"You should stay as close behind us as possible," Anevia tells everyone except Belgood. "If we can't take them out fast, things will get messy, and I don't fancy trying to deal with an entire settlement's worth of mongrel cultists on our own." She turns to Belgood. "Your shape-changing scale - can I use it? I think it might help us get closer if I'm more you-sized, and maybe don't need light to be able to see well." She takes the scale, turning it over in her hands a couple of times, then shakes her head. "Never thought I'd be trying to look like one of them..." she mutters, before activating the scale. She is suddenly half her normal height, still recognizably herself, but with pasty white skin, milky white eyes and an almost comically-large nose.
Thus prepared, she and Belgood begin to set off. Aravashnial stammers, "But how will I proceed?" and Anevia looks even more pale than before. To her shock (and likely the rest of the group's as well), Horgus says gruffly, "I'll guide you. Make sure you don't trip over your own feet - or your next damn fool conspiracy theory either." He shrugs off the surprised looks, taking Aravashnial's elbow firmly and waiting for the signal to move.
A plan in the works, Lyddy nods firmly and checks her shield straps while she waits. "Rashak, can you bring up the rear? I will lend my shield to our friends until the battle is joined - I don't want someone getting hurt by a stray arrow in the initial salvo if I can help it."
"Besides, I think I want to give Ellena all the room she needs to swing that slab of steel," she adds with a wink.
Ellena lets the plan proceed, her sword at the ready. Once the ranged attack fly, Ellena will stride into action.
"I'd be honored to walk with Lady Ellena, and I hope to be able to bolster her with my magic if trouble breaks out." Rashak gives a stiff bow, and draws a mystic symbol with his falchion to ward himself against attacks.
Belgood does not hesitate to hand over the scale when Anevia asks for it.
"So. How do we do this, exactly?" Belgood asks the archer.
"I was thinking that we sneak close enough to ambush them, and hope they don't see us first," Anevia says, shrugging.
And indeed, that is how it plays out. The two rogues creep soundlessly down the passage to the point where Belgood first caught sight of the guard post - the two guards he saw before are still there, having only shifted position slightly in the intervening time. Neither shows any sign of spotting Belgood or Anevia as they reach the final bit of cover, just 20 feet from their targets.
Anevia takes an arrow from her quiver, spends a moment focusing on it, and it begins to glow. She quickly shoves it back into her quiver before moving into position across the passage from Belgood. She looks at the tiefling, then motions toward the mongrel on the right before lifting her shortbow and pointing the glowing arrow at the one on the left.
Init.
Anevia's shot strikes home, and although her target does not fall, he in grievously wounded. Belgood, however, is not so fortunate - his arrow strikes the wooden barricade, leaving his target unharmed.
Have to make this count...
Better. Not enough to keep them quiet, though..
Belgood's second arrow strikes home as his first arrow did not, and now both sentries are wounded. Nonetheless, the two let out vicious and bloodthirsty shouts before hurling their clubs at the intruders.
Anevia takes a nasty crack on the head, and the mongrel who threw the club shouts in enthusiasm before dropping prone behind his barricade. His companion does likewise behind hers.
Ellena comes sprinting toward the two mongrels, disappointed the plan didn't result exactly how the group wanted.
Lyddy steps around the corner so she can see, but waits to hear the response to the sentries' shouts before trying to lead the non-combatants forward.
Rashak tries to keep up with Ellena, joining her at the barricades.
Anevia, unwilling to trust her speed if she closes with the mongrels, raises her bow and points it just over the barricade that is concealing her previous target.
Belgood, not able to get a good line on his target, squares his shoulders and rams the ramshackle barricade, hoping to bring the debris down on the wounded mongrelfolk.
Lyddy, seeing what the little rogue was trying to do, is torn between her planned role and running to help him. And then thrilled to see the Inheritor give him the strength to make the wall of random items shudder so.
She looks at her charges and adjusts her shield. Not yet.
The tiefling's charging force meets the nigh-immovable obstacle of the barrier - and to his surprise, if no one else's, it is the barrier that gives way. The rotten wood flips backward, and the mongrel shouts again in pain.
The guard tries to shove the heavy timber off of himself.
Despite the mongrel's strength, the wood doesn't move. Seeing his ally's plight, the other guard stands up to attack Belgood - and an arrow comes flashing toward him from Anevia's bow.
The arrow catches the already badly-wounded mongrel and staggers him, making him slump sideways into the wall, barely able to keep his feet.
Ellena moves up to the closest mongrel and swings away at it.
Lyddy holds her position.
Rashak will move up to behind Ellena and try to put the mongrel out of his misery with an Acid Splash.
,
Ellena's massive blade bounces off of the barricade that still half-covers the fallen mongrel; likewise, the glob of acid Rashak throws at the other one hits the wooden barrier as well, with little effect.
Belgood holds the bow with his left hand and draws his rapier, slashing down at the prone and partially covered mongrelman.
Belgood stabs the already-wounded mongrel, but the remnants of the barricade protect all the man's most vital areas. Badly bleeding, he continues to struggle to push the wooden beams off of himself.
He has no more luck than he had before, so he tries to simply crawl free of the debris.
Gritting his teeth, the standing mongrel rushes forward, barreling toward Rashak with fanatic fury.
AoO:
Ellena swings at the evil mongrel.
Attack
Damage
Regular round:
She then moves to attack the one that was attacking her Orc friend.
Attack
Damage
Possible crit:
Attack
Damage
With two brutal swings, Ellena dispatches both of the mongrels.
Ellena looks around, wondering if there are more mongrels on the way.
Perception
All of you can easily hear what sounds like more mongrels screaming and shouting the alarm on the other side of the wooden screen that blocks off the tunnel beyond the barricades.
Seeing Ellena finish the two guards, Lyddy looks over her shoulder, "We should press our advantage. Follow me."
She moves slowly to accommodate the blinded man's pace, keeping her shield up between them and the barricades in case some lucky shot comes flying their way.