Akh Xi's page

We sure are. It feels quite bittersweet to end a campaign, especially with so many fewer than we started with. But thank you again Ewok for being a stellar GM, bringing life to all the wild characters and sticking with us through some slower times at the end here.

With the forum down for a week I was reflecting on PbP here over the years. Earlier this year I hit 20,000 posts on the forums, the vast majority in PbP. It's been a LOT of games. And while along the way I've met a lot of really great GMs and players, it feels a little sad to recognize that many of the names I played for years alongside have moved on or scaled back their play. Basically, Ewok, you'll be missed! Hope you do eventually make your way back here and join in some games in the future.

On dirt, the mid-morning sun is starting to heat things up. Melissa stands on Akh's head with a piece of surveying equipment as a tiny pink stone elemental zig zags back and forth across a field "No no no your OTHER straight! No your other other. ARgh.. could this day get any worse"

Akh whistles, something he's gotten quite good at on the farm. "Oh, yes, probably. But at least there's dinner."

Apologies for the long delay.

With the Risen in his claws, Akh can't help but think back, back to before he joined EJ. Before all the running and trading and punching people who seemed hell-bent on getting themselves killed. He'd lived a fairly simple life working for the Wrexuum family within the Golden League, even after he'd started to gain the spark of self-awareness. He'd enjoyed simple pleasures while in their service. But in retrospect, that time seemed hollow and empty. Just doing the bidding of others. Waiting on their instructions. Being used.

In the months since stealing the Last Chance, everything had somehow both worked out very well, and worked out absolutely terribly at the same time. Even when things were going wrong, he couldn't deny that the freedom to get in trouble had been its own sort of thrill. He had met so many people, seen so many things, tasted so many flavors along the way. And so with a reprieve from being hunted, he turns now to what *he* wants to do next.

Melissa's offer resonates with him. Something peaceful, far from any remaining unpleasant surprises. Or at least, away from some unpleasant surprises. Around the dinner table he speaks up to Jaraduk "We might not be able to come back all that often for a workout, but we'll make sure to ship you vegetables. They won't even be exploding vegetables, probably, unless those are the most delicious kind. And of course if you get tired of working out you can visit us and work out some more."

To Guess he adds "As for you... don't fly too close to the sun. I have it on good authority that being a big shot crime boss is a short path to getting killed a lot of the time. And drow are funny about letting other species into their circles." While to Strek and Del he sends his well wishes. As for Tarika, his note merely says 'Don't think I'm not onto you!'

And with that he's off, heading out into the vast for a very different life. Of course, the planet Dirt is surely going to have its own problems. For all anyone knows, its haunted by an army of alien ghosts. Or the flora are all metallophores. Or the main local animal will be a variant of a rust monster. Or the world will be a secret hideout for a long dead alien species that their farming operation will inevitably unearth. Or Del's sister is somehow there.

He shakes his head. He hopes its not that last one. There's a lot of terrible things that might be awaiting them on Dirt. But then again, maybe it won't be all that bad.

Once I have a bit more contiguous time I want to write something more, but for now, I'll at least say that Akh will be taking up Melissa on her offer and heading out to be a farmer for at least a short while.

"Running the League in six months? Oh no."

Everyone else seemed pretty content, but we can ask around for anyone who's desperate to leave. Maybe Telpi knows some folks who would want to go.

Akh looks somewhat skeptically at this tablet. The darkweb bounty has been lifted for now. But who knows if Zeldirn ends up reassessing his standing and comes back to cause trouble. Akh hopes that by being out of sight, they'll also be out of mind.

Little heads up that I'll be traveling for work the next couple of weeks. Posting will likely be intermittent.

Akh shakes his head, Melissa having stolen away the opportunity to ask for a bigger boon than just freedom for a few people. He comments "We will need to conduct a few interviews to find ones who would handle themselves well. Maybe some who aren't satisfied with their current lot here, even though you gave them all the gifts they might've wanted. You wouldn't mind if some of those went with us, would you? You'd end up with an even more cohesive, uh, populace?"

In addition to the two we promised to release, we can probably pick up a few more who might be regretting their bargain and drop them off, space-bus style, to their desired destination.

I call dibs on the Risen!

"A boon within your power?" Akh, having learned some subtlety and restraint over his adventures, refrains from suggesting that that might not be very much. "Any boon?"

Akh harumphs "We could get another perfectly good ship with the credits left over. One that people aren't fighting us to steal."

"Hmmm, sometimes I wonder if you'd be swan diving into the sun Guess, so long as you believed there was a credstick under the surface..." Akh shakes his head "In any case, I definitely think we should liquidate the ship. The whole bigger on the inside thing isn't going to be valuable for long, so now's the time to make sure it goes to a reputable-ish buyer. Unless someone wants to just keep it as a status symbol..."

"And Guess, if you need us to fish you out of trouble... uh, well. I think you can get in a lot of trouble. Maybe more trouble than we can resolve. Actually, definitely more." Akh speculates "Maybe we can plant you in the ground to help you evade your speculative investment victims. If you grew into a tree that would probably get them off your scent."

Overall, I think I'm satisfied with leaving Dregor and the moon to their own devices after we evacuate those we've agreed to smuggle out.

Akh listens to the impassioned arguments from Guess and, in a twist, says "Actually I think Melissa has it right this time. Everything we did just ended up with more people coming to kill us, and our foes were even worse. This whole 'have the super valuable thing people want while making a lot of enemies' plan never seems to work out well for anyone." Akh nods "If you want to try your luck some more with the whole crime syndicate thing, you're welcome to, but it seems extra doomed to me. And I know when things look doomed."

"We've snuffed our worst enemies, and right this very moment have a few intact bridges instead of mostly burned ones. So if there's any time to disappear, it's probably now. Leaving behind a bunch of people who owe you, rather than the other way around, seems good."

"A little gym on Absalom Station or a farm out in the vast are sounding pretty cozy to me."
----

When he gets a chance, he goes to see if he can get a cool commemorative tattoo from Shaieth. Nothing transcendentally destructive - just a uniquely cool little marking to remember this journey.

We've defeated the final boss, but there are still some interesting questions to resolve. So looking forward to Guess? getting in some last shenanigans. :)

Akh suggests to the others "There were a lot of people we heard talking about how great Dregor is, at least while we were walking around. Maybe we just leave him to his funny little asteroid. Once he gets a few deep breathing exercises done, he won't be happy that we brought this to his doorstep. Even if folding at the first sight of Sinjin is his own fault." He shakes his head, disappointed at the big bear.

"More importantly, we should go tell Shaieth the good news."

So despite our first impression soon after landing, he's relatively well tolerated and/or liked on average. Hmmm. I'll toss some thoughts in gameplay.

Start to finish in PbP especially is very long, so thanks for sticking with us!

I think Akh's definitely earned a relaxing farm-to-table lifestyle. Or maybe just a table-to-belly lifestyle. :)

Do most of the people love Dregor? Or are they just intimidated into liking him and/or praising him? He seems pretty manipulative.

Yes Ewok, thanks for running us through another awesome AP all these years! It's only a shame we weren't able to keep our whole crew the whole way through, but that's the nature of such a long running game, I think.

Somehow we've survived! I'm not 100% sure what I want to do going forward for Akh, but I can't help but imagine he's had enough of being beaten up and hunted. Plus, the whole shipping things around the galaxy business has been mostly profitable thanks to the assassins and other people trying to kill us, rather than the actual shipping itself. So I imagine it's time to hang up the delivery-dragon hat.

How about you guys?

Akh listens to Zeldirn's explanation rather somberly. Though Sinjin had been a terrible person who had tried to kill them, many times over, he can't help but think back to long ago, when he had been shown some kindness by the drow. "Well, it's going to be nice not to be hunted. I'll hold onto the feather. And you will keep your mouth shut about it. Better we don't have weird collectors coming to hunt us down, replacing one annoying set of assassins with another." He nods "Good luck with the whole criminal empire thing. It didn't do Sinjin any good in the end. It probably won't do you any good either. Maybe shorten your life a lot, and you'll be thinking fondly of the days where you bummed it out at the bar here."

He poses with the rest of the crew for the group photo, then turns to them to discuss what comes next. "So we owe some people a flight out of here. Well deserved for some of them, since they helped us. But what about the King. He's kind of annoying. Do we just leave him to lick his wounds, or Guess, do you want to pump him for credits first?"

"Earlier when we met him, I thought giving him a bit of a beating up might be nice. But I think Sinjin scared him worse than we could ever do."

Wow, that was a quick brawl at the end, even with some terrible attack rolls from my side. And thanks to Melissa's healing, I didn't even need to take advantage of my secret weapon!

Reflex: 1d20 + 15 ⇒ (1) + 15 = 16
Reflex: 1d20 + 15 ⇒ (14) + 15 = 29

Akh gets an incinerating jet to the face, but then perfectly dodges the explosion that follows. After a moment to survey the battlefield in the wake of the fiery explosion, he snatches the magic feather left over. "Magical incarnation of what?" he mutters.

Confident that Jaraduk can hang on in the face of additional scorching, he nevertheless heads over to the nuar to see if a prompt healing serum might wake him up. He checks his cheeks.

Healing Serum Mk 2: 3d8 ⇒ (6, 2, 5) = 13

Reflex vs. incineration: 1d20 + 15 ⇒ (7) + 15 = 22
Fort vs. aura: 1d20 + 13 ⇒ (18) + 13 = 31

Akh dodges and endures the flames in all their forms, and is surprised to find the remnant of Sinjin flying away. He swipes by instinct.
AoO Entropic Claw vs EAC: 1d20 + 21 ⇒ (6) + 21 = 27 Damage (A, force): 5d6 + 18 ⇒ (2, 3, 6, 4, 6) + 18 = 39

"I'm not sure about unstoppable. You look about ready to be stopped. Maybe you'll even run out of fire-ink-juice." Akh floats over in pursuit, claw flicking out to send another dissolving lance toward Sinjin.

Entropic Claw vs EAC: 1d20 + 21 ⇒ (2) + 21 = 23 Damage (A, force): 5d6 + 18 ⇒ (5, 3, 3, 5, 4) + 18 = 38

:S

Reflex vs incinerate: 1d20 + 15 ⇒ (12) + 15 = 27
Fort vs. heat: 1d20 + 13 ⇒ (13) + 13 = 26

Akh may be may be looking very badly damaged, but he still manages to cough out a laugh "The only one really flambe-ing here is you Sinjin. Have you thought about how you're going to put yourself out?" He sends two precise bursts of haze at Sinjin with sweeps of his claws and then floats back a few feet.

Entropic Claw vs EAC: 1d20 + 21 + 2 - 3 ⇒ (6) + 21 + 2 - 3 = 26 Damage (A, force): 5d6 + 18 ⇒ (1, 4, 6, 1, 2) + 18 = 32
Entropic Claw vs EAC: 1d20 + 21 + 2 - 3 ⇒ (19) + 21 + 2 - 3 = 39 Damage (A, force): 5d6 + 18 ⇒ (6, 6, 3, 6, 4) + 18 = 43

If a crit comes in with enough damage to trigger the massive damage rule through Akh's resistances and mitigate, then that's fate.

Melissa - not sure I'm going to make use of that hurry. Akh's got a lot more fight left in him than his HP/SP implies, primarily because of his fast healing. So my plan is to sit and full attack and then stay to make sure Jaraduk has the flank.

Mysticism: 1d20 + 18 ⇒ (7) + 18 = 25
DC37 seems a little unreasonable, but I guess Akh isn't specialized in it. Also, ouch. At least its split damage so Akh gets to resist it down to 66.

Akh propels another dissolving jet at Sinjin as the flame-drow-bird approaches.

AoO Entropic Claw vs EAC: 1d20 + 21 + 2 ⇒ (3) + 21 + 2 = 26 Damage (A, force): 5d6 + 18 + 2 ⇒ (1, 1, 6, 6, 3) + 18 + 2 = 37

Using last Reactive for an extra reaction. Activating his brand new repairing nanites. Gaining Fast healing 3.
A cloudy haze leaks out from Akh's body, enveloping his form and actively working to sustain him in the face of this burning onslaught.

He then braces himself against the heat rolling off Sinjin's body.
Fort vs. Fire: 1d20 + 13 ⇒ (2) + 13 = 15
Resisted down to 6 dmg. Akh is at 25 HP, healing up to 28 on start of his turn.
----

Akh, utterly determined, strikes out twice more at what now qualifies as point-blank range. Hazy ripples project out from his claws even as oil leaks out from his body and splatters along the ground.

Entropic Claw vs EAC: 1d20 + 21 + 2 - 3 ⇒ (17) + 21 + 2 - 3 = 37 Damage (A, force): 5d6 + 18 + 2 ⇒ (2, 5, 6, 6, 1) + 18 + 2 = 40
Entropic Claw vs EAC: 1d20 + 21 + 2 - 3 ⇒ (4) + 21 + 2 - 3 = 24 Damage (A, force): 5d6 + 18 + 2 ⇒ (3, 2, 1, 2, 2) + 18 + 2 = 30

I knew Del was a Starfinder writer, but forgot or never realized it was for Fly Free or Die! Not something I usually look up.

And yeah, inspiring boost has mostly just been soso when I've seen it used over the years. In this last fight where we're scraping the bottom of the HP bucket though, it'll probably be pretty good.

I'm at full HP, so save the healing for yourself Melissa.

As Sinjin reveals his new, monstrous birdlike form, Akh gathers his coils. He reflects on the path he took to get here, full of strange and unwelcome coincidences and cruel circumstances. He thinks to the Sinjin in his memories, who was once a mentor, maybe even a friend. He'd never really known Sinjin, and especially doesn't recognize the power crazed drow now suffering from his own excesses in front of him.

At the end of the day though, this is just another inevitably terrible event that needs to be soldiered through. He chooses to face it with the same morose determination that has let him survive this far.

He answer's Sinjin's bold claim with "Do you think we'll just let you beat us? After we've survived everything else you concocted so far?" Akh shakes his head "I don't think so. Plus you're the one that's doomed. You're all falling apart. Less than 50% Sinjin left in there, I'd say. Also..." He flexes his coils and readies his claws. The dark energy of unraveling leaks from his every scale, and billows in a haze from his claws. He opens his maw and after an awkward pause says "...you look kind of silly."

Akh reaches out with an outstretched claw and a black fuzzy haze jets out like a blade toward Sinjin. Thanks to the level up, Sinjin is *in reach* of an entropic strike

Entropic Claw vs EAC: 1d20 + 21 + 2 - 3 ⇒ (7) + 21 + 2 - 3 = 27 Damage (A, force): 5d6 + 18 + 2 ⇒ (4, 6, 2, 4, 4) + 18 + 2 = 40
Entropic Claw vs EAC: 1d20 + 21 + 2 - 3 ⇒ (6) + 21 + 2 - 3 = 26 Damage (A, force): 5d6 + 18 + 2 ⇒ (5, 5, 3, 3, 6) + 18 + 2 = 42

Whoaaaa, I didn't connect the dots. It would have been so cool to have Jessica and Del in the last book.

I've assumed we heal the amount of SP and HP we gain. If that's not the case, let me know.

Akh - Vanguard 13th Key facts
- Additional reach on entropic claw (now 20 ft)
- Entropic strike upgraded to 5d6 damage
- Can spend EP to turn an entropic strike attack into a blast weapon for that attack
- Feat = Nanite integration (repairing nanites option). This grants fast healing that can be started when you take HP damage... which seems kinda relevant.

Akh flies over in pursuit and approaches the edge of the balcony. "We didn't get to see his special phoenix tattoo. So he's probably about to use it the moment we-"

He's DEFINITELY not our ally! If Akh pulls through this, he's going to have some stern words with Dregor.

AoO:
Akh lashes out as the tattoo tiger flings itself at Jaraduk. Extending from is actual claw is a dark mass that ripples at its edges, seeking to truly engulf the fake beast.

Entropic Claw vs EAC: 1d20 + 20 + 2 ⇒ (20) + 20 + 2 = 42 Damage (A, force): 4d6 + 17 + 2 ⇒ (2, 2, 6, 5) + 17 + 2 = 34
Bonus crit dmg: 4d6 + 19 ⇒ (6, 6, 1, 3) + 19 = 35
(Crit effect is Knockdown, which knocks it down in its original space or the one after, not sure exactly on the order of operations. Presumably this ruins its movement so it has to spend a second action to get to Jaraduk and doesn't have enough to attack?)

Akh eats another shot from Sinjin (25 dmg after resist), but seeing that the drow is bleeding to death and running out of nearby allies, Akh is growing increasingly confident in at least seeing a spiteful double knockout.
----
On turn:
With the other tattoo beast in his reach, he focuses his attacks there, but suggests to Melissa and Guess? "We've got this one. How about you rearrange Sinjin's insides a bit." His claws flash as he tears into the remaining tattoo tiger.

Entropic Claw vs EAC: 1d20 + 20 - 3 ⇒ (10) + 20 - 3 = 27 Damage (A, force): 4d6 + 17 ⇒ (4, 5, 4, 3) + 17 = 33
Entropic Claw vs EAC: 1d20 + 20 - 3 ⇒ (14) + 20 - 3 = 31 Damage (A, force): 4d6 + 17 ⇒ (5, 6, 2, 5) + 17 = 35

AoO:
Akh reacts swiftly to the ink-creature's approach, spinning about and cutting a swath of black through the air.

Entropic Claw vs EAC: 1d20 + 20 ⇒ (7) + 20 = 27 Damage (A, force): 4d6 + 17 ⇒ (5, 4, 6, 5) + 17 = 37

As the creature collides with him, he draws some additional alacrity from his reserves (spending a use of reactive) to mitigate once more! (reducing first hit to 12 dmg after DR)

He ends up eating the icy pistol shot a moment later, leaving his hard shell starting to crack. (32 dmg after resist)

---
On turn
Counting on the Sinjin's bleeding wound to eventually slow him down, Akh focuses his ire on the pink tattoo-beast.

Entropic Claw vs EAC; w/ get em: 1d20 + 20 - 3 + 2 ⇒ (10) + 20 - 3 + 2 = 29 Damage (A, force): 4d6 + 17 + 2 ⇒ (4, 6, 3, 3) + 17 + 2 = 35
Entropic Claw vs EAC; w/ get em: 1d20 + 20 - 3 + 2 ⇒ (16) + 20 - 3 + 2 = 35 Damage (A, force): 4d6 + 17 + 2 ⇒ (6, 1, 3, 3) + 17 + 2 = 32

Akh is mildly relieved that King Dregor is the one getting barraged to death by icy rays. It also sounds like Zeldirn's cowardly weeping is at least getting further away. Maybe there's a chance still for the cousin to play his part. He focuses on the nearby blue assassin to start with, claws flashing.

Entropic Claw vs EAC: 1d20 + 20 - 3 ⇒ (6) + 20 - 3 = 23 Damage (A, force): 4d6 + 17 ⇒ (4, 3, 5, 6) + 17 = 35
Entropic Claw vs EAC: 1d20 + 20 - 3 ⇒ (7) + 20 - 3 = 24 Damage (A, force): 4d6 + 17 ⇒ (4, 1, 2, 6) + 17 = 30

If his first attack takes that foe out, he switches cleanly to the pink tattoo-beast.

Mitigate vs. the attack that hit. Damage reduced to 17 after DR.

Akh had been wondering when the inky protectors would show up, and he's unhappy to find them even more fierce that he imagined. He briefly considers trying to keep them busy, but realizes that if Sinjin resumes his attack, it'll be more than he can handle. He withdraws, flying up and over the wall, and rejoins the rest of the party in their defense against the remaining guard.

He wishes for Jaraduk's instant wall-in-a-ball to hold them off for a bit, but isn't too hopeful.

If you make the illusory wall high, I can fly over it and he (at least right now) can't. So that might very well do the trick!

All operatives do from level... 8 or so onward IIRC.

My thought for Jaraduk was to either engage invisibility (if he has it) or enter the hedge maze where its hard for more than one enemy to get line of sight. That way the bleed can tick while we play keep away. That said, if Guess is now engaged, I suppose we're committed... :(
This is the kind of strat that's easy to determine at the table, but tough over PbP.
---
Akh, hearing that the others didn't manage to get to cover, engages his thruster jets and zooms back into the battlefield with the remaining juice of his quickstep elixir (using thruster heels for +20 speed, plus using the free action move from quickstep). He drives a pair of claw swipes into Sinjin's back.

Entropic Claw vs EAC: 1d20 + 20 - 3 ⇒ (19) + 20 - 3 = 36 Damage (A, force): 4d6 + 17 ⇒ (4, 6, 2, 5) + 17 = 34
Entropic Claw vs EAC: 1d20 + 20 - 3 ⇒ (13) + 20 - 3 = 30 Damage (A, force): 4d6 + 17 ⇒ (6, 3, 4, 5) + 17 = 35

Holding off for a moment because I'm not sure if Jaraduk can disengage or if Akh needs to jump back in to take Sinjin's attention.

We're under enough pressure that it's probably best to disengage for a moment, and then come back in and focus fire. Assuming Jaraduk has a way of avoiding getting hit on the way out. Holo grenades might be a solution for that if you have one that makes a big wall.

Mitigate reduces damage by 12 each time. Also OUCH, he needs to stop rolling well. And at +16 Fort, Akh's other tricks will be of limited use. Any chance any of you guys can block Sinjin's vision so he can't shoot without moving first?

Akh gets struck thrice, hard. He mitigates the first shot (using his hypernerves for an extra reaction), but the other two leave his chassis encased in ice. (10 dmg, miss, 39 dmg, 12 dmg; EP -1, +2, +1)

Seeings that Sinjin's high-powered pistols are outpacing him, Akh shifts gears. He makes a single precise slash and allows the entropic energy to rip tiny gashes inside Sinjin's body.

Entropic Claw vs EAC: 1d20 + 20 ⇒ (8) + 20 = 28 Damage (A, force): 4d6 + 17 ⇒ (3, 3, 2, 6) + 17 = 31
On a successful hit, deals 12 bleed dmg.

He engages his quickstep elixir and flies out and over the railing and then drops down to get out of Sinjin's line of fire.

Jaraduk, I suggest you attack and then move into a position where Sinjin doesn't have a direct line on you. Lets see if we can get the bleed to tick him down.

Akh deflects icy bolts, mitigates one, and his thermal capacitor buffers the bolts further (15 dmg and 23 dmg from the two hits that get through. EP -1 for mitigate, +1 for the second hit). "That's funny. Maybe sad. I'm not sure. But some good things do last. Not candy though. That's pretty short lived."

With that confusing comment, Akh retaliates against Sinjin.

Entropic Claw vs EAC: 1d20 + 20 + 2 - 3 ⇒ (4) + 20 + 2 - 3 = 23 Damage (A, force): 4d6 + 17 + 2 ⇒ (1, 4, 2, 3) + 17 + 2 = 29
Entropic Claw vs EAC: 1d20 + 20 + 2 - 3 ⇒ (9) + 20 + 2 - 3 = 28 Damage (A, force): 4d6 + 17 + 2 ⇒ (1, 4, 3, 6) + 17 + 2 = 33

Assuming that second is a hit: As the second claw slash connects, space ripples around Sinjin, temporarily tearing... (Using stunning strike as a reaction - DC21 Fort save or be stunned for 1 round)

Lol, when you have speed, you've got to zoom.

Makes sense about Guess?, as much of a shame it is for him to be in the background.

BTW: Which drow "respond immediately? I just see 3 ryphorians, the king, Sinjin and Zeldirn other than us on the map.

Akh flourishes a light-distorting claw. "Your Akh? I don't remember that part. I just remember you trying to kill us, a lot. Shame about that. Would have been nice to work with you like in the old times." Vents open on Akh's tail as he jets forward. He closes the distance with Sinjin in a flash and slashes.

Entropic Claw vs EAC: 1d20 + 20 ⇒ (2) + 20 = 22 Damage (A, force): 4d6 + 17 ⇒ (4, 6, 4, 5) + 17 = 36

Elevation +10ft over garden

"A mob? No, but the king has some of his ryphorian guards right there." He points at the screen with his claw "They're probably too scared to act after they just saw that, but they might gather their courage if we attack."

"Yes, looks like that's Sinjin." Akh watches Iru tumbling out of view on the screen with mild trepidation. "He nabbed the big bear and Zeldirn and everything. At least there aren't too many guards, and if we're lucky some of the rhyphorians will fight to free their king - maybe - if we start things. Lets not wait any longer. We have our distractions and this is probably as good as we'll get considering. I'm ready, probably. It'll get worse of course, but if we're there at least we can slice and shoot the problems apart."

Other than maybe detonating the bombs on the landing pad on the way, I think that's all I can think of for prep. Was it possible to 10 min rest while talking and watching the footage?

Enjoy your trip!

"He can definitely fly, so no pushing him over the railing sadly. If the Conservatory is the whole outside balcony, I think it'll be quite hard to corner him and pin him down. After all he can just zoom away. He won't want to do that if he thinks Eska is still around, but if he gets beaten badly enough he probably won't stay to fight. Hmm." Akh thinks it over. "Yes, we start with the Eska jamboree. Not all of you can fly, so we'll come in through the hedge maze since that'll have the most cover."

Akh doesn't like the feel of this revised plan. It seems like it has even more uncertainties and holes than the original one, and thats saying something. He looks through his things but finds nothing that might lure Sinjin into a more disadvantageous spot. He asks Telpi "Is there a way to get live footage of the Conservatory so we can see the current layout of enemies?"

"If we seeded some more sightings of Eska, he'd be forced to send more of his retinue out. It sounds like he's pretty confident. Blowing up his ship at this point might just have him put up his guard." Akh considers the options. "What can you tell us about the Conservatory Telpi? How is it laid out? Can we just collapse it on him?"

"Well, no surprise there. The King was a wimp even when we were visiting." Akh coughs "And no offense really. Better for us if he still doesn't take us seriously after everything we've survived."

"So then, the problem is how we get there while making sure we're not walking into a trap. If it was up to me, I'd find some way to deliver heavy explosives to the throne room while he's waiting for his Eska-delivery there. Or create some distraction to pull away what's left of his guard from the throne room before we show up."

"And I'm no Guess? but disguises seem like a good idea."