Ohrmizd shows his scars of war with a smile "It was even larger. Believe me his tusks were like half meter long"
"What is there Hadrah and her herbs cannot transform into a mouth-watering delicacy?" the Keleshite gives his most charming smile "Hadrah the cooker of the legendary beast of Kalmerane!"
[dice=Knowledge (Nature) - is it just an overgrown warthog?]
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It is an impressive and magnificent beast - a dire boar" - Roryx points out to the others in the kitchen - "Even though it is a very rare one, and hard to find, it is 'still' a boar, albeit a massive one" - he adds with a chuckle.
"Dire boar should roast just fine, but now we need to find Garavel and have a council of war. If we are going to assault Kelmarane tomorrow, we need a plan." with that, Omari goes in search of Garavel.
"Always the serious one..." - Roryx pondered as his companion walked away - "Ohrmizd, how confident do you feel that Haleen is well?" - he added, turning to the Keleshite.
Garavel is with Princess Almah in the former library smoking hookah.
Heshan arrived at the scene with a smooth swagger not seen since they have begun.
"Boss, I am happy to report good news. We managed to clear the watchtower of the gnolls positioned there."
Ohrmizd observes slowly how Omari goes to talk with Garavel while he takes breath to answer Roryx "I am pretty confident she is well in health, and I am not sure she is in actual physical danger... Now... I do not think she is well at all. I can't think what might have make her work with the gnolls, but it cannot be good..." he sighs "You know her. She has a big heart, but not very good judgement when it comes to companies"
After eating he stands up and goes to join the others at the library. Ohrmizd is very amused to see Heshan's smooth swagger, smiles, and respectfully waits for the boss to answer his statement.
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"That's nice. You got any idea what to expect when we go in full force?" Garavel replies to Heshan.
"We managed to interrogate a gnoll. He said the central building is the battel market. It has a stage, the spectator's benches, the market stalls, a bar, the prison cells, the watch rooms and Kardswann's private rooms." Ohrmizd shows the couple of keys they got from Underella "The harpy was hiding these two keys. We believe they might hold entrance to the battle market, but the gnoll said the doors were just open during the day."
"The gnoll said there are still a dozen gnolls inside the battle market. And Kardswann doesn't need any protection. 'He'd rip you apart with his bare hands', he literally added" the Keleshite looks worried but hopeful Garavel makes a clear picture of the situation "The watchtower is empty now according to him, and there are no turns"
"Any particular order on how to proceed boss?"
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"I will note that there is the Huecuva in the former Sarenite temple complex , but I doubt it is under the gnolls control. I would simply avoid the location and clean it up after taking control of Kelmarane. I would also urge caution about the number of gnolls - are we really confident that a gnoll can count worth a damn?
"I shall also point out Undrella said Kardswann is under mind control from an entity she did not manage to identify" Ohrmizd looks then hopeful to Omari "My master sometimes would perform a ritual that would expel such control from evil entities, do you think we can do something like that Omari?"
"If you come up with a plan to get rid of such an possesion, I'd hold the attack. You never know what happens if you slay a possessed creature." Garavel answers.
"That is the tale we had from Undrella, but do we care? Kardswann was the leader of a band of gnoll slavers, and a harpies lover, before being possessed. Why not just give him to Pharasma's judgement?"
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"That entity was powerfull enough to kill a full temple of Sarenraen clerics and paladins. If it gives Kardswann additional powers we might not stand a chance."
"Also I am not sure, there might be a bit more at play here. This monastery is full of references to a group of good genies templars and one of them was named Kardswann. It might be that these band was fighting whatever source is under Kelmarane, at least I am pretty sure they werever active in this area."
"So maybe that whole gnoll leading business was his way to get into Kelmarane, because he did not have the ressources to set up a powerful Expedition like us. In that case us breaking the curse might be really beneficial."
"I would feel more comfortable lifting the mind control first before deciding to judge this person, Sarenrae would not approve mercilessly slaying a person who we know acted under compulsion" Ohrmizd reasons back about his own motivations.
But when Manuun talks about the book he has been reading the Keleshite is shocked "What?! You say one of these saints was called Kelmarane too?!"
"Wait! Undrealla said Kardswann is a genie! How long ago those events in your book happened Manuun?"
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But when Manuun talks about the book he has been reading the Keleshite is shocked "What?! You say one of these saints was called Kelmarane too?!"
"Wait! Undrealla said Kardswann is a genie! How long ago those events in your book happened Manuun?"
"No he was not called Kelmarane, but he fought and died here. St. Vadishar is the patron saint of that monastery and there is a Relief here somewhere depicting his death."
"They left Vadishar here as guard . He fought some kind of firesnake and died in that fight. That spirit locked into the old temple was definitely a fiery creature from the looks of it. Now its Kardswanns turn to be the new guardian and with all the civilized people gone from Kelmarane he might have thought enlisting the gnolls and harpye would be a lot easier than fighting them."
The more Manuun talks about it, the more convinced he sounds.
"That's nice. You got any idea what to expect when we go in full force?" Garavel replies to Heshan.
"In due time boss. If our last encounter is any indication, we should do much better the next time around once we learn how to work together." he replied.
To Manuun's description, he put his hand in thought. "Then do you think it would be possible to get to Kardswanns and tell the gnolls to stand down?
"Sorry, sorry, I mean Kardswann! They are both called the same!" Ohrmizd tries to think about the age of genies, but he starts to think the years fit.
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To Manuun's description, he put his hand in thought. "Then do you think it would be possible to get to Kardswanns and tell the gnolls to stand down?
"If we can find that secret entrance Undrella talked about, We could reach Kardswann without fighting the gnolls. At the worst we will have to fight him alone, instead with his army of Gnolls surrounding him. At the best my story is true and he might help us send the gnolls off without a fight."
"The question remains, where is that secret entrance. I think we should look through the watchtower first, then the Shir demons houseand then the Temple . If all this fails, we could search the outside of the battle market or try to get in contact with Haleen, maybe she knows."
"That would be my vote also - best effort to try and find the secret entrance, and a way to deal with Kardswann directly" - Roryx pipes in - "It may help somewhat defuse the situation without having to plow against rows of gnolls. Worst case scenario, if it does not and we have a fight in our hands, then we have lost nothing anyway"
Omari looks around the table, his gaze flat, counting on his fingers, "Maybe I'm not getting something here, but I personally hate slavers. I also hate gnolls. Dead gnoll slavers sounds like a great plan to me...".
Waving his hands in the air as if to brush his question out of the way "That aside, your plan is to find the secret entrance to the battle market, and then sneak in and engage Kardswann in a what is a daring commando raid. If the sneak bit fails, we do a fighting retreat? Also, what are the Garavel, the mercenaries, and the princesses party doing during all of this? As a final point, you should be aware that the best I can hope for is to temporarily suppress the entity possessing this Kardswann - a minute or two - then it's control will return. If he is possessed, I do not know what will happen with the entity if he dies - it may be free to possess another... I could ward us against such an effect, but this and attempting to suppress the entity that has him will eat greatly into my magical capabilities for the day."
Walking up and down through the library Ohrmizd ponders the different possibilities until he speaks up a while later "Let's see... releasing Kardswann from possession, even if just for a few minutes, can give us a chance here to deal with this quickly and without much fighting. Specially if he is one of the ancient saints, I do not think we shall kill him, if we can even do such feat... But truth is the odds are low and the gnolls, even if not total monsters, are not exactly charitable beings..."
"We must look for that secret door though. Even if we do not manage to reach Kardswann, it is way better for us to strike from the back than through the front door. I am confident of that. Remember the door Haleen took us out from? That is the first place we shall check. Maybe one of Undrella's keys might work. We could walk by without much difficulty" the man then continues his walking "Let's see, once inside... The problem is how we do move around undisturbed. Haleen seemed to work freely around the place, we have to figure out why. Because if there are more humans like us there. We might just pose as one of them..."
"If we do not manage to figure out what is going on... then I might be able to disguise myself as one of the gnolls taking you as a prisoner offer to Kardswann. Once waking around is solved, the problem is WHERE is Kardswann. That will depend a lot on what we find inside. It might become as easy as to just ask it, or we might need to walk around the place until we find him. We can only go inside and find out what is the situation" Ohrmizd then stares at Omari "As Omari said, it is easy we are discovered at any point and we have to face a lot of gnolls. But that might happen independently of what plan we lay out"
"As Garavel has stressed many times already, the mercenaries and himself are here to protect the Princess, they are not going to storm the place. This is we alone. Whatever we do, we always face the risk of having to fight all the gnolls at the same time we alone. We should remain mobile, retreating and striking again if we are discovered"
"I think we all agree the next pace is to find out the secret door, or otherwise fallback to Haleen door, then try to go in and gather more information about the place. Only then we will be able to make a better picture of how we should proceed" the Keleshite breaths deeply "Deciding now about Kardswann is pointless, as we have no real knowledge of whether can even reach him or not"
"Especially since we may have to survive the harpy's singing once more," Heshan added.
"I agree it would be a better idea if we take down more gnolls first before finding this fellow."
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A lot of plans are made, and options considered. As everything is discussed and the way forward is agreed upon it is already late afternoon. With nothing better to do, the group moves to their quarters to go to bed early.
Hadrah wakes you with the scent of a delicious breakfast of eggs and bacon. While it is still dark outside you ready yourself for the day to come. Prayers are prepared, armors donned.
Just as Hadrod starts laying the tables ah done, the mercenaries sound the alarm.
Immediately the monastery is swarmed by gnolls. As you rush out of your room, you find the mercenaries and Almah's personal guards blocking the entrance into the quarters.
But then a muscular figure with an immense axe materializes behind the row of mercenaries. Kardswann has come to put an end to this intrusion into his realm.
Kardswann approaches the mercenaries and drops one with his large axe.
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Looking up, Omari assess the situation, " There are 2 fronts, and we must protect the princess in the library. Myself and the guardsmen can hold the south - the rest of you prepare for Kardswann from the north..."
He then casts a spell, unleashing a Burst of Radiance on the south, and grasping his longspear in both hands, he moves to a position where he can support the guards line...
only to Evil creatures, also a DC 14 save vs Blindness (reflex), dazzled on success
+2 Bab +2 Str
+3 str (2 handed weapon)
Omari hits the gnolls hard, leaving sevaral of them blinded. Ugruk moves into the quartes to have the back of Kardswann.
The mercenaries try to fight off the gnolls.
Ohrmizd steps forward to cover the northern flank. Knowing Heshan he looks for him with the shield making sure the man does not rush towards the gnolls "No one pass my line, force him to charge. Heshan no close attacks for now"
The faithful warrior points then to Ugruk "Sarenrae help me protect this, your monastery, from the unfaithful hands of our attackers" calling for his protection judgment and casting shield of faith at the same time.
It was a nice talk of strategy to be had... until it appears that their enemies had the jump on them for a change.
It is at this point where he hastily nodded towards the Ohrmizd. "You do not have to tell me twice.
Heshan sought to make any long ranged combat on them more difficult by applying a new spell, blanketing their group in mist.
"Best laid plans and all that I guess huh brothers?" - Hedrak snarls and casts a defensive spell.
Falling into his arcane energy to energize his weapon, he moves to stand beside Ohrmizd, longspear at the ready - "Come on then!" - he roars at their opponents.
The gnolls attack the guards and the mercenaries that desperately try to hold them back. And they painfully hit. Only the blinded one stabs into the air.
Dashki is not interested in fighting that many gnolls up close. But he hates them and joins the fight from afar.
Manuun puts an arrow into the gnoll, before everything disappears in a haze.
Between the gnolls, mercenaries and guards a hewing and stabbing goes on. The gnolls almost hurt themselves, but the Princess's team fares better. The mercenary drops one gnoll. Two guards also put down a drop a gnoll together. Then a gnoll takes out another mercenary.
Zastoran appears behind Roryx, and Felliped starts an encouraging song.
Kardswann takes out the last two mercenaries that hold the line on the one side.
Omari shouts a warning, so as to certainly be heard in the library "GARAVEL, PRINCESS, THE GNOLLS ARE HERE AND REAVING!"
Then he stabs at the most visibly wounded of the 3 gnolls within reach (pink, red, green) with his longspear:
+2 str +2 bab +1 inspire courage
+3 str (2 handed weapon) +1 inspire courage
Omari ends one of the blinded gnolls with a stab between the ribs.
Ugruk moves into the fog until he sees a target and attacks with a very interesting weapon. But the fog twarts his attempt.
"Hold... hold..." Ohrmizd is surprised by a sudden mist expanding through the corridor "What the...?¿"
Confused he suddenly feels the encouraging voice of Felliped Rahav and Omari shouting orders from somewhere to the south "Yes! Protect the Princess!"
"Sarenrae render your enemy to our feet!" Ohrmizd steps forward changing the nature of his judgement to destruction and swinging hard at the flintbar gnoll in front.
Roryx drops the spear, and shifts his position to the side, beginning to encircle the gnoll with Ohrmizd. He draws the morningstar as he goes, and swings - "Stand down! - the half-orc roared.
Ohrmizd shocks the gnoll with his 'in the face' attack and giving him stars to see with the hit on the head. Roryx does a more classical attack, trying to smash the head in with a spiky metal ball.
The gnolls on the West end of the area start to pour into the quarters and end up next to Ohrmizd and Roryx.
One gnoll at the east side moves up to the guards and attacks, but misses.
Dashki keeps shooting. But his aim is still off.
"Oh. I might have overdone the mist."
But there was no time for regrets. This time, he would move up to where he heard the action and stun the lieutenant.
But he would have even less luck in getting off the spell.
One gnoll moves in unseen by anyone from the group. One attacks the princess' guards. The gnoll hits, but the guard stands.
The guards are holding the line and swing their swords at the gnolls, dropping another one.
More gnolls swarm in. The guards keep being attacked, and the heavily wounded guard finally collapses.