Trissae swiftly heads over to the secret door to see if she can catch it before it completely closes, and will check around.
Grellik thinks for a moment about how to get to Irontooth, and realizes that he isn't perfectly sure. He knows they were fighting from the dungeons, but besides 'Below', Grellik isn't sure where that is. Looking into the room on the left that leads into a bunch of open offices, he doesn't see anyway down, but he does see a way up. Potentially through the door on the right? If shields were behind it, it could explain the blood and the boards.
-----
The bullywug who is staring up in your direction looks around a bit, large, top-mounted eyes blinking and scanning.
[i]"uuurp..!"[/b] It croaks, taking a few steps toward the staircase, tilting its head one way, and then another.
Looking down, you think it might be noticing an odd change-of-flow of the water you are standing in, but you think it looks pretty slight. Still, the thing is coming inquisitively, in your direction.
The frog, 15 feet away from you now, turns its head sharply away from you, in the direction of the approaching footfalls and scents of food. You have a moment of distraction to act, in whatever way you think best.
--------
You head over to the wall, catching the secret door before it slides shut. You feel just a bit of resistance while holding it open, as if someone is still trying to shut the section of wall.
You hear a very low voice, a whisper coming from a narrow passage within the citadel walls. The space behind the door is narrow but navigable. About 30 feet down, you see a ladder, and then the passage continues beyond it before turning at the limits of your dark vision. You can feel someone standing there in the passage, the smell and sounds of a body close to yours apparent, even as you stare right through them.
"It's just me." Grimgar whispers. "I'm going to go check something out. Hurry, in or out, the bullywugs are heading this way."
There is an inquisitiveness to his voice, as if he doesn't know who you are just yet. Hearing the footfalls approaching from further down this wagon littered corridor, you know you only have a moment to decide before you risk the bullywugs noticing the secret door being ajar.
--------
Ozz continues on into the room, noticing the strange actions of a single bullywug, cautiously advancing on the stairway before its head snaps around right in your direction.
--------
You advance down the corridor the sounds of approaching bullywugs are coming from. Wagons litter the area, most of them molested in some way excepting a single, unharmed and dark black wagon, large and forboding looking.
Further on, you see the bullywugs turning the corner 40 feet away from you.
--------
Coming from the corridor past the black wagon, a squad of a half-dozen bullywugs emerge, carrying a great quantity of food between them on some kind of large plate. They fumble their way down the corridor toward the intersection, walking cautiously as they carry it.
The "plate" looks like a door, the top of a desk, or some other great, flat piece of wood. Upon it is heaped damp, burned, and obnoxiously smelling food piled together like a mockery of civilized culinary presentation. A boiled turkey sits in a mashed heap of pickled potatoes, burned corn cobs are slathered in rancid milk surrounded by a dripping ocean of gelatinous beans.
They croak in concentration as they make their way. The bullywugs in the large office watch the corridor intently, waiting for the moment that the food comes into sight.
Cavell continues up the stairs quickly.
With time being short Trissae slips inside.
"It's me." she whispers in return.
She holds a hand out as a guide as not to collide with her invisible comrade as she finds a place to safety stand.
"Lead on.." she continues, being equally inquisitive.
Panicked that this bullywug is onto me, I attack the f!$$ing bullywug with a two-handed battle axe swing. He'll attempt to do so stealthfully to keep from alerting the other bullywugs.
Second attack
And then he stealth hurries upstairs, holding the bullywug corpse, trying to get around the corner of the stairway before he's noticed (assuming his stealth goes well)
You move on up the stairwell away from the distracted bullywug. You turn a corner as the staircase reaches a landing and then heads back upward to another landing. You would expect one or two more turns before you reach the top.
Small waterfalls course down the steps, and you can hear wind and thunder upstairs. From what you heard from the Banites, you suspect that the hole in the roof of the top floor is allowing in quite a lot of rain water. You would expect the top floor to be at least a little flooded.
And then a panicked looking Ozz, no longer invisible, comes around the corner of the staircase, holding an axed up corpse of a bullywug. There was a strange sound just when you turned away from the bullywug that was advancing on you, and you realize now that it must have been Ozz, killing it.
He pants, standing on the first landing a bit behind you, listening out to make sure nothing saw him.
---
There's a pause of silence as you move into the corridor, brushing against Grimgar a bit. You can tell that he isn't fully happy about what is happening.
After you get in and the door shuts, you can feel the presence of Grimgar beside you.
"You should be with your commander." he objects. "I've got a secondary objective."
He sounds stern, but uncertain. You think there are reasons why he doesn't want you with him that aren't just that you're breaking the chain of command previously agreed upon
---
The rest of the bullywugs and giant toads don't seem to notice you, though you can feel eyes drifting in your direction just as you turn the corner. However, no outcry is heard. Holding the bullywug corpse, you make it around the corner before you're spotted.
---
You wait for the Bullywugs to pass (I'll rule this as a readied action to roll a perception on the area you are in after they are gone), and try to pick up on the footsteps you heard before.
With the "plate" of "food" passed, you have enough silence and space that you are confident that the footsteps are just gone. Either the person creating them isn't moving anymore, or they somehow vanished from the corridor of wagons only halfway along its length as the bullywugs passed.
It feels like you are now alone in this corridor.
---
The plate of food held by the bullywugs enter the main office room, and the small army of bullywugs and a few toads erupt into sound as salivating, froggy mouths begin croaking their hunger.
The plate holders begin to rush toward the staircase, as other bullywugs approach these plate holders, trying to steal food off of the plate, slowing down the passage of the frogs holding the food.
Damn it Ozz.
Cavell waits a moment, backed against the wall, watching to see if an army of bullywugs are chasing after Ozz......
Then shakes his head and continues upward, searching for any of their targets or allies.
Having heard footsteps toward them, he will approach the stairs leading up, going as far as time and Bullywugs will allow him, still listening and looking for signs of his squad
"Grimgar, hun, am I supposed to go back out there and call for Grellik? At this point it's fruitless. Anyway it's been too long since we've spent time together." She smiles forgetting he can't see her for a moment.
"Remember the third rule of the Bogsharks, adapt to the situation ." she chuckles and pushes further into the passage slightly.
This invisibility plan wasn't water tight, as the bogsharks soon learned, mostly to Grellik's dismay. It was difficult to stay together without alerting any enemies, especially with a group as willful as the Bogsharks. In a matter of a few minutes the group had become disorganized and separated.
Adrien was the vanguard, moving forward consistently and boldly. He swaggered invisibly onward, turning fearlessly into the room full of salivating bullwugs and on up the stairs, only pausing for a moment when a bullywug caught a splash in the water coming down the stairs.
Ozz, split with momentary indecision, went in Adrien's footsteps. He was caught in a bit of a bind when a froggy face turned suddenly in his direction. Thinking the glance was met for him, and not the plate of food just entering the room behind him, Ozz broke his invisibility by burring an axe in the creatures head and hurrying himself and the corpse out of sight upstairs, before the rest of the bullywugs looked away from the food.
Grimgar decided to go off plan, at least a bit. Leaving the main objective to Grellik, Grimgar separated from the group quickly, heading to a secret passage.
Trissae, who had been wandering in a similar direction to take a nice, close look at a big, black wagon which sat unmolested in the corridors of the citadel, noticed Grimgar's escape through the wall. She decided to split from her commander, and talked Grimgar into letting her assist him. The two head down a secret corridor to a secret ladder, and descends deeper below.
And Grellik, split with responsibility, caution, and indecision found himself unable to keep his ears on any of the other Bogsharks for long. His attempts to make just enough sound to alert the others to his location were met with complete absence. After following Trissae's footsteps before they vanished behind a secret door he didn't spot, he followed the plate of bullywugs up the staircase, fairly well behind Adrien and Ozz.
ON TOP THE STAIRCASE (Adrien, Ozz, Grellik)
Adrien heads up the stairs in the lead, still invisible. He splashes gently upward as water courses steadily down the steps. At the top is a large room, a lounge and gallery with a large hole ripped into the ceiling. Rain pours down through his hole, open to the storm, and floods the top floor of the citadel.
The room probably looked like a fine place to spend an evening of the citadel's customs process, looking at art, sitting on squat couches and drinking teas and ales while the paperwork below got processed through some clerks. At least, before the bullwugs moved in. Now, it's a wrecked, waterlogged swamp of a room.
Short walls sit stacked on one another in the center of the room, beneath the hole. Ruined art still hangs from some of them, propping the walls awkwardly as they're smooshed between them. Clearly they used to stand between the several columns in the room, creating more, temporary surfaces to hang paintings from. Now, they've been ripped out of their places to create an elevated platform, 5 feet high of slightly tilted wreckage. On top of this raised dais is a kingly, regal throne made out of water logged cushions. On this throne is a squat, fat bullywug wearing a soiled, pink and blue motley. He holds a large bell, ringing it in his swinging hand at the staircase.
Other bullywugs hang around, a couple dozen of them in a gang. Two squat, giant toads hangout near the throne, one chewing on something with a bullywug leg sticking out of its mouth.
The many columns around the room have built in torch sconces, though more of them are burned out or removed. Only a couple are still lit, smoldering against the wind and rain. Hanging from many of the others are fish net wrapped people. Half a dozen nets of different sizes hang around the room from different columns, each apparently containing a person. Some bullywugs are harrasing these squirming people sacks, throwing rubble at them and laughing in their voice. One bullywug is actively poking a net with a large pole, chuckling and fighting off another bullywug who wanted a go with the stick. These people-bags are 9 feet high, just out of reach of a standing bullywug.
Ozz Is a little bit behind Adrien, giving Cavell enough time to guide or intercept Ozz before he walks into view of this room.
Grellik goes around the mass of fighting bullwugs, observing that eventually those with the plate are scooping up arm fulls of food at the others try to take all they can, running toward the staircase with anything they can carry. He turns the corner of the staircase, sees a bullywug corpse with a split open head and sees a visible Ozz going up the stairs. When the bullywugs running with the food catch up, they'll certainly see Ozz, and the bugbear has a moment to react to this situation. Half a dozen bullywugs with arms of food are sprinting toward the staircase as the rest of the creates throw rancid food into their mouths from the spilled pile on the floor.
Cavell walks quietly ahead, peering up at the netted figures, trying to identify them by looking and really hoping he doesn't have to climb up and cut those nets just to check. He also looks around to see if any of the nets are being suspended by a line that could be cut to let them fall.
Grellik starts, then wheels back around to the Bullywugs. he flips one of the plates onto the other Bullywug who is still holding their plate., hoping to incite them to fight with each other.
Adrien scans the room. He spies giant to his left, on columns near the south wall. To his right is a gnome or halfling getting pelted by rocks. The rest of the nets seem to contain Shields, some getting harassed, some not. The nets are all dangling from empty torch sconces by the tangled top. Difficult to take down from the ground, but possible. If able to reach the top of the net, a sharp edge and an action would free the occupant from the net, and be given over to gravity.
Grellik knocks an armful of food from the front most bullywug onto the ones just behind it.
The tossed food bounces off of the bullywugs, and the front-most one turns on its heel to try and grab at the flying corn stalks, tripping and falling down the stairs. It knocks one of the fellow food-carries down as well, and they both fall into the chasing group.
A bullywug wearing a tarnished crown and holding a broken wood scepter croaks from the center of the lower floor, pointing at the staircase, before rushing forward and hopping into the files of food left from the toppled plate.
Four bullywugs Continue running with arms full of food, and you realize that there seem to be two factions, those with the food, and those swarming them trying to steal it. Having been mostly appeased, the chasing group of bullywugs stay behind, chomping at the stolen meal.
The remaining four keep running up the stairs, past the invisible Grellik while all the rest stay below. The two who tripped and fell fall into a heap, swamped by the Stealing faction.
(You can take a reaction to attack any of the bullywugs passing by you, if you wish. This will drop invisibility)
After looking over the nets and pillars Adrien slinks over to the central bullywug king, climbing up the steps/ledges to reach him.
Then he waits.
For invisibility to run out, for the others to get into position, for Wen to show up, for the two factions to of bullywug to start fighting, etc. Just observing til something happens.
Cavell walks straight up to the king, past the toad still trying to swallow a bullywug, up the uneven false walls that tilted slightly near the top, and then waits like a shadow.
Any way I could just sneak Giant out of here? Nope doesn't look like it.
Could I take all of these bullywugs at once, by myself? Probably, yes.
But it would be much easier if there were less of them. No reason to break this spell just yet, let's see if anything happens to make there be less bullywugs.
It smells awful in here.
Well if I'm going to kill all the bullywugs in here, I may as well start with their king, that'll be good and demoralizing.
Grellik hopes he bought Oz some time, not knowing what lies at the top of the stairs. He waits until he won't have a chance to run into the bullywugs that are passing him, and follows, waiting to assess the situation when he comes to it
Grellik waits for the bullywugs to pass him non-violently, following up behind them as they turn the corner. The four bullywugs only give a casual glance at the dead bullywug slumped against the wall of the stairwell (the one Ozz killed earlier) in their rush away from the faction of Stealers, their arms filled with food.
They get up to the second turn, and spot a figure up ahead of them. It takes them a couple of moments in their fright to recognize the figure as a half orc.
is peaking out at the last turn of the staircase, into the top gallery room filled with storm and bullwug, when a small group of 4 bullywugs flood into the stairs behind him. They are walking in a 2x2 formation, with the ones in front only steps ahead of the ones behind them.
Ozz turns to the sounds of four bullywugs, and heads to engage them before they can sound any kind of alarm, hoping the sounds of the storm and bell above, and the frenzy below, will drown out any sounds of combat. Axe wielded in two hands, he lays into the front lines, casting his hunters mark just before the first attack strikes.
Ozz misses his first attack, wounds the adjacent bullywug with his horde breaker, then comes back around and decapitates the first bullywug who had thought himself safe. 1/4 dead, the two in the back uninjured.
So far, the sounds of combat don't seem to be drifting into the room with the storm, or down into the frenzy
Grellik raises his sword high and chops downward onto an unwounded 'Wug, , with all his might
With a snarl he pivots as he drags the sword out of the dead bullywug horizontally, striking at the one next to him
He will finish off by either trying to finish off this one if it is still standing, or else closing in on the final Wug of the four, sandwiching it between him and Ozz, while he attempts to cleave soul from body with his sword, a glint in his eye betraying his enjoyment of this payback.
Ozz grits his teeth through the blood spray of his decapitated foe, seeing the Bullywugs preparing to drop their food and retaliate with their crushing jaws when Grellik suddenly appears, cutting a 'wug cleanly in half with his summoned great sword.
He then swings into the other, cutting into and felling the second foe, ,nearly cleaving through one into the other. Two dead in a breathe from a bugbear trained as a knight, and the third falls soon after.
Ozz and Grellik are left facing each other, visible and covered in 'wug-blood, four corpses covered in food laying between them. A bullywug head topples down the stairs as the rain water leaves the corpses red, dripping crimsom down toward the room below.
".... Thanks... Now what?" Ozz says, looking upstairs and waiting to follow Grellik's lead.
He pulls out and look at his gift of ice, clearly looking tense. Was this the moment, or should he save it for a true fiasco to break out?
He goes back to peaking up the staircase until Grellik decides, taking brief glimpses as the bell rings out. He softly tells the Bugbear the general positions of the nearest bullywugs to the staircase, and of the jester up on the throne
Grellik nods in acknowledgement. Focused, but exuberant in the joy of battle. A grin creeps upon his face as he says "There is only one way to go--we press on!"he will creep up to the opposite side of the stairs and ready himself to leap into action.
Grellik and Ozz give each other a nod when ready, non-verbal communication finally possible in the absence of invisibility.
They turn up the staircase together, walking side by side. Grellik holds his great sword, dripping with bullywug blood, and Ozz grips his bloody axe in both hands, heading up the stairs with death on his features.
The jester on the throne of walls and pillows stops ringing its bell. Instead of seeing a bunch of servants bringing food, he sees two big brutes holding massive weapons, dripping with blood.
"Croaaaak....! Whoo are yooou?" This 'Wug says, tilting its head in confusion as Adrien stands invisibly in the rain beside it (probably growing quite uncomfortable unless hooded).
The three bullywugs to the right tossing stones at a small, netted, one-eyed figure stop throwing their stones to look at the menacing duo. To the left, a pair of 'wugs stock mocking a netted dwarf in the Red of the Shields turn their eyes to the pair, blinking. The giant Toad at the base of the staircase chirps a deep sound of challenge and stands before the throne, blocking easy progress up to the jester. It burps out a bullywug, which rolls, slimy and horrified to the floor in front of the bogsharks. The vomited bullywug gasps for breathe, then blinks, frightened, up at the new threat.
"Stop stop! The King of the Sky demands it!" The jester 'wug says, apparently wanting to talk.
Ozz glances over at Grellik as he walks, to see if they're stopping to talk, or if he should run in to start cutting.
Adrien sets a hand on each hilt of his sabers and waits. Readying an attack on the jester if someone makes a move.
Grellik motions for Ozz to wait.
Grellik speaks loudly, making full use of his booming voice, sarcasm and distain dripping from his speech "King? King of the sky? King of a hole. A clumsy breach to heights you can scarcely understand. Already we have bloodied our blades on your subjects, Oh King, and we will bloody them more if you do not leave this place! You have trespassed on the world of the land dweller, of which I care not, but you have made a grave mistake, when you trespassed against the Bogsharks. You hold several of our number, though you may not have known it, it matters not to us. Only your blood will satisfy us, unless you leave now and return to the watery world that is your mete!" With that his swing his sword up to rest on his shoulder, turning his left side slightly to lead toward the Bullywugs. he mutters quietly to Ozz "Wait until I weave a spell, if they attack, and then come at them with all the fury that is ours"
and he readies Thunderwave, to be used when they have all piled next to the stairwell to attack us, assuming they do so.
Grellik calls out to the Jester, mocking him. Several of the bullywugs nearby awake to his loud voice, becoming alert and grabbing nervous spears while trying to figure out what's going on. One bullywug, near the figure hanging in a net to the right, takes a step back to grab his own spear. Several others arm themselves while they listen, but make no move to attack.
The jester on the throne is soaked pillows hops from foot to foot, laughing croakily. "Sharks on land? Hraaa hraaa! I see no sharks! But if I have something important to you, then maybe we trade, yes? You go downstairs and kill the false king who is keeping me from my dinners, and I will turn over what you seek! Yess? Hruaa!"
The small, netted figure to Grellik's right begins squirming beneath his bindings. He looks gagged and even his hands are tied. He grunts and squirms, trying to get the shark's attention. He looks out at Grellik with 1 eye closed tight. His head is framed with messy, auburn hair and he's wearing well made, though now-filthy clothes. It's Frug, the necromancer from Skullport.
The sack to the left of the throne begins growling as the dwarf within looks around. He seems to be gagged himself, but he turns his eyes to Ozz and Grellik. "Mmffmmm Mmmm!" he tries to speak through his gag.