(Are we all bej g led upstairs?)

OOC: No. Haldur, Leb, and Lyra are in the kitchen getting warm. The others are being led by Artemis up stairs. Roll perception to notice they went up stairs but I assumed y'all went looking for a fire after Lora's first wave of insults!

Climbing the steps Thomas is near Artemis. The whirring of the clockwork robot always a wonder to him is somehow soothing now.

"The others fell Ora claims trying to protect the detainees in the Wilds," Artemis explains in a calm voice. "She survived by the sheer refusal to die I think and after I sent recovery drones who managed to bring her back," they explain. "Sister Calius was discovered hours ago in thr tunnels," they add.

Thomas you know Sister Calius. She's a young human noblewoman, smart and very pretty, who joined the Sisters of Mercy a year ago and teaches a long side you in the Temple.

Tge stairs are steep and taking some time to mount to Matthias' study. Once the party arrives they find two more guardians outside the doors thst move aside as Artemis approaches with odd grace and agile movements!

"He's....distressed," Artemis says looking to Thomas before pushing open thr door. 

Walking into the room Thomas sees its in a shocking state of disarray. A dwarf with a massive ash blonde beard and silver robes is pouring over half a dozen opeb texts spread out everywhere muttering to himself as a disembodied hand is scribbling just over his shoulder. The dwarf and tge hand stop as soon as Artemis announces the party.

"They need rest Commander," Artemis seems to point out before Matthias can even begin. "Don't keep them long," they added before stepping back and letting the meeting proceed.

"So you're all that remains," Matthias asks Thomas heavy eyebrows furrowed. He doesn't look like he's slept idadays.

OOC: It's been 24 hours since the incident.

"So we have been told, Commander, yes."

Aside from addressing his commander, the first thing Thomas does is move to the window (assuming there is one, like in Hrain's office) to confirm with his own eyes the state of the Sune Garrison.

"I am sorry to be blunt but I must know, what has befallen the Sunite garrison, has it truly fallen?" Hrain moves directly to the Commander, looking him in the eyes. "There is clearly much to discuss but I need to know this now."

Thomas looks out and sees that no other garrison tower stands but Mystra's! The walls are breached all over as he notices figures fleeing over the rubble. He cam see some people fighting bjt mostly it's just a wasteland more than before. The Temple has beheaded. The tower fallen into the courtyard. Tents burn all over the camp and the gallows are now a smoldering pile of rubble.

OOC: Hrain's addressing Matt?

Matthias sighs looking up at the party.

"Indeed we're the last of the four. I think our resistant is ebbing however...soon we will fall as well," the dwarf replies stroking hus beard before returning his gaze to the books. "That is if I can't find that damned banishment spell," he growls.

Just as he speaks a near deafing roar cam be heard as the white dragon's shadow engulfs the window.

"That Captain Hrain has sealed the fate of the other three garrisons," Matthias adds with a weird sort of amused grimace.

Folzi, Haldur, and Lyra can also hear the dragon outside the tower!

Lyra frowns in distate after the stunning noise. She looks around to see if she can find a window or something else to watch what is happening outside (Perception: 18).

Thomas barely reacts at all to the presence of the dragon.

"What can we even do against such a creature?"

There is obvious weariness in his voice.

"Retreat doesn't even seem possible with it at our backs..."

Folzi finds the warmest seat in the kitchen after (hopefully) finding a few bits of food to snack on. He pulls a book from under his cloak and places it on the table. With a flick of his wrist it rises and is held before his face for easy reading. He begins to browse it's pages while he picks at his plate of food.

He gives a start with the roar of the dragon. "Hmmm... Oh yeah. We have to contend with that as well." He sighs and pulls his cloak around him and continues through the book.

"I'm trying to find a way to rid us of the beast so that we might stand a chance of escaping the compound but surviving the Waste," Matthias sighs, "some might say fighting a dragon would be a kinder death," the dwarf adds amused again. 

He returns to his books and unseen servant scribbling away.

>>>>>>>>

Folzi easily finds rations. Reading his book as the others...

Once the fire had sufficiently achieved a desirable size and warmth, mostly without his fussing over it, Haldur found a place to sit down near it's glow and began to tend to his equipment. He pulled his whetstone and cloth from his small pouch and began sharpening his halberd, using slow and careful motions to hone the weapon's edge. Next, he made sure he had a sufficient amount of bolts readily accessible in his small quiver and that their arrowheads and fletchings were in tact and in working order. After that he oiled and tightened the mechanism on his light crossbow, smiling to himself in satisfaction as the tightly wound gut string made the desired sound upon applying tension. To any who watched his efforts, it was clear that not only was he was a warrior who prided himself on the state of his armaments, the simple act of tending to them helped ease and comfort the mercenary in mind and body as well.

The roar of the dragon outside did cause Haldur's head to rise and look about for a moment, but the sellsword just as quickly turned his attention back to his task at hand. His jaw was tightly set and his eyes had the steely resolve of one who'd accepted death and battle as their current reality, and the reminder of the dragon's presence only served to solidify Haldur's resolve. He would continue to fight his foes and protect his allies until no breath remained in his body and nothing would change that, and when he finally went to stand beside the shades of his ancestors in the afterlife, it could at least be said that it wasn't his courage, nor his equipment, that had failed him in the end.

"Matthias, are you looking for an arcane banishment spell? If not then surely you are either blessed enough by Mystra to cast it or you are not, and no book will bring you to that level of enlightenment if you are not. I understood that spells of Banishment were great works, I do not believe any of us are capable of such a feat." The paladin moves back towards the Commander after looking towards the window for a moment.  "Anything can be overcome with faith and the will to achieve your goals. I am also learning that a well placed lightning bolt can help too." He looks at the casters offering a small smile but they can see the sadness in his eyes. "Do not hide away Matthias, even if we cannot defeat them all, there is great strength here, we could defeat this dragon, kill it, rob them of their champion, break their resolve either to our victory or to allow us to break their lines and escape. Yes, I want revenge I have lost nearly everything today, and I am not alone in this. We must strike back. Can you wards hold long enough for us to rest? We have battled hard and our powers wane, and the cold of the tunnels has sapped our energy greatly, but if needed call me and I will man the walls against this terror that assails you, in the hope that I can repay it for the lives of so many good people lost under my watch."

Thomas turns to Hrain.

"Such a spell is indeed not beyond our capability, but only for a moment at a time. Removing the beast entirely from a fight would be beyond us."

A few levels beneath, Lyra turns to the other casters and the sellsword. "I've been thinking about how to get rid of that dragon for a while now, you know." She searches her cloak for a moment and retrieves a circular potion. "Would anyone of you manage to immobilize the beast for a moment?"

"Well I suppose even a moment or two against such a foe could be the difference, I will take whatever advantage we can gain.  It would be good to speak more of these tactics but I doubt we will have things all our own way".  Trying to speak solely to Thomas Hrain continues more quietly "Let us speak honestly, there are barely a handful of soldiers left on our side and our enemies seem to be necromancers amongst other things, with a camp full of material to reanimate.  Is there a chance of using magic to escape from the area, teleportation or any other form of magical transportation?  Even just to send a messenger to Sul Na Mara, or anywhere else to alert them what has befallen us here, our own lives matter little but the events that have transpired here must be known to the Empire as a whole.  The other camps may have already been attacked, but if there is a chance to save even one or two we must take it. Surely one of your clergy can cast some sort of sending spell if this has not already been done."  Placing a hand on the cleric's shoudler Hrain finishes by saying "There is something else you may wish to tell Matthias, we must prepare for the fact that Carrigan may have betrayed us, her disappearance was so abrupt, and at a time where we were so conveniently distracted, it couldn't have been chance.  To be honest I doubt she could tell our adversaries much of worth, we have very little in the way of resources brought from the Sunite garrison and she didn't enter with us when we came in here but I am still wary."

"Well I suppose even a moment or two against such a foe could be the difference, I will take whatever advantage we can gain.  It would be good to speak more of these tactics but I doubt we will have things all our own way".  Trying to speak solely to Thomas Hrain continues more quietly "Let us speak honestly, there are barely a handful of soldiers left on our side and our enemies seem to be necromancers amongst other things, with a camp full of material to reanimate.  Is there a chance of using magic to escape from the area, teleportation or any other form of magical transportation?  Even just to send a messenger to Sul Na Mara, or anywhere else to alert them what has befallen us here, our own lives matter little but the events that have transpired here must be known to the Empire as a whole.  The other camps may have already been attacked, but if there is a chance to save even one or two we must take it. Surely one of your clergy can cast some sort of sending spell if this has not already been done."  Placing a hand on the cleric's shoudler Hrain finishes by saying "There is something else you may wish to tell Matthias, we must prepare for the fact that Carrigan may have betrayed us, her disappearance was so abrupt, and at a time where we were so conveniently distracted, it couldn't have been chance.  To be honest I doubt she could tell our adversaries much of worth, we have very little in the way of resources brought from the Sunite garrison and she didn't enter with us when we came in here but I am still wary."

Haldur turns towards Lyra as she speaks, his curiosity piqued by her mention of bringing down the dragon.

"Immobilize it?" The mercenary asks, then thinks for a moment. He runs a hand through his short disheveled hair and stares at the fire for a moment, but soon he shakes his head somewhat forlornly and brings his gaze back to Lyra's. "I confess, I can't imagine how such a thing could be done. I have never battled a beast such as that, nor even something remotely close to it in nature. I might be able to distract it for a moment, but I'm afraid it would be a short lived moment indeed." Haldur grins slightly as he says the last, trying to soften the comment's morbid edge. "I believe if anyone has a chance of immobilizing it, it would be one among your number that has command of your impressive powers. What sort of plan are you formulating though? I would be glad to help in any way that I could."

     Folzi shuts his book, satisfied with what he has found. He turns to Lyra and shakes his head to her question. "I may have a few tricks with magic up my sleeve but nothing that powerful."

Lyra hesitates for a second. "Well, its just an idea...This potion supposedly contains fire that wont extinguish until it has incinerated everything it touches. I would try and crash it into the dragon, but winged creatures have a tendency of being quite dodgy...and since we dont know if it will work for sure its somewhat of a long shot. Just felt like its the best option we have, desperate as we are."

"You think I'm not capable of the magic," Mattias exclaims slamming the book he was reading and glaring at Hrian! "I am capable. Mystra is guiding me and once I find the spell I will master it," the dwarf exclaims again with a grin. He then looks to Artemis. "See to our guests will you," he adds next disregarding every other question and exchange. "They bother me and I need to work," he adds as Artemis obliges moving towards Hrian, Thomas, and Cara.

"He's mad," Cara whispers to Hrian and Thomas once they're exiting the room. "It's plain to see it," she adds next glancing at Artemis who makes no move to respond as if the metal person did not overhear Cara's low tone.

The bronze robot ushers you out and down the steps.

"There's food and provisions enough for you to past the night in comfort and peace," Artemis begins, "he...he's been under stress to find the spell," the robot adds in a sorrowful tone. "He...he needs rest," they add as then turns to Thomas. "I am available if you require assistance. I will be here," they gesture to Matt's rooms. "You know the garrison. Take your guests wherever you think will be comfortable," they add with a curt nod.

Lebenha that has been drinking a glass of wine inmersed in her own thoughts, or that’s what it seemed, replies to the others. 

“ Nothing such powerful as to hold it, but perhaps I could cast a storm strong enough to make it land. But that’s a long shot. We should run while we can, leave this accursed place once and for all.. “