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"Well, go quietly and bring them back here. Make no noise!" Avala slides up to Crystal, Aeldris and Ardil as the goblin heads down the hall. "Perhaps we should ask him to remain with us. We need someone who can open locked doors, and his knowledge of the complex might be useful."
"Well, if you are ready, let's see them off I suppose. If you two will lead and handle getting them out, I'll bring up the rear and keep an eye out behind us."
Avala considers their food supplies. Still speaking in low tones so the goblins don't hear: "I'm not sure whether we should give them our own rations since we don't know how large this complex is and we may need all our food. Can anyone conjure food? How far are their caves?"
Avala nods along with Aeldris' words. "I must agree, on all counts. Even among my people goblins are simple vermin, no more worthy of a warrior's concern than a common rat or roach. Not that my people are well known for being warriors, of course!" Avala chuckles a bit. "I'm also very curious to know how these vermin came to be enslaved by orcs and whether they have any information that could benefit us, but I see no way to ask that question without revealing that we don't belong here!" "Should we let them leave now?"
Avala doesn't understand a lick of what the elves said between them, but keeps quiet as it doesn't seem that battle is imminent and Crystal and Aeldris seem to have the situation under control. She stays in the back and tries to look as though she belongs here.
As Aeldris starts working on the door, Avala moves to her usual position at the rear of the group to avoid being in the way of the melee fighters. She draws her bow and prepares to shoot.
Avala waits for the rest of group to catch up and then whispers: "Definitely some action behind this door. Voices - can't tell what language, but my guess would be orc based on what we've encountered thus far. Probably 8 or so." "Shall we go through? If we intend to attack them we should move immediately so we don't lose the element of surprise".
Avala steps quietly up the the door at the end of the main hallway and listens.
Once Avala reaches the main hallway, she breathes an audible sigh of relief. That room had been both stifling and creepy, and she's glad to have it behind her. "Let's continue the way we were first headed" she says, taking a few steps down the hall.
"Let's move, shall we? I'm anxious standing around. If we mean to move forward, I think we should skirt these strange pillars as best we can." She tugs Crystal's arm to bring her out of her trance. "They seem to have some kind of power over some of us. I'll lead until the group exits this chamber." Avala moves to the edge of the room and stealths toward the door opposite their entrance, hugging the wall.
Avala shifts nervously, uncomfortable with being stationary with known enemies nearby. "I agree with Aeldris. Time to move on. At the very least, we'll need to get closer to those pillars to learn anything more anyway. Might as well head up and see what happens. The alternative is to turn back and go through one of the doors we left closed as we made our way here."
Avala listens to Bronn's explanation of the writing on the pillars. "Interesting. I wonder what two peoples were joined here, and what manner of foul creature they spoke of. Definitely something to remember as we move forward. Let's find the rest of the party and see if they've learned anything else of interest about those glowing pillars." Avala walks down to join Ardil and Crystal.
Avala investigates the closest portion of wall and column for anything interesting.
"Well, if this tapestry isn't going to reveal any secrets, maybe we should keep going."
"I don't recognize anything from these tapestries, except that they're definitely no mountain range that I'm familiar with. Perhaps these mountains that we're in? I can't say, brother." "What say you, Lord Aeldris? You seem well traveled. Or perhaps our musical friend? Are these scenes familiar?"
Avala whispers "no Orcs that you can see? Let's go in then!"
Avala draws her bow and moves aside to let the other party members enter first.
Avala silently points out the bootprints and the unusual nature of the door to the rest of the party.
Avala stows her bow again, having hastily withdrawn it.
She walks up to the sleeping orcs. "Well, shall we bother interrogating these, or just let Master Bronn, um, work his magic? Frankly, I don't see us getting any more information from these orcs than the last one we questioned." "I say kill them and lets move on."
Not understanding that UU is gesturing to them, Avala motions for silence from the rest of the group nearby and stealths up toward UU and Aledris to get a better ear on what's happening down the hall.
Avala takes the arrowheads and bowstrings, stows them in her pack and heads back into the hallways with the others.
Avala steps in and briefly surveys the room.
She'll quickly look over the various arrows as well, to see if there's anything worth taking for use in future repairs. She's in particular looking for bowstrings of any size (because she can cut longbow strings to fit her bow), feathers in good shape, arrowheads, whetstones, etc. She's not looking for complete arrows to take.
Any other materials she finds she'll just stash away roughly in her pack for now.
Avala covers the rear as usual.
"I think we should follow Aledris' advice and, um, dispose of these creatures in the pit out front while we can. Obviously we won't be able to do that for every kill, but as he said, the fewer potentially available to reanimate the better. "I'm not sure I'm comfortable with a fire here, unless someone has some magic to generate a quick burning fire that won't linger? We've been stationary too long as it is and that skirmish was hardly quiet." It's obvious that Avala is nervous. She's accustomed to stealth and sneaking in these situations and she feels distinctly conspicuous in this dungeon. She grabs the orc's head and heads back out toward the chasm following Aeldris dragging the body.
Having no experience with interrogation and being of little use in those situations, Avala puts her skills to use by keeping vigilant in the immediate area. She moves stealthily to the end of the hall and listens intently for the sound of other creatures or roving patrols.
"Well - shall we awaken it, or do we have to wait for your spell to fade, brother? I think it wise to complete this interrogation as soon as possible. We've lingered in this area too long already, there could be roving patrols... " Avala strains her ears for the sound of anything approaching.
Avala ignores Bronn's tantrum and goes to assist Aeldris in binding the orc that wasn't killed. As much reason as she has to hate orcs and want them dead, she sees the value in information they might gain by potentially interrogating them. "Now that's resolved... does anyone actually speak orc? Can't say as I ever learned myself, although of course, point and grunt isn't all that complex..."
Halfling:
"Ardil - these are the same foul grey Orcs that killed our father!" Avala shoots at the Orc standing nearest her.
Avala takes 10 steps back in the direction of the entry door and draws her bow.
As UU moves down the hallway, Avala slides up the the front of the group, weaving between people and ducking underneath them as need be. "Lots of doors. Does anyone have paper/writing utensil to keep a map? Might be useful, who knows how large and complicated this place is."
Avala steps up to the doorway, bringing up the rear. "Seems unlikely dwarves are living here, lost or not. I know little of dwarves but what I've heard leads me to think no dwarf has been here in some time. No lookouts, no fires, no signs of habitation. Please correct me if I'm wrong, master dwarf, , but it seems unlike dwarves to leave their halls so undefended, unless something has driven them deep underground." "At any rate, Gorin did tell us how to locate the local dwarven clan, but that path diverged a while back and we headed in this direction instead. It'll be smart to remember the way we'd need to go to visit in case we need assistance, however." Avala takes a few more steps into the doorway and moves aside to the the other party members to end fully as well.
Avala waits at the back of the line, intending to bring up the rear as the group enters the hold.
Avala returns as quickly as possible, stopping very briefly every 3 feet or so to make a roughly footlong "scribble" along the outer edges of the bridge in chalk so it's easier for the group to see where the side dropoffs begin. When she reaches the group, she'll begin to explain what she saw: "No evidence of danger, or recent habitation of any kind so far as I could tell. I neither saw nor heard anything of interest, save some writing on the main doors. I don't know the language, but I can identify that it's some type of runic." "Anyway, I think it's safe for the group to cross, but whoever is going to open the door should go first. The bridge is narrow, as you can see, and there's nowhere else to stand once you reach the door."
Avala motions for the rest of the rest of the group to stay where they are until she's able to confirm the area isn't immediately dangerous. If there are creatures or beings in the hold guarding the windows, she thinks it prudent to disguise their presence as long as possible, particularly as the crossing is so difficult.
"Well, it's a good thing we've got Master Lightbearer along or we may never have found that path! I'll stroll on up and see what we have here."
"I'll try to get closer to the doors and determine if anyone is actually standing guard. Wait here, if you please."
Avala walks at the front of the group, cautious and observant but as yet, not too worried.
Avala does her standard 1/2 mile radial perusal of the area as the group settles in, and looks for firewood, water and something suitable to bring back for food.
She'll take the first night watch as well.
"It's apparent this trail has not been traveled in some time, and who knows what might be living here or lurking around by now. I can easily scout ahead a bit and ensure the way is clear before we proceed, or we can simply press on. "What does everyone think?"
Avala is initially confused by everyone's sudden desire to hide, but after the group explains what they saw, she's equally concerned.
As the group settles in to camp, Avala will spend some time scouting the immediate area to ensure the safety of the group and looking for obvious signs of anything else being in the area. She's not getting so deep into it as attempting to track or follow tracks, just looking for evidence of recent occupation/travel. If she happens to find anything edible, she'll bring that back to camp as well (but she's not specifically looking for food).
She'll also take the 1st shift.
** Edited to add the extra rolls **
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