"Well, there's the guards down below, you've probably met them..." Mierul replies, speaking rapidly. "Usually there's a lot more of them, but most of them are out and about, and I don't know when they'll be back. There's a troll, too, if you missed that..."
Before she can say more, the door opens, revealing an Ulfen woman in a loose-fitting robe, with an axe and a very large sword on her belt. Her eyes narrow as she takes in the sight in front of her.
"What's going on here?" she demands as she begins to draw her sword.
"Who are you?" Kazmir returns boldly, wondering just what he was getting himself into. Besides him Bizzk shrieks at the Ulfen woman.
"Captain Orlov," the woman replies, drawing out her two-handed sword. She levels it, point-first, at Kazmir. "And you are intruders here. Drop your weapons!"
Kazmir inwardly sighs, how many people did this place hold? Still, at least this 'Captain' seemed slightly more honorable.
'Sorry, we can't do that."
Kazmir shoots a Mudball at Orlov.
[spoiler=If the mudball hits, the target is blinded. Each round at the beginning of its turn, a creature blinded by this spell can attempt a Reflex saving throw to shake off the mud, ending the effect. The mudball can also be wiped off by the creature affected by it or by a creature adjacent to the creature affected by it as a standard action.[/spoiler]
As it hits, Bizzk moves forward to attack.
Orlov cries out in dismay as the mud splatters over her face. Mierul, meanwhile, steps back and re-summons her blade of flame.
Nadya steps up and fires another arrow at Mierul, trying to finish her off.
The arrow scratches her, but doesn't seriously injure her.
Orlov tries to wipe the mud from her eyes with her left hand.
She only succeeds in smearing it around more, though.
Bizzk screeches and attacks the blinded Orlov.
Kazmir pulls out his sling and throws a stone at Mirul shouting, "You break your surrender?'
Blind, the guard captain can hardly avoid Bizzk's beak. She grunts as he draws blood, but doesn't seem seriously injured.
Mierul snarls and moves back forward. "Were you too stupid to recognize playing for time?" She slashes at Bizzk again.
Again her blade both burns and freezes the bird.
Nadya fires another arrow at Mierul.
It skips off of the bard's armor.
Orlov continues trying to clear her eyes.
But Kazmir's spell struck well, and it resists her efforts.
"It is a trick that only works once." Kazmir says coldly.
Bizzk attacks the still blind Orlov.
Mierul staggers a bit as Kazmir's sling bullet hit her. She's bleeding freely now. She glances back and forth at her three opponents, then steps back, opens the doors and runs through them.
Bizzk's beak strikes some kind of barrier around the guard captain (Mage Armor). Nadya fires on her, as well.
She manages to draw some blood with her arrow, though not too much.
Captain Orlov continues trying to get the mud out of her face.
But somehow it still sticks in place.
"Give up, Captain and we will let you live!" Kazmir says, although he has little faith it'll work this time. Unlike Mierul, Orlov seems a born fighter. Reluctantly, he pulls out a bottle of alchemists fire and holds it in his hand. He is loath to burn a human alive, but if he must...
Bizzk bites at the blinded fighter.
Bizzk's beak strikes a solid blow, and Captian Orlov grunts in pain.
Nadya fires as well.
Her arrow also pierces the captain's flesh.
"Not likely," the guard captain says, giving up on the mud for now and swinging blindly at Bizzk.
She gets a lucky hit on the poor heron.
Kazmir winces at Bizzk's loud pained squawk and instantly casts a spell to help.
Some of Bizzk's wounds heal, feathers covering the ragged slash marks and he attacks again with re-newed vigor.
Nadya keeps firing.
But she aims to far to the side, trying to avoid Bizzk, and misses entirely.
The guard captain spends drops her sword for a moment and scrubs at her eyes with both hands, finally clearing them. Then she quickly bends down and picks her blade back up. Just then a heavy book flies at the back of her head.
She cries out in surprise as it whacks her, and looks frantically around for a source.
Kazmir hefts the fire, 'Surrender or I will burn you alive, Captain!"
Bizzk bites the distracted Orlov.
Kazmir thinks he hears a familiar, small voice shouting something from the other room, but he can't make it out very well. Bizzk's beak hits, and Nadya keeps up her barrage of arrows.
But she completely fumbles the shot.
Captain Orlov glares at something behind her, but turns and slashes at Bizzk again. "There will be no surrender!"
She strikes home, more than undoing the healing Kazmir had done.
Another book comes flying at her.
But it misses this time.
'Very well." Kazmir says with a voice like ice.
Despite being wounded Bizzk scores a hit, but a small one.
Battered, shot, burned, and bitten, Captain Orlov staggers, then falls, the stench of her burning flesh filling the hallway.
A moment later Hatch walks up behind her, shaking a tiny fist. "That will teach you not to mistreat houseguests!" he shrilly shouts.
"Hatch!" Kazmir says, in a tone of surprise and concern. "You could have gotten hurt!" Then he grins, "But thank you, we needed it."
The druid looks past Orlov's smoking body into the room.
"Hah! They never saw me!" Hatch boasts in reply.
The room beyond looks like a small library of some sort. A book lies open on a table not far from the door, while bookcases line the walls. A small archway leads into a space crowded with more bookcases.
They are pressed for time but...Kazmir rushes in and takes a peek at the open book.
It looks like a history of Irrisen--this part is talking about a battle between a White Witch and a white dragon.
The Witch wins, obviously.
From down the hall, Kazmir hears, "Spiral downward to the ground, every inch and every pound!"
Nadya curses in her native language and fires an arrow, then shakes her head.
"Is Mierul!" she exclaims. "She has gone back down!"
Kazmir curses and whirls around. People were getting away and here he was thumbing a book! he slams the tome and runs back intot he hall.
Even as he jumps over Orlvo's body he pauses, "First, check her! Maybe she has a key or something we need." With speed Kazmir searches the burnt body of the captain.
Kazmir looks over the fallen guard captain and finds--in addition to a finely crafted greatsword and throwing axe (both masterwork)-three potions, a dagger, a magic cloak, a key, and an odd little ice sculpture of a raven.
"Oh!" Hatch exclaims at seeing the raven sculpture. "That is a teleporter key! You can use it even if Radosek turns off the teleporters, though that one only goes up to the aerie."
"Right." he picks up all the items hurridly, "Let us see if the teleporter to Nazheena's chambers is still working. I doubt it, but it is worth a try."
Nadya frowns. "I not liking the idea of soldiers coming up behind as we find Radosek."
"The teleporters won't work if the other end has something on it!" Hatch pipes up. He giggles. "It was always funny to see Radosek looking around for who was blocking it after standing on it for a few minutes."
Kazmir turns to Nadya, "What soldiers? Do you want to explore this whole floor first? I am out of spells, if it comes to a fight...." The dwarf didn't like admitting he was powerless but now was not the time to hold back.
"The barracks are down on first floor, yes?" Nadya replies. "Where Mierul go, yes? What if she tell soldiers in them we are here?"
'What do you propose instead Nadya?" Kazmir asks, honestly curious. Perhaps his head-long charges was making things worse, not better.
Here Hatch pipes up before Nadya can speak. "If we drag chairs over the teleporters, the soldiers from below couldn't come up!"
He laughs gleefully. "They could recite the poems all day and nothing would happen!"
Nadya seems surprised, but after a moment's thought nods in agreement.
Kazmir nods, having just thought of the same thing. 'Quick, let us block the upward teleporters!"
Togetehr they stack chairs, books and other items on the teleporters leading back downstairs.
Nadya works on one while Kazmir works on the other. Soon enough the little niches are nicely blocked off.
The ulfen woman nods firmly at Kazmir. "There. Is better. No soldiers coming up."
Kazmir looks around, 'Hatch, there is no other way? Do we have time to look around this floor in case we missed something?"
Hatch nods. "That's the only way up from below! As long as there's no one on this floor who comes and moves things, no one will come up behind us!"
[/ooc]
The hallway outside of the library is silent and empty. Two doors open off the south wall--bedrooms, according to Hatch.
Carefully Kazmir crosses the hallway to bedroom closest to the window. If the door is locked, he moves on. If not, he looks inside, Bizzk behind him.
Kazmir opens the bedroom door... and finds Lady Argentea sitting in front of a mirror in the bedroom.
She turns to Kazmir with a startled gasp. "Who are you?" she asks, voice trembling a bit.
The dwarf pauses before saying anything. Why did she not recognize him? Was this a trick of some type?
"Do you not know me, Lady Argenta?" Kazmir lets his face be seen more clearly.