anvina paratically beams when azlana arrives. The elf is still asleep, and anvina looks like she's been ready a long time.
"hello! she says, before flinching, looking at arvanshul, and quieting down. "kinda been too nervous to wake him."
horgus plods up to lina, and offers her a plain bag. "here." he says, explaning nothing.
Hey Anvina. Don't worry. I'll do it. Did you sleep well?
Azlana reaches over and gently shakes Aravashnial's shoulder. Wake up. Time to move on. Once he is awake, she warms up some of the breakfast they made earlier and feeds both the elves. While they are eating she asks Aravashnial, do you have a nickname that I could call you? Do your friends ever call you Von or Aravash, or anything like that?
"Indeed?" Haruto smiles widely at this, thinking it exciting how different and new it was.
Then he looks around and frowns slightly. "Ah... I may have lingered too long, it seems my companions have left already. My apologies, but I should really be going..."
In spite of his words, however, he lingers for a moment, as if hoping for an excuse to talk for a little longer.
anvina quietly consumes her food, nodding at the question about sleeping well. Avarash snorts, slightly indignant, but used to this. "i have noticed other race's difficulty with the name. Avarash will do."
The odd teaveler nods a bit. "well, if you must go, remember me. I'll reward you for any interesting stories you bring me. You'll likely always find me around- i've got some.. odd habits and tend to show up where interesting things are happening."
The traveler pauses, a moment. "ah, yes. A name. You can call me vanti."
"Eh, thank you," Lina says, and she looks in the bag.
"Ueto Haruto," Haruto introduces himself with a graceful bow. "Though here, where most put their family name last, I would be Haruto Ueto. I do hope we shall meet again."
He departs and finds the group again. "Shall we go?"
Azlana thanks Aravash for the nickname, cleans up after breakfast, and makes sure they are ready to depart. After that, she spends time getting to know Anvina and Aravash until the rest of the group shows up to continue the journey.
"Eh, thank you," Lina says, and she looks in the bag.
Horgus is already plodding off, a strange look of grim determination in his face. His borrowed rapier glints as he walks- did he sharpen it?
Eventually, the group gathers and prepares to head off. Horgus has a new bag of things.
"I'm more then ready to leave." says Horgus.
the party starts down the twisting path to thier destination. It's dark unless lit the whole way. Anvina hmms. "will you need someone to scout ahead for you? I can try. I can see rather well in the dark...
Haruto summons light in his hand, holding it up to light the way as they travel.
He frowns slight at Anivia's offer. "Yes... but if you find trouble, you cannot move quickly to rejoin us. Perhaps simply walk in front that your eyes might see ahead?"
"I Can stay in the front, yes. If that's ok."
anvina looks ahead, and nice they get to a certain point, slinks back.
"there's a pair of crude barricades ahead. I can't see past them, but I imagine there might be something there."
Azlana thanks Anvina for scouting and looks over at Lina to see if she has a plan.
Apologies for the late reply, but I just woke up.
"It would seem they are prepared for an attack," Haruto comments. "Do we have other ways to assault them then to charge into their defenses?"
Lina hesitates before she speaks, and there's something funny there, like she's trying not to laugh. "I have an idea, but, it's a little bit far-fetched. But we're outnumbered and they're well-entrenched, and I don't feel exactly confident about sneaking in there when only Anvina can see in the dark. But, we have that scale imbued with Alter Self, so if somebody changed their appearance to that of a Mongrelman...?"
"Or we could follow as soon as the defenders are distracted," Haruto suggests, for once seeming focused on the circumstances.
Azlana shrugs, and uses her scale to alter her appearance to that of a mongrelman.
She makes sure that Aravash has someone else to help him, then powers up her halo so that she can see, and walks forward to the barricade.
a pair of mongrelmen peek over the barricade, and start shouting to azlana in abyssal.
I'm Azlana. Why are you guys blocking the way? Can some friends and I gain passage?
the mongrelmen narrow thier eyes.
The mongrelmen seem quite suspicious.
Well, I heard that you guys were helping some cultists, but that didn't seem believable, so I thought I would ask you directly. I mean, those cultists are crazy. Why would any of us actually help them?
I have a group here that is brokering an agreement to get us rights on the surface, since those surface dwellers got attacked and need help. Making that deal would help us all... give us a real chance. No need to work with crazies.
Lothar whispers to the rest of the group, "Can everybody understand them, or do I need to translate for anybody?"
"I think we can understand well enough that this is likely to end in violence," Haruto replies.
the mongrelmen hesitate. They slink back behind thier walls, seeming to delibrate something.
Azlana walks a little closer to the barriers, waiting for them to respond.
in the meantime, a silvery blob darts from behind the party, towards the situation ahead.
Haruto, startled, chants a few word and points sharply at the blob. A translucent fang darts out and flies at the blob.
"I think we can understand well enough that this is likely to end in violence," Haruto replies.
"Well, you're not wrong." Lothar, focused on the exchange in front of him, does not see the blob and will take no action currently, instead bracing himself to charge forward if things should turn violent.
the ooze splatters, a moment, slowly coalescing. In the meantime, the two mongrelmen have begun a shouting match. One wants to abandon, the other wants to stay. This quickly devolves into a fight. One of the two flees towards the party, and one comes charging after.
Azlana reaches out and tries to redirect the one who seemed to be on our side as he runs past (assuming he is in front), trying to save him from being killed by her friends. (She isn't trying to do this against his will, just moving to direct him, so that he can choose to step aside willingly or not.)
Don't run back that way blindly, friend.
She then tries to trip the other one
the second one falls to the floor, and the other one slows down, confused.
Azlana says to the guy standing up
I told you I was here with a group, remember? If you run at them, they will probably think you're a bad guy. Just wait here with me for a moment.
She looks back and sees the blob and then calls out
Lothar, if you guys can get around the silver blob, can you bring everyone up here?
She says to the guy on the ground
Don't move, or I am going to have to kill you, which would be unfortunate for us both.
She doesn't draw a weapon to back up her threat. Just tries to look scary.
Haruto is too focused on the ooze to contribute to the mongrelfolk issue.
"It has started. Move up, but watch out for that ooze," Lothar says to the rest of the group. He quickly walks forward to stand next to Azlana, setting his weapon on his right shoulder as he moves, with his left hand holding the grip, and his right hand holding the weapon just below where it resets on his should. When he arrives, his eyes cloud over, turning a smoky white as his gaze falls upon the prone figure.
the mongrelmen on the ground snarls and tries to get to his feet.
Azlana doesn't get an AOO because she didn't have a weapon drawn, but she draws her longsword now, and reluctantly skewers the bad guy.
I said stay down!
If that works, she ties him up rather than killing him. If the "good" mongrelman who was arguing for their position is willing, she sends him with the prisoner to join the other mongrelmen group behind them, telling him that they will soon all be free to visit the surface whenever they wish.
Horgus doesn't seem terribly interested in taking prisoners, stepping forward and drawing his rapier, and quickly thrusting it at the mogrelman.
the mongrelmen barely has time to blink as he looks up and Horgus strikes him right between the eyes, before he takes out the rapier and flicks the blood off.
"hmph."
Haruto frowns distantly, still focused on the odd slime. "An unpleasant business, but I doubt those ahead will be more willing to listen to reason than him."
He looks vaguely at the rest of the group. "I am not suited for entering first. Who will?"
He turns his frown on himself. "I should ward myself," he comments, then summons a cloak that seems made of starlight over himself.
Azlana continues down the path past the barriers.