Abyssal adventures (Inactive)

Game Master Mightypion

We can talk later Mrs. Willow, or the Frau Oberst gets angry

He takes the shell case from Anatoli, flips a dial on his right arm, and all manner of strange steampunk machinery extend from it.

Oh, Hochinterressant, aber was ist das? He speaks in a strange language.

Waaaaaaaaassss?

He harrumphs.

Well, this is odd. This projectile is indeed akin to a Panzerfaust, but apparently for anti personel use? Ze Reich has no resources for such things, and to my knowledge the Red army does not use them either. Which means they may be Yankee? But well, the precision tolerances on these rounds seem to be completely chaotic, as if it was once an orderly design, and than modifified by a drunk crazy person who accidentally ingested a companies entire Pervitin supply! Although it could have been the Abyssal inference here. the "fritz" starts explaining.

You are saying that, whoever made this round, is richer and/or more technologically advance then either the 3rd Reich or the Union of Socialist Soviet Republics? The Colonel stops his steam of conciousness

Yes, this is my estimination, Doesnt have to be the Yankees, other planes may well be more technologically advanced then ours.
The "Fritz" replies.

Can you build one of these things? The Colonel asks, he eyes alive ith possiblities.

To make it practical, I would need the weapon that fired it. The issue is, most of the costs would be for ammunition, and good luck getting large scale precision manufactoring done in the Abyss. We managed to isolated my lab from the chaos of the plane, but for a larger manufactoring operation? These things are probably a bit like your Katjuschas, the firing system is cheap, the ammunition is expensive.

Hmm, handheld Katjuschas definitly seem promising!

A ... ballistic .... wireguided ... chainsaw-bayonett?

Eric's eyes sparkle at this moment.

You know, I'm very good at handling exotic weapons and I can do a lot of, let's say, test experiments in the field. If you give it to me.

Diplomacy: 1d20 + 21 ⇒ (19) + 21 = 40

It's true, by the way. Martial Flexibility gives me option to take Exotic Weapon Prof. Am I the Oracle of Battle or who? ))

Very well, either Yankees or someone with a higher tech base are concerning, and I guess our intrepid Banya appreciator just volunteered to try out some technology? Fritz

Jawohl Frau Oberst The Scientist salutes

You are to observe them and make sure our interceptor gets back to us in mostly one piece. The colonel orders

Zu Befehl!

Leutnant Simonova, triangulate the position of the Inn and Outs smuggling craft. Lets see if this "Telepathic Plot-Radar" works. They should be mortal, they should be violent, they should be not from here at all, and they should be moving away from Alysushinnyrra. Also, check for unusual fate flares.

Tak Tochno The Skaldess Salutes

She turns to you.

Fritz, who is a surprisingly good driver, will pilot one of our interceptors towards you smuggling craf. If they are Yanquees, negotiate, if there are something else, use your own judgement.

Ivan Ivanovich, get some of the try outs

And I am off to commission a battlemap, feel free to plot!

Willow leaves the man with the alchemical power source alone... for now. Straightening and brushing off fictitious dirt from her cream-colored skirts, she looks around and wonders...

... who would be the tastiest here if I boiled them in acid until their very essence could fit into a whiskey tumbler.

Roll me a craft alchemy.

alchemy, heroism: 1d20 + 25 + 2 ⇒ (3) + 25 + 2 = 30

You believe it would be the half Succubus Skald.

bluff: 1d20 + 22 + 2 ⇒ (5) + 22 + 2 = 29

Willow slips next to the half succubus skald, while the others are discussing rather uninteresting details about a trip that has been regulated into her Other bin in her brain. With an attempt at casualness, Miss Nevardmipth, sniffs the lovely redhead, leaning in a little, when she feels she isn't being observed, close to the other woman's shoulder.

Hmmm, her mind wonders, if licking the soft exposed flesh would be too much of a giveaway about her mind's wanderings.

Game will continue middle of next week, if I dont have a new player there will temporarily be GM NPC, that are explicitly support.

Hmm The half Balor thinks
Let that Munavri or whatever that is show its abilities, it was pretty tight with Fritz I believe She continues

JAWOHL FRAU OBERST THE RANGED FIREPOWER WILL BE VERY USEFULL JA
The "Fritz" responds enthusiastically.

Stop shouting I am right next to you... Eh whatever. Get her over the intercom, get introduced to each other and board the effing interceptor. At least it should not have anything to do with Qlippoths, I hate tentacles.

"So we are off?" Willow asks, with a slightly distracted quality in her voice. Her vivid eyes are mapping and weighing all sorts of things that are best not spoken aloud. "Hunting stealer of boats and the reducer of our staff. All in the name of science, mixology, and general vengeance."

Gently running her albino pale fingers across the strings of her 19 stringed musical Harp instrument, the lone figure of Golmana quietly thinks back to how she, the sole surviving solitary remainder- as far as she knew- of her fellow sailing crewmembers upon an ivory ship patrolling the Sightless Seas deep within the bowels of the Darklands.

They had fallen afoul a combined patrol of Aboleth-Dominated Skum and Urdefhan Mobat Riders; after a harrowing combat which saw most of the crew of the hapless Ivory ship incurring heavy casualties, her Captain- at the last minute- opened up a planar rift that that he shoved her thru but was unable to follow after her- so swiftly did the Urdefhans and Skum overtake their position. The Captain sealed off that planar rift, leaving the Young Munavri Bard safe but stuck in decidedly unfamiliar Planar territory.

Eventually, in an attempt to escape capture by wandering Daemons, Golmana somehow ended up in the Abyss where she encountered the strange denizens of "The Inn and Out", where- as the strange humans primarily known as Russians would put it, the rest is history...- even as the music, taught to her in your youth about flying creatures that dwelt in the skies when ancient, lost Azlant was at it's height upon the surface world above, subsides into silence.

Suddenly, the hotel Intercom blares to life and the familiar voice of Fritz, the strange Human inventor of another land known as Germany- different from Russia- and Alchemist, summons her as he is won't to do when 'testing out' his new creations of warfare.

This is strange, Golmana thinks to herself as Fritz directs her to meet at a location different from the usual underground Laboratory that he had setup within the Inn. Why would he have me meet him there, of all places?

Nonetheless, out of sense of personal obligation to her strange collection of benefactors, the pale albino Minstrel of the Arrowsong arts fully kits herself before heading to where Fritz has directed her to go. As Golmana reaches the area that she was told to go [but not before placing upon herself the usual customary casting of Penumbra, so as to mitigate any issues of Light Blindness that may possibly arise, of course]... it would be there that she will meet with those whom she would eventually work with. ;)

Edited to replace all mention of Hotel Leningrad with "The Inn and Out" and current use of the Penumbra cantrip. ;p

Misunderstanding, Golmana is currently affiliated with Hotel Leningrad, the rest of the party is from the "inn and out".
Leningrad is basically reinforcing the party with 2 new, to the party, persons, on of them being Fritz (GM NPC) and one of them being you.

Misunderstanding, Golmana is currently affiliated with Hotel Leningrad, the rest of the party is from the "inn and out".

Leningrad is basically reinforcing the party with 2 new, to the party, persons, on of them being Fritz (GM NPC) and one of them being you.

Ah, my bad then, Liliyashanina; will correct for the background material then. And just to keep things clear, Fritz has his lab in the inn- safely away from most other people? ;)

Eventually, in an attempt to escape capture by wandering Daemons, Golmana somehow ended up in the Abyss where she encountered the strange denizens of "The Inn and Out" Hotel Leningrad, where- as the strange humans primarily known as Russians would put it, the rest is history...- even as the music, taught to her in your youth about flying creatures that dwelt in the skies when ancient, lost Azlant was at it's height upon the surface world above, subsides into silence.

Minor re-corrections done. ;)

Fritz is currently in the "bosses room" with the rest of the party, and 2 half demon members of Hotel Leningrad, the colonel and their Urban Skald.

The Colonel just saddled them with Fritz (who can pilot pretty well) to get on an aerial boat in order to intercept the boat that was stolen from the party.

You are to join in, in part to provide ranged firepower. You have not seen the PC party before.

Willow takes in the newcomer like a butcher looks at a new calf, before something in her brain reminds her that people might take offense at someone dividing you up into a culinary experience.
Her demeanor turns semi pleasant, her mind flips through an encyclopedia of potential greetings, and then she says "Hello." since it is statistically greater than the other.

Williow's picture of what she looks like is in her status bar

Upon arrival to the doorway as per Fritz's directions, Golmana at least recognizes that it leads to the Colonel's room. Half-wondering if she should take the time to knock first, the Munavri Minstrel distinctly recalls Fritz's instructions to just go through as the Colonel herself has little use for pointless gestures of social grace, thus she takes a deep breath before opening up the door to enter. Thankfully, the shadows provided by the Penumbra should help to hide my nervousness...

Upon entry, Golmana immediately recognizes the imposing presence of both her Half-Balor Superiors, the Colonel herself and her Skald Adjunct, Lieutenant Simone, along with Fritz- fully kitted out with his odd-implements of technology. However, also present in the room are four peculiar strangers- whom the Munavri had never seen before.

Two Human Males- though one of their numbers seems to be a bit more paler than most...no, I can tell he is no fellow Munavri though, One Tiefling Female- toting one of those guns... nothing like what the Russians normally carry though, and One... no she's too light-skinned for a Drow- Elven, their surface counterpart, it must be, and Female with a large serpent- still living too; a pet of hers then? The way she changed her demeanor though... was it seemingly calculated?

As luck would have it, the Elf immediately gives greetings to Golmana and as is the human custom of verbally returning that greeting- for Munavri's could easily send their thoughts to one another having little need to do so- verbally replies back with a semi-formal "And greetings to you, as well."

What the party sees in terms of Golmana's appearance is an all too pale albino-appearing Human with braided flaxen hair [like her avatar picture] but she does seem to have an almost constant shadowy shroud covering her features. She wears a Darkleaf cloth-weaved armor with some clashingly solid metal pauldrons upon her shoulder. Golmana is carrying a Shiny mithralish-colored buckler strapped to her forearm, along with a silvery wooden longbow etched with a symbol of a sun rising over stylized waters.

Polkovnik, I will be off then. More music to record, is it true that Nocticula herself like the last album?
Simone, the red hedded Skald Succubus asks as she leaves, offering a crisp salute.

I have no f+@&ing idea and I am not going to ask her. She is more fun to report to then comrade Zhukov, but I am not going to waste any of her time on trivialities.
The Half Balor colonel answers.

To the rest of you

You are to use one of our interceptors, piloted by either Fritz or Mrs. Pale Guard, and intercept your stolen ship. If its Yanquees, negotiate, if not, the manner is up to you. I expect my employees and my interceptor back in reasonably good shape. Questions?

Just a very quick recap

Willow looks at the half a balor, pausing for nearly a minute before answering "No" In that mintuenis she was considering all the potential questions one could ask, was she irritated at being the way the words were formed like an order, was she simply lost in her head calculating dreams of violence, or could she have been communicating with her unknowable patron (always a very one sided conversation)... no one knows.

Assuming that is over now, the elf links her arm in with the newcomer, her cream dress crushing against the other woman's side, slightly engulfing her like carnivorous plant. "So... what Are you?" the witch asks bluntly, eyes dancing in interest.

Would Golmana have heard of these 'Yanquees' from overhearing or conversations with either Fritz or the other Russians? Or would it be preferable to make some sorta knowledge roll- if she has the right knowledge? Otherwise, she'll ask the Colonel about them and how to identify them.

Assuming that is over now, the elf links her arm in with the newcomer, her cream dress crushing against the other woman's side, slightly engulfing her like carnivorous plant. "So... what Are you?" the witch asks bluntly, eyes dancing in interest.

Feeling Willow sidle up very closely to the slightly befuddled Munavri Lass while brazenly linking her Elven arms together with Golmana's pale-pallored ones, the Darklandish Arrowsong Minstrel thinks to herself, Well, this Elf is quite friendly- unlike many of her Drow counterparts that I and others of my Munavri compatriots have had to deal with in the past down back by the Sightless Sea, before earnestly answering Willow's questioning.

"I'm known to many of the Russians and Fritz at Hotel Leningrad, of which I'm an associated with, as Golmana of the Sightless Seas... deep within the Darklands itself," the Munavri Bard states as she give an indicative nod towards both the Colonel's and Fritz's direction upon mention of either the Hotel or the lone German's name. "My kind are known deep within the Vaults of Orv as a people called Munavris and it is said that our blood was descended from that of the ancient Azlanti's after the Empire of Azlant had long since been destroyed by Earthfall many ages past."

"We are eternal foes to the Aboleth-kind and their tribal Skum Slave-Armies as well as their fearsome blood-drinking Urdefhan allies who patrol the skies along the Sightless Sea upon their Mobat Steeds, fearsome fliers as the Russians have put it. It was due to their hostile actions that I would eventually come to join up with Hotel Leningrad- lending my Skode-Blessed Bow against their, and thus mine own, enemies."

Glancing towards the very-closely Entwined Elven Witch, Golmana inquires to Willow in return, "You appear much like your Shadowy Drow relatives deep within the Darklands, in fairer and light-dwelling in form though. Are you of their Surface, worlds-faring hated-cousins, known to many as an Elf?"

"Hmmm??" Willow asked, leaning back, since she had leaned in to sniff the other person. "I am An Elf, yes. My people are scattered and diverse, so no summarized version, unfortunately."

Eric of the Kostroff house. A pale man in heavy armor nods to a pale woman. A sly and charming smile plays on his face framed by a neat dark beard. His armor is engraved with unholy symbols of Zura and Nocticula. Nice to meet you, lady. He takes Golmana's hand in his, makes a bow and an elegant kiss, then releases her palm. It is obvious to Willow that he sniffed and it is clear from his look that he values her not only as an ally but also as, say, a vessel with wine. It is obvious to Willow that he sniffed imperceptibly and, as his long-time companion, it is clear for her from his look that he values this manuvri not only as an ally but also as, let's say, a vessel with wine. I hope you enjoy our company as much as we are already charmed by your beauty. Are you a musician? Not symmetrical and very charming smile continues to play on his face.

Roberta nods politely and goes back to staring blankly into the distance, clearly not one for idle conversation.

"Hmmm??" Willow asked, leaning back, since she had leaned in to sniff the other person. "I am An Elf, yes. My people are scattered and diverse, so no summarized version, unfortunately."

Giving a polite nod in response, Golmana replies with, "I see...", but before she could comment any further to the Lady Elf, one of the Human-appearing Men, the paler one- immaculately bearded and clad in heavier armor, engraved with the symbols of Noticula's faith and...

Religious knowledge for Zura?: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (16) + 6 = 22

that of Zura, another dark faith of the demon lords themselves, well-known in the Darklands- especially among the Drow or Ghouls but quite surprisingly rare among the Daemon-worshiping Urdefhans despite their similar proclivities towards drinking the life's blood of the sapient.

Eric of the Kostroff house. A pale man in heavy armor nods to a pale woman. A sly and charming smile plays on his face framed by a neat dark beard. His armor is engraved with unholy symbols of Zura and Nocticula. Nice to meet you, lady. He takes Golmana's hand in his, makes a bow and an elegant kiss, then releases her palm.

I hope you enjoy our company as much as we are already charmed by your beauty. Are you a musician? Not symmetrical and very charming smile continues to play on his face.

A Noble then..., Golmana thought to herself as she gives a pleasant smile and curtsy in response to Eric of this noble House of Kostroff's friendly, if a bit formal, gesture. "And to you and yours in return, Eric...presenting Scion of the House of Kostroff?"

Pausing to collect her thoughts, the Munavri Bard answers, "And yes, thank you... my Lord... while we Munavri have known of the Nobility of lost Azlant, we've forgone such things in our home islands of the Sightless Seas; but it is as you have surmised, I am indeed a musician- my instrument of choice is the Azlanti Harp that I have played for my fellowship, old and new."

Heh, nothing but bright and pleasantly friendly folks here, mostly. No siree, nothing wrong here at all. ;)

Roberta nods politely and goes back to staring blankly into the distance, clearly not one for idle conversation.

The Tiefling Lady seems polite enough, if a bit too stand-offish and distant for the most part... but then again, the same was true among most of the other Tiefling inhabitants of this particular Abyssal realm. Perhaps it would be the same for the only other unknown Human Male present in the room?

BTW, Lilyashanina, how would the other Russian soldiers comport themselves in general among Golmana's prescence? Would it be kind of a friendly, informal frat-house type of atmosphere with a kid sister hanger-on or something a bit more restrained as far as WW2 veterans go? ;)

The Skaldess is happy about their being another female that is "approachable", nobody even dares flirting with the Colonel (to her partial if very secret dismay), Fritz is a mad scientist and gives zero expletives about what you are as long as you arent hostile.

All of them would appreciate music, the symphonic metal of the Skaldess not being everyones cup of tea.

For the common soldier, you arent even in the top 10 of the weird things they have seen on their daily walk to purchase groceries, they would probably empathize with your tales of fighting against the "Superior race wannabe" Urfedhans.

For a sizeable portion, a weird telepathic elf thing is far less "controversial" then a German, people becoming half demons, or working for a demonlord.

If or when Anatoli makes his introductions or not, Golmana will inquire about these 'Yanquees' to the others since she might not know of them. ;)

"Fritz and I will look forward to working with you all of the Inn and Out, on behalf of Hotel Leningrad."

However the introductions plays itself out, with Golmana herself finding the Owners of the Inn and Out to be quite friendly enough- if a bit too eccentric though- the Arrowsong Munavri Minstrel will look back over to both Fritz and the Colonel and ask, "These 'Yanquees'- what manner of creatures are they?" before glancing back over to the other party members, "Aside from their apparent... thievery?"

If they are Yanquees, they are also human.
On the world we come from, there is a major war. They are allied currently with the Soviets, which is where Hotel Leningrad is from, against Germany which is where I am from, although I am actually Austrian and the Piefkes basically conquered and annexed us first.
But, lets not get into too much detail here, there are only one possible suspect here. To be honest, talking about my homeplane is a kind of depressing exercise.
The scientist answers.

Willow gets the tiniest of frowns on her lips at the revelation that the potential enemies are just humans. One of the reasons to come to the Abyss was the variety of experiences. But as the scientist said, they are only a potential, so she shrugged a narrow shoulder "So are we ready to depart?" the ship is not hers, the group are not minions, so the choice is out of her hands.

Nodding in sympathy for Fritz, Golmana replies, "Very well- I understand how you must feel, Herr Fritz." with a nod- although her 'herr' pronunciation sounds a bit more akin to 'hurr' and a slight bit too much emphasis on the rolling of the 'R's' part.

As Willow asks of the others present if they're ready to depart, the Young Munavri Arrowsong Bard- sensing just the slightest minute bit of impatience in the Elven Witch's tone- opts to voice her support of Hotel Leningrad's newest erstwhile allies with a firm declaration of, "I am ready to do so" before adding in thoughtfully with, "If anyone would be able to determine who these alleged Yanquees Humans truly are, it would be Herr Fritz."

If corrected on the first instances of 'Herr's' pronunciation, Golmana will use the correct pronunciation after a brief apology- otherwise, she'll continue with the incorrect pronunciation. ;)

Lets get going then Kameraden! Fritz enthusiastically salutes to the Colonel and leaves, beckoning the party to follow him.

My "Jäger", I mean, Hotel Lenningrads "Okhotnik" is a pretty neat vessell! 2 Ballistas, pretty decent top speed, sturdy. Not the most maneuverable, but great for boarding operations! I figured out a way to have the main drive act as a dimension door to a not too fast surface within 100 feet, this allows you to jump through without too much of an issue, once your vesell is somewhat disabled. The Ballistas can be loaded with Grappling charges to get enough slow down, and according to the specs of your vesell 2 grapples should be enough to slow it enough for a boarding attempt! I will be piloting the vesell and keeping the engine, as well as its dimension door capability online, and checking on the radar before that, but I can hand out extracts as you require before combat is joined. He spergs a great degree of technobabble as he leads the party to the private dock in the lowest floor.

ETA until we meet your vesell is about 10 hours, they had a headstart, so you can get a rest in.

The vesell seems to be made of a leightweight steel, but not Mithral, its design is mostly practical, and it has 2 ballistas on top, as well as some other interesting features below.

Make your preparations.

Willow immediately starts poking about, asking question after horde of questions, some of which make perfect sense, airspeeds, and the level of drift associated with the dimensional translocation. Others make none, like how the metal Feels when a shuddering starts or does the bitter flavor of an able-minded orge while burning affects the thrust parameters.

Can we rest???? Willow would love her spells back before battling whatevers.

Yes, you all get a full rest on the air boat. It does have a crew compartment below decks.
Fritz is also going, in a most miracolous coincidence, have the extracts prepared you ask of him before going to rest.

Eric snuggles down on the bales in the corner, removes part of the heavy armor and turns to Golmana. Hey, pretty girl, play us something. He'll be asleep in about thirty minutes...

So the extracts that gets prepared by Fritz, they'd be ready for use the very next day whenever we'd need them in battle?

Giving a nod and smile over to Lord Eric, Golmana says, "While it is something of a last minute request, I will do my best to provide such musics for everyone. I trust that there would be no objections towards adding some very minor magical cantrips to add to the performance? I can assure all of you that it'd only affect what tonal ambiance could be provided and nothing further than such..."

With some judicious use of ghost sounds for added touches of emphasis, the Munavri Arrowsong Musician begins playing a relaxing tune for everybody present in the hold. :)

Play whatever you want, but once we engage its "Ride of the Valkyries!" Fritz chuckles.

And yes, "Leashed-In" the Abyssal mercenary service network (Copyright by Lady Vellexia of Alyushinyrra) classifies and certifies me as a level 7 Alchemist, with an intelligence rating of 22!
I can prepare anything that is available to Alchemists at this level. What do you think do I actually use the cocktail mixer next to the pilot seat for?

Willow decides to forgo things like socialization and even worse try to take apart the ship to find things that are interesting (ignoring the midair property it holds at the moment). Instead, she decides rest would be good. Her magic was used rather heavily in the destruction of the fecal demon.

She finds a cot, one that swings around like a sac full of spider babies. The elf releases the clasps of her dress, allowing it to puddle on the floor, then curls up into the hammock thing as the tightest ball possible.

As the melodious relaxing tones of Golmana weave around the hull, a single vivid purple eye opens to glare balefully. Grasping her floppy hat (which she kept on) she pulls it down hard, enveloping her head in its flute, and ejecting her pale snake out the tip.

Hissing with irritation, her snake glares as well with its three eyes before wrapping its coils around her mistress's head, approximately where her ears are.

Apparently relaxing music clashes with the choas inside her head.

@Golmana, beautiful music! Really relaxing.

Eric snores, lulled by the sounds of wonderful music. But even before the flight, he still made an order to a strange alchemist:

@Fritz, Shield & Barkskin & Heroism for me! The more the better - I mean counting on a few fights.

there will be one fight, but it is a big one.
1 shield, one barksin, one heroism gone.
5 level 1 spells, 4 level 2 spells, 1 level 3 spells remain.

@Golmana, beautiful music! Really relaxing.

Willow Nevardmipth wrote:

Apparently relaxing music clashes with the choas inside her head.

No problem, Eric- glad you liked the selection. :)

And apologies to 'in-game' Willow, although I've the feeling that she'll find the Heavy-Metal Skald's musical talents much more to her liking? ;)

5 level 1 spells, 4 level 2 spells, 1 level 3 spells remain.

So we can has more than one extract? Awesome- Golmana would go for a Shield and a Barkskin extract then. :)

Possibly an Anticipate Peril if there's any extras left over but otherwise will have the others make their requests first before asking for the Anticipate Peril one. ;)

The Okhotnik barrels in a straight line, occassional Harpies driven off quickly by Fritz playing "Ride of the Valkyries", followed by the Soviet National Anthem, followed by the Anthem of the Midnight Isles, making use that Harpy ears are far more sensitive then those of most mortals.

After making your rest, Fritz wakes you up.
I have brewed some shield and featherfall extracts for those who didnt make special wishes. Relatively few sensible opponent would attack us midair. Make your final preparations friends! ETA to intercept is 30ish minutes. He pauses

Heilige Scheisse, I am picking up what, 3 large sized and 6 medium sized lifeforms on your craft? No Yanquee would be large sized, thats like, nearly 3 meters tall? Maybe they have enlarge person going on? Running alignment checks... OK, the 3 large ones all ping as chaotic and evil, quite strongly, but not quite like a Demon, of the medium sized ones only 1 pings equally, the rest seems weaker, like, cultists of some type?
He seems a bit perplexed.

Oh, if you want to know how that Sensor works? Nocticula held a sale in which you buy a container without knowing what is in it, and for some reason one we bought had a lot of Paladin eyes. I did some tinkering.
He sounds pretty smug about that.

Willow opens her mouth, but nothing comes out, too many thoughts explode in her head about the possibilities from paladin eyes. A whirlwind smash into each other until they jumble into a mumble "I wonder... if... different religions... have different FLAVORS??" she pulls out a notebook and start scribbling.

I'll figure out her spell tonight!

Eric collects extracts with a calm face. Ready to fight. The smug smile on his face says that... Eric is just Eric, as always.

Will cast Protection from Outsiders on self before fight.

After drinking her Barkskin extract from Fritz, Golmana then proceeds to reapply her Penumbra cantrip before casting her 1st level Play Instrument spell [for which she uses her Runestone of Power to regain her 1st level spell-slot]. Both will be at 80 minutes in duration while the Barkskin will be at either 70 or 80 minutes in duration.

"When we reach into range of those we are pursuing, I'll attempt to fire off some arrow shots when I can do so."

Golmana will also precast Abundant Ammunition, Gravity Bow, and Versatile Weapon and drink her Shield and Anticipate Peril extracts prior to combat/contact.

Nearly 100% sure these are not Yanquis but something much much worse

Nearly 100% sure these are not Yanquis but something much much worse

"If they are not Yanquis, should we forego making any attempts to ascertain if they could be reasoned with? Those three larger lifeforms might be some sort of summoning made to slow us down."

Willow samples the man's potions with her tongue, cataloging their flavor and texture, before slipping them into the bag nestled against her hip. She manages a distracted nod of thanks, before heading to the side to commune with her pale snake.

When there is about ten minutes before arrival, she settles next to Roberta and briefly touches the fighter's shoulder, enchanting her with a spell un-aptly named for what they were.

Heroism.

She then casts the same on herself, sets a series of rib bones floating around her (defending bone), flicks a bit of glittery dust in her eyes (see invisible), and lastly a spell to keep her dry as a bone (nothing worse than a drenched dress when you are trying to kill things, waterproof).

Eric drinks the potions given to him, diluting it with sips from a flask with something obviously alcoholic.