DM Jesse's Kingmaker PbP (Inactive)

Game Master Jesse Heinig

Gah, was not expecting the AoO hair attack. That was REALLY close considering Vallen's flat footed AC is 17.

Here's your list of new benefits, folks. Protection from Evil. The best one is it can't touch us with natural attacks! We have 8 rounds of protection.

will save, protection from evil: 1d20 + 7 + 2 ⇒ (8) + 7 + 2 = 17 S~#$. Really wanted to cast Spear of Purity next round, too.

Vallen flinches as he feels something bounce off his breastplate, aimed directly for his heart. "By Torag's magnificent beard, what is happening?! Did the blessing work?" The dwarf yells while holding onto Jenya's arm, still feeling the pull of the strange elven creature. "Jenya, it still has me... turn me around so I can look at the wall instead, then kill the thrice-damned thing!"

Protection from Evil
Will Save: 1d20 + 4 - 2 + 2 ⇒ (7) + 4 - 2 + 2 = 11

No! No! Bad touch! Ilystria grumbles and petulantly tries to slap away the hands that reach for her. The rough drag of them across the skin of her arm was all wrong. They were too broad, too callused, too... hairy. No, the fey queen was suddenly, inexplicably desirous of a more delicate touch.

I thought dwarves didn't LIKE Elves! Jenya shouts in frustration as she moves to turn Vallen towards the wall. Can't you summon a dwarf angel to smite the monster or somethin?
Alright, next time Jenya's up she's turning Vallen to the wall and then going to free someone else. I'm thinking either Illystria since she's also a spellcaster or Vladirc since he's going to get chomped pretty soon. Hope you guys make your Will saves!

The strange creature continues to pivot and shift enticingly as Vladric finds himself drawn to it. She reaches out to wrap her arms around him...

... but something in the back of Vlad's mind, screaming helplessly, resists and after she caresses his cheek once, he pushes her back when she attempts to draw him into an embrace. She pouts.

With the unprecedented situation unfolding all around him, it strangely reminded Vladric of something that he had heard during his days as a member of the Mivon River Patrol...

"Whenever an experienced woman has you in her arms, it is always best to let that woman take the lead...", that was what Old Jeremti Rawan always liked to mention whenever he would regale to his fellow crew-members of his luridly embellished tales of his many countless bawdy escapades.

Of course, Vladric was certainly no prude- after all, he certainly caroused with the best of them during his misspent youth over in Rostland. Indeed, he still had on his very person a box full of "Bachelor's Snuff" kept as a precautionary measure...

Still, as tempting as it was to just "go with the flow" in the company of one very forward and decidedly lewd elf-dancer, there was something in the back of his mind preventing him from partaking in the single-minded pursuit of pure hedonism.

As the newly appointed Ruler of the fledgling Kingdom of Emeria, who still had to earn the trust of his fellow companions and council-members, Vladric couldn't just engage in any of these casual sorts of trysts; Not with the future of the Kingdom at stake.

Vallen would most certainly disapprove of such undisciplined behavior. Doubly so from Cassandra, given her initial reaction to his chartered appointment. As for Jenya... well, she had been raised among Gnomes, so it was anybody's guess as to how she would react. But judging by the thunderous sounds of gunfire echoing throughout the chamber, it would be fair to suspect that she didn't condone this type of behavior either. And then there was Ilystria, the mysterious Fey Queen and recent Dignitary to the Kingdom of Emeria from her demesne. While it was even more uncertain how she would react to this latest development, it was all the more imperative that Vladric should act in accordance with his duties, serving as an example of Human Rulership to Emeria's neighboring Fey royalty.

Thus it was with great reluctance in his heart that Vladric pushed the dancing Elf away...

Will: 1d20 + 5 + 2 ⇒ (3) + 5 + 2 = 10

Far away, a loud voice yelled something Cassandra couldn't quite make out. It sounded serious, panicked. Well that was unfortunate for them. They should come here and watch the pretty elf do her dance. The more Cassandra focused on her the less the world seemed a problem. Even other sounds faded. Jenya's gun didn't even make her flinch and she knew how loud that thing could be. All Cassandra heard and saw was the rustle of fabric and gyrations of an inhumanly lithe, elf-like creature.

Jenya points Vallen towards the stairs leading out of the madhouse boudoir and moves to clamp her hands over Illystria's eyes as she reloads as quickly as possible.

Five step to Illystira, reload with paper cartridge as swift, clamp hand over Illystria's eyes, and standard fire!

Her dancing's bewitched all of y'all Jenya says desperately to the fey queen. Can you spell something to make her stop!

Fire Point blank on touch: 1d20 + 9 + 1 ⇒ (8) + 9 + 1 = 18
Point blank damage: 1d8 + 1 ⇒ (4) + 1 = 5

Ilystria slowly comes back to her senses once the warm weight of Jenya's hand settles over her eyes. After listening to the woman's frantic explanation, Ilystria hesitantly replies, "I-I can try...?” And although she doesn't understand one bit of Jenya's logic, the would-be queen imagines it can't hurt to try her plan. And so, clearing her throat, she begins, "S...O...M...E...T—Oww!" The bang of Jenya's firestick going off near her is painfully loud in Ilystria's delicately tapered ears, but at least it helps clear the rest of the cobwebs from the fey's mind.

"Oh! You meant use magic? ...Yes. Yes! I think I have just the thing for this!" Spinning in place, Ilystria faces the wall before rooting around in the small rucksack at her hip. A second later, Lily finds what she's looking for; a wrinkled, rolled up piece of parchment that she quickly unfurls and reads from. (Casting obscuring mist from a scroll.)

"There once was an ugly fey who danced.
She thought she was rather advanced.
She wanted a kiss,
But in rolled the mist,
And now we're no​ longer entranced."

Not sure if the -2 attractiveness penalty applies or if Vladric could use another of his Charmed Life Swashbuckler ability.

Will Save the 2nd, unmodified: 1d20 + 1 + 2 ⇒ (2) + 1 + 2 = 5.

With the Charmed Life activated, it would've been a grand total of 8 or 6 if the penalty still applies. Without the second Charmed Life, it'd be just 5 or 3 with the -2 penalty.

Vladric just stands there dumbfounded on his own two feet while his inner thoughts are totally focused upon what the best way of bringing up the delicate subject of convincing a dancing elf to drink up some freshly brewed Night Tea while simultaneously trying remember just where he last placed his snuffbox at.

"Dwarf angels are very busy beings, you'd have to get an appointment a century in advance least!" Vallen explains while stumbling towards the stairs. He doesn't dare look back, instead quickly taking a few steps down until he is completely out of line of sight of the dancing creature.

By Torag's might, what is that thing? Its powers are overwhelming! He thinks franctically, unable to come up with a plan to fight the elf with his current blesslings.

Full-roound action:Withdraw!

Clouds of mist fill the room, obscuring the form of the dancing monstrosity. Once it is concealed, you beat a hasty retreat...

... the monster lashing out with a clawed hand to score a nasty strike on Jenya as she shoots and flees. Jenya takes 4 damage.

Even as you reach the bottom of the staircase you hear the creature still coming, humming a tuneless melody as it follows!

Plan to make a new stand or just run for it and leave the creature behind?

Let's leave and make a plan.

Jenya will shoot her when she comes out of the mist.

point blank: 1d20 + 9 + 1 ⇒ (17) + 9 + 1 = 27

Damage: 1d8 + 1 ⇒ (2) + 1 = 3

I can keep her busy for a bit. I'll cover ya.

Jenya will take rear guard and block the door.

Jenya holds at the door, but the creature remains in the mist... then eventually returns up the stairs.

You occasionally hear a soft scrape or moan, but as far as you can tell it's staying up in the tower... for now.

That thing is wicked Jenya, still sweating profusely from the close escape, states flatly. I was only barely able to keep it from bewitchin' me too.

She sighs and wipes her brow Are we going to try and end it now or come back later?

Vallen didn't even check a single stair as they all bumbled down the steps, whirling to point his pistol directly in the direction of the mist above them. He closes his eyes, waiting for Jenya to shoot. Between his shaking hands and obscured vision he would have assuredly missed, but he wasn't going to back down just yet.

When the danger passes, he tentatively opens one eye, then does an about face. "Torag teaches us that a tactical retreat in the face of uncertainty is both wise and honorable!" The dwarf says quickly, making for the destroyed exit and not looking back.

"No-good, foul, blood-drinking, Unseelie..." Ilystria snarls as she's lost in the shuffle of larger bodies all moving toward the staircase. Her colorful, scathing rant carries on like that for a bit with Ilystria slipping into her native tongue of First Speech when she finds the mortals' language to be inadequate in expressing the degree to which she loathes her fey kin. Only once she's outside does her head begin to cool—somewhat—her anger giving way to surprise as Vallen hustles away.

"Uncertainty? What uncertainty?" she questions, flitting around to hover in front of the dwarf. "I am entirely certain of what needs to be done! Unseelie fey like her pollute everything around them with their very presence. If we hope to contain the spread of her vile influence from reaching your lands and mine own, then we must to send her back to the Fey Realm at once!"

That said, I'm perfectly happy with a tactical retreat.

Unseelie?" Vallen huffs as they make a hasty retreat for the walls. "That thing was a fey? Not an elf?"

He gestures for everyone to start climbing the rope up the wall. "It was evil, that's for sure." Vallen swallows a knot in his throat, looking back to the tower. "You are right that it must be sent from the material plane. It.. it is my duty as a priest."

Some part of Cassandra's mind knew the danger they were in the entire time it was fogged over with the elf thing's magic because as soon as she couldn't see it she bolted with the others. Once outside and she breaths heavily, more out of fear than exertion. "That did not go well. How are we going to defeat something we can't even look at? Bring the tower down?"

While still entranced with the elven dancer, Vladric dimly hears Ilystria reciting some kind of verse. Suddenly thick foggy mist appears before him, obscuring all vision. It was at that point that the Mivoni Noble snaps back into his senses, recalling everything that just happened until now with newfound clarity.

Retreating with the rest of the party down the stairs and out the keep, Vladric listens intently while the others are debating what to do about this "Unseelie Fey" creature. Even though he now has his Aldori Dueling Blade out in his hand, Vladric could not help but to give a bit of a shudder upon the mention of that part about the blood-drinking...

"I agree that such a... creature should be dealt with eventually. Is there anything we could do to steel our minds against its' dancing?"

Having retreated safely a bit from the ruins, you set up a hidden campsite in the woods - doing your best to cover your tracks, with Cassie clearing the trail behind you.

As you mull over your options, the sun grows long, but the creature - whatever it is, though it seems likely that Ilystria's judgement is correct - apparently does not deign to hunt you down. One small favor.

Would you like to set up watches? No reason. :)

Vallen sits near their small campfire, whittling away at some piece of wood. "That creature contained an evil I've never felt before. It was otherwordly, disturbingly concentrated." He mutters, still bothered at how easily he succumed to its dancing.

"Tomorrow I will beseech Torag to provide me with the blessings to counter its... machinations. Then we'll remove it from the Material Plane for good." There was a small bit of convinction in the dwarf's voice. He was still afraid, but after witnessing the evil powers of the creature he knew it was his duty to see it ended.

I mean we're in the middle of a forest filled with evil s@~$, probably want to set up watch.

Jesse takes first watch, then Vladric cause their human senses won't be quite as useful in the dark. Then Vallen and Ilystria take the deep night, and lastly Cassie so her low-light vision and scent can cover the morning low-light?

Sounds good

Jenya has too much nervous energy to go to sleep anyway so she's grateful for the first watch. The usually jovial young woman is uncharacteristically withdrawn as she obsessively cleans and reoils Misfire. The dead unicorn, the dead young woman massacred by a werewolf, and the evil elf thing, all of them flitted through her mind as she worked over her weapon. There was so much pure evil in the world and all she had was a powder filled tube she'd rescued from a gnomish trash heap.

She'd thought Misfire would have been enough as she'd left home and set out on her 'grand adventure'. And for bandits and such like it really had been, but the kind of monsters she'd run into over and over in the Stolen Lands? It wasn't nothing against them.

But it wasn't enough.

She glanced over at the sleeping form of Vallen. The lovable curmudgeon had been actually very helpful and being allowed to borrow his own copy of the works of Torag had been an honour. There had been some beautiful passages in there but she could not grasp for the life of her why memorizing the 18 metallurgical aspects of iron was so bloody critical to gain the favour of Torag.

She looked up as the stars started to come out. Maybe she just needed a sign of what more she needed to be doing. Looking at them did calm her down though.

oh yeah watch Per: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (14) + 10 = 24

In case nothing happens she talks to Vladric before she prepares to turn in. Hey Vladric. You're a pretty good swordsman right? Do you ever wonder if that's enough? I mean to deal with the kinds of things we keep on running up against?

Jesse takes first watch

Who with the what now?

~~~~~~~~~~

Get in any campsite RP for the moment...

Cassandra had misgivings about staying anywhere near the castle but they needed to deal with this. It'd be just their luck some random hunter or tracker would wander through and caught unawares. She didn't know what the creature would do to you once she got you but it couldn't have been good. Now even their exploration through beautiful wilderness was dampened but fighting more strange monsters stalking the woods. What was with this place? Would she ever get a break? To just go wandering without any responsibility weighing on her? These last few months had been really stressful. And still no word from her family, her village. Not this this was a good time, but it'd be nice to get a letter or a visit. "I want to disappear for a week."

I'll take 2nd or 3rd as scent will likely be useful.

Vallen Silverclasp wrote:

Jesse takes first watch

Who with the what now?

LOL sorry I meant Jenya. You're always watching us ;)

Ilystria only needs two hours of sleep (how lucky!), so she can help with three other watches plus her own before going to bed.

Despite her protests, Ilystria retreats with the rest of the group, grousing and pouting the entire way. At the campsite, the fey queen settles onto the bough of a nearby tree while her mortal friends gather round the fire. And though she initially seems determined to stew in her anger at finding one of her evil kin so close to her territory and not banishing her back to the First Realm, the bigguns' conversation inevitably draws her both from her dark emotions and her perch.

Suddenly appearing beside Cassandra with a few flaps of her viny wings, Ilystria proudly boasts, "I can help with that!" She gives the woman what she thinks is a dazzling smile, but up close it's hard not to notice that the fey has a few too many, too sharp little teeth. "But first, what is it you offer in exchange? A 'weak' what?"

Jenya takes the opportunity to talk to the rest of the group as well when she can.

Cassandra:

Hey Cass, how do we go about protecting the people coming in to this place. You're a wizard with that bow and you've got a way in the wilds that's mind blowing. I have to get in right close to do any damage and that's all I can really do. I don't know. It just feels like it's not enough.

Ilysria:

These.. Unseelies... you talk about. Are there a lot of 'em? Is Magic the best way to deal with them? Do you think I could learn what you can do?

Ilystria:
Cassandra turned to Ilystria and flinched back at the sight of her tiny, sharp teeth. She got the impression of a piranha smiling. "What? No I meant..." Cassandra sighed and tried to get her thoughts in line. "I meant I just want to go wander through the woods for a few days. No worries, no responsibilities, no..." she waves her hand vaguely at the tower, "no crazy elf ladies trying to kill me. Back home all I used to do was watch birds dance in the sky, listen to the wind in the leaves, try and stay as close as I could to a deer without it knowing. Now it's all meetings, training, scouting reports, and...crazy elf ladies trying to kill you. I don't want to literally disappear, just a break."

Jenya:
She turns to Jenya and frowns. She'd never thought much about defending from a fortified position. She was more knowledgeable and comfortable on the move. Hit and run. Then she realized Jenya was probably talking about Emeria as a whole, not just the tower. For now, their only option was forewarning. "Well, we don't have an army or even a militia. People might take up arms but you can't count on that. So I guess our best option is early warning. Then dissuade threats before they become a big issue." She shrugged. "Best we can do for now. I wouldn't even now where to start with other things like smugglers and thieves. That's what you take care of right?"

Bandits and the like.. I can probably run most of 'em off. Jenya says But Unicorn murderers and dancing blood suckers? How do we deal with stuff like that?

The young woman sighs Just feels like I need more than just Misfire here.

Thanks for induling my RP guys

"Oh, uh. I don't...I don't know. I had family to help with things like that," she said. She was also feeling rather useless on those two fronts. The crazy elf easily clouded her mind with it's hypnotic dance and she didn't fancy fighting it blindfolded. And anything that could kill a unicorn that cleanly was not something to mess with lightly. Hopefully it was a one time thing.

She looks at Jenya's gun, Misfire, but said nothing. Truth be told, she didn't like it. It was loud and smelled awful. Anything "more" and she doubted she would be able to stand too close to it anymore. Her ears and nose were important after all.

Awkward silence.

Cassandra

"Oh..." Ilystria's pointed ears droop under the weight of her disappointment once Cassandra explains her wishes more clearly. She had been so close to striking her first bargain with a mortal. In the world she comes from, favors are currency, and any Queen worth her title knows how to amass such favors like a leprechaun hoards gold. Unfortunately, it's clear to her that she still has a ways to go in becoming as skillful a negotiator as her royal counterparts back in the First World.

Jenya

Turning to Jenya, Ilystria gives a slow blink of her featureless eyes before answering the woman's first with a perfectly human gesture: an emphatic nod. "I know not how many of them there are, either in this world or mine own, but even one, single Unseelie is one too many," she says, a sneer pinching her delicate features. But the look is soon replaced by a thoughtful expression when Jenya inquires about magic. "Magic is the best way to deal with everything, I feel. Although... I suppose having other means to rely on is never a bad thing."

Ilystria's grassy green eyebrows furrow in confusion at Jenya's final question. "Do what I do... You mean be a Queen?" The petite fey's face takes on an apologetic cast as if she has some unfortunate news to share with the mortal. "Where I come from, anyone with enough influence and favour can learn to rule. However, your friend here"—she points a finger in Vallen's direction—"has since told me that the same is not true of your rulers. Apparently, the right to rule for you mortals comes from the nobility of your blood. If your blood is not noble, I do not know that you can be a Queen in this land."

Ilystria:

No I meant.. y'know, waving your fingers and having magic mist spring out and stuff like that. Jenya tries to explain to the fey Vallen can be Queen all he wants. she grins at the swordsman.

Jenya

The little fey cocks her head at the mortal's seemingly limited understanding of the workings of magic. "Well... Magic is a part of me. I budded from the Great Tree knowing how to use it. Not always in grand ways, not at first. That took time and practice and, yes, learning. But every fey is formed with the seeds of magic already inside them."

Ilystria looks Jenya up and down, feeling that, if the mortal possessed any spark of magic, she would have sensed it by now—despite having no evidence to support that theory. "Is it the same for your kind?"

You cautiously wait out the night, taking shifts, nervous in case something stalks you... but it seems that hostile creatures in the area give the keep a wide berth, and the elf-like thing from the tower does not deign to come hunting for you. Yet.

Nothing interrupts your camp; feel free to rearrange your spells, prepare for your confrontation, and be surprised by further complications. ;)

Yay complications!

Vallen wakes the morning, rubbing his face with a calloused hand. He had been plagued by nightmares again- some old, but most of them new and involving that horrific Unseelie. It had done awful things to him in his dreams, with its gyrating hips and...

The priest shakes his head and takes a deep breath, muttering a prayer to Torag and splashing some water on his face.

After a light breakfast of dried nuts and berries, he sits on a rock, head bowed to the earth, gripping his holy symbol. After an hour of prayer to Torag, thepriest opens his icy blue eyes and reaches on hand to the heavens, the other touching his breast.

"Your servant beseeches your aid, Torag! Please clear my mind of this befuddlement, inflicted by an otherwordly and evil foe. We go now to cleanse your creation of its taint, reclaiming the exquiste stonework built by the elves long ago, and restoring good and balance to the land." Divine power washes over Vallen in a burst of bright white light, and he feels the fog in his mind lift.

Blinking several times, the priest rubs his face once more "Droskar's buttcrack... That poison was awful. I could barely keep my thoughts straight." He notices a raised welt on his forehead, tracing it with his finger. "Did I really use the suctionator on my forehead?" The dwawrf says with a sigh. "It's supposed to go over the liver."

Getting his gear together in short order, he checks up on Jenya's equipment as well. "Do you have cold iron bullets, Jenya? We will need them to pierce that evil creatures' hide. All I have is silver, and I don't know if it will be as effective."

Vallen casts Lesser Restoration on himself, healing his wisdom damage.

Jenya nods. I got 20 bullets worth of cold iron. I can share some with you if you like.

For the 2nd Watch:

Perception: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (9) + 6 = 15.

For the 2nd Watch:

Perception: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (17) + 6 = 23.

In case nothing happens she talks to Vladric before she prepares to turn in. Hey Vladric. You're a pretty good swordsman right? Do you ever wonder if that's enough? I mean to deal with the kinds of things we keep on running up against?

Giving a good-natured chuckle to Jenya's remark about things being enough for sorts of things that this group faced during this journey, Vladric replies to the young gunslinger, "I'd like to think that my bladeskills would be sufficient enough to survive against the likes of bandits or even those rarely seen creatures like the Hodag but against the likes of that Unseelie dancer out in that ancient keep... mentally, I'm berating myself for not bringing along even more magics with deal with the like. Luckily, I've still got my scroll of shielding which I plan to be using in our rematch with that thing; that and I'll be using the boarding pike so that there'll be no obstructions from my end when you and the others take your attacks at it."

"It was fortunate that you were able to keep a clear head during that entire episode- enough so that Queen Ilystria was ultimately able to cast that misty spell of hers."

Next Morning:

Vladric will prepare some fresh coffee to help the party towards wakefulness in preparation to deal with the Unseelie fey.

Vallen will take five cold iron bullets, bouncing them in his palm to feel their weight. "Thank you. I will be beseeching Torag to provide the needed blessings to defeat that evil fey... so hopeflly I won't need these. But this is not a foe to underestimate, so we must be prepared."

Fully equipped and rested, Vallen is ready to set off back towards the tower.

In the morning, Cassandra prepares for the coming fight. If Vallen and Jenya were talking about cold iron then she should probably prepare that as was well. She reorganized her quiver to put the 10 cold iron arrows she had near the front. She could tell by fletching alone which was which but this way should wouldn't have to spend the second or so feeling the feathers to make sure she had the right one. Hesitance was death in a fight.

"So how are we dealing the dancing? I hope we aren't charging in again and preying we aren't affected. Seems like the odds are against us there." She could probably blindfold herself and find the creature by scent alone. It didn't look like a close range fighter. But regular claws against magical flesh rarely worked. And no one else had her sense of smell.

Well, I think I'm still fine for a little bit longer, right? Jenya asks. I can lead in.

"Prayer can always offer a solution, Cass." Vallen says while placing the cold iron bullets in his belt pouch. "I will infuse us with several of Torag's blessings before we engage, which will hopefully protect us from the effects of the dancing."

He hefts a length of silk rope for her to see. "In addition, I'll animate this rope and command it to tie up that evil waif." Placing the rope over his shoulder, the dwarf frowns. "Though Iam concerned about what we do not know. All we have seen it do is dance. Surely such an ancient and evil being has more than one trick?"

Cassandra looks at the dwarf quizzically. "You can do that?" Commanding a rope to do as you will? There really were spells for everything. It sounded like a good start. Getting past her dance was the first large hurdle. And if they weren't effected by that they could probably high tail it out of there no problem. Cassandra picks up the last of her stuff and gets ready to climb into the keep again.

"Of course!" The priest responds to Cass' incredulous tone. "Torag works in mysterious ways, including rope tricks." Vallen says proudly before hopping up onto Nelly to begin their journey back to the tower.

You make your way back to the tower.

The first thing that Cass notices is that there are footprints disturbing the leaves near the trap that you found at the gate - some kind of clawed creature, not the dancing baleful beauty that you saw before.

Your climbing rope is also no longer attached to the side, where you came up the wall on the southern outer area.

Things don't seem right. Jenya mutters when Cass points out the footprints and the distrubed leaves.

Survival where did the footprints come from and where did they go?: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (3) + 8 = 11

"Wonderful." Vallen mutters sardonically when they find the tracks of the clawed creature.

He looks at the trapped portcullis with his arms crossed over his chest, then reaches for the tools on his belt. "I had the night to think this trap over, and with Torag's guidance, I think I figured it out."

He strides over to the side of the gate, taking out a set of tension keys. This time he keeps his legs on either side of the trip wire, carefully lowering the sensitivity of the trap.

Disarming the gate trap! Hopefully it stays that way.

disable device, mwk tools, guidance: 1d20 + 8 + 2 + 1 ⇒ (14) + 8 + 2 + 1 = 25

Further complications indeed.

Ilystria makes a thoughtful little noise as she crouches down to inspect the tracks. First, she measures the impression against the span of her hand. Then she lifts up one of the leaves that had been trampled by the mysterious creature and looks it over with a critical eye before taking a perfunctory sniff. And after a few more moments of looking like she knows what she's doing, the fey settles back on her haunches with a quiet huh. "I wonder what made these."

Knowledge (Nature): 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (7) + 9 = 16

Noting that the group's climbing rope is nowhere to be seen upon the wall, Vladric will say, "Our Dancing Host seems to have discovered our initial foray into her domain; would there be another part of the wall that we could climb up to instead, Cassandra?", but done so in as quietly a manner that could be managed without disturbing either Jenya's, Vallen's, or Ilystria's attempts at dealing with the Keep's challenges.

Not sure if it'll help, but Vladric will try to aid Cassandra in finding another way up that wall.

Aid Another, Base Roll: 1d20 ⇒ 18.

+2 if Survival or +6 if Climb or Perception would apply to that base roll.

Survival where did they come from Cotton-Eyed Joe: 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (20) + 11 = 31

Cassandra squats down to inspect the tracks as well, noting that they were nothing like the feet of the dancing lady. "Something else is here. Wonder how we missed it?" she asks of no one in particular. She was sad to see the rope gone but Vallen didn't back away from the trap nervously so maybe they could just go in the font from now on.

That seems high enough to disarm the trap. Can we just use the gate from now on?