Spying her friend against the wall of the inn, Ngai bellows out, "Yantri, come with me - we need to stick together!" Whether the dwarven woman joins or not, Ngai begins pushing her way through the crowd, in the direction of the epicenter. She isn't trying to be rough, but at the same time she's not letting anyone significantly slow her progress.
Yantri grits her teeth and plunges through the crowd to join Ngai. As she reaches her, Yantri takes the offered hand and mutters "Thanks, this isn't getting easier yet." Letting Ngai take the lead, she follows and continues to scan the streets keeping an eye out for any threats and avenues of flight.
The cleric continues his movement towards the epicenter of the nommotion.
”You there, yes you please. What or who was housed in this “Witches Tower”
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Kane immediately paused in his discussions, quickly gathering his book and papers and following the mass exodus outside and towards the so-called "Witch's Tower". The others seemed more than able to push there way through the crowds, but Kane opted to stay a little towards the back and side of the crowd. Best to not rush headfirst into an unknown situation without a little info.
Rather, Kane opts to listen in to other conversations and mutterings. Perhaps the locals could offer him a bit of insight on the destination.
You also hear some rumors: ”Did you hear? There are dozens of Kobold corpses lying in the rubble!” “Kobolds?! Here?” “Dozens? I heard the entire Blood Vow tribe was crushed!”
The cleric continues on contemplating on what could make a castle collapse.
As you approach, the crowds get more congested so that you're forced to push through in order to see, not that it helps much because of the dusty, dirt-filled air. When it finally subsides, you can easily see the source of the crashing sound: a stone tower in the distance collapsed to the ground, leaving a large pile of rubble and debris with a plume of dust still lingering above. You aren't sure how high the tower was before the crash, but only the first two floors remain, the second's interior exposed from destroyed sections of the wall. While most of the crowd is maintaining their distance, a small crowd has gathered around the rubble of the collapsed tower. Only fragments of the first and second floors still stand. Black stone and broken wooden debris lie scattered down the hill's southeastern slope, and a rocky ramp of sorts leads up to the tower's second floor. In front of this small crowd, at the site of the collapsed tower, two locals putter about aimlessly. You recognize them as two of the guards from last night, when Gribb was arrested. One wanders about scratching her head, and the other stands with hands on his hips, chewing on a stalk of grass, staring at something in the rubble. The sudden collapse is suspicious enough, but even more troubling are the bodies of two kobolds crushed under the debris.
The first guard speaks up with uncertainty in her words, "This is... bad. This is bad, right? Why are there kobolds in the Witch Tower?"
The second shakes his head. "Hell if I know. It's a shame Benhovy insisted on leaving for Cassomir last night. Told him to wait 'till the morning, I did."
These deputies are clearly out of their element. Someone from the crowd suggests checking to see whether the wizard Hunclay knows anything about what happened, given that his manor shares the hill with the tower. The deputies argue for several minutes, over who'll knock on the wizard's door.
What do you do?
Once they've come to a stop at the tower, Yantri slips her hand from Ngai's. She's looking at the kobolds in the rubble thoughtfully; their distraction seems to have helped her forget about the people around her. "I'm going to make sure we're not going to be surpised by more like them," she says in a low voice to Ngai, as she slips off to the side of the crowd.
Sheridan finds his way to the front of the crowd and the two guards. Again they were proving more obstacle than an aid. "Look alive! We've got an audience. Any signs of a fire? We need to check the rubble for survivors before they become corpses. Does one of you know where the resident might be at this time?" Hopefully the two of them just needed some leadership.
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Kane pondered a bit about the mystery presented. Kobolds in the tower... they must have something to do with the collapse. Though that was purely speculation at this point. The mention of a fellow wizard, however, piques his interest! A fellow man of knowledge! Surely he might have some insight into this!
With everything going on, and the two guards clearly fresh out of leaders to give direction, Kane suspected he would need to pull his title out and take charge. He WAS nobility, after all.
"Excuse me, guardsmen! My name is Kane Callahan, First Son of House Callahan of Oppara. I'm not sure if a descendant of Baroness Belhaim still lords over this estate, but until they arrive, I believe it prudent that I maintain some semblance of authority o these matters. You mentioned a local wizard? Master Hunclay, I believe? If you two would maintain a perimeter of this disaster, I will gladly speak with him. As a fellow scholar, perhaps he will be more open to cooperation."
”They say it isn’t occupied Sheridan, just a remnant of a larger castle structure evidently. Well, not occupied by anyone from the village at least, maybe kobolds though. Let’s see what killed these ones. They usually live underground right?”
The cleric walks up a kneels next to the closest body to inspect it.
”On the way up here someone mentioned Hunclay would be pleased this structure collapsed. A powerful enough wizard could do this, but we’d need to know the motive and would someone so powerful employ kobolds?”
The deputies are both visibly startled by Sheridan's boldness and confident voice. The female guard's knees clack together a couple times before she takes a big gulp of air and says to the Ifrit,
"S...S....Survivors, sir? Th-that seems...w-well I...I mean... no one really ever comes up here. And... sorry... but... um..."
She trails off, paces for a few seconds, then approaches the other deputy.
"Varyl, wh...what are we supposed to do?"
The male guard, who was about to address the Opparan noble, turns to his peer.
"Hell if I know, Letha." Returning his attention to Kane, "Sir, you say you want to speak to the wizard? Um, never heard that before. But I tell you what...um... I was thinking how odd it was that he's not here... and that maybe someone should fetch him. That's his manor right there on the hill. Why don't you and deputy Mulle here go see if he's home? I'll stay here and wait for her ladyship the baroness."
Stone goes to inspect the corpses. It's obvious they were killed by stone.
In response to his question, Stone hears a very regal authoritarian voice:
"Balthus Hunclay has plenty of motive. Now who, sir, are you and what is this about kobolds in my town?"
The Baroness is a svelte woman wearing a beautifully embroidered silk gown and generous amounts of makeup. Though aging, she carries herself well, keeping her short, white hair in a fashionable arrangement.
"Mulle, Hodd, what is going on here?"
Varyl answers. "Lady Origena! Um, I mean, my lady....it seems the Witch Tower has fallen..."
"Deputy Varyl, I was born in the night, but not last night!"
"Of course, my lady. Well, this gentleman here says he is some sort of noble from Oppara. And...well, he volunteered his services so I astutely took command of the situation. It seemed odd that old Hunclay isn't here, so I obviously deduced that he might have something to do with it. Wishing to maintain a perimeter so none of the townsfolk get hurt, I instructed this sire here to go with Letha...deputy Mulle I mean... to go see if the wizard was home."
Varyl Hodd grabs hold of his lapels and gives a wide grin to the baroness; his eyes shift to Kane, probably gauging the stranger's reaction to the his extremely twisted version of the events.
The baroness, seeing four individuals she doesn't recognize,
a young and far too handsome Ifrit,
a darker skinned woman with a rather large blade,
the supposed noble and
that other guy inspecting dead kobolds,
looks toward the Kane waiting for validation of her deputy's story.
After which, she'll ask for introductions.
By now you've wandered up towards the manor to the NW of the tower. As you come around to the front door, you see a third kobold corpse, this one terribly charred, lying on the doorstep.
What do you do
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Kane stared a little bit at the deputy and highly exaggerated version of the story, before smiling and shaking his head. "Your deputy speak the truth. A version of it, at least. A pleasure to meet you, Lady Origena. I am Kane Artorius Callahan, First Son of House Callahan of Oppara, Heir to the Dukedom of the Callahan Estate, at your service, milady. I've been returning home and opted to stop at the local Inn to refresh myself. I was in the middle of breakfast when the tower seemingly collapsed. I fear I've only just arrived, but I am more than willing to offer my assistance in any capacity. A threat to Belhaim is a threat to all of Taldor."
He waved a hand over the mess of the tower remains. "You mentioned a Mr. Hunclay would have motive to see this tower in ruins, yes? Perhaps I could speak to him on your behalf. I happen to be a student of the arcane myself. Perhaps discussing things with a fellow scholar would make him more agreeable?"
”These kobolds died from injuries resulting from the collapse of the tower. They must have been tunneling or something to make it come down. Though I find it strange they would be thrown clear of the rubble like this.”
The Cleric says as he stands.
He turns and presents himself to the Baroness.
”A pleasure to be addressed by you Lady Origena. I am a member of the Militant Order of the Church of Ragathiel in Cassomir. I was at the Inn when we heard the collapse and came this way in case anyone was in need of clerical healing. Your two watch members arrived a bit before us.”
Once she's taken a good look and learned what she can relatively quickly, she turns around to head back to the others. "Hopefully Ngai or Sheridan is out in the open, and not surrounded by all those people. I'd rather pass this on without drawing attention to myself."
By the depressions on the blades of grass, the slight grooves in the earth, you expertly deduce this kobold came from the direction of the tower. As you look towards the ruins, you see a figure you hadn’t noticed earlier talking to your companions.
Yantri, Musket out in her hands, jogs back towards the crowds. As she gets close she scans the gathering for her companions. Seeing Sheridan, Stone and Kane actively engaged with either the guards or some woman of apparent authority, she slips back to Ngai's side again. She's settled some, with important things besides the other people to focus on. She speaks in a low voice to her tall friend, "There's a third Kobold over at the front door of the building there," gesturing behind her with her Musket. "Looks like it was coming from the tower here, and I don't know what it expected to find, but it got some sort of fiery explosion for it's efforts. Either someone in that house actively wanted it gone, or it triggered some sort of trap."
Ngai replies softly, "Hmmm. I'm not sure what it means, but we should probably bring it up. They already told the Baroness over there that you headed to the Wizard's place - wouldn't want any suspicion to stick to you. Some untrusting sorts in this town."
Assuming the other deupty hasn't already reported, Ngai raises her voice slightly, "Excuse me, your Baronessdom. My name is Ngai, and I don't want to get in the middle of anything here, but it appears we weren't the only ones headed for the wizard's house. A kobold corpse was found, still smoking near the front door. Your wizard may be in trouble - or he may BE the trouble. Do we have your permission to go inside and check on him?"
The baroness looks to N'gai, then to the rest of the party. Her gaze then turns to her bumbling deputies, then back to the newcomers.
"Today's yo ur lucky day. Mulle and Hodd here can't handle this without the Sheriff to hold their hands, and I want to know what happened here. You seem to be a capable bunch. The manor can wait. I'm more interested in the ruins here. If you go in there and look through the rubble-find out what happened and why there are kobolds in my town-I'll pay the lot of you 500 gold pieces. While you're looking around in the ruins, keep an eye out for any signs of our local eccentric, Hunclay. It seems somewhat suspicious to me that he's not answering his door. Let me know what you find."
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Yantri swallows and looks around nervously before speaking up. With Ngai's words as an example of how to handle someone of the Baroness's status she opens with, "Excuse me, your Baronessdom, but I think that we could manage a thorough investigation if we could have some space. I ... I'd hate to have any of your city folk here put into danger by lingering if there're any nasty traps the Kobolds left that we don't know about yet. Do you think you could ask everyone to, maybe, clear out and give us space to work? I don't want to impose, but, well, ... I think that the quiet would give us a chance to really investigate, and keep everyone safe."
She looks to Ngai, Sheridan and Stone to back her up.
Sheridan pulls a grappling hook from his backpack. "There is somewhat of a natural ramp of rubble leading to the exposed second floor. If that proves unstable, we could try climbing, or the front door; although, it sounds like the front door might be a hazard. What do we think?"
"Yes, my dwarven friend, I completely agree. And since my deputies are too witless today... My son shall assist them. Arnholde! Help these two oafs clear the crowd."
A young man, late 20's maybe, steps out of the crowd. No one had noticed him before. He begins dispersing the crowd as the deputies stand there doing nothing. Then they return to reality and immediately jump in telling people to go home as if it were their idea all along.
The baroness stands looking at the tower remains, a tension showing across her face.
At Sheridan's words, Ngai eyes the slope with a critical eye, trying to see if the grappling hook is needed.
Assuming she thinks its safe, she'll head up to scout it out. "Only one way to find out", flashing a grin at the Ifrit.
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"Thank you your Baronessdom, if we can keep casualties to Koblods today that seems a good thing to me. Yantri gives an awkward bow/nod and proceeds closer to the tower. As she does, she tries to get close to one of the two guards to say, And thanks to you two as well. You were here on the scene first and helped keep people safe. That matters.
When she gets to about where Sheridan is she looks over the situation. Gazing at first the rubble ramp which Ngai is taking care of, and then the remaining walls of the tower she rubs her chin in thought.
"We should probably also see if there are any gaps in the walls on any side of the tower. I imagine that there used to be a way up to the second floor from the first on the inside; if it's still there that might be the safer route if Ngai finds this one difficult?"
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"If you all don't mind, I should like to accompany you in your investigation. I hardly need the funds, but I should like to have a look below as well... and perhaps my academic pursuits would be of some aid? I shall do my best to stay clear of danger so as not to distract you.
Allowing the others to climb first so that he can follow their lead, Kane seeks a steady grip on the slope leading you and follows along.
Sheridan takes a look at the still intact iron front door of the building. It's unlocked but won't budge. A slight bend in the frame allows a very narrow slit to see the other side...which is nothing but stone, rubble, and debris. You'd guess half the first floor is nothing but an immovable pile of rocks. To go down, you'll have to go up.
Yantri inspects what remains of the walls of the first floor. She finds nothing on the NW side; the NE side is mostly solid wall and huge piles of stone and boulders; The SW, where the door is, has a few areas where a window maybe used to be, but behind is nothing but fallen debris and rubble floor to ceiling.
Kane waits a moment as Ngai starts climbing up the slope, to allow her companions to follow.
What are your characters doing?
EDIT:
With her trip around the tower fruitless, Yantri arrives back at the base of the rubble. Putting her Musket back in it's holster for now, she squints at the rocks, and notes Ngai's progress. "I don't see any other way in, so it looks like up this slope it is. Let me give you hand there, Kane." Seeing Kane struggling a bit with the rocks, she offers a hand to help steady his ascent, and then starts up behind him.
Sheridan follows Ngai, keeping his knees bent as he hops over smaller debris to put his weight on the larger pieces of rubble. "You sure we shouldn't lash each other together? Even a ten foot fall could break bones."
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The cleric needs the money and the good favor of the Baroness so he accepts the mission quietly. He chooses to sit back and observe the folks he is about to be partnered with again. He sees Ngai chooses to take immediate and direct action. The Dwarf seems quite enthusiastic and the nobleman throws his lot in with them for love of academics. The Ifrit seems to take stock of the situation and chooses tactics before taking immediate steps to climb the slope.
”Sheridan, anything that prevents injury sounds reasonable. If we can set that hook first that would help as well. I have a spare rope for further in if needed. Maybe toss the hook to Yantri. She seems quite surefooted.”
Sheridan hands off the hook as directed, and passes the length through Kane's and his belts to Ngai. To Yantri, he clarifies: "If something happens, your first priority is to get that hook into something solid." To Ngai, he winks. "I figure you're solid enough on your own."
Yantri, nods her understanding, and takes the hook from Sheridan. "Before we climb any more, let's see if I can get the hook set first. That'll give us the best security." Scrambling a step or two to the side so that she has a clear view ahead she then scans the top of the slope to see if she can find a likely candidate for a good solid anchor to aim for.
Sheridan reaches into pack and produces a grappling hook, which he passes Yantri, and she passes to Kane. Ngai reaches the top, though sloppily. Kane, Yantri, and Sheridan all begin climbing behind her. Kane is about halfway up when he completely loses his footing on a loose rock that shoots out like a banan peel. He hits the ramp hard. It starts to shake violently a huge section of the rubble shifts, slides, tumbles down, taking Kane and everyone beneath him with it.
Fall damage
fall damage
fall damage
The natural ramp of debris is gone, but no new access points seemed to have appeared. The only way up now would be to scale the flat wall on the SW side (where the door is).
Edit: Yantri had hook, was about to toss it, and Kane fell down while standing still.
Sheridan takes time clearing rubble and making sure the others are all right before gathering up the grappling hook. He's bleeding, but he's focused on the task at hand. Rather than dwelling on his prediction, Sheridan walks to a clear span of wall, and lobs up the hook.
"Great Googly Moogly! Is every one ok? I'm sorry - I could have lowered a rope when I hit the top!" She lets her gaze linger on Sheridan for an extra moment, making sure his injuries are not too severe.
Yantri, after making sure her Musket isn't damaged in the fall, and then checking on herself and her companions, sits down on a chunk of rock, gives a thumbs up to Ngai up above, and watches the others work for a bit. "Well, that's probably a lesson best learned early. We need to coordinate a bit more, and make sure precautions are in place before moving, if we're going to take them." She nods to Stone and Sheridan, acknowledging their varying degrees of foresight.
Watching Sheridan and Ngai get the hook and rope ready for a harder, but more organized ascent, she stands and walks over to to take a close look around the shifted pile of rubble, just in case anything (perhaps scaly?) was uncovered by the slide.
”Yes, we never faced anything on the road. We must learn to communicate and coordinate, for all our sakes, and learn one another’s abilities and weaknesses.” The cleric observed evenly.
”Ragathiel has gifted me with his grace. I’ll see you patched up when we are all assembled up top.” He states matter of factly.
Then with a wolffish grin he adds, ”I wouldn’t want anyone to be half dead before we even find a way in. Most casualties come after making entry, not before it you know.” with the battlefield humor of one used to seeing trauma and injury.
”The two crushed Kobolds is what gave me pause. Also the fried one outside the manor house give me concearn we will meet with both sword and sorcery inside.”
”Perhaps we should establish some sort of a marching order? None of us have shields at the moment. Kane you aren’t wearing any armor, are you a wizard? Or a scribe with a battle axe? Yantri, do you need to be behind the line to recharge your thunderstick? Ngai, I am assuming you will want to be in front. Sheridan, I know little of you other than you carry a knuckle duster and tools of the trade. Where would you like to be in the formation?”
Yantri is looking over the rubble as Acolyte Stone begins to speaking. About halfway through she stops paying attention to the rocks, and focuses on Stone, her eyes narrow and her jaw tight. She waits until he's done speaking before speaking up herself.
"You've got a knack for saying things worth saying in a tone and manner that isn't worth listening to. I held myself last night and this morning. If we're going to work together for any prolonged period, it's something I can't to do now.
"If we're to act as a team then we do need to get some things sorted. Knowing who's ready to dash in and who's holding back, who's swinging their swords, wiggling their fingers for spells or providing support for a distance matters. That's something to establish, and doing it now is a good move.
"But, calling this a "thunderstick" implies that I can only make booms. Do you do that for magicians who can call fire? You already said that it was as likely to blow up in my face as anything else, and if you'll look closely you might see why that might upset me.
"This is called a Musket, and I assume that even you city slickers should have heard of them. If you need to refer to mine by name you can call it my Penance. Perhaps we'll talk about why that's it's name if you can show me that you deserve to know, in the future. For now I'll be happy to share that as long as I'm set up in a space to fire from you'll get the support you need from me.
"You apparently haven't noticed, but I've been doing everything I can to make sure we have the information we need to proceed safely so that we can put the sort of order you're trying to establish to good use. That third Koblod? We know about it because I went scouting. That this is our only way to proceed into the tower? We know that because I bothered to look. This rubble? We'll know if anything else was uncovered because I'm taking the time to examine it.
"Did you know that the honey you sought to lecture me about this morning is the only food you'll find out here in the wild that doesn't spoil? It is, and that's just one of the many values you sought to educate me, the savage who doesn't know your cities, about. Are you shocked to hear that I might know something of the world that you don't?
"I think that you have good insights and that you mean well, but you'd do well to widen your perspectives and try not to belittle those you're seeking to work with. If we're to be a team then you need to start acting as though you the team members you're working with are worth respect. If you can I think that we'll do well. If you can't, I don't see this being a long term relationship."
Without waiting to see how Stone reacts, Yantri goes back to her scrutiny of the slide.
The cleric isn’t phased and calmly replies.
”Fine, I can call your weapon a musket, you can give it a name, and be offended if I call it a boomstick, smokemaker, or a slugthrower. It was an honest question about if you need to be behind the line—Heavy crossbowmen do— I will still call a knife a pig sticker sometimes and a mace a potato masher. Nicknames for such items are common.”
”I do know honey doesn’t spoil. It’s also good for treating infections, burns and ulcers. I was enjoying the honey and making conversation.”
”And good work on spotting the dead Kobold at the manor house, I don’t think I offered any criticism about that or your valuable scouting abilities . Nor do I recall calling you a savage. I apologized last night for some things, but you are obviously carrying a grudge. I am not shocked you will know things I don’t, I said as much this morning.”
”Now I didn’t see if anyone used their survival skills to check the slope. If someone did that before climbing maybe I just missed it.”
”My training is to keep members of the armed forces alive through magic, discipline, common sense and battlefield experience. I was speaking matter of factly because I want to keep us all alive. We can achieve that through teamwork.”
”So. I will let you lead on Yantri. What should we do next?”
Yantri turns back to Stone and fixes him with a curious stare.
"This isn't about leadership. It wasn't when you spoke last night; it won't be if it comes up again. It's about respect. The words you choose to use have implications. You can ask our new friend Kane about that and I'm sure he'd be happy to talk for some time about it.
"To use the honey as an example, you're calling it making conversation. To me it came off more like someone who thinks himself my better giving an un-requested lecture, a showing off of your knowledge to educate someone.
"I'm not looking to hold a grudge, though I can do it with the best of them and you wouldn't like it if I did; you're probably not looking to offend. Like I say, you've got things that are worth saying. What I want to know for now is, first and foremost, do you understand how you've been taken as condescending in your conversations with the rest of us?"
Yantri’s thorough search and survey of the landslide yields nothing new. No more corpses are found.
Sheridan expertly throws his grappling hook to the second floor
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Kane took one step into the rubble, and just as he thought he found a solid footing, it crumbled and gave way, sending him sliding back down into the dirt and slightly spraining his foot! Picking himself up and dusting off his robe and what dignity he could salvage, he looked up and say Ngai had already made it to the top... and that Stone and Yantri seemed to be going at each other's throats a bit.
"Yantri has the right of it. I could discuss languages at great length... (though this clash seems outside my scope of expertise.) Miss Ngai! I think I will take my chances with the more solid foundation of the wall. Would you be so kind as to lower a length of rope to make scaling the sides a little easier? I fear that while my mental faculties are formidable... my physical conditioning is less-so."
As he made his way around the building, he paused and looked back to Stone. "And to answer your question, Mr. Stone, as I fully understand the struggles that come with categorization. For your ease, I would say that I am a wizard first and foremost... but you do not grow up in Taldor's high society without learning a thing or two about close quarters combat. Not that I favor turning either of these pursuits towards war. I find war closes many more doors than it opens. Not that I do not respect your commitment to your craft." Though perhaps he could choose his choice of enemies a bit more discerningly.
He seemed ready to climb, but stopped and backpeddled slightly to look at both Yantri and Urchin again. "...I feel it is worth noting that while I find languages to be a fascinating subject, it is important to note that they are, in the end, purely words. Some carry more weight than others, and their weight is entirely dependent on the speaker and the listener. And part of using them to foster lasting relationships is for both parties to gauge how the other assigns such weight. I believe the best description of that is 'mutual compensation'... or, in more layman's terms, 'give-and-take'. But again, that is purely my academic assessment."
He turned back up and waved to Ngai. "Now then! Miss Ngai! If you'd be so kind as to lend me a steady hand, I will be happy to join you up there!"
Satisfied with his work, Sheridan returns to the team. "Alright, I'm going to be honest and say I only caught on to bits and pieces of what each of you said. I'm kind of that way. In any case, it seems pretty obvious that we have an issue of incompatible semantics. Sarge, you're a man of faith, you've practiced addressing crowds and giving explanations. It makes sense that your default setting is to exposit and explain. Deadeye, seems like you keep communication pared down to a honed edge, on account of steering clear of the same crowds. Each word has to carry more weight, right? You're both smart, you're both valuable, please keep bringing things up and communicating your concerns, both of you." Sheridan pauses to rub the smouldering blood from his brow and smile.
"I'm an enforcer. A featherweight fighter who takes prisoners. I can also deal with devices mechanical and magical... but I'm not the greatest spotter. As far as group tactics, I do best with a partner. Ngai and I have been traveling together for a bit. Her power and my precision have made a good pair in the past. Although, if Kane is thinking of getting up close and personal, I may swing his way in a pinch." Something occurs to the ifrit and he chuckles to himself.
As the group filters up the rope, , Sheridan follows.
Kane tries to climb up the rope, but he's stuck.
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The cleric runs the comment over in his head . . .
”In the city liquid gold like this is rare. Honey, one of life’s treasures more easily found in the country. Some of the bakers would use a little in the butter they brushed over the top of their loaves if you could afford afford them. I remember the smell. Only merchants and nobles would have it in this form for a causal meal. This is outstanding.”
The man known as Stone winks at Sheridan with a gleam in his eye.
”Okay, so you’re a flanking specialist that can capture high value targets. That’s good to know. I am hoping you can do locks too? If you can we’ve got a regular operations team put together here. And to avoid exegetical misunderstandings and be clear, I’ll heal everyone once we can get us all up there.”
He whispers to Sheridan.
”She would probably get really get upset if I told her what the Brother Drill Sargeant Major told us about safety, “keep your boogerhook off the bangswitch until you are ready to loose.”
He raises his voice with bravado to “The Duke”.
”So, a wizard with a battleaxe, awesome. That’s outfreaking standing! You and I are going to get along just fine Kane. Later we can debate if it is gray with an “a” or grey with an “e”. Hope you have some blasting spells prepared.”
He motions to Sheridan.
”Mind being a second set of ears?”
The cleric walks over to the Baroness.
”No need to worry M’Lady, first engagement jitters for a mixed bag squad, they’ll work out. That’s just the nature of specialist teams.”
”If you could please indulge me however, I couldn’t help but notice the emotions on your face as you look upon this place. This structure was abandoned, but why? It would help to know what the history of this tower is and why this Hunclay fellow would be happy it collapsed. Are there already known dangers inside? That kind of intelligence would be valuable to our survival and the success of the mission.”
”Would you please share what you know with us?”
In the mean time, while people are working their way up the rope, Ngai will look around the area she's reached.
Yantri's curious gaze stays on Stone, until he breaks away, leaving her question hanging. She then shrugs and turns to Sheridan. "Yeah, it's partially a communication thing. There's also probably some world perspective and level of introspection involved. But it'll be fine. I believe I can work with him on the important stuff, and he doesn't have to be my best friend the rest of the time. After the two of you are done talking the the Lady over there I assume you can handle helping him up the rope from down here if he needs it. I'm going to head up and see what Ngai and Kane have found in the tower."
Yantri, done looking at the rubble, and not having found anything of interest there, moves over to the rope and manages to climb up. No one would call it graceful, but it gets the job done.
When she gets to the top she looks around at Kane and Ngai. "Find anything interesting yet?" As she ask she begins to peer around herself.
As Yantri reaches the top, Ngai gives her a quick squeeze on the shoulder and a smile of commiseration. She then returns to her search.