Hazreem nods at the priestesses words, "Yes, there is still much we do not know, and we should not rush in swords drawn blindly. Bahir, if you feel uncomfortable with this course of action, you can guard our rear flank, and watch over Felliped."
Leaving the winged woman behind you, everyone heads back out into the night and begins walking back across the river, heading back the direction wince you came. Discussion begins on what to do with this creature and whether or not to track down this snake. Felliped stays close to the group, not liking to be exposed out in the open. All is currently quiet out. It is about two and a half hours before sunrise.
As you continue through the ruins of Kelmarane, you notice the burned remains of a building on your left that you saw before. The large sign on the building, offset slightly to the right, reads, "AVE MARKET".
Mah'ysa looks at the sign and points; "That must be the old Slave Market! The creature said the viper resides there. What do you all say? Shall we investigate there before returning to the Monastary?"
Hazreem nods at her, "Yes we should investigate." He turns to the halfling Paellat, "Would you feel comfortable scouting the area first?"
Pointing at the burned out building, Mah'ysa indicates that this must be the slave market. After agreeing to investigate, Paellat moves stealthily among the shadows and works his way into the building.
In what seems like an eternity, several minutes pass. Felliped makes a comment indicating that he'll stay out here and keep an eye out if you guys are going in there after a snake. Then, as quietly as the Halfling entered the building, he reappears out of the shadows.
"What did you see? Can you describe this snake? Perhaps one of us has some knowledge of it."
Hazreem listens intently to Paellat' description of the snake, trying to determine the exact species of the reptile.
Paellat described the snake that he saw inside the slave market. It was coiled up in the back corner of the building and didn't appear to notice his presence. The thing was huge. Pae described the snake as near a foot in diameter. But based on Pae's description, Efreat and Hazreem are unable to determine any additional details.
Hazreem pauses for a moment on hearing the halflings report. "Hmmm, this snake, while admittedly an uncommonly large specimen, is like most other natural predators, with its own place in the desert ecosystem. I fail to see why this creature poses an immediate threat to the demoness creature. I suspect, she is just trying to get rid of us. What say you all?"
Hazreem replies to Bahir, "Yes, but in order to gain the keys she mentioned would require us to kill it and bring her its head. Unless there is another way to get these keys, then I see no alternative."
Hazreem replies evenly to Bahir, "It is the way of the desert for animals to hunt and to be hunted by those larger and smarter than it. I was not condoning such an attack, just stating her conditions for assistance." He pauses for a moment to compose himself, and then continues, "If we slay her out of hand, we may doom ourselves to failure, for there is no way to know what else she has not told us. I believe we are missing something else here, something of great import. I advise us to check the slave building out, and see why she wants the snake dead. Perhaps it is guarding something of value she wants."
"Perhaps we are making too much of this. The bird woman wants something for her stew. She is not powerful enough to take it or perhaps she wishes to gage our strengths. Her lover, Kardswan, is mentioned in the book that I found. He is one of the Templars of the Five Winds. Other than that, I am not sure about this Kardswan. She may have more information that we could use. I would suggest we take the deal. We all have misgivings about this deal but she has something that we need."
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Fixing Hazreem and Efreat with a steady stare, "Nothing she has to say is worth the price to we will have to pay for it. Sarenrae's light will reveal the true path not some demonic lies." After a moment he adds, "I have no issue with looking into the slave building further but you know where I stand as far as the serpent. Do not press a confrontation."
I agree with Sir Bahir. I am not inclined to do what that creature wants, but I am curious as to the why. I would like to know more about the Slave building if we can tonight; otherwise we should retreat back to the Monastary.
"Let us check the slave building further, lead the way, Paellat."
Leading Hazreem into the slave market, Paellat quietly follows the path through the rubble he took last time and takes cover besides a large chunk of the ceiling that has collapsed. Whispering to Hazreem, Paellat points to the far corner of the building about 50 feet away where you can barely make out in the moonlight coming through the holes in the ceiling that the rubble is a slightly higher in that area, but you can't make out anything else.
Felliped indicates that he'll stay outside and will yell if trouble comes.
Looking inside, you see the shell of what is left from a devastating fire. Rubble covers the ground and large sections of the ceiling have collapsed in. Moonlight illuminates most of the building, but dark shadows make it easy for things to hide.
Initiative:
Mah'ysa indicates to the others that she'll remain on guard outside the building. (She knows she's just not very stealthy).
Hazreem moves close to the creature and sees if he can influence the reptile to be at least not hostile.
Efreat remains outside waiting for the sounds of combat.
Bahir, Mah'ysa, and Efreat decide to wait outside while Pae continues further into the building in hopes of eventually gaining a flanking position on the creature. Daumari quietly enters the building and sets up with his longbow in the shadows. Hazreem follows along besides Pae, trying to get to where he can possibly influence the snake. But along the way he accidentally kicks an old can that was hidden among the shadows in the rubble. The can clanks loudly numerous times as it bounces around the rocks and debris.
Suddenly, a very large snake head appears above the pile of rubble ahead of you. It his hisses loudly as it assesses the intruders. Hazreem approaches and tries to calm the creature, but he only appears to be pissing it off more. The snake, which appears to be some kind of giant mamba or viper, starts to uncoil and move slowly in your direction.
- Felliped
- Paellat
- Mah'ysa
- Efreat
- Snake
- Hazreem
- Daumari
- Bahir
Hearing the loud clanking and then the sudden hissing, Felliped starts singing from outside the building. His song inspires and instills courage in you.
"Well, time to play." Efreat walks into the builing and fires a ray of fire at the snake.
"What happened? I thought you were trying to sneak in!"
Mah'ysa starts going into the building, walking carefully in the rubble and summoning forth a Dancing Light spell.
Muttering something about the Druid, Paellat fires off his crossbow while retreating, lodging an bolt into the creature for 3 points of damage. Meanwhile, Mah'ysa questions the actions of her comrades and starts moving into the building, lighting up all the shadows with moving lights overhead.
Efreat, hearing the mess created inside, moves in drawing his curved dagger. He attempts to fire off a fire ray at the snake, but the rubble covering the ground slows his progress and he can't make the necessary range this round. He holds his action.
Slithering quickly through the rubble, the giant mamba moves directly at the person who woke it from its slumber, striking out ineffectively at Hazreem. Releasing his action, Efreat fires off a ray of fire at the snake now that it has moved within range, burning it for 6 points of damage and scorching the already burned rubble on the ground around it.
Hazreem mutters a very unpriestly oath ,and as the mamba snake lunges for him, he brings up his scimitar for a counter strike. . He studies the snake, now getting a clear view of the snake, and studies the snakes coloration, trying to determine its species.
Daumari moves lightly over the rubble, attempting to close the distance between himself and the snake while also seeking to obtain a better position to attack from. As he moves he readies his bow and, pausing for a moment, he draws an arrow and fires.
Seeing the snake, Mah'ysa tries to Fascinate it with her singing and dancing.
Perform (sing):
Perform (dance):
Will save DC 13 or sit quietly while watching.
Hazreem attempts to counterstrike with his scimitar, but the snake moved too quickly and his scimitar deflects harmlessly of it's skin. Daumari makes his way across the piles of rubble, taking a shot with his longbow which embeds yet another arrow in creature.
Meanwhile, Bahir struggles through the rubble and moves up along side the Druid stating, "Why are you so insistent on fighting the serpent? Move back and we will leave it here." He wished to slap the creature with the broad side of his scimitar, but the difficult terrain hindered his movement such that he wasn't able to get there in time for this round.
Outside, Felliped continues his inspiring melody. Paellat , seeing others moving in towards the snake, moves to where he could potentially get flanking next round or make an escape out the side hole in the wall if people fall back. He takes a shot with his light crossbow and shoots wide.
Mah'ysa, seeing the snake, begins dancing and singing in the middle of the fire ruined building. A couple of people take pause to notice this spectacle, but immediately return to the battle at hand.
The large snake lunges at Hazreem, biting him on the leg for 5 points of damage.
Efreat tries to strike the creature with another fire ray but there are a bunch of his comrades surrounding it, making the shot harder and causing him to miss.
Hazreem will slice at the Mamba snake again, and gasps a warning, "'Ware its bite, extremely lethal!"
Daumari deposits his bow on the rubble and moves into melee with the serpent. As he does the ranger readies his hammers, sending one of the weighted ends at the snake.
While Hazreem can certainly appreciate Bahir's dedication, he does wonder about his timing. "Bahir, can we concentrate on taking care of this snake first?"
"I cannot help but feel this snakes death will help that creature somehow. Let me try something first." She hums a soft lullaby.
Even the Dawnflower sought the aide of Asmodeus when faced with the evil represented by the Rough Beast. Daumari pauses as he comes out of his attack, observing the effect of his hammer on the serpent before continuing. Accepting the harpy's assistance can be no worse.