Moving over to the dark warrior, the witch places her hands against the hook wound, the same feeling flowing through Sunday.
Warily watching her, then her hand, Sunday twitches at the sensation as he's healed, shivers running up his spine.
"Thanks..."
Elisai looks up at her friendly witch, noticing the healing taking place. If it's not too much to ask, could you do me as well?" She asks, indicating her wounds.
Delendir somehow gets frozen when the group starts to raise the voice "Erm... yes, I suppose we need a plan! Just wanted to got them by surprise!"
The half-elf then starts to laugh at Yavenee's comment and looks at arm and arm for his scars.
"The porch seems like a solid start if nothing else" comments Delendir, bow at the ready while the team heals up and plans.
Ragnhildr tries to suppress the shudder she feels as Yanavee works her magic. A moment later, though she's biting back a surprised yelp as her ribs miraculously knit themselves back together.
"Well, it feels like their back in the right place," she mutters with a pained grin.
"No, I don't thing the porch would be a good idea, then. One squeaky board and we're all in trouble," she says after Del mentions his planned route into the house.
"Let's see if there's another door or a window we can hop in through. Preferably one in the back."
"Of course" Yavenee says with a smile, reaching out to touch Elisai's wounds, the same eerie chill passing through the battle singer.
"I can fix that. A spell that renders the area silent, absorbing all sound. The danger is that none of us who need our voices for our magics would be able until clear of it or I dispelled it." Yavenee says. "But for our warriors to quickly break through the doors, it would provide a silent entry."
"Cast it on a moveable object then, like a rock we can throw away later", Elisai offers casually. "We don't want a silent effect ruining Grace's music".
The diva leaves the healing for the witch and saves her own spells for later.
"They know we are here." Grace points out the obvious. "Either this mysterious mother is preparing for us or she is watching us. Or someone is, anyway. Should we check the outlying buildings to be sure we won't be ambushed before entering the farm house?"
"Yeah, want to start with the barn?"
Krysta, remaining in her real form for now, listened to the discussion intently holding so still she looked like a statue as opposed to a living thing. She finally spoke up and said, "I think the barn is the next best place to look. It could hold the most enemies and I think we'd be better off dealing with them before we go into the house where they could fall on us from behind. Before we all go in there though let me burrow beneath and try to figure out how many might be in there first." Without waiting for a reply Krysta quickly began to dig and it didn't take more than six seconds before she was out of sight below ground and her tunnel had closed up behind her leaving not a trace of it's existence.
A few minutes later Krysta returned, bursting up from the ground with little warning and looked at them as she said, "There seem to be eight total creatures in there of the right size, five in the front section that move around regularly and three towards the back that don't move much. It might be best to try and set the barn on fire, burn them out, or alive, either works." The dragon, it seemed, had a vicious streak in her nature.
"Works for me." Sunday replied with glee.
Krysta contemplated further on what she had sensed and finally said, "I don't believe that there was any livestock there and in the front only one was big enough to be an ogre. I think it's likely those in the front are enemies but those in the back could be captives." She cocked her head to one side, "Maybe burning them out isn't the best option after all." Resting her head on her fore legs where they stuck up out of the ground she said, "I could go up from below into the back section to see what is in there, if they're captives I can protect them from those in the front while the rest of you attack them, or get them out if you want to just burn it down."
Sunday just shrugs, though he preferred the option of burning it down.
"Burn... the farm... down...?" the idea seems to astonish Delendir while images of his own farm burned down by the giants spring into his head "I should be desiring to return the fire to them, damn it, for what I know they might had been the ones that burned my own farm!"
"Yet the idea seems too evil in my head. Just imagine your home on flames, everything lost. Without even the opportunity of a noble combat... without the opportunity to look at your enemies eyes... an tell..." the half-elf rejects with his head "I am not a rat like the ones that burned my farm, the ones that took Amira from my side. We do not even have any reason to kill these people for other than they are giants"
"I say, we go there, we see what is going on, and only then we fight or we leave things as they are" he clenches his bow strongly "But no flames, please friends, no more flames..."
Arcing one crystaline eyebrow at the half-elf Krysta said, "I see I struck a nerve, and I was only suggesting the barn, not the house." Her expression shifted to what could only be one of annoyance as she said, "When dealing with monsters using fire isn't evil, it's expedient and the only good that every came from giving an enemy the chance to fight back is the chance to get yourself killed." She sighed, it was a ringing sound not unlike her breath attack was, though far quieter, and said, "With the possibility that there might be captives in there I don't think burning is good now either. Do you want me to burrow into the area where the sedentary things are or not?"
"Until we know where the prisoners are we can't risk a fire." Grace says, not turning the idea out of hand. "Krysta, if you can scout for us and find the prisoners... see if they are those still ones, we would very much appreciate it darling."
Ragnhildr is quiet throughout the debate and focuses on the fight to come.
"Yet the idea seems too evil in my head. Just imagine your home on flames, everything lost.""I don't have to imagine that at all."
"But no flames, please friends, no more flames..."
Sunday just stares at the Half-Elf.
So Delendir's biggest lost was due to fire. Something to remember should they find themselves surrounded by flames, trauma could do strange things to a person.
"When Krista has scouted, I will imbue a rock with silence as Elisai suggest before we approach"
Nodding in acceptance of the mission Krysta burrowed back below and made her way to the barn once more. She went to the area where the sedentary creatures were and chose a spot well away from them to burrow through. She made a hole just big enough to look out through, careful not to make it one that might be immediately obvious to anyone inside, and peered out to see what she could see.
In the center of the room three ogrekin, all males, appear to be playing some game involving small skulls. They shout jeers and insults at each other while they take turns rolling the skulls among themselves.
A large web takes up the southern wall in which a huge spider is currently resting. This towering spider is the size of an elephant. Its legs have spiky joints and its face looks vaguely, but disturbingly, humanoid.
Her reconnaissance completed Krysta backed up and burrowed back to her companions to report. She popped up behind them and stuck her head out of the ground, shaking it and sending a spray of dirt and rock from her gleaming hide, "There are two levels to the barn. First is s catwalk twenty feet above the ground, at the Northeast and Southeast corners of the catwalk it widens into a ten by ten platform that are makeshift cages with mostly empty, and bloody, manacles. In the southeast cage there are three ill looking men, probably starved, held captive. On the ground are three ogrekin playing some game with skulls and a lot of thick webs leading into the ground. There is a big spider with a strange, humanoid face with spiky joints along the southern wall. It's much bigger than I am and looks vicious." She looked at Shelelu and said, "If you want I think I can fly you up to the catwalk once we go in."
Shalelu considers Krysta's statement and nods in agreement. "That works, but what method of entry shall we take? Are we attempting to bypass the larger front room and enter directly into the rear? While I don't doubt we can dispatch the ogrekin, I'm consider about this large spider. Will this hinder us? If we are not careful we could face all of the creatures from both rooms simultaneously and that sounds like a rather bad idea to me."
"Can either of you use that quiet magic again?" Sunday asks he turns to Grace and Yavenee. "You could cast it on an arrow and plink one of the brutes, drawing them and cutting down on others showing up to help."
"Three human... we must help them..." comments Delendir "If we found a rear entry we should exploit it. Otherwise the front shall do it. And yes, if we can avoid mingling with the spider, all the better" the ranger makes an 'iuck' face of distaste at the thought of a spider with a human face.
Shalelu considers, "What about an entry from above?" but shakes her head in dismissal. "Too cumbersome. Whatever we do, we mustn't risk harm to the prisoners. We need to do everything possible to ensure they are rescued without further harm." Desperately attempting to contain herself, it doesn't take a trained eye to tell that Shalelu is keenly interested in the three captives inside that barm.
"I could district the ogres while the rest of you go after the prisoners." Sunday offers.
Krysta pulled herself from her hole and said, "I think between Shallelu and myself we can keep the things from getting to the prisoners. It will be up to the rest of you to deal with the things on the ground."
"What if we could punch a hole in the back where the spider was," Ragnhildr asks, "we could kill it, and the trollkin would have to fight through the webs to get to us."
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Elisai tries to offer her suggestion as to how to handle the battle. "I don't think taking down a giant spider is going to be easy, and I'd prefer safeguarding the hostages first. I'd prefer no more than two people going after the spider - gang up on it, draw its focus, frustrate it, while the rest of us eliminate the ogrekin and save the hostages before following up on the spider. In the interests of balance, I'd prefer people who prefer range go after the ogrekin - since immediately after we eliminate them they can follow up on the spider without having to move - while more close ranged enemies can really get up into the spiders face. Still, I'm open to suggestions."
"I can cast the spell of silence again to cover our approach and dismiss it since the battle has started so as not to inhibit our spellcasting or Grace's music." Yavenee offers in response to Sunday's question.
"If you cast it on me you wouldn't have to dismiss it. I like the quiet."
"But it would also affect everyone within about 8 paces in every direction." the witch points out.
"Can you not make it smaller? If not I could just stay on the side of the ogres away from everyone."
Krysta glared at the obtuse barbarian a moment and said cuttingly, "And just how will you benefit from her inspiration if you can't hear her?" She shook her head and said, "No, the silence is good going in but needs to go once the fighting starts. Even if you keep on the far side of the ogres from the rest of us anyone going in to attack them in close quarters will still be in the affected area."
Sunday shrugs at the dragon. "Fine. I still like the quiet though."
"Do we have someway of putting them to sleep? We could just take the sword to them then," Ragnhildr asks.
"Sleep I am unable to do, but I can render them blind or completely immobile." Yavenee offers.
"Want to lead with that and pick them apart from afar?" Sunday asks to no one in particular
"I like Elisai's tactic" comments Delendir as he starts preparing his best giant-hunting arrows "You know my clan was know for giant-hunting. Those ogres will have a terrible day for slaving free varisians"
"Blind and deaf will work, and I can hit them from as far as any of you can with a bow," Ragnhildr says, "Although, we need someone to flush them out."
"On it." Sunday simply says as he walks over to the Ogre's corpse and begins hacking at its neck until the head is free.
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"Crude, but probably effective" Yavenee mutters.
"Moreso," he pauses as he pries the head free, "if they're related, which they probably are."
Gripping the hairs of the head in one hand he walks back over to the group. "Ready when you guys are."