The Imp pops through the bars of the window, turns back and grins at Sunny. It then says "Why thank you young miss... may the fires of all hells keep toasty what your blanket won't cover."
It bows then says "Bloop"... it disappears, and Tilda the child witch appears in its place outside the window.
When Sunny looks back, she sees the imp sitting cross-legged on the bed where Tilda was a second ago.
Tilda speaks to Sunny from outside the barred window...
"I have learned from my memories in ten thousand years of lives... I will not let debts linger. Talk to Mayor Doyle. Tell him you wish to end Horth. You can trust him in his hatred of the returned Horth... his fellow clone." She looks to her left where Drulsk is being harassed by the two other imps, and then to her right. Her delivery becomes rushed as if she sees more trouble coming from the southeast.
"We only wished to live forever... we did not ask from where the bodies came. Horth grows stronger as he drinks the memories of his dozens of clones. Mayor Doyle is the eldest and strongest and he alone knows the words to enter the Academy... Horth desires his memories most of all."
Sunny stands and gapes at Tilda who is now outside. Before tunring and scampering back to Suny,
"This all be waaaay to confuzin' fer me self!" She declares, taking Suny by the hand.
"Come on. We can at least try talkin' ta' Mayoer an' maybe gettin' somat whut makes sense out'a some one..." And Sunny heads off to find said mayor.
Warden Horne steps in front of the oddly behaving watchman. "Stand down!" Warden Horne tries to grab the watchman's weapon, and glares as the watchman resists.
While the two fire-singed hags attack, the western-most one runs down out of view by the northeast barred window of the house, and begins chanting.
The hag in front of Zed gestures quickly while keeping her guard up. She then leans forward and silently screams in his face.
The hag next to her, reaches into her clothing and draws out a large fluted conical vial. She releases the stopper, and points it at Corum. A line of dark smoke pours out, the head of it forms into a mephit made of black soot and embers. It stops a dozen feet from Corum and his illusionary doubles and breaths a cone of hot black soot.
-4 penalty to AC and a -2 penalty on attack rolls for 3 rounds from burning eyes
Sunny drags Suny into the next room to talk to the Mayor...and try and get some sense as to what's happening with whom.
Ear-Piercing Scream
Taking advantage of the opening, Varian takes his aoo...
"Engage the witches or grapple them."
He yells inside: "Karthak, don't be screwing this one up inside."
The elf mage and his three doubles steps back five feet (south) and begins to cast. A dimensional portal forms.
Drulsk does a double take when he sees the half-orc running toward him. An imp tugs on his grappled hair to bring him back to the moment. Drulsk socks the nuisance with a mailed fist... tearing the imp, and a tuft of hair loose.
He calls out to Gromsch "Master!? What?... Why are you here?!"
Sunny scampers into the Mayors room/office and looks about.
Later! What's going on here?
Then Gromsch goes further northwards to see whats goint on there. In the meantime he drinks one of his potions.
"Attackers, Master... freeing our captives. An Elven robe should be there in the skirmish. Listen to him for now. He is quick minded."
He then yells out... "Corum!... Tell Master Gromsch who to eliminate!"
"Don't let the child witch get away. She is the key prisoner. Use any means to stop her."
Varian considers swinging at the smoky creature, but quickly determines the fire-singed hag to be the more important target. She weaves to avoid the blow, but only lessens the force of the impact... little more than a glancing blow, but her face contorts in pain.
Sunny stops and hangs her head, "Ah.....nertz!"
Zed continues to focus on the hag in front of him. He backhands her in the gut with his morningstar. She is slow to recover from the blow, and the hag next to her shows concern in her sparsely-toothed over-baked potato face.
When Sunny opens the door, the Zed clone is sitting on his bedroll with his back against the wall. He raises an eyebrow.
Mayor Doyle has arranged crates and a couple dry goods sacks to make himself a suitable cushioned place to sit while held captive. He appears to be crafting a primitive burlap doll from the scraps lying about.
Mayor Doyle smiles, and sets down his half-made doll to provide his full attention."Ahh. How might you be this morning, my dear? You doo carry a hint of lavender and lime, but I can see you are the original, are you not? Tell me... how are things outside. I am terribly piqued, I must admit. Are we having difficulties in town?"
The imps on either side of Drulsk both retreat a few feet, then both vanish with a "bwink". The third imp - which had somehow switched positions with the witch child Tilda after touching rings, now sighs and returns to squeezing through the barred window to escape again.
Sunny smiles, holds up a hand,
"You jus' hold that thought an' don't go no where!" (^_^) She says brightly, before quickly turning and closing the door (Again imprisoning the Mayor) and racing over the grab a hold of the Imp trying to squeeze its way to freedom. (Preferable so as to reduce any chance of getting a pointy, stingy surprise by said little critter.
"You! C'mere you. We gots lots o' things ta' be talkin' abouts!" Sunny exclaims, indicating Suny should come and help restrain the little bundle of trouble.
"Blaaaaw! boo boo boooo!" The imp wails... his wings and stinger tipped tail wriggle under Sunny's grip. Suny zips over, and pops her bar of soap out of her macrame necklace to prepare an imp cozy.
Warden Horne barks at the oddly behaving watchman. "Watchman Grodin! Attention! I am your commander! One more step and I will send you back to cleaning stalls for the Black Arrows!"
Ok, let's see, if this young whitch will be stopped with this!
Gromsch pulls one of his vials out of his bandolier and throws it on the child witch. The vial explodes around her and emanates and a cloud of green bad smelling vapor.
The hag just bludgeoned by Zed, looks up toward him and simply says with a grating tone "Flee.."
Heightened Command
Fail = run away as fast as you can for 1 round
The smoky mephit begins claw at Corum, and his duplicate images. Two of them poof out of existence as the creature swipes at him. The hag which had just released the mephit creature - still enshrouded in some of the creature's smoke, strafes a few steps to put some space between Varian and herself. She turns; already chanting in a rising voice. With the last words of her dark speech... a cloud of shiny black wasps pour from her thin-lipped wrinkled mouth.
The humming swarm envelopes Varian.
Fail=poisoned frequency 1/round for 4 rounds; effect 1 Dexterity damage; cure 1 save.
Southwest of the house there is a large explosion... Tilda the child witch screeches, then doubles over retching.
The watchman slowly regains full control over himself... and then struggles to maintain it as he takes in what is transpiring around him.
You hit your mark. Just after the explosion, you see another hag-like old woman appear at the corner of the house... also with the heaves.
Varian growls in frustration and pain at the appearance of the swarm and loses some of his natural grace as a result of the swarm's presence...
He moves all the way out of the swarm , ready to strike again.
Sunny, even as she and Suny wrestle the Imp into containment, does her best to try and remove (Yeah, like it's going to be that easy) the possibly magical ring from its tiny finger.
Suny tries to help Sunny keep a tight grip on the imp... "gggaaaAAH!... Make it stop wriggling! And its all sweaty!"
Varian moves out of the swarm
He strikes out with the lucerne hammer at the hag.
Zed feels the urge to flee, but then steels his nerves and shakes it off "You do not command me hag!" and he swings again, letting his weapon burn with hatred for the hag
Corum's summons completes a nasty celestial wolverine appears flanking with Zed.
The wolverine claws and activates a smiting of the hag before Zed.
Varian's lucerne hammer connects with the old hag's dowager's hump as she turns to avoid his advance, and flattens her.
Zed cracks into the evil hag in front of him.
Then there are faint flashes of light as the wolverine tears into her, and brings her down.
Seeing the action by the hags well in hand, Corum rushes around the corner of the building to back up the half orc.
"Witch, stop this nonsense and cooperate. Or is taking prisoners not a good idea here?"
To Gromsch: "Excellent job, can you hit her with another one?"
Warden Horne steps forward and attacks the smoky summoned creature. The watchman - now free from the witch's enchantment, joins his warden in the attack. Their swords both appear to connect, but it is difficult to tell if they are causing any injuries to it.
The remaining witch hisses at Tilda the child witch... 'The sun is up, the woods are safe. We go now!"
The remaining hag and retching Tilda move - as quickly as they can, west toward the woods. The swarm dissipates, and the smoky mephit disappears in a font of embers - which showers the warden and watchman in burning soot.
Still tryin' ta' get tha' ring of' n tha' Imp an' tryin' somat!
I'll try to slow her down. Get her.
Gromsch follows the two hags, and throws a tanglefoot bag at the young whitch to slow her down.
Drulsk sees the imp-wrangling going on, reaches through the bars, and palms the little red beast's head. Sunny finally gets a good hold of the tiny ring, and pulls it from the imp's finger as it protests. "Nu! nu nununu nuuuu! 'Spensive Tuh-rinket! Ack!"
Once free and in Sunny's palm, the ring grows until large enough for a human-sized creature.
"Don't go hurtin' that little one!" Sunny calls to Drulsk, "We might need it sooner or later." She adds in warning.
Sunny turn to Suny, "Okeys. I'm-a gon'a put this on." And Sunny does so then begins to fiddle with said magic item,
"I'm hopin' tha' lass will turn up where I be standin'. You get ready ta' tie her up when we swap places, okeys?"
"Nope, that in't doin' nuffin...."
The imp plays up the maudlin routine "Ow ow duh pain... it hoits! You hoit my head!"
When Sunny starts playing with the ring, and states her intentions... the imp giggles and claps his glossy-taloned red feet. "Oooo noooo used up! No workie today-yay... Maybe tomorrow!"
The substance hurled by Gromsch, globs into Tilda's legs and feet... The elder witch with her moves to set her free, but Tilda snaps "Just go! Your stupid is gonna get me You sloppy old hag."
Sunny grins happily at the Imp, "Thank'e fer that little one!' (^_^)
She says to the Imp brightly, even as it's clutched firmly in Drulsk's fist, before she races off, dragging Suny along, trying to catch up with Tilda.
The imp stops laughing abruptly; mortified... "No you ring secret! Blorip did not tell! Blorip did not spill couscous!"
After a couple moans of woe... "Ooooh big meaty hand man... just crush Blorip head... big mouth in big trouble... "
*Scamper, scamper, scamper...*
When Varian checks the hag, he finds her just fading.
Her death is convincing enough for you to approach and check. You determine she is truly dead. Her neck, and at least a couple vertebrae down her spine are broken.