Once he has helped anyone that wants it, Jaryx will try to move along the base of the wall below Grea as she creeps toward the tower.
Arakan scrabbles up the wall not too far behind Grea, thankful that he didn't end up needing to ask for any help. Following her lead, he stays low behind what's left of the crenelations as they make for the door.
Jarred looks at the wall, then thinks better of it and sticks by Jaryx
Grea eases the door open just the bare minimum and, after looking around, squeezes inside.
Grea slips inside the tower. It is dark inside, and smells dry and dusty. Narrow shafts of sunlight enter through arrow slits.
Grea pads over to a window slit overlooking the bandit camp. She looks at the field of fire through the slit, but doesn't expect to see anything new at the camp yet.
Then she looks for the way up.
There are holes in the wall where a ladder might one have been attached leading up to a skylight where more light comes in, presumably where the trapdoor used to be in the roof.
Grea clambers up the wall. Her hands and feet easily find purchase in the old sockets for the wooden stairs. The trickiest part is the transition to the skylight where the sockets stop above the roof. She slows while she carefully searches for handholds in the rough stone. Then she's on the roof.
Grea scrambles out on the roof and drops down to look at the bandit camp.
Grea scrambles back down.
"Nothing new to see up there. Now what?"
Jaryx is still on the ground, but is near the base of the tower as the wall-sitters have moved there.
He looks at the other half-giant in his animal guise. "Camps always have critters come in, try to steal food. Maybe we be critters this time."
Arakan scowls at hearing the 'now what?' like it's starting to feel like his second name. He glances over the wall at the camp, back at the group, scowls even deeper. "We... we haunt them." He turns to Jareen, "Now, we know you can make someone unseen. We need someone that can also remain mostly unheard. Can you only ever disguise one person each time, or with more time here could you get more?" He looks at the path of the sun and twin moons, like it will tell him how much time they have to make this new plan work.
"We need to make them... fearful. We need them to want to abandon the prisoners, abandon the camp. We need trickery and guile. How do we do this beyond the old man's way of making us unseen?" He has a brief instance of insight, "Cahel, can you talk to the animals at all? Can you spook them while unseen?"
The saurian creature Cahel has become nods 'no' to the first question asked of him, and "yes" to the second.
Pursing his lips, his eyes almost dance as he thinks, "Well, I don't know if that helps. I think any of us could spook them unseen. I was hoping you had some animal trick up your sleeve. Okay, we need to find out who the best candidate is to sneak in there and rile up some fear. Also, I need some suggestions on what you think would spook them. What would spook you if you thought you were near a haunted ruins?"
"With a full night's worth of rest I could make 4 people invisible. I still can't do much about their sound, but we could cause distractions elsewhere to mask that. I would leave myself vulnerable though using almost all of my power in that way."
"It spooks Jaryx if things move that shouldn't move."
Arkan nods with the obvious thought from the half-giant, yes he figured moving stuff would be the standard. He waited for other ideas all the same, "If we can keep them focused on eerie things happening in the camp, they may not pay much attention to the missing raiders. If we can build up enough fear, paranoia, and anger tonight, it may be enough tomorrow that four of us under the guise of being unseen could wreak more havoc. It's likely to be a long con."
Looking at Jareen, he wonders, "Do you have any more tricks? Something we can use to go with our disruptions, to take some focus off of us, and add blame to someone or somewhere else? I can make things float around, small things. Cahel, you acting as some sort of common animal during the ruckus, could slip in unnoticed in other ways as well. Maybe investigate the prisoner situation and where and how they're all kept."
"Oh, I can do small things. Nothing that would stand up to a close inspection, but I can make strange noises a little way away, or lights dance and such like. I could also conjur a mist..... with lights and noises coming from it"
Arakan actually looks surprised, "Huh, didn't know you had any talents, but those sound like they could all possibly work." comes probably the highest praise the man has ever been willing to give the old guy.
Jareen just smiles. "But that does require a good 8 hours sleep and prep."
"It spooks Jaryx if things move that shouldn't move."
Good idea, Jaryx. That will help.
"I can move quietly and largely unseen, but not in a camp of so many. Someone would see me. "
If the others are willing, Great will watch. It's a hunter thing.
Morthak grits his teeth, restraining his impatience to attack his focus foes immediately.
Jaryx looks around for a shelter from the sun during the watching.
Arakan mulls for a bit, "Hey Jareen, if Grea is willing to scout, you said you could make at least one person unseen tonight, right? How long does it last? What do you say lady, you want to walk around inside for a bit?"
Grea watches from the tower while the others rest.
Later, she notices a small group of riders coming from the east. They head for the bandit camp and are met by a small group of mounted bandits. After a brief exchange, bandits and visitors enter the camp. After several hours they have still not emerged.
Arakan mulls for a bit, "Hey Jareen, if Grea is willing to scout, you said you could make at least one person unseen tonight, right? How long does it last? What do you say lady, you want to walk around inside for a bit?"
"I would do this."
*****
Great slides back down to the others.
"Their hunters are lazy. I can get into the camp. But I have come down because they have visitors. One is a richly dressed in blue."
Arakan takes the information Grea offers of the visitors, his mind spinning like he can do something with the information, but every word that comes to mind makes him sound like an idiot. He settles for an, "Ah ha, very interesting, they have rich allies it seems...." He just keeps nodding his head, mouth slightly slack-jawed, his eyes looking up in thought.
Then it hits him.
"It's a power struggle!" He says a bit louder than intended, before quickly clasping his own mouth, with wide eyes. "There are two rivals, maybe competing for favor, maybe each trying to enact some foul plan. The one had the kids, but someone from Tsalaxa has a deal with the raiders, and wants them as well. He orchestrated the caravan getting hit."
He nods a little pleased with himself, before realizing something more, "So, we still need those kids, and even worse we said we could help free your people. Grea, when you scout, three important details we need; the name of the visitor, the location of two kids possibly in their own cage, and lastly.... how the prisoners are kept locked up."
"The prisoners I can see. The kids I can see. But I can not see a name and I can not ask. How shall I discover this man's name?"
Arakan bristles whenever anyone gives him back the type of attitude he hands out regularly, especially someone new to him who hasn't really earned the right to snip at him like Jareen has. "Well, my dear, I don't portend to know all the details of the old man's talents, but I don't think you becoming unseen, makes you deaf. Maybe, while scouting, you could use more than your eyes, and try to listen to anyone speaking to him or about him. Or do your talents only lie with one sense at a time?"
Jaryx bristles at the half-elf's attitude toward Grea. Scowling, "You be nice. Maybe you go look yourself. Find own kids."
Arakan starts when the half-giant speaks so brusquely at him, and changes his tone to be more placating toward the obviously larger and physically imposing man. "Whoa, look I am stressed about this whole situation. I'm trying to ensure that we do what is best to get everyone home alive. With everyone looking to me for decisions, I have become tense. I am just trying to help her realize how to accomplish the task she volunteered to undertake."