A woman in her early twenties stands before you dressed in colorful robes of orange, red, and browns. She has a lightly tanned complexion with dark colored hair and deep brown eyes. Her dress is similar to that of a Keleshite but those in the know can tell there is personal touch at work. She has a scimitar sheathed at her side and over in one corner you can see a dark colored shield white washed in the middle with a golden sun painted in the middle, leaning up against a well worn pack made of some strange animal skin. Those with a trained eye can see there is a glint of a polished silvery metal below the robes, breastplate armor perhaps? A simple wooden simple hangs from her neck. Those who are know of religions can easily tell that it is of Sarenrae.
The woman has a radiant smile and an aura of so much more about her. She waits for the one known as Tohall to decline and say his good byes. She gives a nod to Kilthan and chuckles a bit at his comment, "Well met to you all. Allustan has told me what you have all been through. Quite the undertaking."
Her smile widens as she nods to the elven witch, "It is good to see that you have fared well, Aarakess."
Aarakess smiles back at Anala:
It has been many years, you are all grown up. I am glad that you have found the Dawnflower, a faith which believes in healing and helping others. It was always clear to me that this was where your heart would lead you.
Aarakess looks to the others:
Several years ago while I was caring for the sick and wounded in this town, something there are far too many of with the poor safety and security in the mines, Anala came to study healing. She was quite good at it, but I always knew that she was meant for greater things than merely working in a small clinic.
The man moves to Dryn and embraces her and gives her a quick kiss, "You are a special woman, Dryn'taka Devilschild. Keep the others safe. I will will see you again, my word to Erastil."
Dryn returns Tohall's affections, her cheeks turning red when she realizes everyone's watching. She mumbles something to him in response, then watches him leave, her eyes starting to tear up.
Turning back to the others, she's quiet for a moment before introducing herself to Anala. Her cheerful face is back up, though their's still a hint of sadness to her eyes. "A pleasure, Anala! I hope we become good friends! I promise I try really hard not to accidentally blow my friends up."
She then turns to Justin, "So happy to return home?"
Kilthan grumbles, "Aye, and sometimes she even succeeds..."
His dwarf-like glower, however, is ruined by the sparkle of amusement in his eyes and slight smile tugging at the corner of his mouth.
The young woman beams at her elven mentor's praise.
She smiles at the tiefling and nods, "I am sure we will."
She raises a brow at the joke the others are making, 'Something I will catch onto I suppose.'
Aarakess looks at Anala:
Lets just say the cheerful Dryn likes to play with fire, and sometimes we all get burned.
She pauses for a moment before continuing.
But she is much more dangerous to the enemy than to any of us.
As she says this, Aarakess looks over and Dryn and gives her a wink.
"Nice to meet you Anala."
the lizardman in heavy armor says with a formal bow. He offers the young lady use of the items formerly used by Tohall. "We have run into creatures that need to be harmed by enchanted items. We have a magic morningstar, chain, and an item that makes you wiser."
He smiles at Drynn's question and replies: "It is amazing how much I have learned in such a short time. My mastery of magic will probably impress in the Mushfens more than my fighting abilities. Although I return to the place of my birth, I am already home with this group. I am concerned you will think less of me when you see where I started."
Allustan thanks you all and tells you, "There is an old abandon farmhouse about halfway to Blackwall Keep called "Shank's Rest". Shank was a farmer who inherited a large amount of money and moved to Magnimar and retired. He never bothered to sell his farm so travelers now use it as a waypoint on their travels. Stay safe and I will await word from you."
The first day of travel and you find the farm with no problem and stay the night at Shank's rest. Feeling refresh that morning you continue the journey to Blackwall keep. A few hours down the road and you a caravan of some sort that has been attacked, wagons are overturned. You see a few bloody bodies laying on the ground.
"I see... If it works for Dryn, then I suppose we will endure." She flashes a wide grin.
She looks very oddly as she examines the lizardman. After several moments she realizes she is staring. "My apologies. Even with Allustan's description of you, I was not ready to see a lizardman."
She looks at the offered items and first pulls aside some of the flowing robes. Everyone is now able to see more clearly the highly polished silvery breastplate armor that she is wearing. The detail in scroll work and embossing of a rising sun and symbols of Sarenrae are of amazing quality. Those with experience or knowledge of metals will easily recognize that the armor is made of mithral and dwarven work. "Thank you for the offer, but I will stick with mine. It is enchanted as well."
She looks over the silver diadem and recognizes it as something to do with elemental powers, "Most... interesting. This imparts wisdom to one who wears it, I believe I could make use of this." She will put it on.
The woman hefts the morningstar, "Magical you say. While I do enjoy the use of a scimitar, I have not yet had the chance to have it magically enhanced. If one of the more martial of your group wished to use the weapon, please do so." She takes the weapon over to her backpack and opens the central flap and slides the weapon into it. Somehow, it looks wrong to anyone watching, as a good portion of the the haft of the morningstar should be sticking out, but is not.
The woman looks about the site of some sort of attack and whispers to the others, "Be wary of an ambush. Many brigands lay in wait, either setting such things up or after an attack of would be rescuers"
The woman has her crossbow out and loads it as she moves closer, only with the others, towards some of the first wounded that she sees.
The attack looked like it happened a couple hours ago. Anala start to check out the bodies and all are dead except one. The man is wounded and unconscious, but stable.
Seeing the unconscious man on the ground, Aarakess walks over with her long robes blowing slightly in the wind. She then bends down and places her hands on his chest as she calls on the power that has gifted her. You see her hands glow with a light bluish light, which all are familiar with from past healing. A moment later, the man coughs and appears in much better shape.
Healing Hex:
Kilthan steps carefully toward the burning wagon with his bow ready, directing Jadgbach to seek.
After carefully sniffing out the only living soul, Kilthan points him out to the ladies and says, "Looks clear", before calling the badger back to heel as the cleric and witch approach the sole survivor.
He watches carefully for a moment, Don't look like an ambush... at least not for us...., then sighs at the carnage.
He grumbles, "I'll try to figure out where the bad guys went...", then starts to examine the area, looking at tracks.
Justin is excited to be mounted for the first time since he has been with the group. He is not a natural rider, and only through practice and lessons has the clumsy paladin mastered riding.
Although Justin has a lance, he looks at it with disdain, preferring to make sure he has his enchanted greataxe close to hand.
"I regret Allustran did not send us out earlier. We may have prevented this!"
Tobar, yes
Justin seems quite distraught with the carnage and is anxiously watching Kilthan search for tracks. With no skill at the task, he was anxiously pacing around moving his huge axe from hand to hand. He stepped back to the ambush site when Kilthan warned him about spoiling the ground. It is then that he distractedly notices there is a survivor.
"A survivor!"
He seems focused on avenging the attack, but still asks the halfling with some concern:
"Can you travel?"
The hard look seems to indicate a no answer would not be appreciated.
Anala takes a step closer, her arms out to the side and speaks in a claming tone, "Do not be afraid, we do not wish you any harm. We just now came across you and your attacked caravan, and revived you."
"Who is Galopin, what does he look like? We will help you find him," the woman offers.
"Do not worry of the lizardman on horsback, he is here to help as well," Anala adds to reassure the man.
Justin nods at the kind words.
"Yes, that is what I meant to say. I am here to help."
After hearing an animal may be missing, Justin show more concern.
"We will find him."
Justin whistles for his dog, Scout, to help in the search.
Kilthan calls out from his examination of the raider's tracks, "The raiders took a hostage? Can he tell us how many there were?"
Aarakess is confused by the halfling's reaction:
I am sorry. I did not mean to frighten you. I sought only to heal you of your near death wounds. While my methods may be somewhat different than those of a cleric, my healing is just as effective.
Diplomacy:
While usually not the best at first impressions, Aarakess manages to avoid too many actions which would be likely to further frighten and alienate the halfling.
Kilthan whistles, "Three hostages? Well, that oughta slow 'em down, at least."
He starts scanning the area again, adding, "And make their tracks more distinctive."
The woman offers a hand to help the halfling up off the ground, "Well met, I am Anala, a priestess of Sarenrae. These are my companions," and she motions to each as she names them, "Aaakess, Kilthan, Justin, and Dryn. We will help you find those taken and tend to your wounds, perhaps you can explain what happened here?"
Justin adds, "As we ride, of course."
He reaches his hand down to offer the halfling a lift up to his military saddle with a heavily muscled arm. The lizardman tries to smile, but the facial gesture shows some deadly teeth. The words, however, are delivered in a friendly tone.
"Quite a comfortable ride up here. Better than any wagon or saurian."
Aarakess looks at the halfling.
You are welcome to ride with me. Although I must say that the lizard man paladin is probably the safest among us. While you may not trust the color of his skin, his faith in Iomedae should waylay any fears you may have.
Kilthan looks up from the tracks at Justin, "Would your people have been driven to do something like this, Justin?"
He then turns back to his work, still trying to find the trail to follow to rescue those taken.
Justin shrugs, and seems to be more affected by Kilthan's words than the halfling's mistrust.
"Kilthan, you are my people. But, yes, lizardfold could easily do this. Many are warlike by nature and lizardfolk can be more tribal than dwarves. And Aarakess, I have found many do not put much stock in religion or values. That is why a kind word and a big sword will always get you more than a kind word."
Justin thinks for an additional moment. "If these were lizardfolk that attacked, we should move quickly. Lizardfolk are not known for their treatment of prisoners."
Justin carefully makes sure that in no way is he collectively associated with lizardfolk.
I have chosen my path, and I have no doubts or second thoughts.
Hearing Justin, Aarakess nods:
Yes, I have studied many of the peoples of this world. While most elves are good, if a little chaotic in their ways, there are those who follow darker paths. Likewise, there are those with the blood of angels, who turn to the dark arts.
Aarakess looks to Dryn with a smile: Even in our party, there is one who while having the blood of some denizen of the lower planes, has chosen to follow the path of the good and righteous.
Looking back to Justin:
While you may think that the sword is stronger than words, I would remind you that with a few words, I can bring visions of doom upon my enemies, and visions of hope to my friends, making your sword much more dangerous and the enemy much less so. Your faith guides you, you have chosen to follow the path of the good and the civilized. You wear the sign of the inheritor upon your chest. Wear it proudly and let none look to your skin to attack you with prejudices. Your sword may be your weapon of choice, but I believe the god you follow would prefer if you could stop battles before they started. We both know that against the enemy we fight this will frequently not be an option, but if it is, it is the path we should seek.
Kilthan nods at Justin's words, "I agree. We have become Clan through our deeds. And I take your warning seriously. We'd best hasten."
Aarakess looks to Dryn with a smile: Even in our party, there is one who while having the blood of some denizen of the lower planes, has chosen to follow the path of the good and righteous.
Dryn can't help but smile when Aarakess turns to her, revealing the row of pointed teeth, a sign of her heritage.
"Justin really is nice, and a great warrior! He helped save Diamond Point from some evil peoples trying to do bad things, creating a monster. And the way he bites people is amazing! You can see how along the jawline his muscles are well developed for it, able to exert a lot of pressure and quickly too. Much stronger than me. He really tears into Kuthonites and such when he bites 'em!"
Dryn pauses a moment to catch her breath. "So while we ride, anything else about these raiders? Were they mounted, weapons, any symbols and such? Ooh, did they cast spells?"
Anala looks to the halfling and comments, "Unlike your attackers, we did stop to help you and are offering to tend to your wounds if you like? And please, if you do not wish to come with us and follow your own path, we will let you do so in peace."
She turns to look at Justin and comments, "Mere words can turn the tide of a nation or soothe a fearsome beast. Do not discount just words good Paladin." With a friendly grin, "Do not get me wrong, having the sword along can be quite helpful, when words fail."
Kilthan says, "Bah, it all depends. Words won't stop a hoarde of hungry goblins, where an axe will. On the other hand, using an axe to make a trade deal is brigandry."
Justin smiles at the discussion for a flash. His face then resumes its normal, inscrutable nature.
"We are coming to WHAT USED TO BE my world. You may find it far from civilized."
He then clarifies: "I never doubt the power of kind words. I am just pointing out that many uncivilized creatures respect strength. Lizardfolk are among them. As you can see from how I fight, I would encourage you to keep lizardfolk at a distance. Their bites and claws can be devastating at close range."
After introductions you head out in search of the lizardman patrol and their captives. You spend a fair amount of the day traveling towards Blackwall Keep, which seems odd that any lizardman raiding party would travel so near to it . You are thinking you are getting close to Blackwall Keep when suddenly a monkey comes out of nowhere and lands on Tobar's shoulder. You also smell something familiar in the air - smoke and blood. You also notice more flies than is normal. The reunion is short lived as they monkey leads you up a hill. The surrounding terrain is also hilly so you manage to get closer and circle around to the east/southeast and a good view of what is going on, without being spotted.
The keep itself is built out of black stone and consists of a single ground floor with a tower. It is built into a hill so the tower is almost the only thing visible.
Surrounding the keep are various groups of lizardfolk hiding behind natural barriers of various sorts. You see they are in groups of 6 and there are 7 groups of them total. They all look the same wielding clubs, large wooden shields and a javelin, except one group has a larger lizardman with a metal shield and another group has a smaller lizardman in the group that doesn't look like much of a warrior. It looks like the lizardmen has had their share of battle and wounds.
The keep looks like it has been attacked repeatedly and is in bad shape. The only door in looks like it has been broken open and hastily repaired. While it looks like it is easily defended, it is apparent that their numbers in the keep must be low as the defenders on the wall are spread thin. Near the keep is a stockaded horse corral and you can tell there are dead horses everywhere around it. Numerous bodies of lizardmen and humans are spread around the keep gathering flies.
There is a large clearing between the keep and where the lizardmen are currently and you do not think it would be possible to make it to the keep undetected, however since they are currently spread out, you likely could only have to fight one or maybe two group of lizardmen and make it to the walls if you were fast enough.
Kilthan says, "I don't think we can hide -- a spell that covers us wouldn't be big enough to reach the door... plus they'd investigate a sudden fog rolling in... and they're close enough together to hear the sounds of combat, once battle is joined."
He looks and then pauses, "If we pick which group we'll want to attack, I could send Jadbach ahead to attack them from the rear if we think there's time to let him tunnel into their midst."
____________________
Aarakess looks to the others.
With all the swamp and bugs, I could summon a swarm of frogs. If I were invisible, I could just keep the frogs moving around and disrupting the enemy for quite a while. If I were to be caught, I could use my flying ability to flee.
Dryn, not wanting to be left out of the planning, offers her own suggestion. "Oh, you could fly real high up, and drop fire on them!" Dryn thinks for a moment. "Wait, we're rescuing people. Hmm. That could cause panic though! Draw them away and become invisible, then circle back to us. We can sneak in while you keep them distracted."
Does anyone have the ability to make me invisible? I do not have the ability to cast this spell.
How far is it from the woods/hidden places, to where some of the lizard men are?
Dryn pulls out one of the many vials on her person, a clear potion within. "Ta'da! Three minutes of no-one-sees-you invisibility! One of my nifty little things I cooked up. And I have two just in case it's needed."
Kilthan nods at Tobar, "That's a lot of sneaking past, and I imagine the groups'll shift if some of them give chase... Plus, there's a lot of 'em to give chase -- not good for the folk doing the drawing off."
He shrugs, "Still, sneaking could work. Assuming those lizardfolk have the same poor night vision as Justin, the darkness could hide us. Assuming a starry night, my elven eyes should allow me to sneak up to the gate unseen... if that's the plan."
Justin recaps what he believes is the situation:
"More that two score sieging the keep. They are split in various bands numbering more than a hand in a line east to west across the main approach, and we will inevitably run into a band trying to break through."
He grabs a stick and draws a hasty sketch of the situation in the dirt.
"The big one here with the metal shield, taking him out will probably have an effect on the others. If I ride at the front, when they see a lizardfolk it may buy us some time. Drynn may also help confuse our allegiance."
He uses his stick to point to the crude drawing of the keep. "This door is what we need to make for after we break the line. The clash with the besiegers should convince them that we are on our side and they should open it quickly for us."
He adds. "We can use Kilthan and Jadbach and our new friend to approach as stealthily as possible. As we will have to clash with these outlaws, I would rather have everyone close to support a quick skirmish rather than risk infiltrating some through the lines to the keep. The defenders look in bad shape, and probably cannot sally to help us."
Turning to Aarakess, Anala and Drynn, Justin adds:"You know best how your magic can aid this operation. I think we just need to make sure we stick together to support each other."
He holds his stick out to allow someone else to take it and asks:
"Is there anything I missed? I am not one to avoid this fight!"
Anala listens to the suggestions made by the others and comments after Justin, "Staying relatively together is a good thing. The spells I have at present would aid the group for combat. I also have a spell to increase one's strength. We might want something other than Justin be the first reach the Keep."
"So is the plan to hit that command group and then try to make for the keep?" Anala asks.
She then looks to Justin, "Will your mount make it inside the keep's entrance?"
Aarakess listens to the others:
As I said, what I thought might be useful is not so much stealth, as it is an unseen attack. Dryn's potion will last nearly 3 minutes. I can give myself the ability to fly, then quaff the potion so that I am invisible, and then fly out to one of the groups. I think the one with the smaller lizardman who appears to be a caster of some sort would be optimal. I will cast a spell which creates a swarm of poisonous frogs to appear. These can attack and disrupt the six lizardmen, and hopefully will eliminate the caster. I can keep the swarm in existence as long as I need to, limited only by my ability to remain invisible.
If I were to use this on the caster, it might disable, or hopefully kill, him. But, more importantly, it would create a heck of a distraction and might allow the rest of you to charge one of the flanking groups of lizardmen and then reach the fort while the rest of the lizard men sought to fight off the frogs.
When my invisibility is just about finished, or if they manage to disperse the swarm, then I will immediately fly up and over to you all.
One thing that is important to remember, while I must concentrate to keep the frogs in existence, I cannot control who they attack, so if you all were to move to where the frogs are, they might attack you.