Well, that decides that. Arrows it is.
Hijiro continues to hang back, hiding... preferring to avoid combat if it even can be avoided at this point...
Sonya shifts her gaze, targeting her spell to the Trog nearest the Priest and lets her murderous intent overwhelm him.
"Save your breath Silena. We will not deal these beasts. They're nothing but murderous dogs."
Silena shrugs, her expression one of tedium and suddenly she shift's into the form of a large Katipeshi leopardess... her dark furred flanks and mane of silver-white practically filling the tight confines of the small hallway and ante-chamber!
Silena's rumbling purr.. almost makes the walls tremble slightly. Her sudden presence putting everything and everyone in the little chamber in easy reach of her claws and teeth...
Cat's don't 'laugh'.. in the traditional since but the, 'Hiss-Hiss-HISS..!' that comes from Leopard-Silena is likely the closest approximation. The large predator cat flicks her ears about regarding the muttering Troglodytes as they try to back away.
Casually she stretches out her paw... as wide as a full grown man's chest and unsheathing her claws lays the powerful paw gently on the chest of the fainted Troglodyte Cleric of ROVAGUG... as if to claim her prey. Her claws studiously not drawing blood.. but clearly ready to eviscerate the helpless lizard creature at her slightest whim.
Leopard-Silena turns her head toward and focuses her ears forward on Sonya, licking her fanged maw in a very cat-like fashion, her large slitted violet eyes wide and observant... and waits as if seeking direction?
Sonya proceeds up to the priest of the beast and rips his unholy symbol from his neck, Sarenrae's holy flame flickering from her hand, melting the abomination's relic. "Silena, I don't want to ask you to take a life on my behalf. Change back so I can use your blade."
Leopard-Silena nods in response to Sonya and yawns briefly.. her teeth filled maw spectacular in its toothy interior... mostly done to remind the other Troglodytes just how hopeless any fight with her would be.
Then the night-black pelt of the Leopardess shrinks suddenly replaced by the inky-black smooth skin, and shock white streaked with silver hair of a mostly naked Silena.
It becomes clear now why Silena's entire wardroom is made of scanty tear-away silken outfits.. as when she changes almost none of her clothing changes with her... save weapon belts and pouches and equipment.
Somewhat in a disheveled appearance Silena stands again.. the woman-child half-drow elf re-wrapping her clothing for modesty sake and drawing the frosty deadly steel edge that is the Scimitar to hand it lightly to Sonya's outstretched waiting hand.
She does comment, smirking,"..y'know this 'Trog' cleric might just have had a 'crisis of faith' here... perhaps he might be convinced to abandon the .. without ending his existence? Remember, WANTS his 'followers' killed as well as all of existence! Consider how was tricked by the 'Rough Beast', when she descended herself in righteous wroth at the the loss of her Herald - the Mighty Angel to smite with her scimitar the Metropolis of , a community of HER misguided worshipers who slew ; an action on part that inadvertently~ opened a rift in Golarion to the 'Rough Beast's' prison~ creating the , just as the had schemed! 'To Err is mortal.. to forgive Divine.' Mortals can be misguided.. especially evil ones... showing the way to the light is not always an ending in death... but I leave the choice to your wisdom and conscience... dear sister. Strike true.. but not in wrath."
"You may be right. I can't say, but then I have to think, if we forgive him, what justice is there for those he sacrificed to the beast before us. I will leave forgiveness to the divine." Sonya's eyes fall on her target. "If you are truly repentant, I pray Pharasma judge you fairly. I can not read your heart, and will not trust those of your ilk." Her holy blade in hand, Sonya will mercifully end the cleric as painlessly as possible.
Silena nods in acceptance, "Well done sister. Not in wrath."
She will take the frosty blade back sheathing it, still coated with freezing blood, in its ornate sheath... and she casts to see what items the now-dead cleric of Rovagug once owned.
Turning her gaze to the other Trgolodytes she says her voice stern and forceful, "You, now belong to our mercy... you will abandon the worship of ..or die just like your cleric! Your penance will be to serve us until our tasks here are complete... comply or you will die now as well!"
Barezata continues to hold. Taking care to watch the rest of the troglodytes and ready to unleash death upon them if they decide to attack in the aftermath of the priest's death.
Barezata cocks her head at the strange hissing and slowly swings her arrow over toward the door.
"It seems someone is refusing your generous offer Silena." Sonya states flatly, turning her attention to the noise.
Silena turns toward the sounds, "Or perhaps too bestial to understand? No matter."
Touching the blackened steel shield-shaped charm/medallion embossed with the emblem of a suit of spiked full plate armor hanging from the spiked-collar at her throat produces the sound of shrieking metal and the medallion 'opens'. The spiked plate armor emblem expands into bands of metal strips that instantly unfold to wrap around Silena's feminine form encasing and interlocking into a suit of blackened steel spiked full plate armor... form fitted to her shapely figure...
Now armored, Silena dons her buckler and draws , hefting it in two hands~ which suddenly it lengthens and morphs, as well, into a spiked chain of frost-covered cold iron as she steps in front of Sonya ready to do battle with whatever approaches.
Seeing that the lizards do not look like they're going to be as easy to frighten as the trogs, Barezata takes a moment to observe their movements and waits for the right opening.
Silena makes a gamble... seeing that the lizards 'could' have charged in and attacked {which was what she was expecting}, but for some reason did not... she decides to try something else... perhaps they are just spooked?
Calling up her memories of her... horror-filled trips to visit her mother's Drow inhabited city in the Darklands... one of the few memorable and not terrifying experiences was riding Giant Cave Gekos through the underground caverns as they ran up walls and on the ceilings of the Stygian home caverns of the sinister dark elves. It was an experience... not un-enjoyable... one she actually cherished, but she recalled sometimes the dark elves would use their magical abilities to hypnotize excited or startled giant cave gekos with the vibrant colors of their dancing light fire-globes... to aid in handling the beasts.
These were clearly NOT Giant Cave Gekos.. but perhaps she might be able to use a similar tactic upon them...
Flexing her will Silena cast her spell and slowly moved the four poly-chromatic globes, shifting their bright hues to the vibrant but cool mauve/magenta, orchre, deep violet, and indigo tones so familiar in the darklands slowing moving them toward the lizards directly positioning them before their heads but slowing to a halt about 2'feet in front of their scaly snouts. The fourth globe she hovered above and just ahead of her own forehead as she spoke in a hushed and hisping tones to the lizards trying to calm them... as she very slowly approaches them...
Silena slowly, rhythmically moves to reach toward them but still not close enough actually touch waving her hands slowly in motion with the glowing sphere above her head. She approaches close enough for the lizards to scent her .. and learn she has no fear of them.
Confident at last of their calm...she approaches to reach behind their heads and scratch them at the base of their skulls.
"There, there... scaly snouts... no one here is threatening... or threatened...", she coos at them as she tries to corral them back into their lair, the darkness being no impediment to her sight.
Silena ponders the lizard's reactions.. and leans to look behind them from where they came from...
Speaking to her companions, "...I think something has spooked them... in their lair... I'm going to use my to try to lead them out. If we don't threaten them I think they will just walk out as they only seem to want to leave."
Silena gestures and the lights before them begin to move toward the exit and Silena backs away from the lizards.. the light globe above her head swaying and 'leading' the other light globes toward the exit...
Silena herself, peers into the lair the lizards were fleeing from...
Barezata nods, uncertain of what could be causing the lizards' distress, but not willing to give up her cover yet. She watches as Silena works her way to the entrance of the lair and waits for a signal for help.
Silena watches the skittish lizards as they pass... gesturing to everyone to follow, "... no need to fight fights we don't have to."
She then walks across the room {C4} to look at through the door opposite them.
Barezata nods and moves to cover the door, standing back in case any threats present themselves once it is open.
Silena will cast on the door first... no need to be imprudent.
If she detects no magic she will gesture for Barezata to come forward to check the door for any traps as well...
If there is magic... she will turn to Sonya and say, "...bring one of those cowering Troglodytes forward... there may be hostile magic here.. they can bypass~ or not it matters not to me... one of them will open the door!"
Barezata comes forward and slowly works her way around the door, checking it for traps. Once done, she moves back and repositions herself to cover the door for any trouble on the other side.
"You know better than that. You can ask, or I can, but I won't sacrifice them to save ourselves." Sonya says with a clear uncompromising voice.
She then turns to one of the Troglodytes, "You heard the question. What traps lie in wait on the door?"
Silena shrugs and smiles slightly, "..you do realize~ all three of them are clerics of ROVAGUG, right?"
Silena shrugs again, "My mistake... its hard to discern what a ROVAGUG Unholy symbol would actually look like considering that his worshipers disdain making things or using crafted goods... hypocrites!"
Silena enters scanning for magic beyond the doors just on principle. She then moves to check the door at her end to the left.
Silena notes the hallway...'seems' empty save for the OBVIOUS amount of AMBUSH positions... but she also notices the stairs going down. Exiting the dark hall {C5}... she closes the doors and gestures to Barazata, "..can you relock and secure these doors briefly? We have another more direct area to explore that cannot be secured with doors... the stairs to the south. I'd rather not have ambushers come up behind us to block our exit from a clearly ambush ridden hallway. Let's deal with the basement first!"
Silena draws again and heads to the Stairs heading down... she does not go down the stairs just yet but peers into the darkness below... listening for the sounds of rallying feet, or waiting ambush...
Speaking over her shoulder Sonya, "...ask those 'suddenly helpful' Troglodytes what is below in the room the stairs got to?"
Barezata nods once and removes a couple tools from her pouch once again. She bends to a knee by the doors and proceeds to work on locking them once again.
Once she is done with the lock, she moves to the top of the stairs and waits for Sonya to receive an answer from the troglodytes while listening to the sounds from the bottom of the stairs.
Hijiro joins the others before the doors are secured, locking him out
Sonya puts the question to the Trogs. "What is downstairs?"
Silena looks up the stair ... turning back to the Trgoglodytes, "I am a soldier.. I DO NOT make war on children.. or non-soldiers... I'll check to make sure no one else is lingering upstairs... your young will be safe, one of you may accompany me as assurance of my intentions."
Taking one of the Troglodytes with her Silena goes up the steps and searches the upstairs rooms...