg out to show it off. That jerk! Then a smile creeps across the elf's face. He needs to wake up the camp those jerk's can't possibly escape when they are so outnumbered...and he knows just the way to do it.

Suddenly, the dragon's voice blares through the camp "MY CHILDREN!" It wails in mournful anger. "HE STOLE MY CHILDREN!"

Shugo giggles as he wave's his hand again conjuring another voice. "Don't trust the imposter! Laine! How could you! I thought you liked me! If any of you see me near Cezars! It's not me! It's Laine! She's a rat!" The wolf boy's panicked yell emanates from somewhere in the woods. "She's helping Cezars and they are helping the half-elf escape!"

As he casts his spell, Shugo creeps out of his tent all the while watching the group of villains. This time he has his sword, so that half-elf won't stand a chance.

Venet startles awake at the sound of shouting. '... the dragon..? Children..? Imposters?' Oh no not the hot head again!'

She peeks out of the tent to see what's going on, seeing the lot of no good people she decides its time for some mischief of her own. She strums her lyre, letting fey magic descend on the area around the bad guys as she casts Nathair’s Mischief. The scent in the air around them smells of apple pie, lulling them into a false sense of security. 
__________________________________
Wisdom Save Needed: 14, or be charmed. 

Spell.

"Whaaa???" Alex wakes up with a shout. "What's going on?!" He looks around throwing his blanket to the side and scrambling to pull his chainmail over his head. Good thing he at least slept in his gambeson in spite of the heat. 

Scrambling to his feet and fumbling for his sword, he does his best to assess the situation. Wait... how did Cezars get this far into camp without anyone noticing? How... how did they manage to get that evil half-elf lady untied so quick? He looks around frantically, suddenly registering what Shugo's illusionary Maigures had said... so there were rats among them were there? What is it that they hope to gain by helping Cezars? Is this really just about money and power? And then... he stole the dragon's children?! 

Gritting his teeth, he rushes out with sword drawn. "Stop right there you jerks!"

Perception check Failed

There are no myconids here at all, they all left after the confrontation in the camp earlier and they're probably in another cave by now... and you can't see their footprints either, mushrooms are light enough that they don't create footprints and thus need a different method of tracking them down

"Oh, God..." Birute rubs her face in disbelief, "What have you done!? Are you trying to sabotage us?"

"Well, she deserves it! She just wouldn't shut up—" 

Quote from Rynn_Elocin >>

As soon as he hears the "woosh" Shugo jolts out of his meditation and peeks out to see what's going on. He squints at the noisy people and frowns. There's no way he's just going to rush in like the last time someone came to help a prisoner escape. No way. Especially not when there's three of them now and not just two....wait. Where's Wolfie?! That little changeling brat must have done something to him. Ugh. That lot is such a bunch of idiots. So far none of their plans even make any sense. Well at least he can alert someone...

His eyes widen when Cezar's pulls the dragon's egg out to show it off. That jerk! Then a smile creeps across the elf's face. He needs to wake up the camp those jerk's can't possibly escape when they are so outnumbered...and he knows just the way to do it.

Suddenly, the dragon's voice blares through the camp "MY CHILDREN!" It wails in mournful anger. "HE STOLE MY CHILDREN!"

Shugo giggles as he wave's his hand again conjuring another voice. "Don't trust the imposter! Laine! How could you! I thought you liked me! If any of you see me near Cezars! It's not me! It's Laine! She's a rat!" The wolf boy's panicked yell emanates from somewhere in the woods. "She's helping Cezars and they are helping the half-elf escape!"

As he casts his spell, Shugo creeps out of his tent all the while watching the group of villains. This time he has his sword, so that half-elf won't stand a chance.

"AHH!" The bickering duo shouts in unison, but Laine (now back in her original Aasimar form) puts her hand forward. 

"Hold on, that isn't a dragon. She's big and we would feel rumbling through the ground if she walked..." She says, pausing for a moment. "Cezars, plan E, now!"

"Wait, what? What's going on!?" Cezars says, confused.

"I don't know, do something!" Laine shouts back.

"Uhh..." He places the bag down and begins digging through his items, he sets the dragon egg down and Birute carries it. After a while, he pulls out a vodka bottle with a rag covering its tip.

It's a polttopullo, an improvised firebomb invented in Arusa and this world's version of the iconic Molotov cocktail.

"What are you doing!? Burning this place down is anything but subtle!" Birute cries.

"Who cares! These brats have humiliated me enough!" He touches the rag, and it sets on fire. Lighting the cave with a warm, orange light. 

He turns to the source of the voice earlier and sees Renar lunging at him with electricity in his hands, he sidesteps and avoids the attack. "Pathetic... I'm too busy for a rematch right now, maybe next time once we reach that crusty old man's house—"

"Just throw it, Cezars!" Laine yells from the sideline.

"Please reconsider this, we need distraction and all, but maybe burning down everything is a bit too far!" Birute clasps her hands, begging.

"Fine, fine..." He reels his arm back, "Fire in the hole!" Then, the smell of pie fills the air... only to Cezars, that is. His arm freezes in place, but before he can say anything, Laine walks over to him, grabs the polttopullo, and throws it behind your camp. The bottle lands on an oak tree and immediately lights the whole tree on fire.

A fire like this is already bad on the surface, but in the underground where the air is limited by the space these caves have? It's worse. Smoke will have nowhere to go and it will linger in the air at all times, damaging your lungs and hampering your vision.

This is immediately evident by the fact that there is smoke everywhere, much more than the actual fire itself, and it sends the sleeping villagers into a frenzy. They wake up, confused and disoriented because of the smoke.

"Oh, God, not again... FIRE! FIRE!" Signeta screams in the distance. Poor grandma, this is the second time her house gets lit on fire by Cezars (It was Cezars' plan, but he technically isn't the one who started the fire, Laine did.) 

You can also hear the gryphon from yesterday screeching in distress, the sound of metallic banging resonates within the caves.

Maigurs (The real one) pops out of the bush, his fluffy, black tail catching on fire. "AHH! My tail! Hot, hot, hot!" He runs around in circles like a chicken with her head cut off.

"What the hell is going on

Cezars and Laine turn around and walk away with a blank expression, meanwhile, Birute just stands and stares for a moment, before jogging off and joining her peers.

Right now, the fire is concentrated on the tree and behind your campsite, but there is smoke everywhere, and it's hot and choking. The fey isn't going to be happy about this.

*Renar yelps in horror as Cezars sets a tree on fire and immediately exits his tent and fails to strike Cezars* NO YOU- YOU ABSOLUTE IMBECILES! WHY ALL OF ALL THINGS MUST YOU DO SOMETHING... STU- ARGGGGHH! "I deal with you pests later... You're not gonna harm Paulis on our watch I swear!" Damn it... Ice might be weak to fire but... I'm not a water caster... I need to do something! I really hope this works...

"Where's the water supply?! All of you! Get the water buckets! Hurry! Before the fire spreads!" *He dashes towards the flaming tree as his katana glows an icy blue mist as he slashes at it whilst he does his best to avoid hitting anyone in his path* "EVERYONE! DUCK!"

*The tree takes 11 Ice damage*

"EYAAHH!" Maya instantly screeches as she witnesses the entire commotion unfold... before wait... no! The lady! Her house is about to burn along with her! "AH!" She rushes towards the Old lady's house before she grabs her hand, picks her up with her massive single tail and carries her to safety away from the fire. And yeah... as she leads the old lady to somewhere safe, she should have listened to her son about not trusting strange creatures. Maybe they're not gonna come back and listen... anyways... 

Maya eventually leads her to the tent she rested in. "Daijōbudesuka? Koko de machi nasai! Kore wa watashi ga taio shimasu! (大丈夫ですか？ここで待ちなさい!これは私が対応します! Are you ok? Stay here! I'll handle this!)" She frantically tells her, nevermind the fact that she cannot be understood, before she rushes to the scene of action and spots... the trio taking away the dragon egg. Face with either them escaping scot-free or helping the villagers douse the flame, well, she assumes they can handle it for now unless they say otherwise so...

"NO! GET BACK HERE!" Maya ferociously yells as she holds out her sharp palms and thrusts two white rays at Birute (DC 13 WIS or be paralyzed). Also just in case if combat erupts and if Alex is in range, she gently pats him on the head as her Vigilant Blessing kicks in (Lasts until the next combat session; Alex has advantage on initiative)

Alex's eyes go wide when Laine throws the rag, "NOOOO!" He grits his teeth, giving a bit of a start when Maya pats his head, only to realize that she gave him a boost (not sure if we are doing initiative just yet so I'll save it ;D). Rushing forward, and hoping she realizes his gratitude even without him giving so much as a glance in her direction, he shouts "STOP!" Using the spell command (DC WIS: 13),  in attempt to stop Cezars again. 

Then he shouts at Maigures, "Laine is with Cezars, she's betraying us! She set the place on fire!" He hopes that the wolf boy isn't too attached to the aasimar, oh Lord this has to be hard on him. 

All the while, he keeps running towards the three retreating enemies, trusting that the others still close to the fire will do what they can to stop it. 

Man. They saw right through his trick. Oh well. All he really wanted was to wake up the camp, and he has at least succeeded in that much. If those other guards...and the civilians for that matter, have any brains at all, they will help put out the fire. Meanwhile, Shugo has no intention of letting those jerks escape again. Especially not with a child. Rushing after Maya and Alex, Shugo easily outpaces his companions and charges strait for Birute.

If Maya's ray managed to paralyze her he will simply swipe the dragon egg away from her and retreat. If she isn't paralyzed, he will slash at her with his sword, then try to snatch the egg.

To hit: 8

Damage: 4

Dex to swipe the egg? (If not just tell me what to roll.): 7 (Wow, what is with the dice roller today. -_-)

Venet runs out of the tent, trying to get answers while Cezars is charmed. "Cezar's! Hold it! Explain to us what the deal is here, what happened? Why are you doing all of this?"