Valeria dropped the necklace into her backpack while waiting for the venom to finally finish on Friday. "Just be glad that's all it did, Friday. We should get moving, someone might've heard the fight."
"At least the poison should have no further effects now that you can move again." Kasha adds. "Yes, they probably know we're here."
Friday nods and begins moving forward, occasionally gently flexing various appendages as the feeling returned.
"Agreed, these stairs have us at a disadvantage. The sooner we are off them the better."
He added following right behind Friday... keeping an eye on the man just in case.
Having recovered from their spider-eater encounter, the party continues climbing the stairs to the doors of Ravenscraeg. The wind howls around them as they climb, biting at their clothes with a gnawing frost that becomes more and more pronounced as they climb.
This wide porch surmounts the rickety conglomeration of stairs and landings below, providing a panoramic view of the boggy plains that extend to the hazy horizon. The looming grey stone hall of the fortress blocks further progress. Inset arrow slits with heavy wooden shutters flank a bronze-banded portal that leads within. Above, three more arrow slits look out over the precipice.
Curiously, the party reaches the entrance without further incident. Nothing happens.
"We'll need to get inside before they get someone to man those." the shamaness says looking up at the arrow slits. Her eyes carry a fierce predatory intensity, quite a departure from her usual placid awareness.
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Kash holds up her hand, the ring of thin but strong vines braided together in an elegant weave on her finger seeming to move slightly as she utters a command. A small seed launches up into the air, rapidly growing into a little plant person is clad in a winglike leaf cloak and pinecone armor, wielding a twig as a makeshift spear.
Gliding over to one of the open arrowslits, the little creature climbs through.
"Well now, that should come in handy," Valeria said, watching the little plant creature climb through the arrow slit, "and it'll be a more stalwart scout than someone I know."
From somewhere in Valeria's backpack, a familiar - if muffled - voice rings out. "I don't care what you say, I'm not coming out! Besides; it's warm in here. Unlike the rest of you, I don't exactly have the luxury of clothing and ravens are not suited to arctic climates or extreme altitudes."
"Can.. can that thing maybe open the doors? It looks small."
He asked warily as he kept glancing up at the outer walls. Despite the attack by that weird insect he just felt like that maybe things were going well... almost too well. For a hidden group that had been spying on them for such a long time, He would have thought that an attack while they were going up the stairs would have been the perfect time to hit them.
"Stay warm for now, Xel. Once inside we may need you expert scouting abilities inside... Im sure it will be warmer."
He began with a hint of a smile. He was joking with the bird. Well mostly.
"There's about as much chance of me scouting around in there as there is of all of us suffering heat stroke while we're out here. Things get to hairy, I'm flying back to the caravan."
"It's two days away, though," Valeria said over her shoulder.
"Don't care!"
The leshy climbs in through the westernmost arrow slit and takes a look around.
It appears to be a guardroom of sorts--although one that looks like it's been empty of life for a while. Piles of rock and rubble are stacked in the far corners of the room, and a door sits on the eastern wall.
"The room's empty, there's rock and rubble in the corners on the inside." Kasha relates.
"If there's doors can they open them?" Friday asks the Shamaness.
Kasha speaks to the little plant warrior in Sylvan. With a nod he goes in through the arrowslit leaping down to glide over to the door's lock, and opening it from the inside with a bit of effort.
When the door opened with a slight crack Kavell was quick to move to help pull it open. He was eager to find the one responsible for the attack on the temple.He frowned at himself suddenly before he took a deep breath. He was almost too eager.
"I come first with a rose."
He said lowly to himself taking the moment to remind himself who he was really. He then moved into the room and checked the door.
Her movements more of a predatory prowl than usual, Kasha follows Kavell through the door, reaching down to scoop up her leshie friend as they enter, the little plant warrior climbing onto her shoulder.
The leshy manages to open the door and circle in to unlock the front doors with ease. Beyond the doors is what appears to be a feasting hall.
Rows of pillars support the forty-foot-high roof of this longhall. Torches set into pillar sconces and two fire pits set with iron spits in the center of the rush-strewn floor give the room a ruddy glow. Several doors open into rooms on either side beneath ten-foot-high balconies lined with feasting tables. At the far end of the hall, a fifteen-foot-high balcony with the master’s high table looks out over all. Smoke holes cut into the roof high above allow in more light and the croaking of the many ravens that roost on the roof’s ridgepole.
The croaking goes quiet when the party enters.
...as well as at least two human-sized ravens, swathed in dark blue cloth suits, crouching behind the balcony railings on either side of the room.
As quietly as he could say aloud so the others could hear him.
"Are we trying to be quiet about this? From the lack of anything here I think they know we are about."
He inferred from the sudden silencing of the crows. After all crows had been marking their travels the entire journey it had seemed.
"Too late, they're watching us right now. Two human-sized ravens in dark blue crouching behind the balconies, in addition to the flock in the eaves. Get ready for an attack" Kasha replies, quickly calling upon the spirit of nature, her skin taking on the appearance of treebark.
"Well, if anyone else wants to get things started..." Valeria whispered, fingers already working to shape a protective field around herself.
He had been about to call out, to the masters of the house to show themselves so that they may discuss the terms of reconciliation for their actions at the temple... but this stank of an ambush. He wasnt okay with that. closing his eyes and focusing his inner will He gripped his holy symbol and cast Daylight on it, cupping his hand about it and pointing it up into the rafters focusing the light on the birds.
As soon as magic begins to be cast, the crows let out a mighty *CAW!* and begin to fly down into the room below, amassing into two large flocks.
As if on cue, three human-sized bird men leap down from the balconies, their wakizashis gleaming in the firelight behind them. One of them races forward to strike at Kasha and the battle is joined!
Stepping in Friday lunges at the bird man with his beak pointed at Kasha.
The bird-man was not expecting Friday to demonstrate such physical alacrity, and his spear rakes across his gut as a result. It knocks the wind out of him and draws blood.
The ravens coalesce into two large swarms and advance on Kasha, pecking, scratching and clawing at her relentlessly!
Moving into the doorway behind Kavell, Valeria focused on one of the birdmen. Muttering some arcane words, she raised a hand towards the one engaged with Friday and snapped her fingers. Instantly, the creature burst into flames.
As the flock descends on the shamaness with unrestrained fury, Kasha attempted to fight them off, to no avail. The shamaness screams as the birds peck and scratch at her face, damaging her eyes and plunging her into chaotic darkness.
Even as the panic sets in, the battle spirit with her lashes out, filling her companions with a taste for the blood of her enemies.
The bird-man's clothes glow for a moment before they start to burst into flame. He squawks before turning his blade on Friday!
And in his wild flailing, he drops his weapon!
The other two tengu circle around the panicking, blinded shaman and begin to stab at her!
Their blows are quick and precise, hitting Kasha's vitals with ease.
He reached out quickly to Kasha, his hand aglow with holy energy. He moved quickly to beside Friday more to give Kasha a place to fall back to more than any tactical advantage.
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
His sights set at the moment on threats going after Kasha Friday snarled as she was swarmed by the smaller birds, unable to do anything. Against weapons though, he didn't even have to think. When the first sword plunged for her vitals his hand immediately lashed out into a fist to punch the weapon away. Not good enough," his conditioning told him as he heard the second blade slip in.
Bringing his bloody hand back to his spear he lunges at the attacker.
Friday throws himself between the first of the tengu ninjas' blades, and retaliates by thrusting his spear deep into the offender's open beak. The bird-man dies quickly as the spear's head pierces the back of his throat and through to the other side.
The ravens break off from Kasha to swarm over Kavell and Friday!
With one of the bird men coming close, Valeria reached her senses out and leapt through space, warping the fabric of reality to pull her to a new position further into the room. As she appeared, flames were emerging from her staff as she levelled it at the bird man.
Panic shifting to rage, Kasha reaches out to touch Kavell still standing prospectively next to her, channelling the raw animal fury of her companion spirit into the normally calm but already incensed paladin.
| 2 people marked this as a favorite. |
The leaf leshy runs along the ground, swiftly jabbing it's little shortspear up into the thigh of one of the tengu.
The tengu sees the jet of flame streaking towards him and throws himself to the floor to escape it--only for the leshy to run up to him and jab him in the eye with its shortspear. He squawks in surprise and pain, and wildly swings his wakizashi at the little leshy!
...and manages to nick the little guy.
The other tengu tries to put himself out!
And manages to extinguish himself before swinging at Kavell!
Fury welled up in the paladin from Kasha's Animal spirit into him. It was a feeling the paladin had rarely felt, and force once it felt okay. Despite the swarm of ravens attacking him he calmly glanced about his surroundings, slid backwards a step or two and struck at the tengu behind them. He wanted to cut down on the angles they were being attacked from.
The tengu winces as Kavell effortlessly moves through the swarm and hacks into him.
Realising what the birds were up to after Kasha Friday took note of his opponents before he closing his eyes. During a respite and goaded by her blessing he quickly opened his eyes and lunged at one of the birdmen.
He then took a step out of the swarms, placing him inbetween the other adversary and the Shamaness.
Friday wheels around and guts the other birdman with a single thrust of his spear before wheeling back around to keep himself between the last one and Kasha.
The ravens swarm around Friday and Kavell, pecking at them relentlessly!
Still unable to see and unable to target any enemies, Kasha calls forth a blessing of prowess on her companions, filling her allies with fearless agression.
Aiming for the swarm attacking Kavell, Valeria slammed the base of her staff into the ground and launched a trio of streaking bolts of energy from the top, sending them screaming into the birds.