Following in Miya's wake, Jolis asks the foxwoman, "So, do we plan to attack The Fortress, or do you have a softer target in mind?"
Strolling along, clearly bored, Lera turns to her traveling buddy. "So Vitranna...I just realized that we've never spoken one-on-one."
Miya thinks a moment
"We head out until we find their out guard outpost perimeter. They will have some. Then we hunker down and watch for a bit. See what pattons they have in place. So we head here on the map and scout. Then I will infiltrate the outpost and get intel on where they have other placs"
Vitranna nods,smiles and replies cryptically.
"My people having a saying: "Silence is often louder when it is not spoken of."
"So the first rule of not talking is to not talk about not talking. Got it."
Vitranna's smile deepens as they continue down the path after the others.
"You hide it with humor perhaps, but you understand more than you let on. However if it helps: Silence, in general, can mean many things. Silence between people...is often just another way of talking to those with the wits to listen properly. Anyway...if you have questions: just ask. I am, as they say, an 'open book.' "
"What do the Shoanti do for fun?"
With more smiling, Vitranna speaks of her people almost reverently.
"We live freely under the stars and sun. We ride where we wish and hunt what we wish. Dance and sing when we feel like dancing. We speak to the world's spirits and let our ancestor's stories guide us in our future endeavors. The true question is, when are we NOT having fun? Sure there are wars, monsters, and evil magic...dragons even! Very LARGE dragons! But all freedom has a price: Most of my people choose to take and hold their freedom at any cost."
Miya's group: Tracking down an outpost isn't too difficult. Whether it's due to their hubris, or simple carelessness, the enemy troops don't make much effort to disguise their tracks. You know you're close when you start finding crude goblin "art" etched into tree trunks. Early in the second day, you find another ruined tower, similar to the one you hid from the otyugh in. This one is not nearly as damaged though, merely weathered, not destroyed. Some paltry defenses have been put up. A wall of wooden spikes, about three feet high, surrounds most of the tower, but there are several gaps interspersed throughout. Good for slowing down a charging battalion, but not much good for deterring a group your size.
As you scout around, you quickly realize that the wall is mostly for show. Several other traps are hidden in the forest around the outpost. Tripwires set to release deadly spikes, camouflaged bear traps, and hidden pitfalls litter the area. Grelda comes close to stepping into one, but notices just moments before her foot came down. A larger group storming the place, or even just a careless scout, would likely be ripped to shreds.
Still a way back she shifts to fox form and sends to the others.
::"Our aim here is to wipe this lot out, kill everyone, while stopping them from giving the alarm. We will remove all the bodies after but leave the place intact. This is so when the next group comes there is nothing here. We want them not know know what happened. But 1st some intel, if we can capture one or I can get close, I can study it and copy it. Then go in and get them talking, once I have something I will signal and we take them out. My job will be to stop them rasing the alarm. Your job to kill the rest. If you can take the three in the trees before then, with out as sound then even better. What do you say?"::
"That does sound like fun. I've always thought the world was too big to stay in one city for too long. That said, I could do without any very large dragons attacking me."
"I have one trick that silence someone though I was saving it for that strange woman we met at the tavern when the army can in."
It takes a few hours for Valeriya and Vitranna to finally catch up with the others. While Miya's group waits in hiding nearby, they see four different bugbears appear at the top of the tower, watching one at a time in shifts. But none come or go from the tower during this time. It's hard to say exactly how many are inside. The only entrance is the closed wooden door at the base.
There are open windows starting about ten feet off of the ground, and then more on each level. You can sometimes see hints of movement or light coming from them, but nothing distinct from where you are. The tower is four stories tall, not counting the guard post on the roof.
To enact Miya's plan, you will have to find a way inside.
Pondering only for a moment at the layout of the tower, Vitranna then compares it mentally with the previous version they were at before.
"Tunnel? We can try an infiltrate from there if this one has one like the last one did. I have a feeling these builders liked their 'escape tunnels' to be both numerous and plentiful. If they actually have the barrier up, it should bypass that obstacle too. Right?"
[Ooc]To clarify, this is a much smaller building than the research station and worn by age. There are no signs of a forcefield. Geo or Engineering might be useful though.[\ooc]
"Sadly that was Richard's purview. I'm more of a Dark Arts gal. I have a mist that can make a distraction but I wouldn't suggest entering into it and I can only throw it about 20 paces."
"Me and Miya can move pretty fast. We could quickly move in and take out some opposition to make way for the rest", Jolis suggested.
Looking around the area, Vitranna can remember some of the notes that Richard took before and several of his mutterings about the tunnel. Using that, and the layout of the tunnels they were in before, she know that there's very likely a hidden tunnel within a mile of the groups location. Pinpointing it might take some time, but if found, it would give you an easy way in.
Relaying her sudden geographical inspiration to everyone, she asks the inevitable question.
"Do you want to try for the tunnel, or just go in now? I would urge caution and find the tunnel myself, but I can understand if you all are spoiling for another fight."
"No!" stated Jolis. "Let's do the smart thing and find that tunnel. If all goes well, we'll have plenty of 'fight' to have our fill."
Vitranna starts looking for the tunnel.
"Always up for doing the smart thing. Help her out, Viska."
Grelda hopes her efforts to find the tunnel bear fruit.
Finding the entrance to the tunnel is a bit trickier this time. This one is well hidden, but you're able to spot a rather unnatural formation of stones that conceal the entrance. With a bit of heavy lifting, you can get inside. This tunnel is slightly smaller, and in slightly worse condition than the last one you found. But it is serviceable, and will take you beneath the tower.
Soon, you're able to locate the trapdoor you believe will take you directly into the enemy base. Now it's just time to plan your next move.
"Tactically speaking we should send in Miya to scout quickly and take out any unaware guards down here. There should be few unless they know or suspect this is here. Once we know the basement is clear, we can enter and start this...retaliation."
She then proceeds to cast Cat's Grace upon Miya, then use her Wand of Protection from Evil on her as well.
"That okay by you, Miya?" asked Jolis.
In her fox form, Miya is able to scout out the basement fairly quickly and without drawing attention. For now, the room is empty save for a few crates of food, alcohol, and other 'taxes' claimed from Ruin Village. It appears as if someone might be skimming some of the take for themselves.
There's a ladder in the basement leading further up, and you can hear some commotion coming from upstairs. From the sound of it, a bunch of rowdy bugbears settling in at the end of their guard shift. Jolis can understand their chatter; mostly arguing over dice games and who owes money to who.
Vitranna signals for everybody to move up and into the basement quietly. She whispers to the others.
"Be ready to attack quickly."
With longsword draw, Jolis rushes up and into the basement.
Grelda moves as stealthily as she can. It's not very stealthy.
Yes
invisibility 6mins
Lera walks daintily, trying desperately to remain quiet despite a total lack of experience in such things.
You move across the basement and ascend the stairs quickly and silently...or, mostly silently. Jolis is already halfway up the stairs when Grelda bumps into a precarious stack of crates, sending them toppling over. The commotion upstairs pauses.
"Whassat? Another rat? It's your turn to kill this one, Yud."[/d]
[b]"Fine, fine. Gimme yer club."
Jolis leaps downstairs to meet the others.
"Hide!" whispers the big warrior. "Then we take him out quickly!"
Cursing, Grelda quickly casts vanish and tries to hide.
Lera manages to suppress a cry of surprise and alarm and hides quietly with the others.
Joining Grelda in invisibility, Vitranna casts Vanish.
Yud stomps downstairs, grumbling about the rats and dragging a club behind him. He moves over to fallen pile of crates, looking at the ground and around the corners. He doesn't seem to notice anything out of place...
Jolis forgoes his shield, drawing his longsword, then covering the bugbear's mouth with his freehand.
Forgoing her usual dual clubs, Grelda draws her big bone club and brings it down on his head!
Lera whispers "Let their body grow weak, let their guard be dropped, Let their defenses be broken, Let not a blow be blocked."
Vitranna simply stabs out with her totem spear, trying to cause as much damage as possible while Jolis tries to keep him quiet.
Jolis moves in first, muffling the bugbear, but Yud starts to struggle and knocks his sword away with the club. Luckily, Grelda and Vitranna are ready, and with two quick strikes, he collapses in Jolis's grip. It's over before he can make a sound and the guards upstairs continue with their game.
Vitranna points to the hole they came out of and mouths the words 'Dump Him' to Jolis.
Once done, she tosses his club after him and whispers a prestidigitation cantrip to clean up the scene quickly.
She then whispers to the others.
"Line up. Get ready to move. Miya and Jolis are first. Val? You're last. Let's do this as quickly and quietly as possible."
Grelda casts a spell of heroism on herself before following behind Vitranna.
"'Val?' Where did you get that? Call me Lera."
She hisses her response but does as Vitranna asks.
With a glint in his eye, Jolis advances up the stairs quietly.
While not the stealthiest approach, the bugbears are too preoccupied to pay much attention. They seem to chalk it up to Yud having more trouble than expected with the 'rats'. You reach the top of the stairs to see a group of four bugbears sitting around a table, with a fifth seat left empty. The room is spacious enough to manuever but full of the mess and clutter one would expect to find in a goblin den. The bugbears are too focused on their food and games to notice you at first, but with nowhere to hide, it won't take them long to spot you.