Zephyr chuckles at Carrhae's suggestion. "I had to assume that's what she would be doing, I just hope she doesn't stumble upon Gary while she's browsing about." In the blink of an eye, he shifts back into Strife and heads down the spiral stairs and once they catch view of Strife with her nose in a book she speaks in a loud voice to grab the tieflings attention.
"Oh, what is this? A little imp meandering about my home? Does she find my collection acceptable? Does it please you, my dear?" With a grace, she plucks the book from the tieflings hands and presses a finger upon the actual Strife's lips. "I believe we have a job to do." They lean back, the doppelganger then slaps the book shut and returns it to its rightful place. "You are more than welcome to return back here once we've completed our mission." Zephyr shifts back into Barry, right before Strife's eyes. "Seriously though, you can come back after we finish our job, yeah?"
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Aeydof the Dragons || Wood Elf / Way of the Ascendant Dragon Monk Demetrios Zalaoras || Protector Aasimar / Paladin of Torm Hawke || Kalashtar / Circle of the Moon Druid Morticia || Half-Aasimar Rogue Yvan || Goliath / Path of the Wild Soul Barbarian | Paladin of Helm /ᐠ。ꞈ。ᐟ\
Speaking loudly to be heard from all the way at the bottom of the stairs, Strife extended an offer even as she continued to peruse the impossibly vast assortment of books.
“Zephyr, my darling, love of my life, we’ve shared so many wonderful times together. Make me your bride. Or even just a kept woman. Is this a communal property plane?”
Witnessing Zephyr’s transformations when they appear as Strife then Barry, the original Strife is awestruck. “Well, I’m going to hold you to that. I keep getting kicked out of libraries for adventuring. I need better benefits in this job.”
Stepping out from behind Strife's cloak (hiding there, as always) Daewen Dawn appears, and bows deeply and giggles with delight (a weird silent giggle) when seeing Zephyr shape change multiple times. Clapping with excitement, she quickly takes out her journal and scribbles a little note to Zephyr: "So glad to have you back again, papa!"
Trini is captivated by Zephyr's transformation to Strife and back again to Barry's appearence. She claps excitedly. "Oh how wonderful! You can be anyone you want, there are many who would love to have that ability. Just disappear and melt away into someone else. I could see though, how it could get lonely too. Hmm."She taps her chin thoughtfully.
"Can you make up your own appearances, or just people you've seen before?"
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
"All will become equal now" | "Cause we're going to shout it loud, even if our words seem meaningless. It's like we're carrying the weight of the world"
“I was only away for a few hours,” Zephyr chuckles, giving a warm smile down to his ‘daughter’ then looks over to Trini. “It’s very lonely indeed,” He confirms. “But, no, I cannot make my own appearance though, at most I could change hair and eye color, perhaps add horns if I wanted.” To emphasize his point, horns similar to Mercy’s start to grow from his head. “I haven’t had the need to make a face of my own... Maybe I’ll try later. Right now we have a mission to go on. Let’s go everyone!”
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Aeydof the Dragons || Wood Elf / Way of the Ascendant Dragon Monk Demetrios Zalaoras || Protector Aasimar / Paladin of Torm Hawke || Kalashtar / Circle of the Moon Druid Morticia || Half-Aasimar Rogue Yvan || Goliath / Path of the Wild Soul Barbarian | Paladin of Helm /ᐠ。ꞈ。ᐟ\
"Before we head out, we should come up with a game plan." She pulls out six sheets of parchment, hands one to Daewen, then pulls out her pen. "We need to list all of the tricks we have up our collective sleeves so we can all work together to figure out the best way to infiltrate the monastery, find the two delegates below, and kick some cultist behind." She looks at Daewen. "Are you able to draw a sketch of where we went that night? I remember the basic route and where the lich was, but the underground was a bit of a mess."
"I'm afraid that I don't have too many tricks to help with infiltration. My magic mainly focuses on helping others survive in battle or smiting evil. Nothing that really helps charm the mind or be particularly stealthy. We Paladins tend to be less sneaky and more fighty. Sorry."
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Xenophon: Topaz Dragonborn Fighter (ixi's Dragon of Icespire Peak)
"Good." Mercy handed another sheet of parchment and her pen to Carrhae. "Write down everything. We're going to need a variety of talents. Including battle prowess." She smiled at the Paladin. "You've asked Sune to help me before. I've got a trick or two from Mask that can help you get past the sneaky bits."
Carrhae's never written a resume, but she gives it a shot
Skilled in combat and proficient with all arms and armor. Also trained in using a shield to defend nearby allies.
Can use magic to repel evil creatures, destroy our enemies, provide healing and protection, detect auras and poisons, locate objects, and strengthen the body and mind.
Can sense the presence of celestials, fiends, or undead within a short area or can sense if an area has been consecrated or desecrated.
Has knowledge related to religious lore.
Really strong in body and spirit.
Immune to every disease and can use divine power to cure you from diseases.
Can use divine energy to repel undead or fiendish creatures.
Can speak Common, Celestial, Elvish, and Halfling.
Trained in reading speech and body language to determine an individual's true intentions.
Knows how to influence people with proper etiquette and "natural gifts".
Distracted one of our enemies in battle with my chest.
(OOC: We’re just gonna say that everyone passes around the few pens we have and writes things down. Next few posts should be lists of abilities both in and out of combat. Especially looking forward to the little ninja’s list.)
Mercy’s list includes expertise in stealth, experience as a thief, crossbow training, thaumaturgy, guidance, mending, spare the dying, guiding bolt, inflict wounds, darkness, hellish rebuke, disguise self, charm person and Trickster’s Blessing.
After scribbling for a while on two sheets of parchment, Daewen places them on the table in front of the group, indicating that these are the maps of the main floor and lower dungeon of the monastery that she and Mercy explored:
I'm a natural when operating in the Underdark, and can never get lost there
I have really good vision in the dark
A strange resistance to necrotic damage
I can understand a lot of different languages
I can teleport short distances (once per day)
Lock picking and other roguish skills
I've traveled to many planes in our universe, seen many things that would curl your toes in fright, and frankly have much more experience than anyone else here!
I'm far more at ease in academia than adventure, but here goes nothing.
Providing clear and convincing arguments for a course of action, with or without the benefit of strict factual accuracy, and then being ignored by yokels.
Lore research via library, network of professional colleagues, or awkward field expedition, and language translation via magic.
Flute, lute, drum, prose, poetry, verse, dance (not like Trini but still), and elocution.
Sight and sound special effects.
Cheerleading, morale boosting, mental health nurturing via controlled substance, physical health restoration via arcane invocations.
Subterfuge via disguise, deceit, invisibility, and thought manipulation.
Hmmm. Trini taps her chin thoughtfully as she scribbles out things she can contribute to the group.
An upbeat and positive attitude and inspiring others to greatness and positivity!!!
Minor healing capabilities.
Inspiring people to be more invigorated in their endeavors in combat
Keeping the enemy offguard
Able to keep myself and others from harmful falls
Can detect magical items
I think I might be able to talk to dead people????
Can communicate subtly over long distances.
Can captivate people with a dance, a smile, and a well timed jingle. ;p
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
"All will become equal now" | "Cause we're going to shout it loud, even if our words seem meaningless. It's like we're carrying the weight of the world"
Zephyr taps the pen to his chin for a moment, then begins to write.
I like long walks on the beach and reading.
I can be anyone you want me to be but better ;)
This isn't that kinda thing? Oops.
I can heal pretty good. I think. I focus primarily on healing than anything else. Sometimes I hurt. Maybe I'll buff you.
I got some spells, they do things: Guidance, Light, Sacred Flame, Spare the Dying, Cure Wounds, Inflict Wounds, Shield of Faith, Bless, Calm Emotions, Hold Person, Lesser Restoration, Prayer of Healing, Spiritual Weapon, Beacon of Hope, Clairvoyance, Mass Healing Word, Revivify, Spiritual Guardians.
I don't stealth too well, but I can get us out of sticky situations most of the time. Remember the keep? All me, baby.
I can fight and tank things.
Don't piss me off, I will leave you to die.
I can turn undead and destroy them too!
As you all know I can duplicate anyone I have seen before and I can change their height, weight, sex, even change race if I really wanted.
I have a lot of clothes in my bag so if needed we can use it to change outfits.
I also have a forgery kit so we can use that if you want me to write something, but I need to have seen a piece of the person I'm pretending to be's writing first.
Aeydof the Dragons || Wood Elf / Way of the Ascendant Dragon Monk Demetrios Zalaoras || Protector Aasimar / Paladin of Torm Hawke || Kalashtar / Circle of the Moon Druid Morticia || Half-Aasimar Rogue Yvan || Goliath / Path of the Wild Soul Barbarian | Paladin of Helm /ᐠ。ꞈ。ᐟ\
Mercy looked through the information the others presented, then passed the sheets to Daewen, indicating that they should all familiarize themselves with their teammates' skills. She turned to Zephyr. "I have a face for you to add to your repertoire, Zephyr. He's not the most pleasant, but I have a feeling it will be useful at some point." She cast Disguise Self, changing her appearance, attitude and voice to that of the lich they had encountered at the monastery. "I will remain as such for as long as it takes you to study the behavior and attitude." Turning to the others, she arched an eyebrow. "There is every likelihood the cultists have increased security measures since our last infiltration. We should stop the carriage far enough away to avoid being seen by any patrols. I would suggest approaching from one of the hills to get a better vantage. Afterward, we can set up ambushes against whatever guards are patrolling the outside. This will serve two purposes: first, to reduce the chances of being caught either entering or leaving; second, to prevent them the opportunity to strike with the magics they used to ambush the delegation. It goes without saying that it will be necessary to hide the bodies.
"The Trickster's Blessing will allow me to aid one of our less stealthy friends to be better hidden. I am inclined to use it to allow Carrhae to go with Daewen to scout ahead and make certain the path we took before is still safe to travel. I would like Carrhae taking point so that we can be certain the lich is still in his laboratory before we are too far in to find out we are wrong about that assumption. Strife, your abilities to improve the Dexterity of one member of our group and make another invisible will also be of use. I would suggest granting one of those boons to Trini, the other to Zephyr. The three of you will be best positioned in the middle of our group, close enough to the front to influence any threats into a nonthreatening state, far enough not to be in the immediate line of fire should that fail. I will take the rear guard, keeping my crossbow ready to protect us against any cultists who try to flank us."
She stopped talking for a moment, fighting the urge to show any discomfort with the role she was playing as the lich. "This is all, however, mere suggestion on my part. If any of you have any ideas to improve upon this plan, or another potential route we could take, please, speak up."
Daewen writes down on one of the scraps of paper: ‘Although the Lich is a worthy opponent, how do we handle the likely dozens and dozens of zealots who likely reside at the monastery? Don’t forget about the army we’ll be facing inside! I counted at least 30 attacker’s who backtracked back here.’
Hi Daewen, it's Strife! I'm using theMessagecantrip to communicate directly to you via a whisper only you can hear. It grants you an ability to magically whisper something back, but it's not clear whether your situation precludes a response. So, just give it a try and let's see what happens!
Okay, now I'm going to have us experiment with howDetect Thoughtsworks, and this definitely does not require any speaking on your part. So now if I ask you a question like 'What's your favorite color?', I can get your answer immediately as you think it, no need for any writing. It's rather useful, is it not?
At some later point, I would love to have a conversation with you on the matter of death, as well as the nature of shadows. That will aid me in focusing my research in the most promising direction. Inspired by Zephyr, I'm working to unlock new powers related to disguise and impersonation.
I want to explain a couple things about Detect Thoughts. Though it is possible for me to probe deeper within your mind, to look beneath your surface thinking, that takes a bit of extra effort on my part. However, since I love ya and have no wish to intrude on your privacy, I'm never going to do so unless you ask me to. I am presently constrained to using this once per day, but it endures for up to a minute. So if you find yourself in a crucial situation where you need to quickly communicate with me, just point to the corner of your mouth and I will know to establish this link.
Switching out of whisper mode, Strife replied to Daewen in her ordinary voice so that the others would hear and possibly improve upon her answer.
"As for your urgent question about the large numbers of cultists, I believe we will be doing all we can to avoid stirring the hornet's nest, because you're right, that probably would signal our summons to appear before the magnificent Raven Queen, where we would have to concede we were a tad too reckless. To extend our opportunity to persist in this world, it will be important to prevent any of them from raising an alarm. This will probably necessitate us making use of spells like Hold Person or other powers that can enforce silence or prevent audible speech. Hopefully we then quickly neutralize that threat, or get a jump on running for our lives.
"Thus, the more stealth and sneak we manage to use, the less likely we are detected and forced to go to plan B. If we can locate and extract the missing people without a fight, just as you successfully did on our first trip, then that's really all we came for. I know that's not the most comforting of answers, and while I am a big proponent of our team, this mission has me plenty worried. So... we hope the awful vast hordes of wretched cultists can be bypassed, cuz magic, I think?
"Mercy, the fundamentals of your plan sound like the best way to move about once we are inside. I can only sustain one spell via concentration, and I think it's best to hold Invisibility in reserve. Let's wait and see what you and Daewen can discover about the outside guards, perhaps we will conclude another impersonation ruse is the best way through them. We hope to get in and out with as much speed as possible."
Having joined together once again for the purpose of tying up the loose ends of their original quest, the group resupplied in Waterdeep and then set out on the return trip to the Sumber Hills, now apprised of the rising threat that lurked therein. They timed their arrival at the outskirts of the monastery to occur late at night, and the rogue and ranger set out once again under the cover of darkness. Strife looked at her three remaining companions and blushed, her thoughts returning to her earlier misbehavior in the carriage. Knowing the solace of her pipe was forbidden only made it that much more appealing. Instead, she held hands with Zephyr and Carrhae, and clasped Trini in a tail shake, all of which gave her courage.
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Zephyr chuckles at Carrhae's suggestion. "I had to assume that's what she would be doing, I just hope she doesn't stumble upon Gary while she's browsing about." In the blink of an eye, he shifts back into Strife and heads down the spiral stairs and once they catch view of Strife with her nose in a book she speaks in a loud voice to grab the tieflings attention.
"Oh, what is this? A little imp meandering about my home? Does she find my collection acceptable? Does it please you, my dear?" With a grace, she plucks the book from the tieflings hands and presses a finger upon the actual Strife's lips. "I believe we have a job to do." They lean back, the doppelganger then slaps the book shut and returns it to its rightful place. "You are more than welcome to return back here once we've completed our mission." Zephyr shifts back into Barry, right before Strife's eyes. "Seriously though, you can come back after we finish our job, yeah?"
Aeyd of the Dragons || Wood Elf / Way of the Ascendant Dragon Monk
Demetrios Zalaoras || Protector Aasimar / Paladin of Torm
Hawke || Kalashtar / Circle of the Moon Druid
Morticia || Half-Aasimar Rogue
Yvan || Goliath / Path of the Wild Soul Barbarian | Paladin of Helm
/ᐠ。ꞈ。ᐟ\
Speaking loudly to be heard from all the way at the bottom of the stairs, Strife extended an offer even as she continued to peruse the impossibly vast assortment of books.
“Zephyr, my darling, love of my life, we’ve shared so many wonderful times together. Make me your bride. Or even just a kept woman. Is this a communal property plane?”
Witnessing Zephyr’s transformations when they appear as Strife then Barry, the original Strife is awestruck. “Well, I’m going to hold you to that. I keep getting kicked out of libraries for adventuring. I need better benefits in this job.”
Stepping out from behind Strife's cloak (hiding there, as always)
DaewenDawn appears, and bows deeply and giggles with delight (a weird silent giggle) when seeing Zephyr shape change multiple times. Clapping with excitement, she quickly takes out her journal and scribbles a little note to Zephyr: "So glad to have you back again, papa!"Last to know and first to be blamed...
As a free action, can I regret my life choices?
Trini is captivated by Zephyr's transformation to Strife and back again to Barry's appearence. She claps excitedly. "Oh how wonderful! You can be anyone you want, there are many who would love to have that ability. Just disappear and melt away into someone else. I could see though, how it could get lonely too. Hmm." She taps her chin thoughtfully.
"Can you make up your own appearances, or just people you've seen before?"
"All will become equal now" | "Cause we're going to shout it loud, even if our words seem meaningless. It's like we're carrying the weight of the world"
“I was only away for a few hours,” Zephyr chuckles, giving a warm smile down to his ‘daughter’ then looks over to Trini. “It’s very lonely indeed,” He confirms. “But, no, I cannot make my own appearance though, at most I could change hair and eye color, perhaps add horns if I wanted.” To emphasize his point, horns similar to Mercy’s start to grow from his head. “I haven’t had the need to make a face of my own... Maybe I’ll try later. Right now we have a mission to go on. Let’s go everyone!”
Aeyd of the Dragons || Wood Elf / Way of the Ascendant Dragon Monk
Demetrios Zalaoras || Protector Aasimar / Paladin of Torm
Hawke || Kalashtar / Circle of the Moon Druid
Morticia || Half-Aasimar Rogue
Yvan || Goliath / Path of the Wild Soul Barbarian | Paladin of Helm
/ᐠ。ꞈ。ᐟ\
"Before we head out, we should come up with a game plan." She pulls out six sheets of parchment, hands one to Daewen, then pulls out her pen. "We need to list all of the tricks we have up our collective sleeves so we can all work together to figure out the best way to infiltrate the monastery, find the two delegates below, and kick some cultist behind." She looks at Daewen. "Are you able to draw a sketch of where we went that night? I remember the basic route and where the lich was, but the underground was a bit of a mess."
"I'm afraid that I don't have too many tricks to help with infiltration. My magic mainly focuses on helping others survive in battle or smiting evil. Nothing that really helps charm the mind or be particularly stealthy. We Paladins tend to be less sneaky and more fighty. Sorry."
Xenophon: Topaz Dragonborn Fighter (ixi's Dragon of Icespire Peak)
More
"Good." Mercy handed another sheet of parchment and her pen to Carrhae. "Write down everything. We're going to need a variety of talents. Including battle prowess." She smiled at the Paladin. "You've asked Sune to help me before. I've got a trick or two from Mask that can help you get past the sneaky bits."
Carrhae's never written a resume, but she gives it a shot
Xenophon: Topaz Dragonborn Fighter (ixi's Dragon of Icespire Peak)
More
(OOC: We’re just gonna say that everyone passes around the few pens we have and writes things down. Next few posts should be lists of abilities both in and out of combat. Especially looking forward to the little ninja’s list.)
Mercy’s list includes expertise in stealth, experience as a thief, crossbow training, thaumaturgy, guidance, mending, spare the dying, guiding bolt, inflict wounds, darkness, hellish rebuke, disguise self, charm person and Trickster’s Blessing.
After scribbling for a while on two sheets of parchment, Daewen places them on the table in front of the group, indicating that these are the maps of the main floor and lower dungeon of the monastery that she and Mercy explored:
Last to know and first to be blamed...
As a free action, can I regret my life choices?
Daewen then takes to filling out her Myers-Briggs Type Indicator personality inventory for Mercy:
Last to know and first to be blamed...
As a free action, can I regret my life choices?
(OOC: Merl’s update negated this one.)
I'm far more at ease in academia than adventure, but here goes nothing.
Hmmm. Trini taps her chin thoughtfully as she scribbles out things she can contribute to the group.
"All will become equal now" | "Cause we're going to shout it loud, even if our words seem meaningless. It's like we're carrying the weight of the world"
Zephyr taps the pen to his chin for a moment, then begins to write.
I like long walks on the beach and reading.I can be anyone you want me to be but better ;)This isn't that kinda thing? Oops.I think. I focus primarily on healing than anything else. Sometimes I hurt. Maybe I'll buff you.Remember the keep? All me, baby.Don't piss me off, I will leave you to die.Aeyd of the Dragons || Wood Elf / Way of the Ascendant Dragon Monk
Demetrios Zalaoras || Protector Aasimar / Paladin of Torm
Hawke || Kalashtar / Circle of the Moon Druid
Morticia || Half-Aasimar Rogue
Yvan || Goliath / Path of the Wild Soul Barbarian | Paladin of Helm
/ᐠ。ꞈ。ᐟ\
Mercy looked through the information the others presented, then passed the sheets to Daewen, indicating that they should all familiarize themselves with their teammates' skills. She turned to Zephyr. "I have a face for you to add to your repertoire, Zephyr. He's not the most pleasant, but I have a feeling it will be useful at some point." She cast Disguise Self, changing her appearance, attitude and voice to that of the lich they had encountered at the monastery. "I will remain as such for as long as it takes you to study the behavior and attitude." Turning to the others, she arched an eyebrow. "There is every likelihood the cultists have increased security measures since our last infiltration. We should stop the carriage far enough away to avoid being seen by any patrols. I would suggest approaching from one of the hills to get a better vantage. Afterward, we can set up ambushes against whatever guards are patrolling the outside. This will serve two purposes: first, to reduce the chances of being caught either entering or leaving; second, to prevent them the opportunity to strike with the magics they used to ambush the delegation. It goes without saying that it will be necessary to hide the bodies.
"The Trickster's Blessing will allow me to aid one of our less stealthy friends to be better hidden. I am inclined to use it to allow Carrhae to go with Daewen to scout ahead and make certain the path we took before is still safe to travel. I would like Carrhae taking point so that we can be certain the lich is still in his laboratory before we are too far in to find out we are wrong about that assumption. Strife, your abilities to improve the Dexterity of one member of our group and make another invisible will also be of use. I would suggest granting one of those boons to Trini, the other to Zephyr. The three of you will be best positioned in the middle of our group, close enough to the front to influence any threats into a nonthreatening state, far enough not to be in the immediate line of fire should that fail. I will take the rear guard, keeping my crossbow ready to protect us against any cultists who try to flank us."
She stopped talking for a moment, fighting the urge to show any discomfort with the role she was playing as the lich. "This is all, however, mere suggestion on my part. If any of you have any ideas to improve upon this plan, or another potential route we could take, please, speak up."
Daewen writes down on one of the scraps of paper: ‘Although the Lich is a worthy opponent, how do we handle the likely dozens and dozens of zealots who likely reside at the monastery? Don’t forget about the army we’ll be facing inside! I counted at least 30 attacker’s who backtracked back here.’
Last to know and first to be blamed...
As a free action, can I regret my life choices?
Hi Daewen, it's Strife! I'm using the Message cantrip to communicate directly to you via a whisper only you can hear. It grants you an ability to magically whisper something back, but it's not clear whether your situation precludes a response. So, just give it a try and let's see what happens!
Okay, now I'm going to have us experiment with how Detect Thoughts works, and this definitely does not require any speaking on your part. So now if I ask you a question like 'What's your favorite color?', I can get your answer immediately as you think it, no need for any writing. It's rather useful, is it not?
At some later point, I would love to have a conversation with you on the matter of death, as well as the nature of shadows. That will aid me in focusing my research in the most promising direction. Inspired by Zephyr, I'm working to unlock new powers related to disguise and impersonation.
I want to explain a couple things about Detect Thoughts. Though it is possible for me to probe deeper within your mind, to look beneath your surface thinking, that takes a bit of extra effort on my part. However, since I love ya and have no wish to intrude on your privacy, I'm never going to do so unless you ask me to. I am presently constrained to using this once per day, but it endures for up to a minute. So if you find yourself in a crucial situation where you need to quickly communicate with me, just point to the corner of your mouth and I will know to establish this link.
Switching out of whisper mode, Strife replied to Daewen in her ordinary voice so that the others would hear and possibly improve upon her answer.
"As for your urgent question about the large numbers of cultists, I believe we will be doing all we can to avoid stirring the hornet's nest, because you're right, that probably would signal our summons to appear before the magnificent Raven Queen, where we would have to concede we were a tad too reckless. To extend our opportunity to persist in this world, it will be important to prevent any of them from raising an alarm. This will probably necessitate us making use of spells like Hold Person or other powers that can enforce silence or prevent audible speech. Hopefully we then quickly neutralize that threat, or get a jump on running for our lives.
"Thus, the more stealth and sneak we manage to use, the less likely we are detected and forced to go to plan B. If we can locate and extract the missing people without a fight, just as you successfully did on our first trip, then that's really all we came for. I know that's not the most comforting of answers, and while I am a big proponent of our team, this mission has me plenty worried. So... we hope the awful vast hordes of wretched cultists can be bypassed, cuz magic, I think?
"Mercy, the fundamentals of your plan sound like the best way to move about once we are inside. I can only sustain one spell via concentration, and I think it's best to hold Invisibility in reserve. Let's wait and see what you and Daewen can discover about the outside guards, perhaps we will conclude another impersonation ruse is the best way through them. We hope to get in and out with as much speed as possible."
Having joined together once again for the purpose of tying up the loose ends of their original quest, the group resupplied in Waterdeep and then set out on the return trip to the Sumber Hills, now apprised of the rising threat that lurked therein. They timed their arrival at the outskirts of the monastery to occur late at night, and the rogue and ranger set out once again under the cover of darkness. Strife looked at her three remaining companions and blushed, her thoughts returning to her earlier misbehavior in the carriage. Knowing the solace of her pipe was forbidden only made it that much more appealing. Instead, she held hands with Zephyr and Carrhae, and clasped Trini in a tail shake, all of which gave her courage.