Connak replies, "If it has to be 'NOW', then the 'WHERE' is obviously 'HERE'..."

Tink nods, "Agreed. This will probably be the best place to make our stand if we can get the dragon inside the builing that will take away their advantage of flight. If we had more time I would  suggest weakening the foundation, but that will take far too much time. So shall we make our preparations then?"

MInsys growls.  "We do it here!!!  I'll not wait longer with these words.  Action!  Let's do this!"

" Aye, thus 'tis here that all shall be decided..." Tabesha'l nods, facing her friends. " I daresay I had other plans for yon Wyrm, other than using my precious Arcane Abilities to merely save meself from its righteously furious jaws... but 'tis done as of now: Cryovain will soon discover he's been duped and come back here looking to exact revenge upon yours truly for daring to meddle with his Hunting Needs... !" 

She looks at Connak, then Tink, Minsys, and finally Vaxis in turn.

" Methinks I mayhaps have just presently become the Bait, yes ? Now... what shall we do to destroy the Threat of the Great White, once and for all ? I still do have magicks at mine own reach, yet our tactics must be sound if we art to see this day through undefeated, and living still !"

As the party seemingly comes to the conclusion that the time has come to make their final stand, Cryovain let's out a distinctive cry in the distance...one of battle. Tabesha'l can tell her spell is still active from the pull of her concentration, which she surmises to mean that the dragon is now fully engaged in combat with the phantasmal force she has created. She knows that they have only a few minutes more to take their positions, plan their strategy and make ready to fight the young white.

Tink calls Whisker to her side and prepares for battle. She checks her various vials, sprays and other concotions, taking stock of what she has left for their fight ahead.

"I have just enough left to make Minsys into Big Minsys once again if that is what we want. Alternatively I could save the juice to well enact an emergency rescue of one person if need be. What do you think I should do?"

Minsys calls out.  "Save it.  I want to smash him but it is waste if he hops away as I chase him."  He then moves himself to be in the middle of the room but just a bit further back than center.

"Alright. Well then friends. It looks like it is time for us to execute plan Dragon Extermination Silent Trap Rapid Orchestration Yellow (D.E.S.T.R.O.Y.). And if everything goes south, well it has been a pleasure getting to know you."

Connak speaks to Minsys from the hallway to the south, "You keep him busy.  I'll shoot him where it hurts."

Tabesha'l considers her surroundings and makes her way towards the secret passage to the north-eastern part of the great hall, calling back towards Connak:

" Methinks yonder passage leadeth us on the far side of said-arrow slits we saw on our way in, doeth it not ? Quite an advantageous position for our respective tactical choices, wouldn't thee agree, fair Thuniviel ?" She gives the wood elf a playful wave and a wink as she adds: " Now, if thou art willing to watch me try, I daresay I may be able to open this particular aperture, however I feel 'tis closer to thy particular set of skills... as we just agreed on a moment ago, did we not ?"

She suddenly grows serious as she muses, half to herself: " I daresay I could spread some arcane Grease upon the floor 'neath Cryovain's scaled feet as it rushes in, then lighting it on fire with a shower of Meteors should prove quite satisfactory, especially behind the cover of such thick walls... Mmmh yes, I do like that idea, quite a lot in fact !"

Pointing towards Minsys, she finally ask, with a bemused pout: " Is our friend truly intent of simply standing there in plain sight ? Mayhaps someone should warn him about the very real risk of being turned into frozen diner, as we witnessed outside with that poor girl ? No ?" then shrugging, " Well, at least it'll be a perfect decoy for our plan. Quite a large, muscular one, at that..."

Minsys grips his maul in both hands, poised and waiting.  He will prepare to rage the moment the dragon takes a hostile action towards him such as attack with melee or breath attack.

The distant cries of Cryovain fall silent after about half a minute and Tabesha'l can feel that her spell has been released from her concentration. 

Tabesha'l turns towards the rest of the group, tension etched on her alabaster features.

" It hath started: Cryovain has now seen through my illusions and we may be sure he shall be back here presently. Let us find our battle stations now, while we still can !"

With that, she makes a beeline for the secret door to the north-east, moving to reach the arrow slits on the other side.

Moving through the secret door, Tabesha'l finds the archers' annex. From her vantage point, she can see out of an arrow slit pointing eastward (with a clear view of the bridge and gatehouse) as well as through another slit to the south that ports into the entryway.

As silent as the grave, Cryovain soars to the bridge without flapping, executing a sharp pitch up at the last minute, destroying the lift beneath its wings just mere inches above the walkway. Gravity took over and set the dragon down without the slightest tremor or shudder, just as if a moth had landed upon a lantern. The dragon sniffs the air and then puts its nose to the ground, finding there the same scent...that of the young female elven wizard. A snarling smile opened across Cryovain's razor-sharp maw as if to indicate that the target had been acquired.

The rest of the dragon's body went into a low crawl - prowler mode - as Cryovain began to creep slowly towards the door of the main fortress.

Seeing Minsys set himself up to take on a young dragon, Connak shakes his head at the lack of fear and moves back around the corner to take cover.  He steadies his breathing and does his best to remain unnoticed by a dragon...

Stealth: 22

Vaxis sidles next to Minsys.

"We shall have to take the brunt of the dragons blows. I will try to get it to breath on me alone, and then you pummel it to the ground. I shall close your wounds as you get them. Tabesha'l, Connak, and Tink will need to stay out of the line of fire as much as possible. This is it. Good luck, friend Minsys."

Cryovain inches forward towards the main fortress...as the dragon crosses the bridge, it moves into a blind spot where Tabesha'l can't keep her line of sight, however Tink and W.H.I.S.K.E.R. can barely see the movement of white, slithering scales as they peer through the narrow cracks of the partially open doors.

Everything falls silent for just a moment as the party looks back and forth to one another. Then the inner entryway door slams closed with extreme force...the sound echoing off the mountains as if the fortress had exploded and Tabesha'l was at once surrounded by a bone-chilling wind that rushed through the southern arrow slit as Cryovain roared with anger from inside the entryway.

(OOC: the above narrative should not be confused with the dragon using its breath weapon...yet...)

The elven magus felt the chill of fear creeping into her very bones, but she knew this was nothing compared to what would happen if she actually found herself caught in that creature's draconic breath. She had a fleeting thought for those of her friends brave - or foolish - enough to stand their ground in the face of such a magnitude of power, and steeled her resolve: she'd reflected on a few ways to use her powers to hinder the dragon's movements and even if all her arcane knowledge felt like child's play when fighting an adversary such as this, she couldn't let her companions down.

She had to try.

Tabesha'l Pananthyr, cast-out heir of the Royal Marshalls of Quessel Tyrith, spurned lover and now somewhat reluctant dragon-hunter, braced herself as she gathered the Weave in preparation for her move while almost too scared to dare a longer peek through the arrow slit: what if Cryovain spotted her ? 

She couldn't afford to miss, or the cost would be great indeed...

As they make their final preparations, Tink's mind would be drawn to the potion from before. Digging through her pack she would retrieve the bottle of clear liquid. With time of the essence, she makes a quick sprint towards Vaxis and hands him the bottle.

"Take this. This may give you the edge you need for this."

Then Tink quick retreats to her hiding spot, from which she plans to snipe the dragon.