Krikas 

Motionless, Krikas waits for the lift to descend. It then occurs to him. We don't have to kill this guy. He moves 15ft closer and readies a spell for when the man comes into view.

Move - shuffles 15ft closer to the lift

Action - Readies Hideous Laughter with DC12 WIS save.

Raiders Wisdom save: 5

Once the lift begins to descend it drops quit quickly. The man aboard yells up" Not so fast, your gonna knock me off". With one hand on the guide rope and the other hoisting a torch above his head. He peers into the darkness at the back of the cave. The torch light creates more shadow than illumination with the many pillars and waterfall crashing down.

"That's right you stupid hounds, you shut up when you see me huh." he turns this way and that trying to locate them. "Don't make this worse, Fang get out here, NOW" he shouts starting to really lose patience. "By Beshaba where are those dumb dogs".

The lift drops below 10', he hops off then starts to scan the rest of the room. Slowly he turns, noticing the 4 dead hounds his eyes follow up to spot Rusty, standing motionless. "Whew what is that, no wonder you were barking." his face a mass of confusion an wonder. "Hey..."he begins to yell upward then descends into gales of laughter. Great peels, deep from the belly bubble up out of his lips. Grabbing his stomach he falls over, unable to contain the raucous mirth of 4 dead dogs and a deadly construct before him.

"You should be down by now, what in the hells is so funny... Alright, I'm letting go" yells the man from above. The lift settles into place, the ropes growing loose from the lose of tension.

Inititive

1. Your group<---Your turn, any order
2. A raider is prone and incapacitated on the ground just before the lift. A second raider unseen can be heard above.

Krikas 

With a grin as he watches the goon guffaw, Krikas creeps over and in his best impersonation of the goon yells up to the second raider above.

"All good down here. Just those stupid dogs chasing a brave rat! I'll be back up in a minute."

Deception 16

(Don't know if that's appropriate. Let me know what you'd like in its place)

Rusty watches the man curiously. He has seen people laugh many times. Comedy was part of The Blade's show. But never has he witnessed someone laugh so uncontrollably. It was quite mesmerizing. And confusing. He looks toward the nearest of his companions. "Do we-we-we-we hit him?"

"I'd focus on whoever is above." suggests Briar. He looks over to the hidden Aelin to see what she'll do.

[[
Briar's actions will depend on what the others want to do. But here's the thinking,

If the party goes for attacking who's above, he'll march forward and hope there's a line of sight, however indirect, for sacred flame.
2 radiant damage DEX Save DC 13.
If no line-of-sight to a visible target above, ready the sacred flame for if someone appears. Or to the currently laughing raider if he gets over his laughing fit.
]]

Aelinn

The laughter made you smile it brought back memories of the thieves guild practicing using it. Not a path that she followed. It wouldn't hold for long. Never leave an enemy behind you, it is best to silence him completely. Then deal with the others above you. She found Krikas voice acting impressive.

She flitted from the shadows and drove two daggers straight into his chest aiming for his heart. Twisting them for better penetration. She pulled them clear then wiped the blood on the brigands shirt

1st dagger Attack 23, damage 6 plus sneak attack damage 4

2nd dagger Attack 19, damage 7

Total damage 17

Briar can you heal Felmar? I can only bind up wounds (medicine)

(dice rolled on character sheet)

Felmar is hurtin' after being attacked by the dog.  So he's going to trust his stealthier companions to eliminate the laughing guard.  He will make is way to the lift to see how they want to proceed from here

Quote from JudyMac79120 >>

Briar can you heal Felmar? I can only bind up wounds (medicine)

 

"If he goes down I'll get 'im up." assures Briar.

[[ Healing word healing can feasibly be overcome in a single hit. So makes more sense to wait until someone goes down. With only two spell slots, want to make sure they're used when needed. ]]

Rusty nods at Briar, looks up at the square hole, then reaches out and grabs hold of one of the ropes. He starts to tug on it when Aelinn walks over and stabs the man. Looking down at the act, Rusty makes note of whether they are permanently silenced. If not, he will add a fist.

Attack at advantage due to being prone and melee: 19 Damage: 4

If the man is dead before or after his attack, Rusty begins climbing the rope. If the man survives, he doesn't go anywhere.

Raider Dexterity save DC 13 (Disadvantage due to surprise): 3

Krikas hollers up towards the second level as Aelinn plunges their daggers into the mans chest. His laughter dies instantly. Felmar creeps closer, standing just shy of the wooden planks. Rusty watches Aelinn silence him, the machine would shrug if it could, instead it raises one mechanical arm before the other hoisting itself up the rope.

The man above yells out "Goran you feeling ok. Your acting and sounding mighty strange. Whats going on down there?" he pokes his head over the lift and stares down at the scene that greets him. Rusty is only 10' down from the lip. Briar, the only one waiting for him lets the weave tear itself apart, thin threads of energy stretch out and envelop the man, Fire forms and rains down upon him. He screams in pain and startlement. His head leaves your sight as he flees? You can hear "Were under attack" slowly fading into the distance above.

Initiative

1. Your group<----Your turn, any order
2. The Raider, unseen from below

The rope is difficult terrain taking double movment to climb. Rusty is 10' below the lip. If he decides to continue to climb (Taking 20' of movement) open this spoiler.

Felmar will approach the lift. If he can get a shot at the fleeing raider, he will fire his crossbow at him. 

Attack: 7

Unfortunately the bolt didn’t get anywhere near the fleeing raider. 

“Mordain’s beard!” Felmar curses

Briar looks Rusty on the rope. "I'm not as quick as some of you. Go on up and I'll follow."

He'll dash up the rope for 25ft, letting others with quicker movements speeds get on first.

Aelinn

She shrugged back into her backpack, her cloak now rolled at the top of it. She kneels next to Felmar, Let's see what we can do. She uncovers the wound then proceeds to clean it with the brandy in her wineskin. She shredded her spare white linen shirt to make bandages then bandaged the wound. (Medicine 20 ) Sit on the lift and we'll bring you up as soon as possible.

She turned to the rope and swung her way upwards (Acrobatics 22) with a dagger held in her teeth

Krikas 

Watching Aelinn dispatch the laughing raider Krikas thinks to himself, Yeah, she's lethal. Quickly dismissing the thought he ventures over to the lift. The rope up appears quite congested so he chooses to wait with Felmar. "Pity the other one ran off screaming. Now everyone will be expecting us."

“Well if there comin’ fer us anyways, maybe we’d be better off waitin’ down here for’em. They’ll have te come down the lift so we can be ready.”

Unperturbed by the second "guard", Rusty continues climbing, hoisting himself to the upper level. He moves over to the mechanism and attempts to figure out how it works. Once he does, he'll look over the edge and wait for Felmar to get in position before raising the lift.

Aelinn

She somersaulted off of the rope, landing softly then nodding to Rusty. Briar wasn't far behind her. Can you turn the ropes for the lift Rusty. I'm not strong enough to do it. She turns and sets her backpack onto the floor. Then moves towards the stairs. She knelt low and unstrung her shortbow hiding within the shadows of the wall. Ready with a quick word or arrow depending on who arrived first. She looks around to see or hear ahead. Perception 14 , Stealth 24.

We are still in Initiative, Aelinn has already acted this round. (Post 155 was the previous round, Post 159 would be the current round)

Rusty climbs the rest of the way, hauling himself up and over the lip of the opening in the floor. He watches disinterestedly as the Raider runs up the stairs and around the corner, alerting the complex of your groups invasion.  The crank for the lift is a simple affair, purpose built with wood and metal parts it is easy to understand. He peers over the edge to watch his companions below. (It will take two rounds to raise the platform)

Aelinn is quick, climbing up the rope and sailing through the air to land on sturdy ground. A table with dice and a few Nibs (cp) sits against the wall to her left. Torches are placed in sconces about the walls, 4 in total, casting light, shadow and smoke to hover near the ceiling above. There are few shadows within the room, yet the dancing light from the burning torches creates oppurtunity to meld with the wall. The guard has stopped yelling 'Under attack'. It has been replaced by a flurry of noise, scrapping wood, shouts, and hollering from beyond. "How many?" and "You and you there, secure the back way", as well as "Prepare the device, be ready"

Briar is just over half way up the rope, he looks up at Rusty;s peering face, and down at the Dwarf and Half-elf below. Deciding what to do. Felmar and Krikas stand below, discussing the merits of strategy.

Inititive

1. Your group<---Your turn, Any order (Aelinn has already acted, waiting in the shadows for her companions)
2. The Raiders, numbers and actions unseen