"Hm... It would seem that I humorously underestimated the size of my boat, or perhaps disastrously overestimated the size of your horses."
Euphemia grins but starts as the hedgehog makes what seems to be a derisive snort in the back of her shirt, from which it emerges, damp from Dogtongue's efforts.
"But... I suppose Dogtongue's right. One isn't better than the other."
Two leaders... Please speak of these.
"Oh...darkfolk... They're a queer sort of folk from beneath the earth, I think... They wear dark clothes, are dirty, and abhor light... Hence the name."
She turns her gaze to Gerard.
"A brawny forester type with enormous axes and a halfling caster...? They're not the same, of course, that sentence was badly formulated. The former is a human, the latter is a halfling, and-"
Mistress, if you weren't going to give it all away to Dogtongue, why give information to strangers?! They could simply murder us and take the boat!
She goes silent, as if slapped by an invisible guardian on the hand.
Andrea sits up. A halfing caster? Excuse me for not introducing myself earlier, I am Andrea. I work in Westcrown and have been contacted along with my friends that The Mother of Flies wishes to see us.
No time for pleasantries. Tell me everything.. Gerard becomes keenly intense.
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"Hello, Andrea." the witch responds, relatively certain she should know the name... but Andrea is a common name... isn't it? Arg, why didn't she pay attention to this sort of thing? "I assumed as much. What did they offer you, anyway? Plunder, blood...? Or are you after some stupid boon?! It isn't worth it, you know, and-!"
She looks to Gerard, visage changing.
"By Kurgess's rippling biceps, how do I know you're not going to kill me when I'm of no use?! I know who led you here! Damned if there isn't at least one pleasantry exchanged so I know who to haunt!"
"Okay, mistress, you've now reached the other extreme... Calmate, calllmate... Also, you meant to say 'whom' to haunt.
I WILL OMIT THE 'M' IF I SO CHOOSE!
No conscience, haunting is a waste of time.
We need to get to HER, that means through THEM... Tell me everything. NOW!
Information. The Mother is the enemy of a group called The Council of Thieves and the Drovange family and has offered us information about them. Since we lack a good lead on ending this threat against us, we accepted Dogtongue's offer to travel to her and learn hat she knows.
If she is under attack again, we best hurry.
*splash....splash...splash* as Dogtongue rushes toward the other bank.
Gerard reaches for a vial from his pack... downing it.
"I'M YELLING TOO! LOOK HOW SERIOUS I AM, BIG MAN?! How about 'no'? Not until I have a name and a promise not to kill me and take my stuff? Oh, and to spare Frank. But I'll let you cover it in one, single, 'We won't hurt you and my name is <insert here>'. It will literally take three seconds."
The detailed response from Andrea calms her down a bit, and the witch is already rowing for the other shore with the adventurers in tow.
"The hag can take care of herself for three seconds, and if I get that promise, I'll tell you on the way... Heck, maybe I'll even give you a hand. As long as you aren't the damned looking for a dark answer to your filthy desires... Those sorts come round here more often than you think."
A few minutes later you reach the other bank and the anxious fey is nearly as red as his cap, "Must get movin', hurry now." With that he is in a full run weaving and ducking around various game paths.
You know you lose power in your ultimatum if you're already rowing, right, mistress?
I promise not to hurt you or Frank. May Calistria hear my oath.
Daniel dismounts and flashes his customary smile.
Forgive my friends pressing, but our need is urgent. I would normally not deal with one such a Dogtongue, but The Enemy of My Enemy is my Friend. Or for now it seems. Tales of the Mother are childrens stories of a horror in the woods. But a far off one. A war is brewing between the houses and the Council of Thieves and a Balor runs free. If she can help us I must put aside my reservation for the greater good.
I am Daniel Arrisen, well met.
He pulls his horse onto the large craft.
Meeting her eyes.
I'll work with a devil, but I don't make deals with them. Keep your precious information. Il find a way to kill them without you.. Gerard spits out of the boat.
Andrea just sighs. We should try to kill these leaders first if possible. If there are a large number of creatures, we will be overwhelmed.
Mistress, I believe the spitter might look better with rabbit features... Oh, but you've seriously put us in a precarious position. The hedgehog saunters off of the witch hesitantly, but puffs itself up in front of her to form a protective barrier between her and Gerard.
He'll have to get through me, though. Or maybe the others. They don't seem half bad.
Euphemia blushes a little bit at the paladin's comportment, though she bites her lips with reference to the Mother of Flies being just a fairy tale. She finally loses all color in her face with the reference to a balor on the loose. She loses pretty much all of her fighting spirit at this remark, too, and doesn't even have anything inside her eyes but fear when Gerard attempts to stare her down.
Stand down, Frank! We don't just use that spell callously on anyone who annoys us, and you know it... Besides, if they're fighting against a balor...
"Balor." she deadpans, now staring into space through Gerard's head as her hands row robotically. "But of course. It had to be a balor, didn't it...?"
And lo, did the encapsulator state, that ye, who has entered into the pact of power with me, shall fight pure wickedness in all forms it presents itself in, or be wracked by thine own conscience, knowing all will perish in the wake of brimstone and fire, for Asmodeus cares not for the mortals or their hubris... nor the Abyss for its charge...
Gerard dismisses the witch and her rodent, to go stand at the prow, looking forward.
Wait.. Andrea frantically waves to Daniel. There is no Balor Daniel! No BALOR AT ALL!
Please excuse my friend here, I am sure he is just exagerating things. There are devils about in Cheliax but a Balor? Hardly.
Daniel nods to Una's Wisdom, and looks to the girl again.
I am sorry, I am a veteran of the Worldwound and still have demons on the brain. It is not a demon. It is a Pit Fiend. One who has been released from a pact. Though, for now, his actions are restrained and not directed at us. No, we work to free the Night in westcrown from the threat of the Shadowbeasts. Dangerous yes, but the threat justifies the sacrifice my allies and I make. You sit before the Brotherhood of Westcrown, bringers of light to the dark. Please, I beg for your knowledge of the threat ahead. We must reach the Mother. You needn't involve yourself beyond that. But I hope your heart can open your mind to speak of the threat. I am a Paladin of the Inheritor, protecting my friends is a duty I hold most sacred. Please.
She is still obviously terrified, but Euphemia tries to noodle this through.
Ah... Paladin, now that's a safeword. Hodge-podge sticks up the asses they might possess be disregarded, they rather mean well. But a pit fiend is hardly better...
-from what I know of it.
...wait... the Brotherhood of Westcrown?!..Oh, &*$%#mumble@#@tape from#$#$*()space%@*($##! Rance told me about these people! Paragons of good, I believe. Gah! I must have seemed like such an ass!
"Ngh. Sorry, then, I had no idea! How bad was the destruction, directed at you or not?! This threat is chump change in contrast to a pit fiend and the entire infestation of Westcrown! Three score of humans, two dozen ogres, a few hill giants, and more than thirty but probably less than forty dogs are nothing to those! Gah! Rance, you better have not been anywhere near its manifestation point, running in these circles!"
You just vomited all that out in one go, mistress? Color me impressed. Still, I suppose we were a bit hasty. Now we have to go and hunt a pit fiend, of all things. Oh, well, at least it isn't a balor.
The hedgehog backs down and begins to sniff at Andrea, as if trying to ascertain exactly what she is comprised of.
Best ingratiate yourself to these folk. It was your intention to join them, anyway, right? Do some good and fight that 'pure evil' bit to allow the spread of joy and hope? Even if you do have to help that horrible woman in the process...
Rance?
The destruction as due to the idiot of a mayor not making sure that the place where the Pit Fiend dwelled was well maintained. So there was an explosion that would have loosed a very angry Pit Fiend upon Westcrown, but there was an.. agreement, that it would not devestate the city.
Those are indeed sizable forces, we might need to use hit and run attacks to cut their numbers.
Andrea smells of a fresh bath to Frank. She does look a bit gaunt, as if she hasn't beeen eating enough for a while.
Magic could help considerably. Too bad we don't have your friend Faelyn with us. A conjurer or Evoker is a boon against larger forces.
And we will need to hit thier own wizard hard and fast. The longer he has to prepare his defense and cast his magics the more difficult it will become. What we need is either a battle mage or a means to get past all thier numbers and hit the leaders before the chaff know what happened.
Battle plans run through Daniel's head, thier current roster was great for fighting equal numbers or even better in confined spaces, but this was a very large enemy if the girls numbers were correct.
You said it was a seige. Perhaps we could penetrate thier guard invisibly at night and finish the leaders when the majority are sleeping. Risky, but less so than full battle against such a force...
The paladin’s mind whirled.
I have summoning magic prepared that can call creatures to serve as flankers and additional forces. As for the halfing, if he is the same on we encountered before, he has the ability to call forth an expanding cloud of poison and pummel an area with ice. I have a spell that calls a wall of wind that can help protect us and Orsin here has some scrolls that can disperse it.
We do have magic availble that can cast destructive light in a wide radius, but the area is huge and would probably catch us as well. We can also send shafts of light to cut through a narrower area.
"Did you know that Dark Folk often explode upon death? Maybe, if they're spread out as such, you could use that. Which would be best, as those creatures can see through any darkness. I don't think they would sleep by night."
Euphemia takes a deep breath.
"I'm no evoker, but I can help with your number problem, I think. I can bring forth vicious insects,tentacles, webs, rains of ash and frogs, and eerie mists. Not to mention that the hag has other forces. If we could gather them, perhaps... Not to mention if it is that halfling that is your greatest fear, I could-Well, Frank has been complaining about being lonely..."
If they are sensitive to light, we have that covered and can hopefuly blind large numbers. Are you talking about using magic to charm the halfing?
Throwing them into a panic would work, by using Confusion magic, mists and swarms. We can also look into trying to rally the Mother's forces.
"Oh no, Andrea, I meant that I would hedgehogify the little man. My charm spells are for the weak-minded grunts of any given force. Though the dark folk are sensitive to light, yes."
Before you even start, know that hedgehogify is a word. I made it up.
"I do agree with Sir Daniel's previous statement, though... Having Faelyn here would definitely improve our chances, if all my brother's boasting is true. Do you have a way of contacting him and bringing him here?"
That is not how a word is made, mistress. Please stop making them up and using such blatant sentence fragments.
1d20+3
Daniel nods to Una's Wisdom, and looks to the girl again.
I am sorry, I am a veteran of the Worldwound and still have demons on the brain. It is not a demon. It is a Pit Fiend.
As talk of tactics befalls the group, Orsin begins rummaging through the scrolls in his handy haversack. Mumbling audibly, "...two clarion signals...one field of tentacles...one storm of ice...one sheet of fire...one poisonous cloud...and one silent illusion." Lips pursed, the Pathfinder twitches his nose in thought. "It's an arsenal, but a small one at that. Most of the other scrolls in here are divination or unbewitchi- uh, abjuration magic..."
"I'm sorry, I'm no Faelyn..." he sighs.
I believe Faelyn is unavailable for this mission.
Gerard and Lucrezia here are skilled at stealth, but I am very wary about sending them off deep into enemy forces.
As you get out of the boat you senses tingle unless this mangled mess of woods and swamp opens up, you know your bow will be of little use with the limited LOS.
The redcap moves quick through the brush and and the game trails. Oddly, he does not leave traces of his steps as he passes. "Hurry."
Your knowledge planes results regarding a Pit Fiend:
They have pair of gigantic, flame-seared wings and eyes smoldering like embers give this towering devil a truly horrific appearance. Pit Fiends tend to be the most powerful devils, often the leaders and generals within Hell's army. The most powerful once become Lords or Dukes and rule portions of the Nine Hells.
Pit Fiends are masters at using fire and poison for their own purpose and are resistant to spells, acid, and cold. There massive physical presence and strength is further enhanced by their wicked spell repertoire.
In melee they can fight with weapon, or any of their natural attacks which include claws, bite, wings and tail slap.
As you count the heroes in front of you one Pit fiend could easily hit each of these people and yourself in a single full attack - if you all were within his melee range.
Here is a general default description of the ground:
The land around you consists of mangled birch, cedar, white pine, and occasional willow trees. The ground rolls into hillock and there are exceptionally thick thorny thickets throughout the area. The ground itself is moist and there are are numerous puddles of water that give way to bogs. There is thin gaseous smell of methane and peat but this increases in intensity. This is difficult terrain to cross.
Gerard and Lucrezia here are skilled at stealth, but I am very wary about sending them off deep into enemy forces.
Mistress, I could...
The hedgehog makes a few quiet chittering sounds.
Don't you dare, Frank. All it would take is one errant boot or someone getting hungry enough to overlook the spines. Euphemia chitters back.
"In my opinion, I think we should target the little halfling caster the second we see that little bastard. Assuming it is the same one, we definitely have a score to settle with him for Grimm."
Lucrezia will offer Euphemia her hand to shake and introduce herself. "Nice to meet you, my name is Lucrezia. As long as you don't try to kill me or my friends, I won't try to kill you or Frank. I think that sounds like a fair deal."
Euphemia returns the shake as the group nears the shore in the swan boat. Her hands are sweaty, though.
"A pleasure, Lucrezia. I trust you on this. So, if you're Lucrezia, one of the two remaining gents must be Gerard... And I think you're supposed to have a famous bard in your ranks? Orsin, right.. I didn't see which one you pointed to? Oh, and if you don't mind my asking, what's this about a score?"
---
Once on the shore, Euphemia makes to follow after Dogtongue. She doubts he would run into the main forces proper right away.
"There are lots of little ways through this place. Why don't we all go together quietly?
I am ready to go. Andrea follows.