The small, thin voice of a shadow asks, "also, what do you know of this Celeena? She might have conspired with Cheliax against her father 10 years ago, especially if she kills for Cheliax now."
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Mattera clapped a meaty hand on the gnome's back in a friendly manner. "No need to flirt with the man's sister, Hrim. She likely knows just as little as this gentleman. As she came in later, I'm sure we'll be better off exploring our investigation in another direction." He felt like it had been a bit of a waste of time to come here, but he would rather be away to talk candidly. "Sorry for the waste of time." he told the man, and abruptly left.
Early the next morning, Mattera held off going to the kitchen due to the earnest conversation that was in there. It was probably best to let them work it out themselves, as they hadn't seen it necessary for someone to intervene, nor had they asked. But when business came for the Freaks, he followed along and listened to the pitch.
The tian remained expressionless throughout, trying to discern the subtleties of the mission. If Hrim was right, it's possible that the young girl was already dead and had been replaced with a demon, or compromised from an early age. Hopefully the vault would be heavily defended. "It's probably a trap. I'm okay with that."
When the messenger arrives, Cladissa reflexively activates the illusion of her former self. She quickly rushes back to her appointed room and gathers her adventuring gear, grateful for the familiar routine. It is interrupted as her old explorer's outfit again does not fit her new curves, but the magic in Hrim's sleeves rectifies that.
Once before Dreng, she listens attentively and considers the mission before them. "At least it's not the museum again," she mutters under her breath.
After getting serious, she starts, "Well, when we reach the vault, we will either find that we have arrived ahead of Celeena and can set an ambush, or we will be following her trail through the defenses and will have to deal with her forces where they've set themselves up. Although, as history time and again has shown, I'm sure we will once again be arriving after our adversary."
She sits and listens quietly to the answers to Argor's questions, then leans over to Hrim and Mettera. "How is Roald? Does he... know it was me?"
"If memory serves me accurately," Argor recollects, "and the rumors had more fact to them than fiction, the Decklands were in fact blackmailed into subservience by agents of Cheliax by threatening the young Celeena's life. Even so, betrayal of such important defensive secrets cannot be ignored, and the city's leadership was right to banish the family, for the safety of the rest of the citizens."
He looks to Dreng and asks, "Where, exactly, does this townhouse lie? The map doesn't note which district this abode lies within. Also, you mention she has 'forces' at her disposal. Can you clarify what you know of these?"
The small, thin voice of a shadow asks, "also, what do you know of this Celeena? She might have conspired with Cheliax against her father 10 years ago, especially if she kills for Cheliax now."
"No more than what Argor just told you, unfortunately," Dreng replies.
Turning to Argor he says, “The agents in Cheliax report that Celeena hired mercenaries from the Devil’s Claw Company, a mercenary organization of failed Hellknights."
"I'd like for us to try to subdue Celeena and bring her in alive," she tells the group. Then she turns to Dreng. "Is there a particular need to have her alive? In case it comes down to her or us?"
"I leave that decision in your capable hands. She has already murdered one of our own, so the Society won't shed any tears if she has to be put down. If you capture her and she faces the justice of a traitor's noose, that works for us as well. The only important thing is securing the defensive plans before they fall into the hands of House Thrune."
"But, those plans are ten years old, right? How could they be of practical use today? I'm surprised Cheliax still has designs on Absalom."
"Yes, it would be wise to try to apprehend Celeena rather than dispatch her, if possible. I, myself, have the means prepared to strip away any magical effects she may have about her person, but doing so will require me to hold much of my spellcasting potential in reserve for the encounter with her herself. Dreng, do you happen to be aware of her own capabilities? Is she a practitioner of any branch of magic, or a warrior?"
"But, those plans are ten years old, right? How could they be of practical use today? I'm surprised Cheliax still has designs on Absalom."
"The architecture of Absalom is ancient. There are lost tunnels below that, if known of by an enemy force, would spell disaster for the city. Everyone always has designs on Absalom. They do not call her the City at the Center of the World for nothing."
"Yes, it would be wise to try to apprehend Celeena rather than dispatch her, if possible. I, myself, have the means prepared to strip away any magical effects she may have about her person, but doing so will require me to hold much of my spellcasting potential in reserve for the encounter with her herself. Dreng, do you happen to be aware of her own capabilities? Is she a practitioner of any branch of magic, or a warrior?"
[dice=Knowledge (Local?) on the Devil's Claw Company]1d20 + 10
"I am not aware of her capabilities."
"Very well. I have no further questions and would like to get underway."
She waits for the others to finish up their questions and then gets up to leave.
As they set out, Cladissa brings up her own mage armor around her. If Argor looks at her about giving her darkvision, she shakes her head. "I already have it."
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Discreetly wispering back to Cladissa, "He's quite unaware" before the meeting ends, he also gets up and gets ready to go. "It's been a while since I've beaten some humility into some Cheliaxian heads. Failed Hellknights aren't quite as good as the real thing, but I'll be glad to test their mettle."
"For all intents and purposes, I think we should postulate forthright that combat is to be expected...even assumed. Mr. Black, would you like to be enlarged prior to entering the structure, assuming it appears large enough to handle a creature of such magnitude?"
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"I suppose it would depend on the amount of subtlety you desire. Hrim might be excellent at sneaking and reconnaissance, but it may be less useful to us if I'm pounding the floor with excessively heavy boots. I personally don't mind having them all rush us, but I don't want to keep everyone from using their abilities to their fullest. If you deem it fine, then by all means."
Cladissa breathes a sigh of relief at Mettera's news. "That's a relief."
Back to the business at hand, she looks over to the patch of shadow she suspects to be Hrimnagel. "It's usually worked out well to have Hrim scout first. Perhaps he can advise us when it would be prudent to enlarge Mr. Black," she offers.
She herself tugs at her chin nervously, unsure of her new abilities and if they will help or hinder the group.
"Of course, I'll take point. Let's find a place close by where you can wait for me. Give me a couple of minutes before you come in after me." A shadow replies.
Nyug pays attention to Dreng at first, but then pulls out a sheath of papers and begins scribbling in the back of the room as the others talk to the venture captain writing alchemical formulae, scratching them out, and then writing more. "Yes yes, very important mission, of course...it's just that I was right in the middle of an experiment and, well, you have to understand that fresh chimera bile only lasts for so long and it's quite difficult to come by and...anyway, what's done is done. Let's get off to find these papers then."
As they get within a minute of the designated house, the Transmogrifying Lotus uses two of his alchemical allocation extracts, together with his potion of Greater Magic Fang and Barkskin. He'll await outside while Hrim scouts, ready to drink his mutagen if there appears to be a need to go inside.
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The tian nods to Hrim as the gnome heads in. "Two minutes then." 119, 118, 117,
Mattera nodds to Argor. "At your leisure, sir." 111, 110, 109,
"If it's up to me," the metal blooded man said as he looked up at Nyug and brandished his starmetal club. "We'll have you home in about an hour. Hopefully it wouldn't have spoiled by then." 94, 93, 92,
Sitting on the corner of a quiet street, the red brick Deckland townhouse melds in with the middle class buildings in this portion of Absalom. A small, flickering candle can be seen through a barred window on the building’s west side and a single door can be seen on the building’s south face.
Hrimnagel glides through the door, floating over a tripstring attached to a bell which he easily spots spanning the doorway. He is standing in a short hallway, with a T shaped intersection at the end. He hears voices arguing over a card game coming from the left side doorway (where the candlelight was seen from without).
Cladissa's illusion fades by the time they reach the townhouse and she doesn't bother to bring it back up. Her demonic appearance may turn out to be useful in the fight ahead, she considers. How would failed Hellknights respond to her looking this way? She's not sure of the answer, but something inside her wants to find out.
While the Pathfinders wait outside for Hrim to do his scouting, Cladissa takes a sharp breath as she remembers something. Mettera and Nyugusk suddenly hear her voice in their heads, ::I almost forgot; I can do this now. I don't know if it was the formula or the demons that did this; the gods know they were in my head enough it could be either one. If you think hard back I can hear you, too::
Before Mattera reaches zero, a small, thin voice interrupts his mental counting, "alright, we have a clear central hallway 25 feet long and 5 feet wide. 20 feet away from the front door there are two openings on either side into rooms 10 feet wide and the length of the house. On the right side, there's a bed, crates and stuff. On the left side, there are three playing cards in plate armor: a bad dwarf, a b***thface, and a guy in a helmet. The bad dwarf is sitting in front of the window right there, so watch yourselves. B***thface is in front of the opening, so it'll be tight for anyone giant-sized. They think a tripwire attached to a bell at the front door will be a sufficient guard. I also could not detect any magical auras anywhere. How do you want to handle them?"
"I wonder if we can deal with them quietly," she says softly. "I can put one or more of them to sleep. I can't move as stealthily as I used to, but I haven't forgotten entirely how, either. Argor or Hrim, can you put the lights out and make it fully dark in there?"
Rutai grins. "You could just slumber one or more of them through the window, then take off your top. When they come around the corner they'll be distracted long enough for you to put them to sleep. Then we can tie them up and sell them into slavery!"
Cole arches an eyebrow disdainfully at the fiend's words, rubbing against Cladissa's leg. ::Barbarian!:: he thinks at her.
Argor holds up a hand to silence Rutai, "Despite Rutai's attempt at humor, he makes a strong point. Does a pane of glass hinder your ability to force someone to sleep?" he asks quietly.
Cladissa folds her arms protectively across her chest as she scowls at the imp. She forces down her anger which threatened to bubble to the surface, before she gave in to an outburst that would alert the guards.
She then channels her disgust into sarcasm, breathily cooing, "Oh, Rutai! Such sage counsel! Perhaps I should just walk around naked all the time, so we'll always have the advantage?"
Argor goes through the motion of snapping his fingers between Cladissa and Rutai before chiding in a whisper, "Focus! Enough with the nonsense. Cladissa, your hexes. Will they or will they not work through the glass?"
She glares fiercely at Argor. For a moment she considers continuing the argument, for fear that if she doesn't, these comments will keep coming. Cladissa seethes as she meets his eyes.
::Reign in your imp, wizard::
After a tense moment, she releases her breath slowly and relaxes. "I don't think so, unless there are some panes missing from the window, but I'll try."
She makes two more preparations, casting see invisibility and using the sleeves to turn her clothes into a black bodice-style dress while using her illusion hex to erase her demonic features.
After one more silencing glare at Argor and Rutai, she moves to outside the window and tries to put the dwarf asleep.
Then, mindful of the trip line, she moves inside.
I don't know if a glass pane blocks line of effect since it can be seen through. "Barrier" seems to be walls and such.
Anyway, let me know how you rule, either whether the glass doesn't block it, or there's a pane or two broken out that lets the hex through.
Line of Effect: A line of effect is a straight, unblocked path that indicates what a spell can affect. A line of effect is canceled by a solid barrier. It's like line of sight for ranged weapons, except that it's not blocked by fog, darkness, and other factors that limit normal sight.You must have a clear line of effect to any target that you cast a spell on or to any space in which you wish to create an effect. You must have a clear line of effect to the point of origin of any spell you cast.
An otherwise solid barrier with a hole of at least 1 square foot through it does not block a spell's line of effect. Such an opening means that the 5-foot length of wall containing the hole is no longer considered a barrier for purposes of a spell's line of effect.
"What's the plan? I'm sure Mr. Black can knock out the windows for you, but we should be ready to rush the house when they break." a small, thin voice offers from a shadow.
Seeing her start to enter without him, he hustles to the front door to get in front of her, then slows down to sneak speed inside the hallway.
::I'm going to try to prove Rutai right:: she broadcasts to Hrim and the others.
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Mattera sighed audibly at the unprofessional bickering. "Why base a plan on on unproved strategy when a normal one will suffice. I'll block the door, Nyug can back me up with his long arm, Hrim can attack from range from without or within, since they won't be able to see him anyway and the two of you can hit them with your magic from range. Breaking a window isn't going to be any quieter than just taking them out, and if we spend any more time talking, we're more likely to try to kill each other than accomplish our objective. That's not to mention the kind of reputation we'll get if this kind of tactic gets out."
The tian steps into the room also mindful of the tripline and walks up to the door as Cladissa prepares her hex, rotating the tetsubo in his hand. "So." He began toward the room full of mercenaries. "Are you the special kind of incompetent, or just the regular kind?"
As they begin to enter, Argor quietly conjures a protective shielding in front of him that quickly fades from sight. He then follows behind the others, ready to intervene if the Warriors prove unable to handle the thugs.
Rutai uses one of his wands that hang strapped between his wings like greatswords and, after a moments scowling silently, enhances the groups prowess before fading from sight at his master's side.
::'Prove Rutai right?' What does that mean?:: Instinctively thinks back for the first time experiencing Cladissa's telepathy. His mental voice is louder and deeper than his actual voice.
Cladissa throws herself against the wall and gapes as Mettera strides past and initiates combat.
In the pause before everything erupts, she thinks bitterly back at Hrim, ::It meant that Rutai has decided that my new role is to be a distraction. As if all my other abilities are no longer of value; only my appearance::
Dwarf falls asleep
Helmet falls asleep.
Confused, the woman gets up from the table and goes to peer through the window into the alley. She sees Cladissa and the others, and turns back, rushing to get out to the alley.
Cladissa readies for the woman to round the corner, and....
The wanna-be hellknight faceplants on the cobblestones as she too falls asleep.
Argor nods at the success of Cladissa's hexes. "Well done, Cladissa. Gentlemen, bind and gag them and let's get them back inside. Then we can either proceed, or interrogate these slumbering fools for what they know of what lies ahead," Argor says as he folds his arms and cautious steps inside, taking in the interior.
The final room of the townhouse was once the bedroom , but has been used as a storage room for many years. Boxes and barrels fill several sections of the walls, and cheap rugs cover the floor. One of the crates is currently laid out in the center of the room as a makeshift table. A trapdoor leading down currently stands open in the corner.
It happened in a rush, but her slumber hex seemed as powerful as ever. She breathes a sigh of relief.
::Thanks, Hrim::
Cladissa looks down at her outfit, her cheeks color, and then she reshapes them back to their original look. He's right. I almost let myself be goaded into doing something rash, she realizes. She steps back from Nyug and Mettera as they bind the guards, folds her arms, and keeps her hand over her face to hide her embarrassment.
"Thanks Cladissa. That was fast. Give me two more minutes down the trapdoor to scout." Hrim flies down the trapdoor concentrating on Detect Magic.
Hrimnagel floats silently down along the ladder. There is a small, stuffy square room which was cut from the building’s stone foundation. The room’s east wall features a large stone mosaic of stone that shows several faceless people worshipping at the top, and others being condemned at the bottom, with no figures in the middle pattern. The mosaic contains a set of three identical circular indentations: one set within the top section, one in the empty center, and another set within the bottom section. Illuminating the room are two lit torches in sconces on the north and south walls.