Venet's worry over the Bat transitions at the name of Adelaide, showing a rare emotion for her, anger. Her jaw clenches at the thought of that terrible woman, but if the group has failed her she no doubt will do something terrible to them. There's no winning in a deal with her. Venet stays put, she's unsure of what she'll say if she opens her mouth and knows Shugo is pulling an angle here. He can sort it out, she's sure of that.

Maya cannot think. She cannot even speak. Even as Cezars mercilessly beats the poor vampire to submission, all she could do was not move in hopes of having her ancient soul spared. There are. Four. Massive. Hunks. Eyeing her own teen tiny pack. Amongst the endless barrell of gasps, yellings and persuasions she cannot even understand, she notices her son has fallen extremely quiet and isn't even moving a muscle to try and save the poor bunny girl in the shadows, which is clearly not like him at all. Then again, the nerves of the massive predators might be a valid reason for his fear. Whilst the others appear to be batnering about something, she deduces that she now has to do something whilst these guys are occupied though. She's not a sitting duck. And she knows it better than anyone else.

However, she'd deduce that those two petty woman wouldn't like their captive being released on such short notice without their authority. So she'll need to do this when their guard is below minimum value. Steeling herself, she sucks up all the air she could before the tentatively steps lightly in the snow. She can't stealth though thanks to her drapey miko dress waving about in the thin air, so she'll need to resort to a different kind of trickery instead of what her son is usually comfortable with if she want to set their newest member free.

She approaches forward with a hunch, a clawed hand on her glossy forehead; Conveyed body language saying that she's had enough of this pointless argument and that she clearly wants to move on and get to safety rather than add fuel to the fire. As she approaches the wolves though her blindsight vision blurs as she wobbles slightly. Being the clumsy fox deity she is, she trips over her feet as she wobbles and yelps as she plummets to the ground face first in front of the massive canines that lay before her, hoping that parts of her charm would be a bit of an assistance to not get chowed down. Not part of her intended plan, but hopefully her somewhat senseless act can at least be a sign to her gigantic fear sources that she isn't someone that's in the mood for a fight. Regardless, she'll get up hastily, walk past them without saying a word before she waits until Laine, Birute, Radions and the four wolves become embroiled in whatever heated arguments they're stirring up right now. When that's happening, she'll quickly but silently slice open the ropes with her claws to let the captive bunny girl free. There was this massive question mark for the fox woman though about her using the terrible See Invisibility to locate where the Fire Genasi currently is if he's still around. But since she knows a major battle is about to unfold sooner enough, she decides to hold it for her allies.

Deception/Persuasion (Both are +4 any way): 23

Quote from Rynn_Elocin >>

Shugo grins widely as his scheme unfolds.  Adelaide eh? Nobles don't scare him in the slightest...even if he should step lightly around them... Heheh. These fools have just given him more information to leverage and twist into his design. "So you threw your lot in with that woman eh? Ooooooh that was not a wise move." He shakes his head in mock sympathy. "Well, no need to switch sides as you say. It's not as if you could have turned in your little friends here anyways seeing as you have a bounty of your own." He puts his hands on his hips, which looks very awkward seeing as he is still holding his sword. He continues speaking with the voice of a King who expects his orders to be carried out no matter the cost. "These are my demands if you wish to lessen your punishment. And no, I do not want any gold. I have plenty of that at home." He says dismissively, "You will release whatever hold you have on those poor wolves, you will also release Mr. Batman, and you'll throw in Miss Bunny as well. On top of this, you will answer any questions Alex, myself, and the rest of my party have." He fingers the dragon head engraved on his sword's pommel. "If you cooperate, I will speak with the guards before the trial and they will remove your bounties. You know how much that will reduce your sentence right? If you choose not to cooperate, well firstly we will fight you, then we will haul you all back to the camp and collect your bounties. Then for good measure, I will use my connections to contact Dutchess Adelaide and explain to her how you all decided to retaliate and were even mistreating her sweet...hmm nephew if I recall, Cezars. You did sell him to a dragon for free passage over a chasm you know. That could have been very dangerous." He continues to grin at them. "You do realize that you are technically the ones at fault here if her plans are ruined. You were stupid enough to get caught in this situation. So, If I report your incompetence, I might even get in Adelaide's good graces. Now, I do realize that you telling us her plan to lessen your sentences sounds like a bad move, but right now it's your only option. You can start by stating what Adelaide wants from you. Depending on what it is, we may be able to find some middle ground."

"Fine, fine! Don't report us to Adelaide, please!" Laine clasps her hands, begging. After that, she takes a deep breath and begins explaining everything.

"In February last year, while Adelaide was sailing, her boat 'accidentally' drifted into a portal, and she ended up in Golarion, a planet in the Ophiuchus constellation about 56 light-years from ours. From her description, it's a world similar to ours—blue skies, green grass, orbited by one sun and one moon. There are a lot of races that live there too, including humans and extinct ones from Lancea, but I don't think it's the same humans and extinct races that used to live in Lancea a long time ago.

"Golarian society is divided into four classes based on race: Class I are humans, more specifically humans from Avistan, one of the continents on the planet. Class II are races that resemble humans a lot like elves, halflings, or dwarves. Class III are races that don't resemble humans as much such as Catfolk, Tiefling, Nagaji, and humans who are born anywhere outside Avistan... and Class IV, the 'Undesirables', are 'monstrous' races like orcs, kobolds, goblins, and anyone born from a mixed-race couple. I won't go into details, but you can probably imagine how hard life is for an average Golarian." Laine sighs.

Lancea isn't completely in the right here, because they also technically have a caste system based on race (or rather, creature), but it's less about appearance and more about each race's willingness to join the civilised world.

There is the civilised: it's you and everyone you see in towns, cities, and roads. They have to follow the law, pay taxes, and speak Lancean. They're allowed to kill uncivilised creatures for their survival, but it's considered 'completely unacceptable' by all three classes if they kill another civilised or semi-civilised being, even in self-defence—euthanasia and coup de grace also counts.

Semi-civilised races are smart enough to use tools, understand advanced concepts, and form some sort of society, but they prefer to keep to themselves and live in a more simple way. Some of them live on a reservation, a special land designated by the government that allows semi-civilised races to live comfortably without any worries. Free food, free education, free healthcare, some protection from laws, and no taxes. The firenewts Alex met, the myconids, and the winter wolves in front of you are semi-civilised (Winter wolves are considered to be in this class mainly for the fact that they can communicate in Lancean and not just Alharisian, the standard language for animals)

And lastly, the uncivilised. They're mainly animals and 'monsters' who do not understand advanced concepts, but even so, they're still smart enough to communicate with people and understand the concept of morality. The law doesn't apply to them, but they still follow social norms, especially the 'no killing civilised and semi-civilised people' part. Cezars' gryphon is uncivilised.

To see Golarion being so racist like this almost blows your mind. There is still racism left in Lancea, but the worst of it is just some nasty remarks, not an entire social system based on how close you look to the majority race. 

Laine continues, "Adelaide was contracted by the Grandmaster of Pathfinder Society, you know, the typical 'adventuring guild' every fantasy book has, and they gave her and the rest of Lancea an ultimatum: either we give our artefacts to them before -1C 4987 CY, or they invade us, force their caste system on us, and take the artefact by force. The Grandmaster—or GM, as we call him—won't send Adelaide back to Lancea unless she accepts the agreement, which she did, and here we are today." It's currently 6th April -1C 4983 CY, so about four years from now.

She glances to the side, "Adelaide ordered us to cause as much chaos as possible because that's how Golarians do things, and if we become like them, there might be a chance they won't backstab us after they get the artefact. It isn't like we can just go to war with them anyway, there hasn't been a single conflict on our planet in the last four thousand years, and the population won't be ready after such a prolonged period of peace." She sighs again, "I'm not in the position to judge, nor am I the one who came up with all of this in the first place. We're just following Adelaide's orders, we don't have much choice, and so do you."

In the middle of Laine's ramblings, Radions waves his hand and the wolves' eyes turn back to their original, blue colour, returning their consciousness back to them... then Maya falls to the ground, spooking them. They take off and disappear from your sight, for such a large, smart, and fierce creature like winter wolves, they're still extremely cautious among people.

"We aren't the only people Adelaide hired, she's rich and she has a lot of manpower at her disposal. I myself worked for her for quite a while before the Golarion incident, I'm not sure how long Radions worked for, he only nods or shakes his head when we ask him questions, Cezars is Adelaide's nephew, and Birute joined July last year. Here's the main issue, though... Adelaide knew if one of us got caught, we would be forced to spill our information, so she only gave us information in chunks and let us figure out what to do ourselves. We were told to extract information from Paulis at any cost, that's it, you happened to get in the way, so we have to find a way to stop you from following us.

"Sometimes, Adelaide kidnaps people to force them to work for her, and that's what happened to actual Laine who got abducted a few weeks ago. She wants her to spy on Elmars' armed guard, but she refuses, which is why she wants me to take her form and infiltrate Duchy of Rauna's military. It's her old reliable tactic ever since she comes into power, because she knows the only way to get people to work for her is either through money or intimidation."

"Laine?" Birute taps the 'Aasimar's' shoulder, then points toward Maya and Mira. At this point, Maya had successfully cut the ropes that bind the Harengon together, 

"We operate clandestinely, never revealing who we are, not even we know who our co-workers are until we bump into them. Adelaide assigns each group to do different things that will set her grand plan in motion... something I don't understand myself because I was never told how she will get the artefact. But there is one thing we know—in case our plan fails, another group will set up a bomb on the dam near Madura. Once they see our signal, they will blow up the dam, creating floods which will damage the city we will most likely be imprisoned in—Just to clarify, I have no idea who will be the one who plants the bomb, that's all I was told at the briefing."

"Laine!" Birute raises her voice, pointing at Mira again.

"That Harengon is Mira, she works with Duchess Miranda of Platone. We plan to keep her somewhere safe and hold her hostage because she works in the government sector, we thought she might give us some information on what to do once we get in the court, but that might not matter anymore... we're pretty much screwed, all we can hope is for Adelaide to come here and rescue us, but I doubt she'll only care about her nephew and not the rest of us 'nobodies.' 

Her voice wavers, "I-I have parents to feed and we all want a future to look forward to, a future where we are free and not enslaved under some bullcrap caste system! I'm a Changeling, and you know what they will do to me and my family? They will genocide us, they will oppress us, and the same will be true for this entire planet too! None of us will ever be a first-class citizen because humans don't live here anymore! What are we supposed to do? Fight back!? That's impossible! They don't honour the no-killing agreement! They fight dirty and they don't care about the rules of war! We will never be able to fight them back because we're too soft, too spoiled, too weak from the lack of any actual war in the last four thousand years!"

And silence...

How many seconds have passed? Or maybe minutes? You don't know, but the silence after Laine's rant might be the loudest thing you've ever heard in your entire life. The disguised Changeling has tears streaming from her face from all the emotions she let out. Her actions might be questionable, provoking a civil war between peasants and lords in order to train them to fight a war with another civilisation is even more questionable, but Laine and Cezars are just pawns in a great game of chess.

Cezars' team are both shocked and confused, their brain is still processing the Golarion part, but they seem to understand everything that's going on.

Laine turns away from you, wiping her tears. She makes no effort to stop the Harengon captives or call out from Cezars, simply taking a step forward in her own direction. "All we can do now is to pray... Pray that the artefact is some sort of weapon that we can use to wipe our enemies off from the face of the universe... Because it's the only way we will survive this war." Any other questions?"

Laine didn't answer Alex's question about how long Radions has been spying on the People's Army, but maybe if you ask the members, they might be able to provide you with some details.

Maya only needed two slashes to sever the ropes that bound the harengon. She briefly catches her and immediately searches for any sign of wounds just in case. She doesn't say a word to her because, well, she's not expecting a response that she can understand at most. Once done, she looks back up and notices... yet another speech plus some pointless tears over more stuff, which is already making her fur curl on its edge in annoyance.

Seeing that time was being wasted yet again, Maya groans as she decides to use See Invisibility despite knowing that this is one of the worst spells known to have ever existed; She can't even 'unlearn' it at best, but hopefully, if her gamble pays off, she might keep track to see if their main target is still around and have a thing on his whereabouts. Thing is, she'll have to use her spell slots wisely for the upcoming battle though.

This... idiot... *Renar cringes the more Laine sobs* this is why you never let your emotions overwhelm your goddamn soul! I wish I can shut her up if it wasn't for those wolves in our way... but at least that solves part of a puzzle. I need to find time to write this down though. I can hardly even lift my sore paws off my katana. So they gave her an ultimatum, to bring back their artefacts in four years time? Sorry but, I'm not gonna stick around for this long. I have my own war to deal with right now. Maybe once that's resolved I can come back here and help solve this if it's still something to be concerned about.

*Maya's actions cause the wolves to be scared and flee, to which Renar breathes a sigh of relief*

Ugh... thanks goodness they're gone... I was worried me and Okaa-san would immediately turn into wolf fodder... *He feels his confidence flowing back into his veins as he finally stops shivering and straightens again; His worried grimaces turns back into a solid frown as he briefly shakes his head* Wait... was that silent druid controlling them? How? Tenebris is druid yet he can't do this! Or did he learn something else that enabled him to do so? I can't tell. I don't know what druids do that wizards don't other than wild shape... this guy needs to be monitored. He may not say much, but like me, Shijiro and Tenebris, his actions have a lot of meaning.

If that's so though, I just realised, none of my Wildland Shifter buddies would be able to withstand a Golarion invasion either; Out of everyone, the only one that might be spared from their extreme racism... is Ethan's little brother. Because he's still a human being. Ethan and Rixi aren't anymore. But he is. 

Anyways, we've again stalled for so long, I don't even know if Stupid Rixi has even made it to the glitched area on his own or not yet. Is anyone still even focused on stopping Stupid Rixi at this point in time? Or do they want to extract more on the trio? I mean, I would like to but we've already stalled for long enough like I said. It's time to move on. "Whatever. I hope that's all the sob stories you have to say. Even though we'll take your word on Golarion really seriously from now on. I don't know what the rest want from the lot of you, but I plan on moving ahead and stopping your stupid leader from creating a future disaster. Even if I have to break Lancea law. I'd rather do so than let your entire world fall at risk of Golarion supremacy. That'd be the last thing I'd ever need to see. Not want. Need. You three get in our way and we won't hesitate to sell you guys out too to them should this new world arrive."

"Actually... I do have one question in mind." *He glances back at the changeling with a snarl* If you say you're pretending to be wolfy's boyfriend, one: where is she being held? And two: who the hell are you? *He then turns back towards Mira and Maya* If you're not gonna answer me, then don't bother. We won't waste each other's time. Just keep your fingers crossed tight that we don't stumble into each other's paths again."

Mira doesn't know these people or their dynamics, but she knows a woman just cut her free and now someone is snapping at her rescuer. Mira spings up with surpising speend and vitality, and places herself between Renar and Maya. "Don't talk to her like that!" The small harengon woman is holding her tiny frail arms up as if she would try to defend her new ally. She looks badly injured, maybe even concussed, and may not be following the chain of events unfolding here,  just yet.

Maya is confused as to why Mira is standing up for her but also against her own son. He's snapping at the three who are affiliated with the Fire Genasi. Not her. He would never threaten her more specifically. Has the rabbit girl misunderstood or something? Geez she and her son are really hard to understand these days. "Ah! No no no! He talk at them! Not me!" She tries to clarify as she innocently waves her hands in front of Mira, hoping that tensions can easily diffuse even though she's currently on the lookout for that Genasi who reminds her of Rixi.

Mira swivels sloppily, facing the threat at Maya's direction, her hands up ready to box them; the sight is comical, she is clearly already injured and is not only dainty but not even 4ft tall, and wearing a silk gown. She's the opposite of intimidating.

"Okay you don't talk to her like that either!"

It is clear she is in a wild fight or flight reaction, the only person she knows she can trust is the one who freed her, and is acting protectively.

For Maya:

Nothing fancy in her sight; Not even the rabbit girl, who is obviously using the same language she cannot understand as she furls her lips in frustration, but it seems like she's being ungrateful for her supposed rescue. Maybe she shouldn't have released her after all. After reconsidering, she does pull out some rope and prepares to bind her again out of spite when something catches her blind eye. An invisible cat. That's apparently communicating with someone she cannot make out. At least... until she hears...

Torture. The only word that Maya understood within this wall of Lancean speech. The one word she hates to hear even to this day. Because her daughter suffered like that. She suffered too for decades. And she's gonna take action, starting with...

"Renar-kun. Watashitachiha... kanshi sa rete iru. Darekaga watashitachi o supai shite iru. 'Gōmon' to iu kotoba o kiita (私たちは監視されている. 誰かが私たちをスパイしている. 拷問という言葉を聞いた, We're... being watched. Someone is spying on us. I heard the word 'torture')" She warns him as she puts the rope away and briefly jumps high into the air as she swiped with her claw, but it wasn't powerful enough to reach (Athletics: 7). Frustrated, her tail then flickers up and down before it swipes a sudden White orb at her designated target. 

(DC 13 Dex or suffer from 2 Radiant) 

Venet isn't sure what to do. Cezars is getting away. There's an invasion that might happen soon? Where a lot of people are probably going to be killed because Adelaide sold out their whole planet. As if she would do anything else. There could have been so many other ways to handle this situation instead of actively choosing to sow chaos.She doesn't feel bad for this group, even as the not Laine cries. They've done terrible things and they don't deserve to be comforted. 

"Ren is right. We need to get moving."

She looks down at the bat as the bunny person begins yelling. She knows her healing didnt do anything but she needs them to be able to walk cause she's not leaving them here. "Should we give them blood? I'm not sure how else to heal them...." 

She startles as Maya starts batting the air.

Quote from Wildland_Shifters >>

Nothing fancy in her sight; Not even the rabbit girl, who is obviously using the same language she cannot understand as she furls her lips in frustration, but it seems like she's being ungrateful for her supposed rescue. Maybe she shouldn't have released her after all. After reconsidering, she does pull out some rope and prepares to bind her again out of spite when something catches her blind eye. An invisible cat. That's apparently communicating with someone she cannot make out. At least... until she hears...

Torture. The only word that Maya understood within this wall of Lancean speech. The one word she hates to hear even to this day. Because her daughter suffered like that. She suffered too for decades. And she's gonna take action, starting with...

"Renar-kun. Watashitachiha... kanshi sa rete iru. Darekaga watashitachi o supai shite iru. 'Gōmon' to iu kotoba o kiita (私たちは監視されている. 誰かが私たちをスパイしている. 拷問という言葉を聞いた, We're... being watched. Someone is spying on us. I heard the word 'torture')" She warns him as she puts the rope away and briefly jumps high into the air as she swiped with her claw, but it wasn't powerful enough to reach (Athletics: 7). Frustrated, her tail then flickers up and down before it swipes a sudden White orb at her designated target. 

(DC 13 Dex or suffer from 5 Radiant) 

What?! Lady- Okaa-san just saved you from being tied up. Those three goons are your enemies not your saviours you bozo! For crying out loud, I'm almost convinced that we've made another enemy against our behalf... *He overhears Venet saying the group needs to move and breathes* I don't know much about vampires... so it wouldn't make sense for me to say something irrelevant about that poor guy. I should keep my mouth shut on that matter. "Thank you, miss. I'm glad we're on the same page for once and- huh?" Okaa-san? What does she want from me now-

Quote from Wildland_Shifters >>

 "Renar-kun. Watashitachiha... kanshi sa rete iru. Darekaga watashitachi o supai shite iru. 'Gōmon' to iu kotoba o kiita (私たちは監視されている. 誰かが私たちをスパイしている. 拷問という言葉を聞いた, We're... being watched. Someone is spying on us. I heard the word 'torture')" She warns him as she puts the rope away and briefly jumps high into the air as she swiped with her claw, but it wasn't powerful enough to reach (Athletics: 7). Frustrated, her tail then flickers up and down before it swipes a sudden White orb at her designated target. 

Wait... WHAT?! Someone is spying on us?! Just us specifically or everyone here?! Who is it?! "Where?!" I can't see anything. Has she spotted something that none of can? And why is she...? Why is she jumping and hurling fox fire? I'm confused...

*He turns to the rest if they suddenly spot his mother's erratic behaviour too*

"We're being watched. And they want to torture us. As in, everyone including you three brats. That's what she said."

Mira for a moment considers running. There is too much going on, torture? Strange creatures? Weird people? Other worlds? Invasions? She should run, right? Get away and not look back. She probably could.

She looks at Maya and watches her assault something that wasn't even visible. Invisible spies now too? How could she even run from that?

The little rabbit girl stays frozen there, stuck in indecision. Something Mira is not at all used to. She's a lady of decision. She doesn't like this feeling of uncertainty. 

"What... should we do?" she asks looking towards Maya for answers.

Alex stands rigidly as the story unfolds. He hates how everything is unfolding. Things just keep getting more and more convoluted. Right and wrong shouldn't be so hard to understand, yet nothing is ever black and white. 

Lowering his sword slightly he lets out a long breath, "I still can't condone everything you have done. Especially you," he gives the mercenary a hard look, still unsure as to whether or not her reasons were completely selfish. "I don't know what to do at this point, but I can't just let things keep going like this. You all were going to spread disease to a bunch of civilians just because you didn't want us to mess up your plans with Paulis! You're worried about the honor of this other planet, but you don't seem to have any yourself. Sure, we have laws that forbid killing, but I seriously doubt those will hold up well in times of war. Don't get me wrong, everything you've said about this other planet sounds absolutely barbaric, but that doesn't mean we are much better. Sure, we might not have the same problems, but there are still people like Cezars and Adelaide abusing their power and threatening innocent people." He grips his sword, still not wanting to take a chance in putting it away. "The question of war is something to worry about later, right now we have to deal with Cezars and whatever he's wanting to do with Paulis. As for making us like those barbarians..." His face grows grim, "Do you really think that will do anything aside from make us as evil as they are? If they are going to come, we should focus on trying to prepare, not ruining our own culture all the while sacrificing our souls."

He glances towards Mira, then back at their "captives" before saying, "Yeah, tell us who you really are." 

Then he learns that something is apparently watching them. Is it Cezars? Or something else, "What! Where?" He glances around then fixes his eyes back on Renar, "Did she say where she saw them? Who is it? Someone new?" He raises his sword again, unsure what to do. "We should get moving right?"

He eyes the three who they may as well consider their captives, "Sounds like you three might be better off staying with us. Not that I'm going to put any trust in you whatsoever, but I also--unlike some people--don't like seeing others suffer even if they deserve it." 

Shugo is sufficiently stumped at Not-Laine's explanation. Granted, he'd somewhat expected this type of story...just not to a planet-threatening level. War? He doesn't have time for war especially not a war between worlds. If there's one thing he does know though, it's that if these people threatening the planet will fight dirty, he's willing to return that favor in order to protect himself and the people he cares about...even if that means he has to kill. If it comes to that, he'll just have to figure out how to live with himself afterwards. There has to be some exception to the law when it comes to people outside the planet right? Right? Hmm.. maybe right now isn't the best time to think about such morbid things.

Snapping back to the present, the elf realizes that Maya has freed poor Ms. Bunny. Though the small woman seems confused...she seems to think the rest of them are also a threat? Even though he requested her freedom? Hmm granted he hadn't exactly phrased it that way. He turns around and smiles at the bunny, "Don't worry, we won't let harm come to you or Maya." He says pleasantly then turns back to the hoodlums as Alex states his mind.

"Well. I agree with Alex. I will keep my word and have your bounties removed, but no more. As for this artifact business, don't you think the smarter thing would be to keep it for ourselves and use it against them? Eh? Especially since you can't even trust that these people will keep their word?" He shakes his head, still not wanting to think about the whole mess.

His eyes bulge when Renar says something about torture. Great, now Adelaide is on to them. Fantastic.

"Well, I think Renar's right. We should get a move on. Alex, I don't know what you are wanting to do with this lot, but either way we will be seeing them again at the trial...unless they want to keep their bounties." He gives them a look, completely ignoring the changeling's tears. Though seeing her reminds him of Renar's question. Where is Adelaide keeping Real-Laine? Well...they will probably find that out eventually, seeing that Adelaide want's all their heads. Ugh.

Whilst Maya pouts after seeing her first fox fire miss her invisible target, she hears Mira calling. Simple words this time, she respond in a broken accent, "Uh... We... should go... Renar-kun say so... you can't... see them... but... they... watch us. From above. Ado.. raidu... I hear." She points up in the air again, clearly referring to Adelaide, the person that everyone is talking about. The target can only be seen by her, but it's clear that, judging by where she's aiming, that invisible cat is over near the ceiling, watching their every move. 

As she aims again but misses a third time, she's thinking maybe it's best if she dealt with it herself in secret and didn't alert them in the first place. 

That Mira can understand, her eyes follow Maya pointing, looks to where the spells are aimed, and joins in the attempt to fight an invisible threat, whatever it is.

As she moves her hands, cold blue energy forms in her hand, and the unmistakable sound of a ticking clock surrounds her. Tick tick tick tick. And she unleashes a ray of frost at the invisible enemy, while using her Restore Balance clockwork powers to imbue the attack with precision. (It removes advantage/disadvantage to a d20)

22 for 4 cold and -10ft speed if it hits.

"Keep shooting?"

Quote from PyromaniIsDeadThankGod >>

 

"Actually... I do have one question in mind." *He glances back at the changeling with a snarl* If you say you're pretending to be wolfy's boyfriend, one: where is she being held? And two: who the hell are you? *He then turns back towards Mira and Maya* If you're not gonna answer me, then don't bother. We won't waste each other's time. Just keep your fingers crossed tight that we don't stumble into each other's paths again."

"There is no such thing as 'identity' for Changelings, not even name or gender. You can call me whatever you want, my friends usually call me by my current disguise, but we do have forms we spend most of our lives in." Laine snaps her finger and with a flash of light, she transforms into an orange-haired elf.

"Before I got into all of this mess, I took the form of Samanta, some random elf lady who passed away on -3C 9732 CY, almost 25,000 years ago. We try our best to take the form of someone who died a really long time ago so our identities won't be mistaken. By the way, we can be born if either one of the parents is a Changeling." She crosses her arms, "People usually depict us as a pale white humanoid, that's how we look like from the perspective of someone who can see through disguises... or if we get hit with a Moonbeam,  we never transform into our true true form, even among other Changelings." 

She glances to the side. "As for the real Laine, she is in Adelaide's residence in Aleneskalns with other hostages." She scoffs, "That sad excuse of a city... There are so many faeces and urine down the street you'd mistake it for a pig pen at first, then you will wish you get to sleep with pigs because you will get mugged, stabbed, and beaten up by every homeless person you meet."

"If you want to go rescue her, good luck, especially you, Mira." She points at the rabbit, "You dress like you're going to a ball—I'll admit, I like your style and you look very pretty in that dress, but you have to be more subtle than this."

Quote from Aroc_of_Eaf>>

He eyes the three who they may as well consider their captives, "Sounds like you three might be better off staying with us. Not that I'm going to put any trust in you whatsoever, but I also--unlike some people--don't like seeing others suffer even if they deserve it." 

Quote from Rynn_Elocin >>

 

"Well. I agree with Alex. I will keep my word and have your bounties removed, but no more. As for this artifact business, don't you think the smarter thing would be to keep it for ourselves and use it against them? Eh? Especially since you can't even trust that these people will keep their word?" He shakes his head, still not wanting to think about the whole mess.

 

"WHAT!?" Samanta/Laine's mood did a 180 after that statement, it's such a curveball seeing her being dramatic, then calm, then angry, all within the span of 5 minutes. "Even after everything you've done, you have the gall to ask us to be your prisoner!? No! Not a chance!" She stomps the ground, her face red with rage, "We should be the one with the artefact, not you, because unlike you, we will save this planet, not destroy it! Millions will suffer, but billions will live—"

Maya's attacks on the invisible enemy catch the goons off-guard, they prepare their weapons and spells, but Mira's Ray of Frost makes contact with Adelaide's familiar. And poof, he disappears, about as quickly as the moment you see him.

"The hell!? Why is he here?" Birute gawks, "Whatever... we have to run, now!" With that, she takes off, and Radions (Who watches all of this unfold with no expression) catches after her.

"Well... looks like you caught Adelaide's attention, too bad for you." Samanta transforms back into Laine's form, she sneers, then turns to Mira. "Looks like you're stuck with them now, too bad for you too. There's more strength in numbers." And she, too, dashes after Birute and Radions.

A moment of awkward silence passes, and Simo's group, who's been watching everything unfold, also stares into an empty space in silence.

That is until Simo himself breaks the silence. "What did we get ourselves into..." He face-palms.

Your attention turns to the unconscious vampire Cezars beat up earlier. He looks... beaten up, the 'blood' on his wounds and bruises are much darker than usual. Combined with his black and grey fur, it looks more like a stain than anything. The bat opens his eyes and mutters weakly. "Blood... I need... blood." 

If anyone decides to donate blood to the vampire by giving them their neck, they take 12 Necrotic damage.

As soon as Mira strikes the target that only the kitsune lady can see, she gasps in amazement, but then she quickly forms a smile at Mira and gives her two thumbs up for wiping out the thing she had been aiming for. She did it. And well, that's done. Time to move-

Oh wait. The bat. She's seen countless vampires before in Toril and she knows that it needs blood to heal. The thing is, she's low on spell slots, and she's saving them for the big fight ahead. The thought of him biting her neck isn't one that she's like gonna take either especially now that she eyes the exit of the cave that leads to the glitched and twitches her fox ears...

You know what? She'll take one for the team and heal herself as she winces in pain and does her best not to scream... It's a risk, but if the bat himself is willing to join them, she'll do it. She's already feeling super weak after that as she suddenly feel feint and wobbles, however she gonna save her spells for later as she opts to stay in the back of the pack. Unless if anyone is kind enough to...