"Well on the bright side it looks like Gorruum found out this place is trapped, so we should proceed with care! Natalie says looking over at the staircase.
Gorruum manages to hack the rest of the poison gas out of his lungs and finds that by taking shallower breaths, he seems to be able to lessen its effects.
"Heh. I like how you think..." Fhârn chuckles at Natalie. "It seems odd if the trap has laid dormant since the elves left this place, especially given the neighbours, so there might be someone or something residing in here still."
Gorruum takes a quick look at the stairs. "Tricky. Hide trap as something funny for hooms. Gorruum watch better for funny trap." The boggard starts up the stairs.
The stairs end in a circular room featuring wide windows draped with hanging vines that offer panoramic views of the keep’s overgrown courtyard and the forest beyond. An open circular skylight in the ceiling provides glimpses of the forest canopy overhead. The walls between the windows are carved with exquisite, delicate nature motifs highlighted in gold and silver leaf. A riot of flowers, plants, and bushes sprout from the thick loam that carpets the hall’s floor, as if one were walking in a fantastic glade elevated high above the forest floor.
Against one wall is a small wooden table with vines growing over it. A chair, almost throne like, sits with it's back next to a window. In it is seated an elvin woman. Her white hair flows down to match her long white dress. A crimson sash tied at her waist holds the dress closed. Emerald green eyes flicker to Gorruum as he ascends to the top of the steps. "Foul creature, why do you intrude upon my home? Begone back to your swamp..." She says in heavily accented common.
Natalie steps up behind Gorruum and talks to the women in elven
Trying to calm the woman
Gorruum listens to the woman and Natalie, struggling to understand anything, but finally blurts out "PAR LAY!"
"I am Ceilash'Na. You say you were attacked, yet it is you who have invaded my home, without permission, and when my retainers defended my demense, you killed one and severely wounded the other. I see no way in which you can claim to not be here to hurt me. You are obviously assassins and murders, grave robbers and outlaws." She says with a cold disdain in an oddly accented Elvish.
The woman responds to Natalie with a cold voice, and an utter lack of friendliness toward her or Gorruum.
Anastacia speaks no elvish, but she can tell that Natalie's efforts aren't going so well. "Not all of us came from a swamp."
"We are here to explore this region. Change is coming, we are harbingers of this change. It is fate that draws us to your door. Fate that forced our intrusion. We offer you a chance for peace, and shelter from the on coming change that will surely sweep this land."
Anastacia looks the elven woman straight in the eye.
"I beg you. Listen to our words, don't do anything rash, before you know our true quality. Hear us out, and then decide what is best for you. We are not here to intrude, but to protect and defend."
I can not say how sorry I am for the rash decision, but we weren't giving much of a choice then to defend against your defender.
Natalie bows deeply for the elven woman
"Those whom greet by the sword, die by the sword..." Fhârn quotes. He didn't have high hopes for this conversation, strange ladies living with quicklings and assassin vines seldom do, but ... Miracles do happen?
As the others speak, Wilhelm studies the woman, eyes glowing white. After a moment, he whispers to Natalie, "Can you translate that conversation? I'm loathe to jump in without knowing more about what was said. I gather she feels we invaded, despite the fact we were attacked without warning?"
Whispering to Wilhelm Natalie gives him the short version of the conversation: "Basicly she thinks we are here to hurt her. This whole ruin is her home, and those things which attacked us was her retrainers. I've tried to calm her by apologizing our actions."
EVIL! EVIL! ALERT ALERT! EVIL! EVIL!
As Wilhelm's eyes glow, the woman stands up and takes a step out from behind the table. She makes no overt signs of hostility, instead she begins to...
...sway and humm under her breath, dancing in a somewhat provocative way. Her body moving rythmically...
"You would cast spells on me, Paladin, in my own home? I see no reason to trust such a one who breaks courtesy so openly..."
Gorruum watches the woman sway for a moment almost getting caught up in her dance before thinking, First pointy ears tells Gorruum back to swamp. Now wants to dance nice. Wait...that not right.
Wilhelm breaks his gaze from the woman as she begins to dance, shaking off the mental torpor that had begun to overtake him. "Stop this! We are not here to hurt you. Your companions attacked us without warning when we entered the ruin and when there was little to indicate anyone was here. In our place, you would be similarly cautious."
For some reason Natalie seems rather interrested in the elf despite not knowing her at all.
"Subtle as a rhino Wilhelm why did... hmmm sounds good."
"No Ceilash'Na, I know to little of you, I will not succumb to your tricks!"
Anastacia stares, fascinated by the rhythmic pattern of the elvish woman's dance.
The entire floor of the room erupts into motion as the plants that grow there suddenly begin to move as well, as if in time to the woman's motions. But instead of swaying, they grasp and rip at the group.
Meanwhile, near Natalia, the vines against the wall suddenly move and the creature from the other tower steps out and slashes at her with a claw.
+
The elf man attacks Natalia again, with both claws this time.
+
+
The elf woman looks at Gorruum. "You, Creature, I suggest for your own safety that you should protect me by attacking anyone that doesn't surrender to me, or isn't already my ally..." Her eyes glow red for a second as she speaks in heavily accented common.
Then she moves toward Fharn, still dancing as she moves closer to him.
"Foul creature get away from me!
Natalie will try to feint the creature and then attack him once its her turn.
+
As the wounds burn, Natalie's muscles begin to contract in pain. The uncontrolled contractions make it harder and harder for her to move.
While the vines don't seem to get a hold of her, the combination of the woman's dancing, the vines, and the pain prove too much of a distraction as her blade goes wide, despite her having successfully bluffed the creature.
Gorruum quickly finds himself entangled in the vines. Swamp much better than forest. Too many vines.
"Anastacia, Natalie, Fharn, and Wilhelm surrender? Gorruum attack if no surrender."
Wilhelm is too busy shouting at the woman in an attempt at diplomacy that he is caught completely off guard by the vines. Shouting in alarm he tries in vain to break free.
Finding himself trapped, he looks at Gorruum in surprise. On a hunch, he focuses carefully, ignoring the distractions of the battlefield to cast a spell. He then attempts to touch Gorruum before the boggard can react. "Snap out of the haze, Gorruum. Help us against her!"
Gorruum looks confused for a moment, then his eyes refocus, "No. Should have surrendered."
Seeing Anastacia and Fhârn stand by passively, Gorruum turns to Wilhelm and with a sad look says simply, "Should have surrendered...should still surrender." before bringing his halberd down hard against the paladin. Perhaps due to the half-hearted nature of his attacks, Gorruum's blows strike wildly until his tongue manages to snake out and catch the paladin on the neck.
Plants near Natalie begin to move, and a heavy vine whips and attacks Wilhelm past Natalie!
However, while the vine makes a very loud racket as it clangs off Wilhelms's armor, it appears it didn't do any damage to the Paladin.
The confusion seems to be affecting the vine however, and this time it hits the wall next to Wilhelm.
The elf woman sidles up to Fharn, and even as she continues to dance, begins enfolding the man in her arms, her eyes inches from his. Her mouth opens wide, and large heavy fangs come into view.
The two begin to sway in a complicated and intricate, and somewhat provocative dance. However, she isn't quite able to grapple Fharn, who seems to be enjoying his dance.
Finally, the clawed man continues to attack Natalie.
However, he appears to be distracted by the elf woman's dance with Fharn.
Natalie dances around the vines like it isn't even there.
Natalie tries to hit the elfman again.
"Hey look over there!"
+
As Gorruum's awkward blows clang off his armor, Wilhelm reluctantly swings his blade up to free himself of his boggard companion's sticky tongue. "Snap out of it, friend! Parley!" Growling angrily as he continues to try to fight free of the vines, he calls on Iomedae's wrath against the elven woman.
Natalia manages to distract the clawed elf creature, but doesn't follow up on it beyond a good solid hit.
Wilhelm grunts tiredly and chops Gorruum's tongue, severing it and making the frog man grunt in pain (and getting blood on himself again).
The elf man claws at Natalie again.
The elf woman again attempts to grapple Fharn.
But again can't seem to get the dancing man to stand still long enough to get her arms around him.