As Shadlah presses her hands against the cold stone wall of the cave, it moves and ripples beneath her hands... not the intentional shaping of the kineticist moving her medium... this is something else - something alive. And then, with a strange snuffling noise accompanying the cracking of rock, a small beast of stone pulls clear of the cave wall and into Shadlah's hands.
So that means we're in even bigger trouble than before, miss Z?
"Hard to say, Arsith... this card offers more of a word of caution than a warning of imminent danger..."
There is nothing obvious that Briana can see when she examines the wall, not until Helanda points out the brushed over footprints in the sand that run between the cave wall and the shore - and then the nigh on imperceptible fissure that runs between two separate rock formations, "And there, do you see it?" Helanda points towards a discolouration, "Just run your hand over that... it'll open up for you".
Joanna gets ready to defend her Briana if it becomes necessary, but also keeps an eye on Helanda, hoping not to have a repeat of how things turned out with Gnaeus Gnaru.
As the creature bursts from the stone, Shadlah very nearly throws up a defensive cover out of instinct alone, but as the rocks and pebbles coalesce into a small figure, she hesitates. The snuffling nose and stubby legs of the rocky animal hardly seem threatening, after all, and at her sudden motion, it curls tightly into a ball, resembling nothing so much as a small boulder.
"Are all spirits this... inquisitive?" she asks Briana as the animal, now looking more definitely like an armadillo, scurries across her shoulders and down to one hand, sniffing and snuffling along the way. It continues to clamber all over her even as she follows the others back to the tiny fissure.
Teldon smiles warmly and refrains from pointing anything out while Briana works at uncovering the hidden panel. Once she has it he nods and says simply, ”Well done,” as he readies his new spear.
The concealed door swings open silently as Briana waves her hand over the area of rock indicated by Helanda... it reveals a moderately sized cavern beyond. The cave’s walls are rough-hewn and embers of a large fire burn dimly, with an iron pot and other cooking implements sitting beside it. A narrow natural chimney extends through the roof twenty feet overhead. On the east wall stands a huge red panel covered with images - all, somewhat uncomfortably given Ziomarra's current incarnation, depicting Sorshen in erotic dalliances with attractive humanoids.
Helanda talks in hushed tones as she points to the eastern wall, "Through there... the rest of the Maidens, they won't be expecting us... They will be quick to react though", there is a hint of pride in her vice, "Illeosa's faithful were well drilled if nothing else".
Joanna looks at the small, surprisingly cute animal as it scurries up onto Shadlah's shoulder.
"Hello there," she says softly, "What's your name?"
Carefully, she holds out a hand to let it sniff at her palm before she tries to pet it.
After getting to know the curious little spirit that had bonded to Shadlah, Joanna returns to Halli and tries to coax the wolf pup to come with her.
"Come on, Halli, I have something I need you to do for me, please," she asks.
Halli follows Joanna, but once she gets five paces from the others, she stops and refuses to go any close.
"Halli, what's wrong," Joanna asks as she kneels in front of her companion, "you've been around them before."
with ‘Sorshen’ with us we could probably separate them and deal with half at a time... of course, they might try to surrender that way which will lead to far more issues and inconveniences, not to mention tension between Jo and Helanda... I guess we’re better off just charging in this time...
Teldon drinks an extract of bull’s strength and prepares to charge.
Oblivious to the issues around the reticent wolf, Helanda whispers a reply to Briana, "A small squadron... maybe ten?" She pauses, a look of distaste writ large across her face, "That's if 'Sorshen' has slowed her predations..."
"Well, I certainly look the part, and I did convince some others that I was indeed Sorshen. Helanda, do you think that I could instruct your former allies to simply stand down? How would they react if I told them that I have considered their offer, and have decided not to extend a formal alliance at this time? Would they just leave?"
"Okay, wait here for us, alright," she says to the wolf who plods over to a dry corner and curls up like a frightened pup.
Because she is one, Joanna thinks before turning and hearing Zee's comment.
"Zee, could you try putting them to sleep or something?"
"I am not sure," Shadlah replies to Jo, frowning as she holds the creature in both hands and away from her body like a person inspecting an unfriendly cat. The armadillo squirms, a few pebbles falling from its hide, until she pulls it back close and allows it to cling to one shoulder. "Perhaps it needs one?"
--------------------
Her eyes turning to Halli, then back to the others, Shadlah crosses her arms and frowns. "Perhaps we can take ten," she says slowly. "If not, a fighting retreat is always an option."
As she stands, drumming her fingers against her arm, she closes her eyes in thought. Her bare heels press into the stone, feeling its comforting cool texture. And as she stands, she feels the stone speak to her, speaking of her friends. She can feel Halli as she shifts and twitches in her corner, can feel Teldon's weight shift as he drinks his extract. When she opens her eyes again, they fix on the eastern wall.
"How large is that room?" she asks, her eyes rotating to Helanda.
Helanda, urging Ziomarra to be quieter, considers the idea of pretending to be Sorshen for a moment, "The Gray Maidens may be fooled by your appearance as Sorshen... yet they will accept no order from you. They are utterly, and without exception, loyal towards Oriana... if it is not Oriana that gives them the order to stand down and to leave, they will not".
"They may allow us to pass where you to give them reason enough... but why are we talking about this? They are fools and following the wrong path... I would sooner see them dead", the Maiden's stony face suggests that she is quite determined in this opinion.
The awkward silence is broken by Helanda answering Shadlah's question, "It's the camp and mess room just beyond this door... I suppose it must be around sixty feet in length? Say, twenty or thirty feet wide..."
”And, how high is the ceiling?”
"I don't want to kill anyone, Helanda. Monsters are easy, but it's hard to kill people, even ones you know deserve it," Joanna says softly, rubbing one hand over the mail that protected her upper arm. "We've rope enough, we can bind them if we can find a way to knock them out."
Without another word, Shadlah strides across to the door, standing with her toes a mere inch from it. There, she takes a slow, deep breath, and reaches out through the stone, sensing for anything she can feel.
Helanda has a quizzical look when Teldon asks how high the ceiling is in the room beyond - yet, a soldier accustomed to following orders, she doesn't ask the reasons for his question, "I don't know... it's pretty grand. Maybe twenty feet or so?" And, to Joanna's point about not needing to slay the Maidens, she simply doesn't answer...
- there are three humanoids within thirty feet of the door... as far as it is possible to tell, they are seated rather than standing / walking around.
”Well,” Teldon answers Briana, ”based on what we saw with the troglodytes, it seems as though they all favor melee weapons... I have a scroll of spider climbing that could allow me to attack from the ceiling, if that would allow me to reach them with my spear but be out of the reach of their weapons. It sounds from Helanda’s description like I would also need to use an extract to lengthen my reach and that might be more resources than I should spend on one fight...”
ahh... here’s the surrender talk... I suppose they would make fair allies if we could get them to that point... I just hope we can keep the discussion brief...
It sounds like Oriana is the key,” he offers, ”if we’re not going to charge in perhaps Zee can lure her out alone, or close to it? Once she’s dead, and Helanda’s had some justice, we could see how willing to surrender the rest are?”
Helanda interrupts when Teldon mentions Oriana, "But we haven't seen her for weeks... she has been with 'Sorshen' and doesn't come back". Pained at the thought of the death of her friends, she continues, "I thought her dead... but she wasn't amongst the hag's victims".
"But..." Joanna begins to say, only for Briana's voice to cut across hers. Teldon's suggestion was very much like him. It was pragmatic and offered a good chance of success, but the idea of luring a person out to just kill them felt wrong to her on almost every level.
She opens her mouth again, only to close it. The memory of Briana's outburst a few days ago causes her to shrink back, unwilling or unable to argue the point, and unsure of which it is that afflicts her.
Instead, she turns to Helanda.
"Can we trust you with a shield and sword?"
Taking a step back from the door, Shadlah nods slowly. "Three of them are within the near half of the room," she says in a low tone, to avoid her voice carrying too far. "If Oriana is not there to use as a bargaining chip, then we may need to fight through them. For my part, I can cover the door to delay their assault, and for the rest..." She shrugs her broad shoulders, "you are well aware of my prowess."
You really think of everything, Teldon.
”Almost,” Teldon answers with a scowl, ”if I’d come up with a way to prevent the other Sorshen from stealing my shard I could have impersonated Oriana right now...”
He considers their options for a moment and offers, ”we might still be able to separate them... if our Sorshen were to go in and call for a few of them by name, saying that she and Oriana required their assistance, a convincing delivery may be enough to lure them out. There’d be added believability from knowing their names... perhaps choosing the two or three Oriana trusts the most to both play on their loyalty and add another element of believability. And, Jo, I know you’re not entirely comfortable with ambushes but we can be more careful when fighting more manageable odds than in an overwhelming fight; we’re more likely to be able to take some alive, or accept a surrender this way.”
even though it’s still probably foolish to do...
"If you think this way is best, I'll do my best to make it work, Teldon," Joanna replies softly.
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Teldon raises an eyebrow at how deferential both Briana and Jo are being, but decides to wait until a more appropriate time to ask what happened in his absence.
”Helanda, which three of the remaining women would Oriana be most likely call for if she personally needed assistance with something?”
Waiting as silently and patiently as a mountain, Shadlah spins a few pebbles over her fingers, watching as the tiny armoured creature on her shoulder sniffs curiously and nearly overreaches for them.
Helanda looks at Teldon with a quizzical eye, "There's likely ten beyond that door... not three - unless 'Sorshen' has taken more. Although, by the chain of command, it would be Quenelle that Oriana would call upon for assistance..."
"Right..." Teldon answers quizzically.
was she ignoring the conversation or has she completely missed the point? maybe she actually managed to deceive me earlier and she is still on their side...
"the whole point of our deception is to try to lure only three out of the ten to come out here... we can easily handle those three and then the other seven will offer less resistance when we deal with them afterwards... Now, besides Quenelle, which are the next two Oriana would call for if she needed three people to help her?"
There is a moment of realisation from Helanda as he sets out his plan, "Oh... okay, I guess. There's probably no-one else that Oriana would call on specifically - our numbers have dwindled since we had to leave Korvosa... maybe you could call for Katrine or for Elouisa... they don't hold rank but they are the most loyal to Oriana". There is a significant look of distaste on the Gray Maiden's face, a grimace exaggerated by the scarring across her face... a suggestion maybe that these women were the ones who betrayed her to 'Sorshen'.
Zee ponders the situation in silence for a long moment. She then adds, "Helanda, do you think we would be able to convince your former allies that Sorshen and Oriana have betrayed them all, perhaps by showing them the bodies of those already slain? If so, would they be willing to just give up this expedition and return to Korvosa? I would very much rather this not end in bloodshed if we can avoid it."
"If we're trying to convince them to leave, then maybe I should talk to them," Joanna says quietly. "I can take a hit and if things go poorly, I'm the one most likely to stay up long enough to retreat. Maybe they'll listen to an Iomedaen, but..."
"You're Sorshen," Teldon points out with some frustration, "at least to their eyes you will be... convincing them they've been betrayed doesn't avoid a fight, it provokes one. Besides that, these aren't lost girls who fell in with the wrong crowd in Magnimar and got dragged into their leaders' madness- these are Grey Maidens... you of all people should know what that means, Zee."
Teldon shakes his head and lets out a little huff. "If you go in there to try to talk them into surrender when they out number us almost two to one all you accomplish is ruining our one advantage: surprise. We will not get through this without bloodshed, but if we take out their remaining leader and the other two most loyal to Oriana then you can try to talk with those most likely to listen, from more equal footing, and having already made a demonstration of our capabilities..."
Backwards and forwards the debate continues as how best to approach the forthcoming encounter with the Grey Maidens... Helanda flashes Teldon a look that isn't entirely warm when he contrasts Illeosa's guard with women such as the Tower Girls back in Magnimar - but she doesn't have time to respond, nor to suggest any names, before a voice suddenly calls out from beyond the door, Who goes there? Name yourselves... and state your purpose!!!"
Troubles ahead..