Seeing Gianluca going after Cladissa's call, Thrassk decides to help finish off the archers upstairs. He bites the nearest one, trying to tear its head off.
Thrassk spits the crushed decapitated head onto the floor and his wings boom as he propels himself across the chamber.
”Keep the sloth alive, Thrassk!” Argor calls out, ”He won’t escape Justice that easily.”
The beast who is Grommesson roars and heads toward a conscious enemy. If there's a chandelier to swing upstairs, he will. Then, he slashes his enemy with his falchion.
Flying toward Cladissa and then right past her toward the sound of struggle, Gianluca calls out "Cladissa, what's going on here?"
Cladissa calls Gianluca back. ::Wait! We need to watch both entrances. I've conjured my black tentacles (gods, that sounds so dirty) -- wait, you weren't supposed to hear that, bloody telepathy. I plan to summon a nauseating bank of clouds in the room to keep them pacified. Don't charge in or you'll be subjected to my spells!::
Archers 16.1
Party 15.8
Red Raven Sloth 13
Worms 3.5
The blind archers claw at their eyes, unable to act effectively.
The archer in the pit wails piteously.
The remaining badly wounded archer shouts in fury at the three hulks surrounding him. "La révolution can not be killed, vous bâtards!" He draws a short sword from his side and slashes twice at Thrassk's scaled chest.
The group hears the sound of two loud explosions coming from the direction of Cladissa and the armory. Cladissa's voice rings loudly. "Fellas! I found some more bad guys!"
The Bralani shifts to physical form and drops to the ground, drawing his scimitar and moving up to the assassin that can still see.
Argor waves Adrenia off when she moves to heal him again, and points his staff towards the same assassin the Bralani is squared off against. The jewel glows red and pulses as five orbs of energy blast into the assassin.
Worried for Cladissa, Gianluca takes off flying in the direction of her voice. He flies off out of sight.
Seeing Gianluca going after Cladissa's call, Thrassk decides to help finish off the archers upstairs. He bites the nearest one, trying to tear its head off. Thrassk spits the crushed decapitated head onto the floor and his wings boom as he propels himself across the chamber.
”Keep the sloth alive, Thrassk!” Argor calls out, ”He won’t escape Justice that easily.”
Thrassk roars an acknowledgement.
The beast who is Grommesson roars and vaults across the balcony, bounding from the staircase. Then, he slashes an archer with his falchion, cleaving the man from sternum to crotch.
Argor can see the sloth continuing to make top sloth speed for the window.
================================
The remaining unblinded archer runs into the guest room, and out of sight. The one in the pit is still moaning quietly.
=========================================================================
=========================================================================
Cladissa/Gianluca 17
Scallywags 16.7
Gnomes 14
Elf 6
Flying toward Cladissa and then right past her toward the sound of struggle, Gianluca calls out "Cladissa, what's going on here?" The honeyed hand finds himself on the edge of a huge blinding cloud of swarming giant butterflies.
Cladissa calls Gianluca back. ::Wait! We need to watch both entrances. I've conjured my black tentacles (gods, that sounds so dirty) -- wait, you weren't supposed to hear that, bloody telepathy. I plan to summon a nauseating bank of clouds in the room to keep them pacified. Don't charge in or you'll be subjected to my spells!::
=============================================
The Bralani runs in after the fleeing archer, hopping on the bed and attacking from a higher vantage.
Argor sends another blast from his staff at the fleeing assassin.
The beast who is Grommesson steps toward the blind enemies. Then, he slashes his enemy with his falchion.
Cladissa follows up on her planned action. After making sure no one slips out the interior doors, she heads back into the courtyard to cast her spell. Inside the armory, a bank of noxious fumes fills the air.
Meanwhile, the tentacles keep squeezing and attacking those inside.
Cladissa sends to Gianluca, :I'm actually hurt pretty bad. Do you have any healing?::
Grommesson cuts down the archers next to him in two clean decapitating blows.
The window in the guest chamber is open, apparently the work of the fleeing assassin . The Bralani's blade and Argor's missiles wound the man, but not enough to keep him from stepping into the corner, before flinging the sloth out the open window. "Run free dear Raven!" he shouts.
Moments later Thrassk makes short work of the archer, gutting him with his claws.
Gianluca shakes his head. "When I give myself over to abandon in battle the healing power of Arshea sometimes washes over me and my allies.
"Sadly, no other form of passion or abandon seems to release the same healing waves." He smiles.
"But I can certainly watch here in case someone leaves your cloud while you go get Argor, and ask his familiar for healing."
Cladissa and Gianluca hear more screaming and the wet sounds of blades hacking flesh coming from within the armory. Moments later the screams die out in gurgles.
The remaining unblinded archer runs into the guest room, and out of sight. The one in the pit is still moaning quietly.
The Bralani runs in after the fleeing archer, hopping on the bed and attacking from a higher vantage. Argor sends another blast from his staff at the same fleeing man.
Grommesson cuts down the archers next to him in two clean decapitating blows.
The window in the guest chamber is open, apparently the work of the fleeing assassin. The Bralani's blade and Argor's missiles wound the man, but not enough to keep him from stepping into the corner, before flinging the sloth out the open window. "Run free, dear Raven!" he shouts.
Moments later Thrassk makes short work of the archer, gutting him with his claws.
Cladissa follows up on her planned action. After making sure no one slips out the interior doors, she heads back into the courtyard to cast her spell. Inside the armory, a bank of noxious fumes fills the air. Meanwhile, the tentacles keep squeezing and attacking those inside.
Cladissa sends to Gianluca, ::I'm actually hurt pretty bad. Do you have any healing?::
Gianluca shakes his head. "When I give myself over to abandon in battle the healing power of Arshea sometimes washes over me and my allies."
"Sadly, no other form of passion or abandon seems to release the same healing waves." He smiles. "But I can certainly watch here in case someone leaves your cloud while you go get Argor, and ask his familiar for healing."
Another female voice screaming and begging for her life emerges from chamber, only to be cut off by the meaty thwacks of arrows penetrating flesh.
The cloud of green billowing fog makes it impossible to see into the room, but the Pathfinders can hear wretching from multiple people.
================================
Party 17
Scallywags 16.7
Gnomes 14
Elf 6
"I'm willing to accept your surrender," Cladissa calls into the armory. "Please be clear, though, because it's hard to hear due to all the retching."
She casts cure light wounds on herself and stays ready to move in case someone frees themself. Cole remains alert and on guard watching the interior doors.
The tentacles continue to squeeze.
Argor commands the Bralani to retrieve the sloth and bring it back alive. He then turns to Thrassk and the apparently calm Grommesson, ”Let us go provide aid to Cladissa and Gianluca. This appears to be a multi-front attack.”
He then flies off in her direction, Adrenia at his side.
The beast who is Grommesson follows his master swinging gorilla style through the hallways.
"I'm willing to accept your surrender," Cladissa calls into the armory. "Please be clear, though, because it's hard to hear due to all the retching." She casts cure light wounds on herself and stays ready to move in case someone frees themself. Cole remains alert and on guard watching the interior doors. The tentacles continue to squeeze.
Argor commands the Bralani to retrieve the sloth and bring it back alive. It flies out the window of the guest room in search of the slow-mo animal.
He then turns to Thrassk and the apparently calm Grommesson, ”Let us go provide aid to Cladissa and Gianluca. This appears to be a multi-front attack.” He then flies off in her direction, Adrenia at his side.
The beast who is Grommesson follows his master swinging gorilla style through the hallways. Bound as he is to the floor and walls he doesn't get as far as Argor and Adrenia.
Gianluca maintains his readiness to attack any aggressors who emerge from the greenish fog, though how they would get through the spheres of force remains unclear.
Thrassk flies after his friends, catching up with Grommesson.
Galtan cursing drifts out of the fog as the cloud of magical butterflies fades away. Argor and Adrenia hear sounds of something slamming into the interior hallway doors, from inside the armory. Despite the noise, the doors remain closed and intact.
A moment later a louder thump comes from inside the doors. The doors continue to hold.
Horrible retching noises continue from at least two people within.
================================
Argor points to the door with the banging and says to Grommesson ”Watch there. If good people, protect them. If bad, defeat them.” He and Adrenia then fly on towards the open for. Once they see Cladissa, Adrenia moves to heal her as Argor takes stock of the situation.
__________
Grommesson nods and repeats to himself, if bad, smash.
Cladissa welcomes the healing, nodding in thanks to Adrenia.
"I have the room secured right now with both black tentacles and stinking cloud, but as you can hear, some are still active. Be warned, I think one of them has a wand of wonder."
The tentacles continue to squeeze.
Thrassk and Grommesson move into position near the hallway doors, Gianluca continues to watch the courtyard doors.
As puking continues within, Grommesson and Thrassk hear muffled voices. "1...2...3!"
A gnome sized boot bursts through the wooden door just below the handles. The doors slam open under the weight of two more masked skallywags, each holding bloodied short swords in their hands.
Beneath them on the floor lay the bodies of several female house servants, and just behind them writhes a bank of green fog shot through with hellish tentacles. Two more of the revolutionary assassins are being squeezed slowly to death just inside the edge of the tentacles. Their fronts are dripping with vomit.
================================
"More assassins trying to escape into the hall!!" Thrassk roars, before stepping up and attacking the gnome.
Thrassk rips the gnome into several chunks, flinging them against the walls and doorframe. The bloodrager is terrible to behold with his entire golden body dripping gore and fury.
Gianluca flies back toward Thrassk's warning and arrives just in time to see him sunder the gnome. "Ha! Well done. Allow me to take the next."
He makes one mighty swing at the scallywag just through the door.
___________
"They killed them!" Cladissa shrieks. "That was completely unnecessary! How dare they!"
Her fury is barely restrained when she realizes that the innocent servants were slaughtered.
She eyes the lone survivor who escaped with her icy tomb hex.
Gianluca cuts down another of the assassin's as Cladissa's hex entombs the other free one in ice.
Cladissa stands at the entrance fuming, listening to her tentacles constrict the foes within the armory.
Then a round later, the vapors dissipate, leaving the enemies nauseated for rounds more.
While they're nauseated, she throws some webbing at them.
By the time Cladissa's spells wear off, the elf is dead. The two assassins near the door are badly wounded, and the boys quickly finish them off. That leaves one of the gnome sabateurs and the frozen assassin alive.
The gnome throws down his weapons. "I surrender."
"At last. Turn around," Cladissa says as she approaches. She extends her spider legs and binds his hands first behind his back, then spins more thread around him until he is neatly cocooned with only his head showing.
"Now talk. Why attack us? What could you have possibly gained from all this death?" she snarls.
”Before we get to the interrogations,” Argor says, placing a calming hand on Cladissa’s shoulder, ”let us check on Osprey and Eliza, make certain they at least live before we start trying to determine who is guilty here. Then we can acquire the knowledge we seek in more secure environs.”
Gianluca nods, and shoulders the neatly packaged gnome, heading back to the main chamber.
Thrassk grabs the frozen assassin, dragging him along as well.
Back in the Great Room, the Pathfinders find Osprey clearing rubble away from Eliza, who pulls herself free and climbs shakily to her feet.
The bralani and sloth are nowhere to be seen.
Eliza glares at the gnomish prisoner. "What the hell happened?"
Osprey looks around. "Where is Hestram?"
The gnome laughs. "You traitors to the revolution got what was coming to you! Long live the Red Raven, viva la revolucion!"
Cladissa's mouth is tight as she shakes her head at Osprey's question. "The Red Raven was successful in that, at least."
She then steps forward and casts charm person on the gnome. "Don't be like that. I'm a long-lost daughter of Galt. Please, tell me why you felt these Pathfinders needed to die for the sake of the revolution."
"Nice try, freak. You can't take a gnome's mind so easily."
"Excussse me," Thrassk says.
He pads up to the gnome, blood still dripping from his snout. "Fighting makesss me hungry. You sssaw what I did to your friend. What makesss you think I won't do the sssame to you, who are without honor?"
Cladissa's eyes flash, thoroughly nonplussed by the fact that her spell did not take hold. "Suit yourself." She gestures to the more monstrous entities with her. "You may speak with them, then."
"I'm going to try to find the sloth.:: she relays to the others, then quickly moves to her room and tries to pick up the scent trail.
The gnome swallows unsteadily. "Fine, fine. I don't want to go the way Rhis did. The Red Raven had agents put into the household staff here weeks ago. Rhis and I were to wait for the attack and take whatever you brought to the armory with Cale the Calistrian...that's the elf you killed. The Raven was after someone called Adril Hestram, as revenge for the murder of Teppin Montrose. Montrose was a lord in over in Edme. The Raven was determined to find Montrose's killer...he talked with Montrose's spirit, and the ghost fingered Hestram. We know that Hestram's high up in your Society. He's been up to no good in the Maze of the Open Road, and that means this nest of vipers could not be allowed to flourish. We will not allow any threat to the Revolution to exist in Galt, and traitors to the cause deserve only death!"
Cladissa's eyes flash, thoroughly nonplussed by the fact that her spell did not take hold. "Suit yourself." She gestures to the more monstrous entities with her. "You may speak with them, then."
"I'm going to try to find the sloth.:: she relays to the others, then quickly moves to her room and tries to pick up the scent trail.
[dice=Survival]1d20+11
Cladissa follows the trail out the window and into the gardens surrounding the manor. The hedgerows and topiary increase in complexity towards the back of the manor, where the entrance to the Maze of the Open Road looms. She can see the bralani flying over the hedges, peering about as if searching for something.
Cladissa can follow the scent of the sloth into the shrubs. She gets to where the scent is strongest, but she cannot see the sloth.
::Cole!:: Cladissa shouts mentally.
Within a few moments, the sylvanshee arrives. He starts slinking around, calling out to the scared animal.
There is no answer to Cole's call. Cladissa knows that this sloth may be stuck with an animal's intelligence now, but it would retain whatever skills the Red Raven had as a man. Among them apparently a considerable talent for stealth.