World of Greyhawk: Company of the Grey Chain

Khessa laughs: "That's the spirit Theldrin!"

The blonde arcane warrior then replies to Xanrym: "I admit I don't know exactly how the Medusa petrify, my friend... but assuming they do it by looking at their victims, I think that if we use the mirrors as a shield, Fadheela is at risk of petrifying herself by looking at us... so either she won't activate her power, or, if she takes the risk, maybe she'll fall victim to it. Just using them in place of a shield. I was not meaning to build a phalanx or something like that".

Quote from Painted_Beyond >>

Just using them in place of a shield. I was not meaning to build a phalanx or something like that".

Xanrym says, somewhat sheepishly, "Well, I admit that I wouldn't mind taking cover behind a wall of mirrors while you hold Fadheela off!"

On the approach to Fadheela's lair, The Company still needs to descend the rickety iron staircase quietly.  Syllen's spider silk cloak should be asset there, and the druid could make everyone quieter with Pass Without Trace.  If climbing down with the assistance of ropes seems insufficient, Xanrym also has Enhance Ability and a Potion of Climbing if the descent proves difficult.

"Once we're on Fadheela's level," Xanrym says, "we'll just have to see what we find."

Xanrym does mention that

• If Fadheela has a bunch of minions guarding her, he can try to hypnotize them like he did with the Kuo-Toa, but it's important that Khessa, Avery, and Coriana form a "line" and not end up inter-mixed with their opponents before he casts that spell.
• If Fadheela has one or two big guards, like an ettin or a giant snake, then Xanrym may try to use Enemies Abound.  "In that case, it'll be important for everyone to fall back and attack!  A creature affected by that spell will lash out randomly at anything it can reach, so it'll be important that none of us are within its range."

"I appreciate the attention to tactics, I've led groups in fights, but never with such wide capabilities."

Theldrin dismisses Dusk back to his pocket dimension, casts Mage Armor on himself, then suspiciously eyes a mirror before trying it out as a shield.

(OOC: did we establish how heavy the mirrors are?)

Khessa agrees: "No problem forming a 'wall of mirrors,' Xanrym! And all right, we'll help you to get the most of your spells."

"When it comes to surprise, though, I think Silence is our best ally," the blonde Atrcane warrior muses aloud. "That way, none of us will make any noise—and Fadheela, who surely knows how noisy the stairs are, should be taken by surprise by our arrival in complete silence from that direction. And once downstairs, we can leave the silenced area - or even dismiss the spell - and thus be able to talk and to cast again".

Upon finishing his rest Syllen seems as if he is just going through the motions. The lack of a sky takes some of the energy out of his speech. (Everyone gets 10 Temp HP.)

“There is much in this tower we lack a proper understanding of. If we can use the mirrors to observe others it would make sense that it is possible to spy on us with them. Hopefully we do not stay around long enough to discover every secret here. It might be best if we can succeed with only a single plan but glad that Xanrym is attempting to figure out as many plans as possible.”

Quote from Painted_Beyond >>

"When it comes to surprise, though, I think Silence is our best ally," the blonde Atrcane warrior muses aloud. "That way, none of us will make any noise—and Fadheela, who surely knows how noisy the stairs are, should be taken by surprise by our arrival in complete silence from that direction. And once downstairs, we can leave the silenced area - or even dismiss the spell - and thus be able to talk and to cast again".

Xanrym says, "Good idea, Khessa!  But that probably means that you and Avery will need to lower me down first so that I can cast the spell at or near the bottom of the stairs."  Because of the way spells work, Xanrym needs to center the spell at a point that can "see" the exit from the stairwell.  (OOC: See Area of Effect.)  Otherwise, the stairs themselves may block part of the spell's AoE, leaving some portion of the bottom of the stairs not silenced.

Xanrym suggests that maybe Khessa could send Anator to fly down the stairs and make sure that Fadheela doesn't have any guards stationed right at the bottom of the stairs.  Xanrym isn't sure sure whether the stairs will take them right to Fadheela or whether they'll have to make it through a bunch of rooms on that level to find their quarry.  He just doesn't want to be turned to stone before the others can even make it down the stairs!  

If Xanrym can get near the bottom of the stairs quietly and then cast that spell, the others should be able to follow without worrying about noise, no sound that The Company makes on the stairs should reach Fadheela.  Sounds cannot pass through the AoE, so even if the AoE doesn't cover the entire stairwell, we should be fine.  He reminds them: "Of course, that also means that anything you need to say to coordinate what you're doing to get down the stairs must be said before I cast the spell.  It's possible that the spell will reach all the way up to the top of the stairs, so yo may not be able to say anything from the moment you step on the stairs until you reach the bottom."

Xanrym thanks Syllen for the blessing, as always.

Once he does a ritual casting of Comprehend Languages, Xanrym is basically ready to carry one of the mirrors through the secret hall, past the door that leads to the shrine of Orcus, and to the top of the rickety staircase.  Then Anator can scout down the stairway to "see" what's at the bottom.

From what we found before, if they just tie a rope around Xanrym so that Avery (with his Belt of Hill Giant Strength) and Khessa can lower him down, he expects to be able to sneak to the bottom without putting too much weight on the stairs.  

Once Xanrym casts Silence at the bottom of the stairs, the others should be able to hammer spikes into the stone to tie off a rope so that the others can get down without breaking the rickety iron staircase too.  His spell should prevent the sound of the hammering from reaching and alerting Fadheela.

Oh!  And Xanrym suggests that they leave the awful Orcus Figurine behind when they descend the stairs.  He doesn't want to bring the awful thing with them when they confront Fadheela, and he doesn't want to attempt to destroy the figurine until they're done with Fadheela.  (He worries that Choke will somehow know when the figurine is destroyed, and he doesn't want to risk angering the Void Necromental.)

So what’s the first step of this plan? Sending Anator to scout?

Khessa nods to Xanrym's plan completing only with: "If we feel that hammering will take a bit too long, we can just jump - I can slow everyone's fall with magic."

The blonde arcane warrior agrees to send Anator to scout ahead: 'Fly naturally, my brother, as if you were a common bat. And don't take any risk. We just need to know if Fadheela has any guards stationed right at the bottom of the stairs. Then come back to me—you'd be a sad souvenir, believe me, in statuette form!'

Quote from Painted_Beyond >>

Khessa nods to Xanrym's plan completing only with: "If we feel that hammering will take a bit too long, we can just jump - I can slow everyone's fall with magic."

(OOC: Maybe @drumdigby can clarify.  To jump down, we'd need an opening at the center of the spiral staircase that goes all the way down and that's big enough to for a human to fall without hitting the stairs on the way down.  That might be the case if the iron steps are affixed to the exterior of the shaft.  But I was picturing a staircase with steps that are built around a central column, in which case we wouldn't be able to jump down to the bottom or even see the bottom from the top of the stairs.  That's why Xanrym asked for Anator to scout ahead first.  I didn't think that we were using the rope to lower the characters down, just to help us avoid putting our full weight on the stairs.)

Avery nods, "I shouldn't have a problem lowering you down."

There is a gap in the stairwell for you to see below. You can see that the stairs end a little before the ground on the next level, the bottom portion having collapsed slightly.

So are you sending Anator ahead or just lowering down?

If Xanrym can see the ground at the bottom of the stairs without descending, then we could alter the plan.

It's up to Khessa whether she still wants to send Anator to scout first.  (The bat will need sound to use its echolocation.)  

But then Xanrym should be able to cast Silence from the top of the stairs, targeting a point just below the end of the staircase (or 18-ft above the ground below, whichever is lower).  Since the stairs end, the AoE would not be obstructed if he centers the spell below the end of the stairs.  The AoE should cover the entire 5-ft x 5-ft area at the bottom of the stairs, from the ground up to (at least) the bottom of the stairs.

If we do that, then someone else should go down first.  Xanrym will need to maintain concentration on Silence, so it's probably better for him to be one of the last to descend the stairs.  We want to make sure that nothing breaks his concentration until everyone gets to the bottom.

No, at this point, since Xanrym can cast Silence from above, we might as well all go down. The risk of Anator alerting those below is minimal—but there's no point in running it if we already know what we need to know. Just cast Silence, we set the rope, and we go down one at a time in quick succession (all in the same round, I mean), leaving Xanrym last.

It's best for the "mirror wall" members to go first, so I'd say Khessa will be the first to go below.

Quote from Painted_Beyond >>

No, at this point, since Xanrym can cast Silence from above, we might as well all go down. The risk of Anator alerting those below is minimal—but there's no point in running it if we already know what we need to know. Just cast Silence, we set the rope, and we go down one at a time in quick succession (all in the same round, I mean), leaving Xanrym last.

It's best for the "mirror wall" members to go first, so I'd say Khessa will be the first to go below.

(OOC: I am good with this plan.  Just waiting to see what sideswipes us and ruins all the planning.  😉  Also, I doubt that everyone can descend down the rope to the bottom in one round.  Climbing normally costs 2:1 movement.  If it's 15-ft down, then it takes an entire round to descend the rope unless we're all dashing, but it sounds like we want to be able to take an action once we reach the bottom.)

Once everyone has made any preparations they want, Xanrym casts Silence as described above. Then he files back to the back of The Company, letting everyone else descend before him.

You head south from the mirror room, grabbing a couple of them to use later. When you get to the collapsed staircase, a harness is tied to Khessa, and as she is lowered down Xanryn casts Silence.

Khessa arrives in a short hall where the debris from the collapsed staircase lies around, she can see to the north a few statues lined up to either side of the hallway. As her feet touch the floor. She too late notices the crushed crysral dust on the ground.

Khessa will need to make a DC 16 WIS Save

Khessa's DC 16 WIS Save: 12

Quote from Painted_Beyond >>

Khessa's DC 16 WIS Save: 17

[[ OOC: Lol! Nice to have a bit of dumb luck, for a change! :-) ]]

As Khessa's feet touch the floor, she too late notices the crushed crystral dust on the ground... 'Another Glyph of Warding!'

The determination not to fail her adventuring companions, however, burns within the blonde arcane warrior and helps her resist the mysterious effect of the glyph—whatever it may be—without a word.

Khessa waits for her companions to join her, not moving for fear of betraying her presence (she knows she's anything but stealthy). Meanwhile, though motionless, she scans around with her blue eyes, trying to determine if Fadheela is already there or, if not, if the hallway leads to other rooms or exits.