Shang stays silent for the moment, content to watch the others do their work. He keeps a trained eye on the overseer, trying to catch a glimpse of what, precisely, he is consuming.
The overseer feigns ignorance of the question asked to him as he muffles the sounds of his chewing on what looks like a large segment of a long, narrow bread loaf torn right off and hidden in his robe.
While the others go along with pretending to join in the mining, Walther conspicuously leaves the room, heading back into the tunnel and out of sight of the miners.
If the overseer follows (out of curiosity or anger, whichever), then Walther will command him to fall. If he doesn't follow on his own, then Walther will instead command him to approach.
Ophelia sticks the cultists dagger into her belt and picks up one of the picks. She lifts it close to her head and starts to examination it, seemingly fascinated by the unfamiliar object. She briefly glances at the workers, taking note of how they work the earth and ground with the pick. Miners and picks! While they are certainly not mining for ore here, the process can't be that different ... The clockwork woman had seen Polo work metal into delicate shapes many times before, done it herself for many nights, but she had never actually seen where the metal came from before. Or at least, the process involved.
Noticing that Walther backs off, she shoulders the pickaxe and slowly moves in that direction, curious as to what his plan was.
"Hey, get back here!" he says, his speech very audibly muffled by food, crumbs of bread spitting out on the floor. Though he takes a step forward, he doesn't actually move toward the old man to bring him back. "Or do you not wish to serve Zyphus?"
The overseer is compelled by the old man's word to slowly walk toward him. The sound of picking suddenly stops dead as everyone ceases what they're doing and turn toward you, all of them hidden beneath the hoods of robes.
Shang looks at the other hooded figures. "What do you think you're doing? You're lazy! Did he tell you to stop? No? Keep mining!"
He elbows the one right next to him before going back to the wall with his pick.
The hooded figures stand completely still, watching their leader walk forward, though several of them tighten the grips on their picks.
Shang is able to discern nothing, and the one beside him doesn't react at all to the nudge.
Laznist shoulders his pick for a second and pulls out his lunch; a strip of jerky. Casually he rips some off with his teeth, slurs "Hungry work" through a mouthful of food and looks at the closest miner.
"You want some?" he offers, trying to see more about the person under the hood.
Once the overseer is fully out of the room, and before any of the miners have a chance to decide to follow along, Walther will begin speaking quietly to the obese man.
I am not, in fact, here to join your operation. I'm here to shut it down. And the next step in that plan is that you are going to tell me everything you know about what's going on here. I know that you don't want to. And I know that you're scared about what will happen to you if you do. But here's what you need to consider. I am a very old man, and I have spent decades doing things to people that would make your masters call me a monster. I can keep you alive and screaming until your voice is destroyed and your mind is gone.
And if you think that your miners in the next room can save you, they can't. My companions will stop them if they have to. But if you make them stop those innocent victims, they will be much less likely to keep me from hurting you in ways you cannot even imagine.
Now start talking.
In the meantime, Shang shrugs and returns to mining, surreptitiously placing his dagger in an easily retrievable motion.
The overseer stares up angrily at Walther, his intimidation making him rethink his decisions. "Why should I listen to you?" he asked, lowering his head. "If you kill me, I only go to join and serve Zyphus in death. We all shall."
On that remark, the entire cave bursts into life, the figures all taking up their picks and preparing themselves for combat.
Every cultist in turn, save for the one still kneeling, casts Shield of Faith on themselves.
Tieszla drops the mining tool. No need to continue handling the profane thing now that the masquerade has concluded. Replacing the pick with her own familiar weapon along the way in an easy practiced manner, she moves towards Walther and the overseer, adopting a position that will prevent the miners from aiding their master unless they deal with her first.
"Blasphemer," the Inquisitor hisses as she draws closer, "It pleases you that Zyphus conspires to rob you of your fate because you are a fool."
Then, calling upon the Lady of Graves for a sliver of power, Tieszla casts Shield of Faith as well.
I'm waiting to act till init - is that right?
Can I assume Laznist identifies the spell, but doesn't know whether it is a daemon, wizard or cleric spell?
Laznist ideally needs to move to a place where he can cast his spell and get a bunch of cultists (and not PCs) in the cone.
bonus points if it doesn't provoke AoO.
Assuming there is such a place I'm planning that he'll move there and color spray or burning hands as many cultists as possible. Which spell depends on what he thinks they are when his turn comes round.
Shang draws and slashes at the cultist next to him.
And (assuming he's active at the time of his casting) takes the AoO:
Ophelia draws together what she knows about cultists and miners and pickaxes, conjuring a helpful aura around her companions as well as a web of energy carefully designed to throw off the aim of the cultists.
Satisfied by her handiwork, she moves up towards Tieszla and draws her sword. From her position, the field should encompass the entire fight - lending protection and harm where it was due.
"Only accidents go to Zyphus - this is most deliberate."
Laznist moves to stand with his allies
"Hey - walk into the Light!" he quips.
Then, bracing himself, he calls upon the only nonlethal spell he knows.
Have it your way then fool.
Walther will activate Judgement of Protection on himself as a swift action, and then draw his crossbow and move to a position where he can once again see the miners.
Laznist is able to recognize the spell and its effect in granting +2 AC. He then unleashes his color spray, managing to hit three of the miners.
Each one of them brushes off the effects of his spell. The cultists number as numerous as you, excluding the one who remains kneeling in terror. They each advance upon one of you, swinging their picks at them with fury.
The apparent leader remains kneeling, not making a sound as he lets the chaos of the fight go on around him.
His spell useless against whatever these cultists are, Laznist struggles to find an option.
The cultists pickaxe easily pierces Ophelias borrowed robes and then impacts her rigid metal shell with a loud bang and the sound of tortured metal. The blow resonates with her body, producing a ringing tone for a few seconds before it fades under the general sounds of battle.
Unblinking and without hesitation the clockwork herself steps up to retaliate. With her considerable mechanical strength and both hands she drives the sword into one of the cultists, the strike being made even more deadly with biting teeth of magic.
She wrenches the sword free from the misfortunate cultist, the blade accompanied by a brief jet of blood. Reflexively, she blinks and an almost childlike look of wonder overcomes her for a moment. They part with their bodily fluids so easily - yet they live so long. How can that be ?
Also - I merely assumed Ophelia could draw blood from the cultists. I'm sorry if they turn out to be undead or some other bloodless creature :)
With preternatural reflexes, Shang sidesteps the descending pick. He carefully steps to place a cultist between himself and Navia, and lashes out with his dagger.
The cultist's attack on her is so clumsy that it poses little threat. Tieszla redirects the pick's arc away from herself and then brings the great sword to bear upon her foe.
Surprised by the competence of the attackers, Walther withdraws from the battle, back into the other room.
Very careful positioning lets Laznist wave his fire over three of the attackers. One of them is the one that Ophelia struck, falling limply and incompetently to the ground.
Only Laznist and Ophelia are able to do any damage to the cultists, but they've at least struck one down.
The overseer takes advantage of the chaos to get something going. Though he does not move, he starts chanting and waving his hands. As Walther leaves, he sends out the spell he's been holding onto.
The cultist who struck Walther follows him out, intent on felling the now blinded old man.
Laznist looks on in shock as his attackers seem to shrug off his fire spell, then screams as one of the survivors takes advantage of his distraction to slam the pick through the meat of his thigh.
Through a haze of pain he sees Walther stumbling blindly from the overseer's spell, stalked by a cultist with murder in his eye.
Hell! They're winning. We're going to lose - or at least lose people. What are these... things? and as his analytic mind reasserts itself past the pain If they're so loyal why do they have an Overseer? Perhaps if we could stop him...
Insidiously a passage from the In Libro De Iniuriis worms its way into his mind.
Staggering into Ophelia's protective range he draws upon the book's "wisdom".
Laznist's scars glow red hot for a moment, and a small new scar sears into existence on the back of his left hand.
Stepping minutely to the side, far enough to dodge her attacker and no more, Tieszla counters the cultist's blow.
Ophelia winds up for another strike, targeting one of the crispier cultists since they already appeared damaged. Doing so also allows her to step up infront of Laznist shielding the mage from further aggression - at least from this particular cultist.
"I heard Walter get struck. Do you see him?" she asks in her hollow voice. She can't help but let some undertones of worry slip trough.
Shang looks about and continues to strike at the target between himself and Navia.
(Minimum damage 1, so 12)
Laznist kills the Overseer in with his burst of arcane firepower, making him fall to the ground, limp and dying. It doesn't stop the cultists, who continue assailing you, though your blades strike truer than before; Tieszla, Ophelia, and Shang manage to drop their attackers, while Navia harms one, leaving only those attacking Laznist and Navia, as well as the one who felled Walther coming into the room.
The one who stands on the sidelines mutters a few words with his eyes on the mage who took down the rotund man.
His spell fails to Frighten the Arcanist.
The crowd in the roughly hewn cavern thinned a bit, malnourished corpses practically littering the floor as if this were a slaughterhouse rather than a mine, Tieszla is able to maneuver into range of the enemy with his attention focused on Laznist. Weaving her way through the chaos, she menaces the robed figure with her bloodied sword.
"Surrender now and you will live to see another day or continue to subvert the will of my mistress so I can send you to the Boneyard to answer for your heresy myself."
Shang simply moves up to flank and shank Navia's attacker.
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Laznist flails his pick wildly, more interested in not being hit than hitting.
Huh! Have to keep them... from going back... to Walther...
"Yes! I have defeated your overseer! Your miracles fail against me!" Nethys! I'm going to die!