Using his longspear Caesare looks at the person for two seconds before trying to trip him.
Risbeth seems to be talking, or laughing, or both, as she whirls around and around the man. She dances to one side, to leave Ceasare a clearer attack route, and then pummels the man again!
Caesare trips Estovion in silence, giving Risbeth the opportunity to pound him into unconsciousness!
Risbeth searches the man, and if he's still alive, ties him up with whatever rope can be found, or his own clothes if need be. She strips him before tying him up to ensure he has no hidden knives or other things on him to free himself.
Risbeth also notices a few other things in the room. The surgical tools in the room are all made of solid silver, and the entire collection is worth 3,000 gp. A casual search of the room discovers a locked iron strongbox (Caesare can pop this easily). Stashed inside are a wand of spider climb with 34 charges and three wooden scroll cases decorated with fragile, colorful moth wings, preserved with unguent of timelessness. One scroll case contains pages of faded notes taken from the Desnan priest’s ancient journals, which provide a harrowing account of the priest’s attempts to cure his son of lycanthropy, as described on page 34. The second case holds an ancient scroll containing a communion ritual tat can be performed atop Highthrone (area E8) to activate the Dusk Moth. The third and final scroll case holds a scroll of remove disease (CL 12th).
The priest tried everything he could to save his son. He imprisoned his son in a secret chamber beneath the temple and conducted experiments upon him, desperate to reverse the curse. When his research failed to yield positive results, these experiments turned dark and terrible. The priest developed a serum from his son’s blood that he used to infect his congregation with lycanthropy in order to study the disease’s effects. Over the generations, these afflicted werewolves’ offspring became natural werewolves, and their descendents now hunt the Shudderwood as the Mordrinacht tribe. When the temple fell to the armies of the Whispering Tyrant, consumed in mysterious pillars of white fire, death transformed the cleric’s wretched son into the undead vilkacis. The Stairs of the Moon was soon abandoned, and its memory wiped from the world at large.
Risbeth glances through the notes about the priest and his son, says a few pithy things that aren't heard thanks to the silence spell, and then hands the scroll to the Professor to keep and have something to read on bathroom breaks.
Once the man is looted, the prof is seen shuffling through the spellbook of Estovion, mumbling in a corner. "Oh, very interesting! Wait, why did he wrote this? It's not academic at all!"
A moment later, he's back to the party and looks at all the things in the room.
"Wow that's a lot of tools! Should we take some to fight the werewolf?"
Risbeth looks at the professor as he tries to say something in the silence field, and then points to her ear, and shakes her head, shrugging.
Sonny drops the silence field and says, "As fun as that was I think we do need to be able to hear each other. I didn't want him escaping or using his magic after the last time we faced him. We'll need to keep that trick in mind for the future, though I can't do it again today."
After reading the diary Sonny shivers. "That man went to any lengths to save his son. And it wasn't a good place. This ritual from the other tube may come in useful though."
Risbeth looks at Sonny quizzically, and says something back, but no words come out of her mouth. She shakes her head again and points to her ear again, obviously beginning to get a bit impatient about the silence.
Sonny laughs at Risbeth's antics. "Nice try at humor my dear but I dropped the silence so I know you heard me. Shall we pick up the items here and look at the other room."
"Yes, yes, let's proceed forward, folks!" says the prof, eager to learn new spells once the day will be over.
Satisfied that these rooms are bare, you head upwards, climbing the stairs. Broken columns line the perimeter of the flat roof of the low,
trapezoidal building adjoining the observatory tower. Exposed to the elements, the floor has suffered from years of weathering, and wide cracks now run across the surface, but a faded mosaic of a giant butterfly can still be made out in the shadow of the observatory tower.
However, as you step onto the broad flat area, a crossbow bolt thunks into the ground at your feet. Four humanoid figures crouch, their crossbows raised and aim at you.
"No further, interlopers. No further or you die."'
The prof looks around nervously, trying to identify the persons in front of him. He nods at Sonny, as if he was waiting for the aasimar to settle the problem in a diplomatic way. He says timidly
"Listen, we are not here to trespass... Errrm... your lair. We come peacefully."
"Then leave... peacefully."
"We will. But before we leave, could we ask you one question? Could you help us... help us prevent any more unnecessary bloodshed instigated by a common vile enemy of booth sides?"
Risbeth steps forward, and bows, one fist inside the palm of her other hand.
"This one cannot leave, without dishonor. This one promised to accompany an Alpha and assist with dealing with the humans and wolves who plotted to take the Heart of Rule without honor and via magic and trickery. We have killed the human Estovian, and destroyed his cursed magic. This one must inform the Alpha Vollensag that the deed is done... Unless of course, you are Silverhide?"
As she speaks in a barking growling tone, she raises an eyebrow at Caesare, and her opened palm curls down, until both fists are pressed hard against each other, as she does before she prepares to hit something, perhaps hinting that she may be ready to hit something if she doesn't like the response...
The last bit is aimed at his companions, who grin and raise their crossbows.
Round 1:
Risbeth, Professor, Caesare, Sonny
Foes
"They are allies of the murderer, time to clean up the garbage..."
"Mangy coyote offspring..."
Risbeth spits out an insult in Wolf and leaps into motion, charging down the nearest wolfman...
...and charges forward, slamming a foot into the wolfman...
The prof concentrates as the party's opponents take an offensive stance. He says some arcane word, beginning to cast a summoning spell.
"Λετ μονκις ραιν!"
Bump for Sonny and Caesare!
Sonny calls upon Sarenrae to aid Caesare in his fight.
and +1 morale bonus on attack rolls and saves against fear effects for 8 minutes.
Drinking another elexier Caesare gets longer arms and is ready for the enemy.
Risbeth launches forward, her feet smashing the werewolf backwards, his head hitting the ground with a wet crack!
The professor begins to cast, which Sonny buffs Caesare and Caesare drinks a potion that causes his arms to lengthen!
With a cry of alarm, two of the crossbow wielding weres fire at Risbeth!
for damage!
for damage!
The third's cry turns to a growl as he shifts and changes! He shifts quickly, becoming a wolf-man in a second. He howls and seems to ready himself for battle, drawing his sword!
Risbeth makes a rude comment in Wolf about puppies with toys they don't know how to use as the cross-bow bolts miss her by a wide margin.
Then she leaps into motion again, charging down the shifted wolfman
...and charges forward, slamming a foot into the wolfman...
A very big cat appears behind the first crossbow man.
"Kitty, be gentle and tear this person to limbs, thank you." calmly asks the prof, pointing at different parts of the body to attack.
The kitty roars and full attacks the man!
Sonny pulls his crossbow out and says, "Two can play this game." as he takes a step forward. and fires.
The werewolf Risbeth charges suddenly strikes as she gets close! for damage! But the swing goes wide and Risbeth plows into him, her first two attacks sufficient to hit him and knock him to the ground, dead.
The professor's 'kitty' appears and attacks, cutting the crossbow were, but Sonny's bolt to the neck lays him out, bleeding on the ground!
The crossbow were drops his weapon, shifts into his hybrid form and draws his sword. He looks crazed.
Risbeth looks down at the downed werewolf, and then to the werewolf that transformed.
"You are a pathetic mangy curr who has no pride, and you will die like your fellows. So it is with all who murder from the shadows rather than fight with honor."
Moving forward Caesarestudies the one who used his crossbow and uses the reach to attack the closest Werewolf.
Next round again
The lion tears off the last standing man while the prof leans on the wall, reading a book. [b]"Should do this more often...[/ooc]
for
Sonny reloads his crossbow and if the man still stands fires at him.
Between the many jaws and claws, the werewolf goes down in a spray of red and several screams.
Suddenly the site seems eerily quiet, but there's sounds of movement up the stairs and in the site above. After searching the dead weres and finding not much useful, you stealthily creep upwards. Above, the stairs open into the interior of the tower. Just beneath the observatory at the top of the tower, a series of 10-foot-high arches breaks the perimeter of the column, forming a crude monopteron. As in the temple below, the floor is inlaid with a butterfly mosaic, more protected from the ravages of time by the roof above it. To the north, a flight of stone stairs leads up to an opening in the ceiling.
The room is silent, but there's a thick animal smell here.
If the werewolves are using silver bolts he picks up a bundle from one of them for his crossbow. "Smells a bit wolfy in here. Does anyone see anyone here or should we continue upward?"
Taking his time to look around and a moment to touch the mosaic he points to the stone stairs. "Let´s climb them?"
Risbeth looks around, and then begins making squeaking noises...
"Lovelies? Anyone nearby to answer a few questions? I have treats..."
She digs into her pocket and pulls out some sugar cubes from the breakfast table at the lodge...
The prof, seeing the last werewolf down, closes his book and readjusts his glasses on his nose. He pats gently the lion which soon disappears in a soft *poof*. "A wonder, Silverstein's last article about were creatures is on point! It seems he's really familiar with the subject. Maybe an ounce bit too much familiar when I think about it... Well, maybe he has sequestered one in his cellar, who knows haha."
In the next room, he looks around, trying to block his nose from smelling the strong smell. "Where to, friends?"
Sonny spots three hulking wolfish-mannish figures lurking at the base of the stairs! They don't aware you've noticed them... yet.
Sonny gathers the others near and whispers "There are three more at the base of the stairs. I don't think they noticed I'm on to them yet."
BUMP!
Moving silently forward Caesare watches the leftmost before drinking an elexier and then a potion[ooc]Alchemical allocation +Bulls strength[/dice]