Ah, the flip side to the questions...questions back at him.
Ah well...see, I may have gotten a bit lost. There was some sort of guardian that I frankly didn't feel like conversing with, so I...slipped past him? My name is Milo and I guess I'm a bit of an expert at getting into places where one is not meant to be. I could be of use to you in routing the Skaven.
Archepex looks him over for the first time, not a comfortable experience. Archepex's gaze feels much like you're getting analyzed for a field dressing. You, a thief, want to hunt skaven? Because we don't go half measures, kid, we're the real deal. You come with us and you may see things that your mother would wholly disapprove of.
Milo does his best not to flinch at Archepex's gaze.
I already have done things that would turn my mother's hair white, if it wasn't already. And the real deal is what I'm looking for. I'm done playing in the bush leagues, as it were.
So you snuck into the Sea of Trees looking to make a difference in the war? Archepex asks skeptically.
Milo smirks a little.
Oh no. I snuck into the sea of trees to steal things and find adventure. War is just another name for adventure, as far as I'm concerned.
Archepex's eyes narrow. We'll see how you do then. But no thievery unless it's from the Skaven, got it?
I cock my head at the elf noble locked in the gem. [b]What about Skaven collaborators?[b]
If possible, Archepex's eyes got more narrow. Check with us first.
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Milo's head bobs back and forth, in something that resembles either the gesture for "sure" or "we'll see" or something that straddles the line of both responses.
After a moment, he rethinks his answer, seeing the responses from the rest of the party.
Listen...I might not have the same background with the Skaven as the rest of you, but they tried to kill me too. I'll be loyal and dedicated to this fight. You can count on that.
I look closely around the room to see if there's anything out of the ordinary.
Dhice and Lyntel reach the same conclusion, and turn to shout to Emma as she kneels before the shrunken gem. To the similarly-shrunk down elven noble inside, Emma appears over 100 feet tall. Her voice thunders throughout his prison without her having to raise it at all, and the flashing immediately stops. He scrambles as far away from Emma as he can within his gem prison.
The doors bang open and a trio of Elves rush in, looking shaken as if they had just fled a battle. You recognize Wildsong, the commander that brought you in. "What the..." one elf flanking the Commander asks, and the other, a bit quicker on the uptake, shouts "Where is Lord Harcroft? Hands off the Queen, interloper!" and brandishes his twin swords threateningly. In the center, Wildsong's eyes are quickly flitting from the Queen to Lyntel, and he appears to be making rapid calculations. His expression is difficult to read - he could be estimating the loss of an ally in that long-haired noble, or assessing if the situation is safe for the Queen. What do you do?
Archepex takes a couple steps over, then raises his mask. He appears to materialize out of thin air before them, bow in hand.
Skaven, Wildsong. Here. His voice sounds like it's about to crack in spite of the quiet tone. The betrayal necessary to get the skaven into the throneroom alone was staggering, and bearing the weight of the knowledge that it wasn't only possible but that it had happened was threatening to shatter Archepex's soul. Please tell me this wasn't you.
Forgive me, your highness.
Lyntel takes a step away from the Queen, with both hands in the air.
Milo, you find a Skaven bolt-hole that's been bored secretly and hidden in the side of the tree stump you're in. It leads outside.
Milo thinks this would have had to take some time, and be concealed by multiple people. This conspiracy likely goes beyond a single man. My voice joins Archepex's
They weren't smuggled in either. Someone built them a special door right in. This corruption runs deep.
Grigor starts sliding over behind the Elven warband for his eventual, stunningly deadly, flanking maneuver.
Wildsong's eyes swiftly move from Lyntel and the Elfchild Queen, who is slowly recovering her strength in front of the throne, to Archepex, the ranger's eyes boring into his own, to Milo revealing more evidence of the betrayal, and finally to Grigor. Then his eyes return to Archepex, the ranger he once called friend, many years ago. Wildsong can't conceal his actions from Archepex a second before he acts.
Without even reaching for anything, Wildsong's arm is flung out in Archepex's direction. A high-pressure blast of fluid is ejected from something hidden in his sleeve, and when the fluid comes in contact with the air, it explodes into a blinding fog. In seconds, the fog has spread to a 20 meter radius from the doorway to the throne room.
The next three things happen very quickly, within mere instants of each other. An elf - particularly one as well-trained as Commander Wildsong, moving at top speed - is astonishingly fast.
First, three kunai are flung directly at the Queen's face from within the fog.
Second, the Commander whirls past Archepex out of the fog in a twisting leap that takes him over the ranger's shoulder by a hairsbreadth. He's two feet past you and racing for the throne before you can roll to react, Archepex. Grigor, his instincts honed for treachery when dealing with Skaven and their allies, gets to react as well, with a +1 circumstance bonus to his roll due to his positioning.
Third, the Commander's two loyalist guards charge out of the fog, slightly slower than their leader, barreling down on the ranger with twin swords drawn! In seconds, they'll be upon you and will slice you to ribbons. What do you do?
Milo, Lyntel, Emma, you're far enough back that the blinding fog doesn't reach you, and you see Wildsong vaulting out of the fog over the ranger's shoulder. The kunai he threw are whistling through the air, at the hapless Elfchild Queen. What do you do?
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The queen is not getting stabbed on my watch! Using the same deadshot precision I use to pick a lock in the dark or put an arrow through a ratling from 100 yards I hurl my knapsack directly in the path of the kunai, letting it intercept the throwing knives.
As soon as the bag is in the air, Milo attempts to race after the Commander as he exits the fog
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Archepex has no time to think. No time for his heart to break. No time to mourn. He rips his sword free of it's scabbard and a beam of silver starlight bursts from the blade. It streaks up to the ceiling in dazzling radiance.
He then seems to point the blade at his two foes, but the beam of starlight instead strikes Grigor!
Suddenly Archepex is moving, his sword leaving a streak of silver in it's wake. He weaves a pattern meant to confuse charging animals and slips between the traitorous elves.
Then cuts one behind the knee. At that moment Mule dives into the face of the same elf, talons at the ready to pluck his eyes out like mice from a log.
With a nod Archepex's mask slips over his face and the stationary bits of him get substantially less... substantial. His legs in particular have a disturbing habit of fading into and out of sight.
Lyntel steps right back in front of the Queen. Down my lady!
The bardizard then begins singing a line from a ballad of Githrael, the Betrayer, a villainous elf who until this day is still used as an example for elven children. The familiar song makes Archepex's adversary hesitate for only a second.
Moments after the fog explodes into existence Dhice begins to work to counteract it. He concentrates on "moving the air to a new position within sight", which in this case is quite tricky.
Grigor barrels into the Elven traitors from behind and...
Cuisinarting the warden nearest him for... points.
Archepex, if this guys doesn't go down, your next attack against him is at +1d4 damage.
As she notices Grigor's gambit, Lyntel changes the focus of her song's magic to distract Grigor's target.
Emma pursues Wildsong, predicting his movements:
What is about to happen?
What should I be on the lookout for?
What here is useful or valuable to me?
Try to take the leader alive!
The flashing magic emanating from Archepex's blade draws all the attention of the traitor wardens to the ranger. It doesn't help matters that their own racial bias sees other elves as the biggest threat. They both leap for Archepex at once, but the elven ranger steps between their dual charge with the grace of a dancer. Mule had cast his wings out and caught the updraft created by the sudden fog, and now was diving down to assist his master with all the speed of a hawk.
Their furious assault on the right-most warden stymies any counterassault, particularly with the furious song of Lyntel distracting him and bellowing throughout the throne room. However, the tragedy of having to do battle with his own countrymen makes Archepex hesitate, just for a half-instant, during his strike - enough to cause his attack, and Mule's, to only inflict a minimum of damage. Archepex, your warden is still standing as the fog envelops you both. You're blind-fighting now.
Grigor has no such reservations. With the same song that helped Archepex thundering in his ears, his heart rate three times its resting rate, the fighter is more than ready to slaughter the traitors. His sword sinks to the hilt into the warden's chestplate, erupting out the other side of his target just as the fog envelops them as well.
Seconds later, however, Dhice's wind elemental expends all of its effort to counteract the Commander's trick. In the enclosed throne room, there's few places on ground level it can be pushed, but wind elementals think in three dimensions. There is a small opening to the sky in the roof of the massive trunk that forms the Courthouse, and the wind elemental carries the fog through it, up and out. Visibility is restored, just as the dead elf slides off the fighter's sword and collapses to the ground in a heap. The warden Archepex attacked is moving to the side and unhooking a hand-sized throwing net from his belt, eyeing Mule!
The wardens, however, were a mere diversionary tactic for the real gambit - Wildsong's gambit. Emma immediately sees this traitor elf's purpose - he means to kill the queen! She also knows that he's not making a suicidal attack - he still has a plan of escape for himself. You catch the Commander glancing upward as he races at the throne at sprint speed. You see him equipping bladed knuckles to his fists as he runs - take +1 forward when acting on this information.
Milo prevented the thrown kunai from hitting their intended target. Miraculously, his knapsack flies through the air just fast enough to catch the throwing daggers instead, and the bag keeps going and lands on the other side of the throne covered in blades. Wildsong is close behind his daggers, and Milo attempts to catch up to him, but even an athletic human will have difficulty capturing an elite elf on foot. Only Emma is nearby when Wildsong climbs the final steps to the throne itself.
Lyntel desperately positions herself in front of the Queen, but is unable to defend herself. Her singing is cut short by her desperate, protesting cry - which is then cut off by Wildsong's vicious backhanded strike with his bladed fist weapons. Blood flies off in the direction of the strike as it hits Lyntel in her unprotected face. Lyntel, take 1d8+4 damage, that ignores armor. Emma is close enough to retaliate immediately, and Milo will be in position to act immediately afterward, followed by Dhice. Lyntel, you're knocked to your knees and a few steps down by the Commander's forceful strike, and you taste blood in your mouth. What do you do?
This is going to hurt!
Lyntel braces for Wildsong's impact, taking the full brunt of the blow. Miraculously, she avoids being thrown free by grabbing onto the Elven traitor and holding for dear life.
As the two are wrapped up, she begins humming feverishly through the pain.
Brother, traitorous Elven guards assault the Queen! Aid us! Save the Queen!
dhice acts without thinking, and immediately teleports to a position between Wildsong and the Queen. He appears to step through a portal of shimmering air, and emerges with a sheen of hardened air that protects him (armor +1). He then attempts to assume a defensive stance in front of the queen:
With 3 hold, he will divert any incoming attacks that make it through Emma to himself.
Actually, Lyntel, Grigor leaps over, and slams his shield in front of you...
with my three holds, Wildsong is disarmed (Lodestone Shield), redirect the attack at me, and then cut the damage in half.
"How about fighting a proper opponent, child-slayer!!!"
I already called it a Defend roll, plus I can only give you a +1, so it would still be a 7-9 result.
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I already called it a Defend roll, plus I can only give you a +1, so it would still be a 7-9 result.
I already called it a Defend roll, plus I can only give you a +1, so it would still be a 7-9 result.
Emma stands before Wildsong, a (k)nightmare of mostly righteous steel. Her justice is messy and catastrophic
"Enemies of the Queen, your lives are forfeit. Drop your weapons and kneel. You are permitted to beg for an honorable death. Be warned though," she shows her teeth, in a grim not-smile. "My patience is infamably short."
I AM THE LAW
"Enemies of the Queen, your lives are forfeit. Drop your weapons and kneel. You are permitted to beg for an honorable death. Be warned though,"
Lyntel's charm is not enough to make him fully friendly, but the confusion her spell engenders makes his blows hesitant, more sluggish. Dhice warps into melee range, with Milo and Grigor close behind. Shoving Lyntel off his arm, but not hurting her and merely causing her to stumble a little, he tries to swing at the Queen with one arm. His blow is deflected with terrifying ease by Emma. He swings, more wildly, with his other arm, and Grigor's Lodestone Shield rises to meet it. The magic-enhanced super-magnetism of the fighter's shield causes the commander elf's bladed gauntlets to stick to the shield's surface, forcing the elf commander to tear them off.
Wildsong staggers a few steps backward from the Queen's throne, and Emma stands at the vanguard of a phalanx of defenses that the Mousetrap Company has erected around the Elfchild Queen. The antipaladin's voice is as terrible as cracking thunder, and a stormcloud of anger sits upon her brow. Her full plate armor is as legends say, enhancing her firm and authoritative countenance to something far beyond that. Even the Queen, safely behind the phalanx of bodies, can't help but stare at Emma in wonder as she issues her divine proclamation.
"Who...who ARE you?" the commander shouts, in disbelief. He cannot make eye contact with Emma or any of the rest of you, instead lifting his hands up in a warding gesture. It's as if he is trying to look directly at the sun itself.
The Commander looks from Emma, to the rest of you, at your uniformly unassailable conviction. Finally, his gaze falls on Archepex, and a deep sadness shows through in his eyes, just for a moment. He unlaces his left gauntlet, the one not stuck to Grigor's shield, and tosses it aside. He falls to his knees wordlessly, hanging his head.
Archepex leaves the remaining warden where he stands and approaches Wildsong. He takes the Commander, or rather Former commander, by the shoulder and strips him of any remaining weapons. Mule flutters onto his shoulder and seems to be watching for any tricks.
-what is useful or valuable
-what is not as it appears
-what should I be on the lookout for
He then nods to his friends. Thank you, all of you. I'll take him from here.
Emma, please make sure that one goes to the afterlife screaming, please. he gestures over his shoulder at the remaining warden.
Lyntel approaches Archepex and speaks quietly. In cold blood? He is still an elf. Perhaps he was simply deceived, like the rest of us.
Grigor steps up beside the bard.
"I agree with Lyntel. His fate should be determined by the queen he's betrayed."
His blood is on his own head. Need I remind you of events thirty seconds ago? He attacked the Queen! Archepex spits back, but he is clearly emotionally distraught. His normally cool demeanor has evaporated.
And moments ago the Queen was under compulsion. . She puts a calming hand on his shoulder. We should at least see what they know of this threat. It must run deep.
She returns to the Queen's side, humming a lullaby her mother used to sing.
Archepex's rage and hurt at being betrayed so deeply storm in his head. The only reason Wildsong wasn't dead was their history. They had grown up together, learned to Fly together! How could he! It throbbed at his temples and burnt in his breast and tore at his stomach. Someone had to pay for this.
All his honor as an elf.
All his rage at this betrayal.
They stood locked. Stalemated. So he let Lyntel and Grigor make the decision he couldn't. He waves Emma off and shoves Wildsong at Grigor.
I have arrows to retrieve... he growls as he storms off the Dias.
Grigor ties the warden up and gags him. He then searches the immediate area for any potential threats that may be about.
What is about to happen?
What happens, sans interference, is Emma steps forward and sinks her sword into the elf Archepex indicated. As blood drips, knowledge is gained.
What here is not what it appears to be?
While the others mill over if they should execute a prisoner (which Milo feels quite strongly they should not, but doesn't really feel it his place to say at the moment), he picks up his knapsack, now bestudded with brand new throwing knives.