Trenna sees the man in the shadows shift into a bird and her world upends itself, is that ... but he's ... She's so nonplussed it takes her a moment to spring into action. She barrels through the room and climbs out the window. As she does so the wolf disappears and all anyone can see is the hairy chest of a Dire Ape clinging to the outside of the tower.
"Ohhhhh drat. We can't let him get away team!" Nadesico shouts as she pauses briefly watching what once was a man transform into a bird.
"What's the" she starts speaking just before Trenna changes shape into a giant ape.
"Oh My T! Whats in the water here?!?!?! Well Uhh mrs ape, let Torag help you on your journey" She touches her hands again to trenna letting through a rush of healing energy, before directing focus on herself.
Trenna appears to smile at Nadesico, "Thank you Warri, did that bird seem familiar?"
"What are you waiting for, an engraved invitation? A song? Get the trapdoor open and clear the way! We can't let this guy get away."
Dorian seethed, and since he couldn't do anything else at the moment, he healed himself once more.
Syrenna attempts to beat open the hatch again!
This time when Syrenna tries to open the trapdoor, it flies open as whatever was blocking it has now been removed. Climbing into the rookery above, she takes note that the 10x10 above seems to be completely empty.
With a furrowed brow Akivar watches as his companions turned into animals and darted away.
"Uhh... okay. Time for animals I guess."
He pulled out a clump of notes and scanned them momentarily. Shoving them back into his pocket he took a step to get a better view out of the window and braced himself. Winding back, he scrapped a handful of dust off the floor and tossed it out the window, whispering an incantation in the process.
Seconds later the dust adhered in the air. Swelling, growing, and folding upon itself until it resembled a large, vicious bat beating its wings outside the building.
As the party transforms into various animals and monstrosities, they slowly begin their ascent through the open window and open trapdoor. Nothing is seen or heard from up above however, only open air on the fourth story of this large lumbermill. The glowing cultist has disappeared once again.
Nadesico climbs her way up the ladder, and once in the room, she detects evil.
"Let me see if I can find him here"
Trenna climbs up and over, ready to grab him if she sees or smells him.
The catfolk Oradin climbs the ladder to the rookery and uses her innate ability to search for evil on the 15'x15' area on the roof. She doesn't detect evil in her 60' radius sweep.
Trenna climbs up and over onto the rookery, quickly taking a sniff of the air to determine whether Ironbriar is within her range. She doesn't smell or detect the cultist either.
Hedge flits about the rooftop, perplexed by the cultist's second disappearance.
TweetyHedge does not find any cultist about either.
Trenna casts Detect Magic, looking around for any Lingering Auras to try and determine where he went.
Trenna picks up a dim aura on the rooftop.
Hedge circles Akivar and the new combatants, hoping one of them might find a trace of the escaped Justice.
Dorian took the ladder at a full run, hoping to get up top and lend a hand before he became a fugitive from Magnimar...again.
Hedge circles above the rookery, searching for signs of the disappearing cultist. Unfortunately however, he finds nothing as Dorian ascends up the ladder to join the party.
Taking note of what trenna found, Nadesico directs her senses to the rooftop, attempting to detect evil in the direction of the aura that Trenna found.
Akivar looks around inside the building, detecting magic nearby.
Nadesico detects a dim aura of evil on the rooftop where Trenna detected dim aura of magic.
Akivar detects magic downstairs in the previous room looking for signs of the cultist but doesn't detect any new auras that are out of place.
Hedge waits to transform back, hoping one of these newcomers will be able to locate the slippery snake. His circling patrols of the area dip lower and he desperately searches for any sign of the villain's descent.
On one of Hedge's circling swoops of aerial detection he spots something unusual. Outside the building forty feet below the rookery there is a splattering of fresh blood.
Dorian, not knowing what he could do with no immediate target to find, took the moment to scan the room looking for clues to Ironbriar's flight.
The only clue that dorian finds on the roof that is out of the ordinary is a piece of the cultist's cloak on the railing of the rookery. It appears the cloth has torn free from the cloak and was snagged on the jagged corner post of the railing overhanding the street down below.
Hedge flies down and finds the blood at the bottom, searching around the immediate are and finds a trail that seems to lead away from the mill back towards town.
DireTrennaApe watches Hedge fly down to the ground and follows quickly, climbing down the side of the tower. Finding the blood and the trail, she begins to follow Ironbrian before skidding to a halt. She looks back at Hedge and up to the rest, "hurry, we might be able to catch him!"
knowing what she has to do, Nadesico runs up the stairs and casts Cure Light Wounds on herself in anticipation.
"Oh Boy, This is going to hurt"
Trenna looks back anxiously to see what Syrenna will do.
Syrenna tries to figure out what she is going to do and it seems like over a month passes before she makes up her mind.
Syrenna jumps.
It may not be the wisest move, but it's the fastest way from point A to point B, right? Stepping over the ledge, she plummets to the ground below.
Landing on the ground in tremendous pain, she rolls several times before coming up on a knee. She looks around for the blood and signs of his trail. Unfortunately however, her injuries are severe and her head is throbbing and she can't make heads or tails of where to go next. She shouts "Where?!"
Dorian rushes to the edge and grabs his two remaining companions by the shoulders. "Don't worry, I've got this." he says as he shoves them both over the edge, keeping a firm grip on them. Within moments, he casts feather fall, and the three drift gently to the ground.
Akivar looks around at his scattering companions before being grabbed by Dorian. Eyes widening as he realizes his intent, he shouts "Wait! What if-" before being unceremoniously shoved off the rooftop. His shouting continues as he starts to fall, "- its a trap!!"
His plummet slows greatly as the feather fall kicks in. He looks around sheepishly at his slowly descending group, then takes in his surroundings as he lands.
Trenna yells "this way!" and begins to move down the trail left by Ironbrian.
Hedge lets out a loud series of chirps to guide his companions before gracefully transforming back to human and sprinting along the blood trail, wary for any clues to their foe's presence.
"In the name or Torag, what the?!?!? EEEEEEEEK" Nadesico shouts as she starts flailing wildly in her slowed descent.
"Wow! How full of surprises you are yet sir Dorian. Now time to continue onward. I think ill follow chirpy. "
Nadesico lands with the grace of a cat in full plate armor, before taking off following Trenna and the strange bird human man.
She yells back to Syrenna "Hey, come on, keep up!"
The group descends off the tower and reaches the group where they all take note of the bloody patches that are likely from your fleeing subject. Moving into pursuit, the group takes off running away from the mill back towards the town streets as they try to chase an invisible man running in unknown directions ahead of them. They catch occasional splotches of blood and remnants of a spell as they continue to pursue him, but he's gaining ground as they need to periodically check their direction.
As they chase through the crowded streets, the group finally catches hold of Ironbriar, but the situation has drastically changed. Gone are the mask and cultist outfit he had been wearing earlier the mill. Having removed it, he is dressed casually and not in his judiciary attire. He is standing next to a group of four city watchmen loudly yelling at them and as you round the corner he finishes "... they killed everyone in the mill. It was a slaughter. They cast magic and weave webs of lies, I want them executed on sight."
Turning to see you he points "There they are, that's them. Kill them!"
"There he is! Hold that man, constables! He and his group of cultists attacked up as the mill when we were simply asking about the rat situation there. Despite his appearance, he was complicit in the attempted murder of innocents, I swear it! "
Akivar walks towards the guards and makes a show of tossing down his staff. "So long as you detain your so-called judge then I will yield peacefully! We do not want violence, only justice for those murdered by Ironbriar. Seize him and you will get no fight from me."
Nadesico runs up next to Dorian. "He speaks the truth! I saw it with my own two eyes i did. Yes, this man Ironbriar has betrayed you, and he is trying once again to use you all for his own self gain. Torag is quite displeased with this man. He must be brought to justice!"
The watch pauses, looking over their shoulder back at Ironbriar and then back to the group assembled before him. Confused, they continue to look back and forth. It would seem that the party's words have clouded their minds at least, causing doubt.
Ironbriar for his part does not take this sitting down. "I am High Justice Variel Ironbriar of the Court of Magninar! I decree these men traitors to Magnimar and are to be put to death immediately! Captain, seize them or kill them, but do not sit there and question my orders!"
The three watch now turn to their Captain who swallows a fist sized lump in his throat. Looking back between the two groups he says "Alright. How about everyone lay down their arms and we all take-"
Ironbriar demands. "Either you kill them now or I will have your entire family removed from this city and sent off to northern Irrisen to freeze to death! Those are your orders, Captain!"
The man groans audibly and turns back to your group. Addressing his men "Seize them all, use deadly force if necessary."
Ironbriar groans as well and begins to flee in the streets. The four men turn to you and says "Lay down your arms and this will go much smoother for you!"
As Ironbriar made to run off, Dorian lashed at his legs with the spiked whip, trying to bring him down and prevent the man from escaping again.
"Gentlemen, we do not wish to fight you, and we won't. Not with deadly force anyways. But this man cannot be allowed to escape justice!"
"Listen to what he said. Ill send your entire family to freeze to death?!?!? Is that the claim of an honorable and trustworthy man? If you value the lives of your family, you will help bring this villain to justice"
Nadesico attempts again to plead with the guards.
Hearing the shouts of the guards, Trenna assesses the situation and keeps running past straight, not taking the corner with the rest of the group. She searches for an alley where she can ascend to the roof or change.
Trenna drops into the fight by taking a parallel alley and blocking the path of retreat Ironbriar was about to take. As he stops to face her, Dorian reaches out and lashes Ironbriar's feet as he tries to flee, sending him tumbling to the ground in a nearby pile of refuse which elicits curses from the cultist-turned-High Justice. One of the guards goes to restrain him and the High Justice screams at him, pulling out a blade. "Unhand me or I will cut your arm off! Do you know who I am!" he shouts as a second guard moves to encircle him.
Two guards near you point their polearms at you and says "Drop your weapons and lay down, now. I won't ask again."
"I do regret having to disobey your instructions, and I have no intent of harming you or your men, but I will die before I let that murderer escape!"
"Look at his aggressive actions, and ask yourself. Who is the true enemy here. We have not yet once raised our weapons to you. We only intend to bring justice to this great city!"