"Oh..." the breathless gasp rushes from Cailyn's parted lips "I... don't think she is up there." she smiles at the sensations, a widening then narrowing, but still invigorated at the experience. "Maybe we should try downward?"
--Earlier--
Shunsen is grateful for the shelter the little flying woman has provided them, taking the time to offer a bow to the statue of the poor man buried there.
Later, she pulls out her Mother's manuscript and begins to read the first page. Frowning, her lips moving as she reads, she shakes her head, not really understanding anything, "not ready...." she says to herself.
As she put the folio away , she sees Orchid and Spivey talking quietly, and lays her own head down, smiling as she drift off.
-- now --
Woken by Spivey's little voice, Shunsen comes to see the rainbow trace disappear, nodding and smiling, "A good omen! Glad to have it!"
At Cailyn's assertion, she frowns a bit , then says, "Well, as long as she doesn't bother us. Do you think she was just controlled by the other one...and now she just a harpy again? "
Flori quirks her head sideways at Cailyn with curiosity. "How do you know that she is not up there?"
She still agrees with the woman - she trusts her.
"Downward certainly seems best. Getting to her as quickly as possible gives her less opportunity to sneak up on us in return. However, let's head that way as quietly as we can."
Orchid nips up the stairs to double check that the room is, in fact, empty. Once she has confirmed she follows the others down the stairs, having no difficulty moving both faster and quieter than some of the others in their heavy armor.
"I can see past impressions of places and objects." Cailyn swells a little in the excitement of telling Flori that. She truly loves her abilities "They are not enough to 'See' what happened in some cases, but serves to help answer a question... like a priest's augury."
A quick trip upstairs proves Cailyn's magical foresight to be accurate - no sign of Zaiobe.
The group then makes their way down the curving stairs. It doesn't take Orchid's heightened olfactory sense to notice the quite pungent aroma that emanates from the room below. You also hear the sounds of vicious squabbling in a strange language. Making the last turn in the stairs reveals a meeting or briefing room.
A large table lies in shambles in the middle of the room, while crumbled suits of armor bearing decorations of dragons twisting around castle towers lie in heaps along the walls. The air in this room feels stuffy and carries an eye-watering reptilian stink. The stink comes from three reptilian humanoids on the other side of the ruined table, snarling and snapping at each other in some sort of argument. The argument is intense enough that they appear to be oblivious to your entrance.
Shunsen wrinkles her nose at the smell,then her mouth curls with disgust at the sight of the trogs, "Ugh, disgusting creatures....
She then launches herself across the room at he nearest troglogyte...
Combat Begins!
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Surprise Round
Leaving diplomacy for those that would actually respect and appreciate it, Shunsen immediately advances and engages with the bickering lizardfolk. Unfortunately, her blade is turned aside by their scaly hide.
Orchid's eyes are already watering somewhat at the stench and she has no desire to go further into the room. So she turns to Caitlyn and holds out a hand.
"Bow please."
Cailyn was looking over at the scaly critters thinking Oh What Are they again, when words interject her memory. "I only have a crossbow." she answers with distracted dismissal before she notices the look in Orchid's eyes. "Oh, you mean crossbow. Okay, here you go..." there is a slight hesitation since she really does like her crossbow.
Turning her attention back to the creatures she agrees with Shunsen, but in her own way "Every story needs a villain, who needs a minion, who needs a peon, and then they need someone to kick around to feel somewhat better and that is where troglodytes come into play."
As she talks Cailyn grasps her hawk's glove and mentally apologizes to her owl, before summoning it to peck the gross meat bags.
[ooc]smite evil
Flori hangs back but as soon as Shunsen rushes in, she makes a quick decision and begins to cast.
Flori begins conjuring again as soon as she fires off her first spell. A thick, glistening, oily substance appears beneath the troglodytes' feet.
Somehow, amongst all of the casting, she lets out a joyful laugh and finds a second to question her friend in disbelief. "Cailyn - poetry - at a time like this?"
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Orchid borrows Cailyn's crossbow which the occultist hands over with some reluctance. Flore sends a splash of acid which misses her chosen target. Vigny and Shunsen advance to surround the enemy. Shunsen steels herself against the stench, but Vigny feels almost overwhelmed by the odor.
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Round 1
Flori coats the stone floor with magical grease causing two of them to lose their footing and fall to the floor with an explosion of snarling. The fallen troglodytes barely manage to regain their footing and avoid Shunsen and Vigny's slashing swords in the process. To demonstrate that they're not entirely incompetent, they swing their clubs around ineffectively.
Still inhibited by the creatures' stench, Vigny misses with her blade.
As the smell finally hits her Cailyn starts to gag. She might have made some comment about spoiled milk stored in a dead person's armpit for the entirety of the summer months. But instead she just retches.
As she tries to keep breakfast down, Cailyn grasps her hawk's glove and mentally apologizes to her owl, before summoning it to peck the gross meat bags.
bite, flank: 1d20 + 3 + 2 ⇒ (14) + 3 + 2 = 19
damage: 1d4 + 1 ⇒ (1) + 1 = 2
talon, flank: 1d20 + 3 + 2 ⇒ (2) + 3 + 2 = 7
damage: 1d4 + 1 ⇒ (3) + 1 = 4
talon, flank: 1d20 + 3 + 2 ⇒ (7) + 3 + 2 = 12
damage: 1d4 + 1 ⇒ (4) + 1 = 5
Orchid manages not to gag at the truly horrific smell, firing off a bolt more or less at random before she scrambles backwards down the hallway.
It appears these monsters have found the shifter's hidden weakness!
And her equally hidden talent with a crossbow!
Flori's face scrunches with the smell but she grits her teeth and continues to cast a barrage of spells but misses as she aims to high whilst trying to avoid her companions.
Shunsen moves slightly so that she and Cailyn's summoned bird are sandwiching the nearest trog. Her blade flashes out...
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While her mistress fights a battle to retain her breakfast, Cailyn's owl manages to tear a chunk of scales off one of the troglodytes. Orchid does Cailyn's crossbow justice and plants a bolt dead-center in one of Vigny's opponents. Shunsen shifts her position and takes down one of the foes with a nasty slash from her falchion.
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Round 2
Flori's acid contributes to the general sense of chaos within the room, but fails to inflict any damage. The troglodytes continue to demonstrate why they've been relegated to the second-fiddle category of villains by missing Vigny entirely.
Now crouched at the top of the stairs to get as far away as possible from the stench Orchid fumbles another bolt into place and then sends it zipping into the battle once more.
Cailyn takes one look up from the vomit tenuous state and decides troglodyte innards kind of looks like seared trout... and then goes back to trying desperately not to see her breakfast again.
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Cleo makes the exact same realization and goes all muder owl on her nearest victom, hoping to have lunch.
---
Not wanting to expend too much of her arcane might, Flori keeps it simple. Apparently not simple enough when yet again she misses.
Shunsen grimaces and shakes her falchion to get the stinking guts of the trog off of it.
She advances to flank one of the remaining trogs, but remembers Flori's magical slipperyness and keeps her distance, option instead to throw her dagger at the back of the nearest trog...
Orchid sends a crossbow quarrel into the back of one of the troglodytes. Cailyn's owl, not to be shown up by something else with feathers outdoing her in battle, slashes one of her talons across the same figure's throat. Blood sprays out as it drops to the floor. Shunsen's dagger skitters harmlessly across the floor. Vigny's longsword finishes off the last of the foes, leaving you regretting having to draw deep breaths in the foul-smelling room.
Combat Ends!
A quick perusal of the room produces nothing of any monetary value. Cailyn and Vigny notice, however, that the various despoiled documents scattered around the room carry information pertaining to the night that Brinewall fell.
Piecing together various notes and logs indicates that the guards here at the castle believed that the citizens of the village below were rioting and that several of the buildings had caught on fire. The last notes show that they were preparing to mount an expedition to investigate and bring order, but there's nothing to indicate the results.
From here there's a single door to the northeast, a single door to the southwest, and two doors in the southwestern corner of the room - many avenues to explore.
Orchid lingers at the top of the stairs, clearly unwilling to get anywhere near the troglodytes for as long as she can avoid it. Once the activity slows down and the rest of the group look like they're ready to move on she hurries down the stairs and out the nearest door with one hand clenched over her nose.
She thrusts the crossbow back to Caitlyn as she passes but doesn't stop until she escapes the stinky room and can close the door behind her.
Unfortunately for Orchid, the stench doesn't abate when she passes through the northeastern door. The revealed room was once a small barracks by the evidence of several ruined beds. The moldy mattresses are piled into a filthy heap against the northern wall.
The almost-overpowering odor is maintained by the presence of three more troglodytes rising from their rest upon said mattresses. The battle is quick, but brutal and at the end the group is standing and the troglodytes are not. The winner, however, is clearly the ever-present scent of troglodyte.
Braving the repulsive mattresses produces their stashed treasure - a bejeweled silk gown set with pearls that's in surprisingly good condition considering where it was sequestered.
There are no other exits from the barracks so you head back to the dining room.
Orchid heads immediately for the next door on her left and wrenches it open once again. If it wasn't for Ameiko she'd have turned tail and left this wretched castle some time ago!
Attempting to escape the horrendous smell, Orchid makes a hasty exit through the southeastern door.
Rotting, faded banners hang from the walls of this long hall, depicting a stylized castle sitting on a seaside cliff. Thick stone pillars support the ceiling, while at the far end of the hall sits an old wooden throne, its back carved to resemble the towers of a castle wrapped in the coils of a serpentine dragon.
Sitting on the throne and looking up with a start is Zaiobe. Three dire corbies lounge at her feet. She grabs the shoulder of one of them and points in your direction, silently gesturing dramatically.
Combat Begins!
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Round 1
Cailyn pokes her head around the corner to see what is in the room "Oh, You... feathered ASS BAG!" Cailyn shouts at the feathered ass bag as she casts her spell to make her RETURNED crossbow into something much more powerful which will hopefully fire a plethora of steel bolts into the horrible harpy.
"Oh? Feathered vile ugly smelly woman is no longer a pretty face?" a high-pitched voice comments with a verbal smirk. Turning, Cailyn sees Spivey fluttering in the air next to her. "Do big people actually have bags for their arses? They must be big big because ... you know ..." She gestures with her hands outlining something significantly larger than herself. She giggles.
Zaiobe gestures, casting a spell upon herself. The dire corbies leap to their feet and following Zaiobe's even more frantic gestures, they race forward towards Orchid.
"Oh, an ass bag can still be pretty." Cailyn informs their fluttering little friend (after an initial mild panic attack from the surprise and a snort of a little laugh at the arm motions.). The noble woman firms up the stock of her crossbow to her shoulder, aims the steel bolt at that pretty face, but then sees the horde of other feathered asses coming for her friend (and her).
With small sound of annoyance, she turns and fires at the closes producing a hard but wet THWACK as it buries itself deep into him. "You don't store actual bottoms in them by the way, but what comes out of them... in polite but outdoor events... carried by your servants of course. Mine was silk with embroidered roses." she overshares as she reloads.
Orchid sets herself to meet the oncoming birds and teach them the foolishness of fighting with a superior predator!
Shunsen moves into the room with Orchid, choosing not to join Cailyn with the insults for the betrayer, her blade will do her talking for her.
She targets the closest birdman...
Vigny is disgusted and says so.
"This is all? You lied to us and turned on us when we extended our hand in friendship to you for nothing more than this? These morons as body shields you wouldn't have needed, and an old wooden seat to lounge on in an empty rotting castle? It's sad and pathetic!"
Vigny tacks to the her left. The corbies haven't been smart bodyguards and only one of them actually blocks her path to Zaiobe. She goes straight for that one and attacks.
From her position at the rear of the group Flori decides to stop holding back and reaches mentally for her summoning magic.
Orchid slashes one of the corbies, sending blood and feathers flying. Shunsen takes a flanking position and tests the waters with a practice strike. Vigny moves in and inflicts more damage on Orchid's target. Flori begins the summoning of head-stomping friendship.
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Round 2
In the middle of her sharing the secrets of the bathroom habits of the nobility, Cailyn leans around the doorway and finishes off the damage corbie with a well-placed crossbow bolt.
Spivey shakes her head in response to Cailyn's revelation. "Big people are weird," she comments. "Why not just find a bush?"
In response to Vigny's challenge, Zaiobe readies her bow and draws a bead on the war priest, loosing two arrows, one after the other. The first arrow strikes true.
Orchid is missed by feathered claws. Shunsen's practice target turns and slashes at her with its claws, clearly not following the practice-first protocol.
With plenty of foes to slice and dice Orchid sets to work. Hitting the birds is easy - hurting them seems to be harder.
Vigny is pretty mad. She starts down the hallway toward Zaiobe, lighting up her sword with it's now familiar yellow glow.
Cailyn sees Vigny charging the feathered bad person at the end of the hall, and decides to send her efforts that way instead of the rapidly ending battle before the doorway. "Zaiobe! Look here!!" the occultist tries to draw the attention of the harpy right as she pulls the trigger of her crossbow.
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Flori's summoning spell snaps together and Princess Glittersparklehoof III arrives to the sweet sounds of friendship! Princess Glittersparklehoof III is much taller than her previously summoned friends and she lets out a ringing clarion call of delight and joy as she charges up the room to hug the bird woman!
Flori spends a moment gaping and then snaps her attention back to the melee at hand.
Shunsen continues her attacks on the corbie between her and Orchid...
Orchid draws more blood with her claws as Vigny slips by the corbies, intent on taking down the harpy. Her venture doesn't go unnoticed and one of the bird-men catches her with his claw as she moves by. Flori's spell of acid sizzles against dark feathers, adding an odor to the lingering troglodyte stink that's ... unique. Zaiobe manages to avoid the hooves of Flori's summoned bastion of friendship.
Whichever gods are watching down upon the melee seem to have it in for Shunsen as her blade falls short of its target.
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Round 3
Cailyn's bolt strikes true and would undoubtably raise a cry of pain ... if the harpy could speak.
Zaiobe steps back and goes through the motions of casting a silent spell at the summoned equine princess. The princess manages to stave off the majority of the effects, but seems slightly shaken.
The northeastern dire corby misses Orchid, but its southern brother raises another line of blood on Shunsen's arm.
Shunsen grits her teeth as the corbie scores another hit on her arm. She steels herself and launches another attack...
Shunsen is doing an excellent job of distracting the corbie and Orchid takes advantage to cut deep with her claw once more.
"Getting hit with an arrow HURTS, doesn't it!" Cailyn might have a bit of anger at the harpy, as she loads her crossbow, aims and fires at her again, slamming yet another bolt into her feathered body. Even with the action around her and the caustic anger in her body, she manages to sigh and say to Spivey "Yes, I know these are bolts not an arrow like she hit me with, but the point is the same" she waves the steel tip of the bolt she is loading next to punctuate her point.
Vigny rushes Zaiobe, trying to get to her while she's still busy with the shiny horse.
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Princess Glittersparklehoof III may be shaken, but that won't stop her bringing the power of FRIENDSHIP to everyone that needs it!
(Friendship means doing the same things as your friends so Princess Glittersparklehoof and Shunsen are best friends!)
Flori meanwhile stays out of the way and contributes a little more acid - it seems as though this battle is reasonably well in hand.
"Shunsen, go left!" She calls, flicking a blob of vivid green acid deliberately wide in the hope that the corby will dodge into Shunsens blade.
Shunsen's blade slashes through empty air. Orchid takes advantage of the distraction to do some slashing of her own. Vigny closes on the harpy, her weapon assaulting the mute oracle with divine fury. The equine princess dodges and weaves, drawing the harpy's attention. Flori's acid flies through the air and burns a searing hole in one of the tapestries.
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Round 4
Cailyn's crossbow continues to prove invaluable as another bolt strikes home.
"... the 'point' is the same?" Spivey questions with a frown. "Are puns really appropriate in the middle of poke, poke, stab, stab, claw, claw?"
Zaiobe's rage is evident on her face even if she's unable to give it voice. In spite of Vigny's being within blade range, the harpy turns and directs two arrows at the war priest - both of which sink deep.
The dire corby between Shunsen and Orchid is staggering and on its last legs, but it still manages to catch the rogue with a razor-sharp talon. It's partner, while uninjured is unable to draw blood on the nimble shifter.
As Zaiobe's arrows are sinking into Vigny, Vigny is cleaving Zaiobe. The pair are the very picture of mutually assured destruction.
"Appreciation of the whimsy of language is always appropriate." Cailyn states her opinion to her diminutive conversation companion as she reloads, aims, and fires another both deep into the hellish harpy which she gives a giddy WOOP about.
Orchid seems to be having so much fun making the corbies look stupid that she eases up on the attack. Or she's trying to make Shunsen feel better...
The fight continues with Vigny quickly healing some of her own injuries and slashing again at the harpy.