"You'll all die screaming."
Tal'ariel was tempted to make him pay for that final remark, but controls herself. "A pity I can't offer you the same opportunity." Tal'ariel delivers a clean stroke across the bugbear's neck, sending his head rolling in the grass as the body collapses to the ground.
She wipes the sword clean and sheathes it in her most businesslike manner. "Let's go. We need to scout out this place if possible, and devise a rescue plan."
"As we approach, be on the lookout for any signs of energy damage. Rocks, trees, or corpses that were burned, blasted, frozen, or eroded. More than one dragon has learned the Disguise Self spell to trick would-be dragonslayers into defending against the wrong type of attack. We should keep an eye out for more certain evidence of its breath weapon."
Bran just eyes Iris as they continue onward, its not that he doesn't trust her but that cruelty mixed with childlike wonder was not what he expected. It appears expectation is the spouse of naiveté.
"Yeah I don't know what this Ozzy could be, but if we were to find out we could have a huge advantage. Those iceballs you fire could be very valuable or very unfortunate for us."
Iris smiles and hums happily to herself as she rides her ram at the head of the party. From time to time she dismounts, allowing her mount to rest. As she leads the ram, she skips along the trail singing and giggling. "I'll keep on the lookout for anything unusual."
You follow the road north until sometime past noon.
As you make your way round a bend, Zelligar and Tal'ariel both spot what looks like the very top of a pair of towers, up the road ahead. They quickly shoo the party into cover behind an oversize boulder, probably before whoever might be manning those towers spot them on the road.
The terrain is rough around here, there's almost no trees to speak of. The few that do grow here are stumpy, gnarly things, and sparse bushes. There's plenty of rocks and rising cliffs around though.
Tal'ariel assesses how easy or hard it would be to hide behind rocks and cliff faces to approach the towers, as well as how far the towers appear to be.
"Tal'ariel and Iris, do you wish to scout?
Or should we try to draw the enemy forces into an ambush? I would volunteer for decoy duty so that you may attack from hiding.
We could also have Iris try her goblin disguise."
You're about 400 feet out from the towers, you think. Looking at the landscape, you think you can spot an off-road route that'd let you get pretty close without chancing getting spotted. It involves a little bit of rock climbing, but nothing that'll be overly inconvenient.
Getting closer than say, a hundred feet without getting spotted involves moving from cover to cover. The towers have a good view of the area, so it'll be pretty difficult, but it might be doable. You'd have to get closer to judge it.
The environment seems clear of all kinds of elemental damage.
Tal'ariel peers out at the landscape before ducking back. She points at a rock off from the tower. "See that rock face there? There's a pretty safe path we could take without getting seen. But from there, the passage will be harder. First things first, let's get closer and find what we see. Then maybe Iris can scout ahead in disguise. Maybe she could lure them into opening the gates!"
"I am willing to try. I can be fairly inconspicuous.
I feel I should decide now to prepare my one remaining spell."
"Tal'ariel, would you suggest Prayer, Communal Resist Energy, Dispel Magic, or Bull's Strength?
I do have two single-target spells to ward against dragon breath."
"I'm not sure, your powers of magic far exceed mine." Tal'ariel hesitates, still having lingering doubts about her talents as a wizard. "But I suppose if we're truly fighting a dragon today, perhaps Communal Resist Energy might still be best? We will just all have to stand together before you use such a spell. Or perhaps the power to Dispel Magic so we can fight unhindered by enemy abjurations and illusions."
"If Iris is up to it, I think its worth a shot. At the very least we may understand more about our opponent." When he listens in on the two spellcasters talking he pipes up, "Shouldn't we worry about flames and acid and all of that? Can't say since the other day I've been able to look at fire without instinctively jumping."
Iris says, "Hey, did one of you remember to bring Wyrmmeister Koth's head? We could skin it and I could wear his face as part of my disguise. Ooh, but then I'd get all gross and bloody and probably vomit all over the tower gates. On second thought, no."
She takes Wyrmlord Koth's cloak from her saddlebags and wears it over her goblin armor. Then she dons her goblin mask. She waits for Zelligar to cast his protection spell and for everyone to be ready. Then she will cast disguise self on herself and sneak toward the gates with the intention of knocking on them.
(cast disguise self from scroll, DC 21)
(plus whatever circumstance bonuses she gets for wearing goblin armor, a goblin helmet, and Wyrmlord Koth's cloak.)
Zelligar will use Magical Epiphany to prepare Communal Resist Energy , but can't cast it until he knows what type of breath weapon the dragon has.
He also made sure to take Koth's head to prevent Speak With Dead.
"Okay, we'll sneak up on our side path. Iris, you take the direct route with that disguise!"
With the preparations set, Tal'ariel leads the way along the secluded path, to get as close as possible without traveling over exposed ground. Once there, she assesses the area as best as she can manage.
Iris says, "Okay. I'll see you guys in a few minutes. Be ready to storm through the gates once I get them open." She sneaks over near the main path, then steps onto it and approaches the towers in the typical goblin fashion.
Seeing that the Wyrmlord's head will not be needed as part of the disguise, Zelligar places it on the ground in a discreet location.
I didn't think that was really her plan. Magic is indeed a more elegant solution in this case.
Bran makes eye contact with the elf and halfling and gives one of those grins he is becoming known for.
His mind seems to be caught up in dragons and he doesn't keep much of a lookout; though the threat of a dragon keeps his profile low.
As the party crawls closer, more of the area comes into view.
The towers aren't actually part of a keep - as it turns out, you're looking at a wide gorge ahead of you, the hundred-feet gap spanned by a spindly-looking stone bridge. It looks 20 feet wide or so, and the bridgehead on each side flanked by a pair of tall, pentagonal stone towers.
You can see a guard posted on each of the four towers, as well as a green heap of scales curled up on top of the north-western tower.
A bunch of hide tents, as well as a large wooden cage are clustered near the northern edge of the gorge, mostly west of the bridge. You can vaguely spot some people moving about over there - probably not more than five hobgoblins - as well as some people stuck in the cage.
Finally, there's a hound curled up on each side of the bridge. You recognize the nearest one as a hellhound, just like the few you fought a couple days ago. The one further away is probably the same kind of beast, but you can't tell at this distance. It could just as well be a worg.
Dai and Lavinia: You've been held captives here for at least a few days or so. You were probably captured by raiders from the vanguard while they were scouting ahead, and brought back to this stronghold of theirs for safekeeping. Alternatively, you might have stumbled on the main force of the Red Hand by accident, near the border of Cheliax controlled territory.
Either way, you're in a bit of a sticky situation now. The hobgoblins keep you in a crudely constructed wooden cage. It isn't locked so much as the gate is lashed tight to the rest of the cage with knots of rope. The main barrier to leaving is the fact that there's always at least one hobgoblin actively standing watch over you, with at least one more sitting at the fireplace nearby, ready to take action if you act up in whatever manner.
Lavinia especially has had a rough time of it. They've figured out she's a spellcaster, so they have her wrists tied together, and keep her gagged at all times except when eating or drinking.
Aside from the two of you, there's three other prisoners. A young woman with dirty blond hair, a rugged looking balding man past his prime, and a slightly rotund man in his late twenties. There hasn't been much cause for talking to each other - the hobgoblins don't like it when you talk.
Lavinia's sprite has managed to locate your belongings - they've stored all of it in the hobgoblin leader's tent, just to the west of you.
Aside from that, you obviously know about the green dragon, which spends most of its time lounging in the sun on top of the tower nearest you. You also know about all the other inhabitants of the camp. There's nine hobgoblins all told, one of which appears to be the leader, and carries a crossbow instead of a longbow.
What does Zelligar know about green dragons?
Can he tell about how large this one might be?
Dai looks up at the guard who was left to watch over them. In his sleeve he can feel the handle of the dagger that he was able to palm before the hobgoblins took him prisoner. The poor gagged girl was also watching the guards and he could only imagine how she felt. He hoped that she was interested in escaping, but right now, under the nose of a great dragon was not the time. If only he had his bow.....
"Oh hell!" exclaims Iris under her breath, "Hounds!" She returns for Koth's head and rubs enough gore on her person to mask her scent. At least that is what she hopes she is doing. She cuts the head into two halves and carries both halves back to where she left the others. Then she springs out from behind the shrubbery and runs up to the first pair of towers shouting in goblin.
She tosses half of Koth's head to one side so that the hellhound will have to move out of her way to fetch it. If that works, she will use the same trick to get past the next hellhound.
Assuming that either Zelligar or Tal'ariel is able to identify green dragons as breathing acid, Zelligar will cast Communal Resist Energy (Acid; 10 pts) when Iris returns for the head, covering himself, Iris, and Tal'ariel.
"This will last for about fifteen minutes. Don't tarry too long."
He will cast Resist Energy (Fire; 10 pts) on himself and Barkskin (+2) and Protection From Energy (Acid; 60 pts) on Bran (both 50 minutes).
Saving Bless and Shield for when a fight is closer to starting, as well as Fly.
"Bran, I place my faith in you. Accept these gifts that you may face the beast on more equal terms."
"So what's the plan here? Do we wait for Iris to return?" As he says that the halfling returns and starts wiping herself with the blood of the bugbear, "Words of power I guess."
He feels the magic move over him, "This is for me? I'm glad you put your faith in me, and I won't let you or your gifts down, despite my inability to use them myself." He's not sure if the apology is respectful toward Nethys or not, but he tries to not stumble over it.
"We will take it down together. But first we need to find our way in, with minimal fuss."
Tal'ariel watches as Iris charges madly toward the bridge. "I think we wait for Iris to do something interesting, whatever it may be. Perhaps she can send some of their forces on a wild goose chase before our assault. When the moment to strike approaches, I will cause you to double in size, so that you might wrestle with the fearsome dragon!"
The guards on top of the nearest towers visibly startle as Iris appears from the bushes, fumbling with their bows. One of them blows a long note on his horn, while the other shouts down at her.
Goblin: "What're you on about? State your business!"
The hellhound throws itself at the offered snack without much question.
Iris bends and rests her hands on her knees breathing deeply in imitation of someone trying to catch their breath. After a few seconds, she stands up straight and shouts,
It's hard to make out their expressions, but one of them shouts down at you.
"Lord Ozzyrandon's in charge. Talk to him!"
The guards perked up a little bit after the first blow of the horn, but settled down again afterwards. For now, they're still hanging around near you.
Iris marches double time across the bridge. She throws the other half of Koth's head to the next hellhound.
As the lone halfling rounds the corner, she removes Koth's cloak and folds it so the symbol is visible and centered. She marches into the midst of the hobgoblin encampment extending her arm in salute and saying,
She climbs to the top of the tower, bows low to the wyrm, and says,
The dragon stirs from where it's been resting, the curled up tangle of limbs unfolding as it gets up and extends its head down to Iris' level, its emerald eyes roving over her from below.
"Kneel, little wretch, and pray that you have good reason to disturb me. I tend to important matters." it rumbles, seemingly annoyed.
"These adventurers. Describe them. Are they following you here?"
Iris falls to her hands and knees. Speaking to the floor, she responds to the dragon saying,
"And you did not think to spy on them, to figure out where they would go?" He pauses to think.
"No matter. I will take care of them myself."
Iris feels a rush of air over her back as the dragon lumbers over her to throw itself off of the tower, gaining altitude with powerful beats of its wings.
The part of the party still in hiding see it headed almost directly towards them, a hundred feet in the air. They have a few seconds before it will pass over their heads, enough time perhaps to hide themselves from being seen from above, or cast a spell in preparation of extremely imminent battle.
The hobgoblin guards stop whatever they're doing to stare as the dragon flies away.
Iris peeks as the dragon takes to the air. She prays that the others have hidden themselves well enough. When it reaches her party, while the guards are distracted, she rises and approaches the nearest guard to strike up a conversation with him.
Without waiting for a reply, in a blur of motion, she draws her rapier and stabs him in the chest. If this is enough to kill him, she swiftly moves to his side and holds him up as if nothing just happened. If he lives, she bewilders him .
(to disguise the fact that she is holding up a dead hobgoblin)
Zelligar uses Fly on Bran and shouts "The idiot goblin led us right to them!"
"It's time." Tal'ariel begins casting Enlarge Person on Bran when she sees the dragon take off.
"Its showtime! May this display of athleticism be the tool to liberation!"
He focuses on what he feels a dragon may move like, and air grapples a few time.
Voltron Bran
Fly
Martial Flexibility, Dedicated Adversary, 1/10 Rounds
Barkskin, +2 AC
Protection From Energy (Acid), 60/60
The other hobgoblin is just about to tell Iris off when she buries her blade in a gap in his armor. He'll probably bleed out eventually, but it's far from a killing blow, and it won't do much to stop him right now. He stares at her in open-mouthed disbelief.
"Ure!" (meaning "Large"). As the elf completes her lengthy chant, Bran's form seems to double in size.
A humanoid creature whose size increases to Large has a space of 10 feet and a natural reach of 10 feet. This spell does not change the target’s speed.
The elf then moves toward the bridge, drawing her sword.
"Traitor!" the hobgoblin that Iris stabbed belows, and tries to push the disguised halfling off the roof into the gorge below.
The hobgoblins on the ground grab their weapons and start looking around for enemies, as does the ones on top of the tower. One of them blow two long notes on his horn, warning the garrison that they're under attack, probably.
Their sergeant emerges from his tent, and grabs the standard that had been stuck in the ground outside it.
He does his best to push her back, but Iris ducks under the attempt as he comes at her, and pushes him over the edge with the tip of her rapier as he passes behind her. He screams while falling.
As the guards take their eyes off the prisoners, Dai moves up to the bound woman and, slipping the dagger from it's hiding place in his sleeve, cuts the bonds that held her hands and gagged her.
"Here, take this dagger and protect yourself and the other prisoners. I am going to try and get out of this cage."
So I want to see if he can jump out of the enclosure and perhaps kick the guard as he comes down, if possible.
Jump:
Jump breakdown - +11 for skill, +25 using 1Ki, +4 for speed - The result means I could clear a 10' high obstacle.
Bran enlarges in size and the brawler looks down at Tal'ariel and Zelligar. Staring at the dragon, he issues a silent challenge to himself and begins to ascend to the peak of the mountainside, hoping to get a clear shot at the creature if it approaches.
Unfamiliar with this new form of movement, Bran has trouble going straight up, and is forced to zig-zag along the mountainside instead to gain altitude.