"If we could kill them both in one go, or lure them out here, we might be able to sneak in," Quinta whispers, eyeing the two guards. "Thoughts?"
"If we could kill them both in one go, or lure them out here, we might be able to sneak in," Quinta whispers, eyeing the two guards. "Thoughts?"
Alexite, bow and arrow still ready, turned to Quinta, "Well they look to be guards and when I was on guard duty, I was told to raise the alarm first and investigate later so we would have to be real good at killing them at the same time."
He then remembered Quinta's abilities and raised an eyebrow, "Or... perhaps you could 'distract' one while we concentrated on killing the other one. Say maybe, disguise yourself as a savage, call one over and fascinate him. We don't need much, maybe a few seconds. Then Jack and I can shoot the other fellow and then turn on 'your savage'."
He looked at Jack and the rest, "Well? What do you think?"
"It does seem like the only way to accomplish this quietly. Quinta, perhaps you could add some urgency to the situation by claiming that you need help with something. Something along the lines of 'Shh, you need to see this' and then lead him away."
Joll remembers that the cannibals speak broken Infernal and coaches Quinta in their language, as best he can determine it. The sum total is just a crude phrase that conveys: "Quiet, look at this".
"I can't say that," Quinta says, shaking her head. "I'm going to have to try something else. Help me get this armour off."
Quinta blushes furiously as she peels off first her armour, then most of her clothing, leaving her in her underwear. "Mind my gear," she says as she firmly plants the Hat of Disguise on her head and arranges the Aegis and the ring on the string around her neck so they fall between her breasts -- and she shifts form.
Where Quinta stood, there is a demonic-looking woman, possibly a tiefling of some kind. Where Quinta is pretty, this creature is... darkly attractive, possessing a corrupt kind of sensuality. Broad of hip, forward of breast, she casts dark, sultry eyes on all of you as she rustles her wings and tail. "There is one language all men speak," the creature says.
Quinta mutters a brief spell, then begins to dance and hum as she sways out into sight of the guards...
Quinta move to just outside the perimeter of the light before swaying seductively forward and beginning her dance.
Both of the cannibals silhouettes go still and one can be heard asking something in a questioning tone, to which his comrade makes no reply.
The suddenly there is a wet thumping sound, a brief gurgling and one of the silhouettes flings the other casually over the cliffside. Before calling something out towards Quinta and vanishing from sight.
"Athak garr anar Halak!"
Joll springs upright to give chase. He informs the others of the savage's pronouncement."He said 'Joy, chosen Halak! I have no idea what that means. Let's see catch him before he alerts the others."
Still amazed at Quinta's transformation, the ranger held his bow ready. He knew that maintaining surprise really depended on the next few moments. They could continue to sneak into camp, free the prisoners, and possible be out without being seen or they could face a whole lot of raging cannibals.
As soon as the first body fell, Alexite stepped in front of the tree he was hiding and quickly released two arrows.
Alexite's arrow thumps home and the silhouette staggers back a little but remains upright. Then he lets out a bellow of alarm and disappears from sight.
Dragolan sights down his crossbow and looses at the remaining sentry a split-second after Alexite's attack. His quarrel only inflicts a shallow wound on the cannibal, though.
Jack fires a well-calculated shot when Alexite gives the signal.
"Not so fast, lover boy!"
Jack's arrow thumps into the cannibal's throat, above Alexite's ahft, and Dragolan's bolt, and drops him from sight with a soft thud.
"Let's move in" Joll says in a hushed voice as he cautiously makes his way forward in a half-crouch.
"Just a minute!" Quinta complains.
The Chelishgirl remains in her fiendish disguise, but is struggling to at least get her outer garments on.
"No time for the armour, but I don't want to go in there half-naked!"
As soon as she is somewhat presentable, Quinta moves forward with all due stealth and attention for her surroundings.
The ranger took no time to congratulate his companions on some fine shooting but rather stealthily went to see that both guards were indeed dead.
He trekked across the jungle to where they should have fallen, knife in one hand ready to finish the job should there be anyone alive. Seeing that both savages were indeed taken care of, he signaled for the rest of his companions to catch up to him.
Joll follows Alexite, doing his best to mimic the ranger's stealthy movements. The recent hissing sound still disturbs his thoughts.
Stealth, if needed
The group creeps forward and cautiously peer around into the camp, there tethered just inside the entrance is a great lizard head raised nostrils flaring as it scents the air. A Shiv Dragon, fully six and a half feet long.
The only other viable way into the camp appears to be by climbing the cliff, which is clearly a very risky proposition as the cliff overhangs the edge creating a lip that looks like it would trouble even a skilled climber.
Joll raises his arms and gestures as if shooting a bow in the direction of the lizard. Then he holds up a finger to indicate a pause and begins to mumble a spell quietly enough that the others must strain to hear it. Upon completing the spell he touches Aelxite on the arm. Joll then repeats the process and touches Jack and Dragolan in turn. The inquisitor's touch brings a curious transitory hot sensation.
Alexite instinctively recoiled from the inquisitor's touch not wanting to feel the vileness he felt from his last touch. Not feeling the same, the ranger concentrated on the matter at hand and continued to look at the large lizard.
Seeing everyone ready to shoot, the ranger sighted down his shaft and released the arrow.
Alexite cursed as his arrow bounced off the tough hide of the great lizard and looked sideways at the inquisitor as if to blame him. He decided against saying anything and quickly readied another arrow.
(Sorry, I am posting via phone.) Dragolan shakes his head. "Alexite, try to make friends with it."
Seeing Alexite reach for his bow, Quinta hisses with alarm and tries to grab his hands before he can shoot.
"We went to all this trouble to prevent noise!" she whispers in an urgent tone. "Attacking this beast will make a big ruckus. Do as Dragolan suggests, if you can; soothe the creature so it will let us pass."
Jack pulls back an arrow and shoots instinctively, hoping to silence the beast before it creates a stir.
*
*
Alexite's arrow flies wide of the mark, but Jack's buries itself in the creatures eye!
Jack quickly pulls another arrow out of his quiver and lines up a shot. "Nothing personal.", he whispers as he releases the arrow into the lizard's skull.
Jack's second shot sends the great lizard tumbling limp to the dirt!
"Let's try to avoid conspicuous actions and cover our trail as we go along. Only an amateur gets caught at the front door."
Jack walks over and snaps off the shafts of the arrows that he'd sunk into the lizard's head. It'd be too messy to rip them out, but snapping them off near the skin made them a lot less noticeable. He posed the creature like it was sleeping, which might at least fool a casual observer.
"I think we're clear for now. Stay low. I'm going to scout ahead."
Jack keeps his eyes and ears open for cannibals, traps, and other hazards as he quietly stalks through the camp. He sticks to shadows and behind cover whenever possible.
"Want me to back you up?" Quinta whispers. "I'm pretty quiet, when I want to be."
Provided Jack agrees, Quinta follows him, stepping practically in his footsteps while keeping an eye out for anything he might have missed.
Creeping forward Jack and Quinta see a large hut to their west, a small hut before them with a simple hide curtain serving as a door, in the center of the camp is a firepit upon which sits a great black cauldron, there are only ashes and coals there now. To the south west another crude hut is attached to the lighthouse which looms over the whole camp.
Between two swathes of thick vegetation is another narrow hut almost directly south, and near the firepit, just beneath the lighthouse wall is a hole leading into a deeper darkness than the night. The hole is covered with bamboo and driftwood, a number of vines are anchored next to it so someone might descend. Quinta instantly recognizes it.
Nobody appears to be awake....
Quinta's skin crawls, and she bites her lip so as not to squeak.
In silence, she taps Jack's shoulder and points at the hole.
Jack shoots Quinta a puzzled look before whispering:
"What is it?"
"I think the prisoners are put in there," Quinta whispers back. "I... dreamed it. I think. It makes sense, though."
Alexite shook his head, "This is a bad idea. We don't want to be caught from behind. I suggest we continue exploring the area above and then head deeper underground."
"Agree. If we can kill them quietly in their sleep, so much the better." Joll looks to Dragolan for his response.
You dream of serpents coiling together in a great writhing sea of scale, and feel yourself slowly sinking into the cool smooth mass until you disappear beneath it into darkness.
You open your eyes and fee strange, sharper, and utterly assured of your own superiority. Before you is a roughly man sized hole covered over by a crude wooden grid beneath which can be seen inky darkness in sharp contrast to the bright sunshine about you. You gesture imperiously and a glazed looking man, wearing the tattered remains of a once fine silk doublet, with a steps forward pulling aside the cover and taking hold of a rope which he uses to climb down into the darkness....
"It may not be our people, but I saw... someone being lowered into that hole," Quinta whispers as she stalks closer to the covered hole, senses constantly trained on her surroundings for danger. "Maybe our people are down there. Maybe. Worth a look?"
"Oh, most definitely. Coexistence with these degenerates, even for the short time we hope to be here, does not seem to be a possibility. There is also the small issue of their blocking access to the lighthouse, and the rather larger issue of their having captured our fellows. I still fear that belling this particular cat is not going to end as easily as it has begun. Still, we are inside their camp, and they none the wiser."
"Someone stay and keep watch. The rest of us should go down and see what's happening. Quinta or Dragolan, I'm going to need you to give me some light once I'm a little further down."
Jack checks the stability of the vines and then begins to descend.
As Jack descends and Dragolan gives him a pebble with light cast upon it, which he carefully covers until he is down inside the hole. Revealing the light he sees he is in a long uneven shaft that leads down some twenty feet until it opens up below. Cautiously shinnying down further he emerges into a ten foot high obviously natural cavern. The floor of which is covered in scattered leaves, pieces of fallen wood, broken weapons, and bones all liberally covered in dark dried blood. Jack's nose is also assaulted by the reek of decay coming from the caverns single narrow exit.
Jack cringes. This isn't the kind of place you'd ever want to end up in, that's for sure. In fact, he's so taken aback by the smell that he ends up dropping the light-enhanced pebble onto the floor. He eyes the tunnel's exit after a cursory examination of the debris pile as he sifts through it in search of the pebble.
Once he secures the enchanted pebble, he approaches the tunnel where the stench is emanating from.
"I don't know if I want to find out what's in here.", he quietly whispers.
Knowing that time wasn't on their side, he decided that it could be important to their success on this mission. He proceeds through the narrow passage.
Joll scowled when he saw Jack descend into the pit. If we go down there we will be trapped. When the savages find the dead lizard they will know that enemies are about. Unless this leads into the lighthouse, that is. If we can get inside, we might be able to hold them off from within.
Still standing in a half-crouch, Joll slowly turns in a complete circle to scan the area. Unconsciously, he grits his teeth as he looks about.
Perception