Finnrick follows Jaed as quietly as he can and keeps an eye out for anything suspicious. If he thinks that he can get to the tool shed without being seen he will.
Lily keeps watch as well, ready to incapacitate someone if a sudden arrival interrupts this attempt at subterfuge.
Jaed attempts to slowly and quietly climb the wall. It's difficult as it's worked stone not intended for climbing, but the elements have worn away at it a little bit. That in combination with slight imperfections in construction does seem to provide slight finger and toe holds. As the rogue makes his way up, Finnrick stands outside as a guard. The rest of the group stand just inside the temple, not wanting to be seen but listening for any sounds of alarm indicating their companions had been seen.
Peaking just over the bottom ledge of the window, you can see a wide room. No lights are on, so you have to rely on the moonlight coming in to see what's inside. It's mostly hardwood floor but has a large rug in the center. To the left appears to be a large desk while to the right is a large canopy bed. There are a few other pieces of furniture scattered about that look like small night stands and bookcases. That's about all you notice before--
Jaed just managed to make it to the second floor window when a voice rings out from the wall. "Oi! You by the door! Wut you doing out 'ere? Courtyard's off limits at night."
The voice startles Jaed. Keep calm, you are wearing black and your mask, he does not know who you are.
After a deep breath Jaed slowly turns and, in a voice as deep as he can project, he answers: "Don't you know who am I? I'm going to pretend that you are blind and did not see the black I am wearing. Now get back to your duties.
Without waiting for a response Jaed gets into the room out of the sight of the guard.
The other guard gives a yelp. "Hey, what're you doing on the wall? Get down from there!" as Jaed fumbles with the glass window, eventually getting it open and slipping inside.
The original guard then yells back, "But if he's in a black robe... But you by the door still have to identify yerself?" His voice goes up at the end in confusion as he's now faced with two people in the courtyard. "Wut's going on Liam?"
"I dunno. I think--" Liam cuts himself off as he suddenly realizes he's having a conversation by yelling across a courtyard and instead waves for the other man to meet up with him before pointing at Finnrick, "But don't you move! You still need to tell us why you're out here!"
The two guards then begin hurriedly shuffling to meet up with each other, occasionally throwing glances back at the so-far-silent half-elf.
1) The door out of the room you're now in isn't the same as the locked door to the second floor that sprayed ice at you; there's at least one room between you and it
2) You companions decided to watch/back up your climb, so they're actually back on the first floor near the entrance.
1) Make sure there is no one sleeping in the bed.
2) Search the desk for any clues or anything valuable. If he doesn't find anything he will search any libraries or other furniture in the room where he thinks there can be something interesting for the mission or for himself.
3) Check if there is someone in the adjacent room by putting his ear against the door and trying to peak through the lock. If he thinks the room is clear he will open the door.
Wearing a black robe Finnrick is confident that he can trick these guards as he did the others. He takes one step out from the darkness and points at the guard not named Liam.
"why do I even post guards if you are both going to come down from your post at the first sign of movement from the walls. You get back up there and make sure we are protected from the outside. " he turns to the other guard, apparently named Liam. "see there is only need for one of you to come down. I am out here looking for someone with a key to the armory armory and this shed, Egarthis's orders. Praise Razmir." he adds hastily.
-Posted with Wayfinder
Scampering across the room, you notice the rug is, unsurprisingly, another large depiction of the mask of Razmir. You quickly make it to the large oak desk and rummage through a few drawers. You find a variety of papers and notebooks-- some with elegant writing in them, some blank-- writing utensils, and a couple of books. You don't have time to look through any of it yet, but you do discover that the bottom drawer of the desk is locked.
The two guards talk briefly together, before one hurries away, disappearing down what is presumably a trap door of some sort. The second one raises his crossbow to point it at Finnrick. "Yeah, well, if that were true he'd've given ya the key in the first place, now wouldn't 'e?" Not-Liam sounds quite pleased with himself for having worked that out.
"That wont do..." Sato murmurs.
"شخص سحر"
-Posted with Wayfinder
Finnrick says a prayer to Sarenrae under his breath in hopes that she will help guide Sato's spell and that he won't be discovered and killed.
If this continues to go south, I want my axe and a rage. :) Guard duty is boring...
Jaed hears all the yelling that is taking place outside but he continues with his plans. They'll have to hold without me. I need to find something before we run away as fast as we can.
Sato dashes out into the middle of the courtyard, trying to get within range of not-Liam. The guard for his part is startled by the sudden burst of movement and lets loose his crossbow bolt from where it had been trained on Finnrick.
He then sways slightly, confused. "Wut ya doing out here? Not s'posed to be here..."
His sentiment is reiterated, though in a much firmer tone, as two guards step out of one of the doors on the other side of the courtyard, surprised at now seeing another individual in an out of bounds zone. "What the-- Remove your mask immediately! The courtyard is off limits at night! You will surrender for punishment!"
"Ow, this fool shot me. Who are you to dare order me to take off my mask?"
Finnrick casts CLW on himself and walks out into the courtyard. His black robes billowing about his ankles. He keeps his eye on the guards trying to watch for any sudden movements.
Millsy scurries out as to not trip Finnrick and quietly sneaks along the wall of the courtyard.
-Posted with Wayfinder
As soon as Finnrick begins moving his hands and speaking words of divine power, the guards draw their blades, Liam shouting both up to the guard on the wall and his companion. "A spellcaster! Mickey, raise the alarm! Sarah, spread out so his fireballs can't get us!"
He then decides to continue with his plan and if nothing else catches his eye in the room, he heads to the door, hoping the others can hold without him.
Snapping out of his confusion at all that is happening around him, Etam steps forward and enters the courtyard. He stands behind Finnrick and voices a monotone: "Master, did you request assistance?"
Once the guard raises his hue and cry, Lily immediately snaps into action to stop Mickey from calling for help.
(Fort save DC 18 for half)
Lily and Etam rush into the courtyard, the elf sending a black ray into Liam as she rushes forward. He gives a grunt as his strength is sapped away.
With a shrill yelp, Mickey yells at Sato. "Look out fer their lightnin' bolts, err..." his voice falters as he searches in vein for the name of his 'old friend.' After a slight pause, the magic gently nudges him forward. "Look out mate! The spellcasters' gunna fry ya!" He then quickly reloads his crossbow and fires it at
Used to armor deflecting the blows for him, Finnrick doesn't move quite far enough to dodge out of the way of the bolt, earning him a scrape along the side. As the bolt whizzes out, the weakened Liam staggers towards Lily. "I'll get ya for that..."
As she charges the other spellcaster, Sarah yells back up at Mickey. "What in the name of Razmir are you doing, you fool! Raise the alarm! Call for backup!"
She swings at Finnrick as Mickey mumbles, barely audibly. "But...then me mate'll get in trouble. An' I'm sure it's just a misunderstandin'. He don't mean ta be out here..."
However, now remembering his lack of armor, Finnrick easily steps far enough away for her swing to miss.
With a quick glance around the room, nothing else seems to stick out to you. Especially now that you can hear the noises of battle down in the courtyard. Deciding it's time to leave, you creep towards the door.
There isn't really much of a keyhole to look through, but you manage to put your ear against the door. Hearing no obvious signs of life on the other side, you then inspect the door itself. A quick search for traps reveals nothing, and though it is locked, it's easy enough to open from this side. Quickly turning the latch and then the door handle, you silently push the door open.
You freeze as the first thing you see is a large figure standing in the middle of the room, his back to you. After a tense moment, you realize it's not a man at all but a large statue made of dozens of Razmiran masks. Letting out your held breath, you look around a bit more. On to both your left and right there are 3 doors and across from you are the golden double doors that so rudely sprayed ice at you earlier.
before walking back to the window.
Jaed leans out from the second floor window and, pretending to look as commanding as he can, he yells:
"PRAISE RAZMIR! WHAT IS GOING ON DOWN THERE?! EVERYONE FREEZE AND EXPLAIN."
I hope the with all this fuss they'll take me for this Egarthis.
Am I close enough to hear what is going on?
-Posted with Wayfinder
"Lay your hands off your masters, rebellious vermin! Razmir will make you pay for this," yells Etam. He takes a step forward and thrusts against the cultist attacking Lilly.
Lily continues to hang back and try to set up spells to stop the guards. She makes several strange passes with her hands and suddenly a glowing blue hand emerges from her own hand, floating eerily nearby.
"Do you think you can keep him from raising the alarm" Finnrick asks Sato before attacking.
-Posted with Wayfinder
Finnrick takes a step over and goes total defensive, while Millsy slips around the side and takes a bite at the guard.
+2 for flank
Sarah (red): N/A
Liam (orange): 4 Str damage, 13 dmg Etam
Etam swings and takes a chunk out of the weakened Liam, the force of the blow turning him around slightly. As Lily begins casting a spell, Liam uses the momentum from the hit to continue into a swing as he attempts to interrupt her.
Meanwhile Finnrick goes in to a defensive pose as Millsy creeps up, trying to bite at Sarah. Unfortunately, her jaws only close upon the cultist's billowing robes. Hoping to take her by surprise, Artair gives a yell and rushes in.
Unfortunately for the dwarf, he is the one surprised as Millsy's dark head suddenly appears out of the shadows. In his rush to avoid slamming in to her, he trips almost falling down the stairs. He manages to regain his balance before landing on his ass, but his swing goes wide.
For his part, Sato merely chuckles at Finnrick's question before muttering, "Just watch a master at work." He then clears his throat yelling up at Mickey. As he yells, he throws a punch at Lily but moves slowly enough to easily telegraph his movements as the elf easily ducks below his punch.
Seeing the rush of people jumping in to battle, the two cultists on the ground look for a moment like they're about to flee. However, seeing Sato jump in to the fray seemingly on their side, they take heart, nodding at him. As Jaed yells down at them, Liam takes a moment to yell back up. "Sir, raise the alarm! We have attackers!" They all then continue to attack, not about to drop their defenses in the face of so many foes. They continue to focus on the spellcasters before attempting to move into a more advantageous position.
As she steps backwards, Sarah yells back at Mickey. "No, don't come down here! Raise the bloody alar--" She's cut off, however, by the loud WHAM of the wooden trapdoor slamming as the man in question begins heading into the courtyard to aid his "long time friend". With a heavy sigh, she mutters to Sato, "Now why d'ya have to go tell him to do that?" A moment later, Mickey appears at the door, rushing over to Sato's side with his rapier drawn.
"Hold on! I'll get reinforcements!" Jaed yells back as he disappears back into the room. What poor Liam does not know is that Jaed has no intention of getting anyone else involved in the fight.
Lily steps back carefully up on to the stares and continues her chanting and invoking.
Finnrick's hand turns bright white and a solid ball of snow begins to form. "You have picked a battle that you will not win," he says with malice in his voice.
Finnrick, the mild tempered, happy-go-lucky, half elf has grown tired of these cultist. "They pray to a false god and they prey on the people of this city"
"No more," he mutters as he hurls they frozen snowball at the cultist threatening Sato.
As her master casts some sort of spell Millsy runs around the pillar and bites at the dark figure again, hoping to find flesh this time.
Picking himself up off the ground, the dwarf swings again
OOPPPPSSSS...
Sarah (red): 8 dmg, prone
Liam (orange): 4 Str damage, 18 dmg
Lily steps back, bidding her spectral hand to come forth and drain the energy from the already bloody Liam. At the same time, Etam thrusts forward with his spear, but Liam's flinching away from the odd arcane hand causes him to move out of the way of the attack.
Meanwhile on the other side of the battlefield, Millsy comes up from behind to continue to harry Sarah. This time, her jaws find purchase and manage to pull the cultists down just in time for Finnrick's snowball to go whizzing harmlessly overhead. Taking advantage of the situation, Artair throws a might overhead swing, but she manages to roll just far enough out of the way for the brunt of the blow to miss, causing only a minor scratch.
Sato then moves back to Mickey. "Come on now then! Get in there and do your job. You're far better at these things than I am." He attempts to shove the man forward, but Mickey, eager to help his friend out, has already started moving forward, leaving Sato grasping at nothing.
Liam growls at the retreating Lily. Given his bloody state, however, he chooses to swing at Etam rather than follow before stepping backwards. However, the blood dripping in his eyes gets in his way as he swings wide left of the warrior.
Back on the other side of the courtyard, Mickey rushes into the fray, quickly moving past Millsy to get in a more favorable position before swinging at her. His gambit seems to pay off as he quickly slides his blade into her side.
Sarah then growls and stands up. She swings at the annoying black cat, taking advantage of the creature's distraction with Mickey, before stepping backwards to prevent the dwarven barbarian from flanking her.
So I take the opportunity on Sarah
Presuming that this attack connects and does not kill Sarah....
There is no need for an alarm, we will silence you first!
I believe that the AoO is free, and I then have my regular attack on her, so I will swing a second time...
And you will not like the results!
Millsy seeing the cloaked figure dash past her takes a bite at him.
she then turns back to the woman who is now standing again and attacks with her teeth and claws.
Etam steps in, chasing Liam. "Infidel! Traitor!" He yells as he attacks the cultist once more.
Sarah (red): 24 dmg
Liam (orange): 4 Str damage, 32 dmg
Thanks only to her vulnerable position, Artair manages a hefty blow on the cultist as she screams out in pain. Despite the warm blood now starting to soak her gray robes, Sarah nimbly dodges the dwarf's next swing. Meanwhile Mickey uses the wall to jump up and over Millsy's jaws as she attempts to bite at his running legs. Annoyed by her lack of success, she turns back to Sarah, missing twice but managing to get off a small scratch with one of her paws.
On the other side of the courtyard, Etam manages to thrust his spear deep into Liam's side. The man gives a gurgle as blood spills out from under his mask and sways unsteadily, but remains standing.