May be a few days as well for me for leveling.
Amelia, I would at least avoid Displacement as Maya already knows that one if we need it.
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Maya nods as the group’s consensus seems to be moving toward continuing on, and quickly at that. At Amelia’s comment, Maya says, “Let’s hope this is the only crazed outsider pursuing us today, though we should certainly keep up our guard.”
Maya maintains her distance and her performance. Given the potentially deadly nature of the vanth's scythe, the bard isn't sure she wants to get close enough to risk feeling its sting. Instead, she bides her time from a distance, hoping her companions can finish the job.
Maya, though shaken by the vanth's aura, continues tapping her feet to maintain her rondo. Her allies would probably get more use from the performance than herself anyway. Deciding the vanth's scythe could easily prove deadly with a solid swing, Maya tries to remove it from the creature's grasp.
Maya draws her rapier and starts up her rondo. She's not sure what to make of the group's latest foe, but if it sought the Prince's death, she couldn't let it succeed.
Maya nods along with the proposed plan, "They may have divination magic, but they most likely wouldn't be able to use it in the heat of battle. If it comes to it, I could cast Invisibility on myself or the Prince and make a perfect copy of him via Major Image. It seemed to fool most of the soldiers at the Tallgrasses. Perhaps it can work again. In any case, perhaps we should procure some type of sturdy carriage in which to ferry the Prince. A single well-placed arrow could do him in just as easily as a full ambush, so I'd rather we account for either possibility. "Since we know an attack is coming, I think it would be best if we avoid leaving the Prince alone till we've dealt with the threat. We still don't know the exact form the attack will take, so best to avoid a sneak attack if at all possible."
Even if no one wears the Cape most of the time, it still seems like it could be quite useful in a pinch or given the right situation. Probably worth keeping around. As for the ring of mind shielding, if we have anyone that's going to be doing some spying, it should probably go to them. But otherwise probably whoever is doing the talking in any given situation would be best suited for it (which I realize probably implies Maya). It might be helpful to get some insight from DM Brainiac as to what's available for purchase in the city, or if there's an upper limit on the gold value of items we can buy. We might could even get a discount in the city given what we've done for them.
Maya thanks the council for their gift and is happy to see the Earl also has quite a few useful items in his possession. She's not quite as troubled about concealing the Taldan Horse regiment's role in the banditry as some of her companions, though she recognizes that she probably should be. One more thing she needs to work on. Maya says to the council, "I would be careful about who you give access to the Earl. He may still know things that Pythareus wants to keep secret. Or Pythareus might even try breaking him out of prison, depending on how close they are. My suggestion would be to only give access to those council members the earl specifically tried to remove, as well as the Enumerator and the Enumerator's confidants."
Maya happily obliges Amelia, not caring if she's a little rough in the process of patting down Merkondus. There was always the chance he was actually reaching for something inside his cape and she didn't want to risk any chance of him still having it on his person. She also leaves the man blind, at least for now.
Maya draws her rapier in case the earl has any accomplices nearby. Then she adds her own magic to the effort of preventing his escape.
Maya remains silent as her companions do the talking. Instead of talking, the bard decides to add sights and sounds to correspond to what Liam and Katria speak about. The halfling does her best to make the scenes as accurate as possible, going based off her memory.
I have family coming into town this week, so I may be less responsive than usual. I'm going to try to keep up, but if I miss a day, that's why. Feel free to bot Maya or 'Jaliessa' as needed.
Maya nods in acknowledgment of Liam's magical prowess. She's glad he's on their side. The bard grins back at Amelia's offer and says, "Probably wouldn't hurt to practice a bit to get the tone of a disgraced former military officer just right. Commanding, cocky, and slightly overbearing. But also demanding of respect. We heard her speak, so the voice shouldn't be an issue."
When the time comes, Maya casts her spell, concentrating on maintaining the guise of Jaliessa. If she could keep the performance up, perhaps they could walk out of this place without further violence.
Sorry for the late reply, but yes, Liam's plan sounds like a good one.
Maya shrugs as Amelia indicates the best she can do. The bard says, "Why try to impersonate her, when we can just make a copy of her? Or an image of her at least."
Maya's eyes bulge slightly at the massive fire Jaliessa conjures. The woman obviously had to have been powerful to command such loyalty, but to see it firsthand was another thing entirely. The bard uses one of her latest performances to try to keep their enemies off balance. Maya doubts even Jaliessa can resist the tale of valor the bard weaves. Then, deciding Jaliessa is by far the most dangerous threat in the room, Maya casts another spell at her.
Maya tries to make the most of the surprise they have by overwhelming all of their foes in the room. Perhaps this could be a quick fight.
"I can assist in making us all invisible if we want to deal with Jaliessa directly, though most of my strongest magic will be expended if I do so. I would rather we have to deal with as few of these people as possible. A few may be diehard loyal, but I suspect most will surrender or flee if they know their commander is dead or incapacitated. If we can avoid the halflings or those plant creatures being collateral damage, I would think that would be ideal."
Maya considers the structure before them. She finds herself thankful that they took the bandit lackeys alive. Their information about the building could prove invaluable. "Hmm. Perhaps we should consider drawing some of them out? Inside is undoubtedly more easily defended, but they might send one or two expendables outside. After we've thinned their ranks as best we can, we could still try to distract them from one direction and enter from another. I still have a fair bit of magic for the day, so could disguise our entrance with invisibility. Or one us could scout ahead."
Maya shakes her head as Katria explains the bangle's function. "I guess we should get moving then. We at least want to meet them in open combat if it has to come to that. Glad we got to deal with these before going forward." The bard looks at the two bandits and the unconscious Fathrie then says, "What exactly are we going to do with them this time? Fathrie kept fighting even once the battle became hopeless. Don't think we can risk just leaving them behind. They could flank us from behind when we move into the Tallgrasses."
Maya looks down at the arrow in her leg. Not too long ago such a wound would have nearly been fatal to the halfling. How times have changed. Smiling at Fathrie, Maya begins recounting an old tale of Erastil. One she's sure will throw off the drake rider just as she had been thrown off her drake. Then the bard casts a spell for good measure.
Maya sighs. She supposes her good luck streak couldn't last forever. Deciding to try a different tactic, Maya casts another spell, this time targeting Fathrie's scimitar.
Deeming Fathrie to be the enemy group's most dangerous foe, Maya focuses her efforts on the woman. Perhaps she could be reasoned with, but the halfling doubted it. Maya casts another spell at the drake rider.
Maya uses the brief time before the group’s arrival to try what has apparently become her speciality: blinding the enemy.
Maya says, "I can provide invisibility to whoever wants it. I can also provide us with a burst of speed just before the fight. Since it seems we may be more spread out during the fight, my usual performance may not be as helpful. If anyone is particularly afraid of getting hit, I recently learned a new spell to make it much harder for an opponent to strike you."
"If Fathrie is patrolling about, maybe we should do a little patrolling ourselves. Maybe do a circuit around the area a couple times, see if we can find her. A smoke signal could draw them out, but if we end up not being able to fight before reaching the Tallgrasses, we probably stand a better chance of fighting them in small groups there than if we make a signal they can all see, especially since they have drakes."
Maya bites her lower lip as the former soldiers describe what awaits them. She hopes they don't have to fight them all at once. "Perhaps we should try seeking out this Fathrie and deal with her in whatever way proves necessary before pressing on to the Tallgrasses. I don't think we want to have to fight all of them at once. And if we're going to let these go we should make sure they head toward Yanmass. Regardless of whether any chance of surprise is gone, we don't want them to bolster Jaliessa's other forces."
Maya shrugs. While she didn't think executing all their foes made sense, some needed to be sent to Pharasma for their crimes. If the others wanted official justice to be carried out, Maya could live with that. Perhaps there were other factors to consider that weren't apparent in the moment. "I agree with Amelia. If we want to be extra safe, I could try blinding one or two and agree to remove their blindness when we return should they actually turn themselves in to authorities."
Maya considers the words of her companions before commenting herself, "Justice, mercy, reason... all useful in their proper place. It probably would be useful to see what comes of one of the bandits if we let them go, but I also worry that we would lose any hope of surprise. These men were ready to kill us if they could have. They even had lions who could have erased all evidence of us. "Personally, I think we should see that they get back to Yanmass for justice to be carried out. Or if we think time is of the essence, we should take care of things now. "Mercy is important when possible, but I think these people are poor candidates for mercy. They've had plenty of chances to forsake their commander and turn themselves in, but have continued their banditry instead. Honestly, given what we've encountered here, I think we need to neutralize their threat and see that the rest of those preying on passing merchants are also dealt with as quickly as possible. Less prepared travelers would fare much worse than we did."
Maya waits till her companions have acted before switching up her performance, not wanting to fatigue her allies. Instead, she switches to a new act she's been working on, hoping to catch the remaining bandits off guard.
I flirted with the idea of selecting Toughness for Maya. I guess that would have thrown everything off, haha.
Maya considers charging forward to strike the bandits more directly, but decides against it. Instead she targets the two bandits north of the road with the same spell whilst continuing her rondo.
Maya, grateful for the chance to start off the festivities, begins her rondo, enlivening her companions' steps. Then she casts a spell, hoping to weaken the enemy's opening strike.
Alright, sorry for the delay. I think I'll just go with Arcane Strike for the feat.
Level 9 Summary +7 HP
Adventuring Skills: +1 Diplomacy
Background Skills: +1 Knowledge (nobility)
----- Amelia, if you’re concerned about infiltration ability, Maya has a Hat of Disguise and really high Disguise check via Perform (act), so I wouldn’t be too worried about that.
Maya says, "If Jaliessa has contacts in the city, she may already know - or soon learn - that the medusa is dead and the cavalry have been freed. We should make haste to the Talgrasses to resolve this issue. We need to determine once and for all where Jaliessa's loyalties lie."
Unperturbed, Maya says to Seth, "Just Maya, thank you. Or are you deaf? If so, I apologize. Must be a nasty condition to have. Whatever the case, you seem at least moderately competent at what you do, so I suppose we'll have to make do with you as Doritan's replacement. Hardly ideal, but it seems it can't be helped." When the time comes to head to Hedge Hill, Maya shakes her head mockingly at Seth and says, "This way. Come along."
Maya takes the letter from Katria once the occultist is finished with it. The bard glances over the letter at Seth as she reads, not sure what to make of this sudden change. Not finding fault with the letter, Maya decides the only proper way to cope with such a difference is satire. "I would have you know that my first name is Maya. Lady is not part of my name. If we are to become better acquainted, I would have you use my proper first name. Honestly it's a bit suspicious calling all of us Lady this and Father that." Maya pauses to clear her throat. "If we're to tolerate your presence, you should at least let us know what you're capable of. For instance, is that sword for show or do you know how to use it?"
Maya nods her agreement with the others. "I'm also just genuinely curious to know what happened to her. I can't imagine she would willingly stay away from this place if she knew the fate that befell her fellow soldiers. Perhaps we can free her from what trouble she's found herself in."
When the soldiers bring up their commander, Maya says, "I assume she was with you when you confronted the medusa? Do you think she would have fled or hid nearby? Anywhere nearby she's particularly familiar with? Also, what date did you come out here? Knowing the exact timeline might help us ascertain how far your commander could have gone."
Maya also tries to identify an officer.
Maya nods along with the others, her rapier out as well.
Maya shakes her head sadly. "I had hoped we would have the chance for a reasonable conversation, but reason seems to have nothing to do with what you did." To her companions, Maya says, "It seems she is a murderer, but I also fear she is quite insane. If so, there will be no reasoning with her."
Maya nods at Katria's shout. She had hoped they would have a chance to question the medusa. It seemed they might just get the opportunity. "Do as he says," Maya tells the medusa after Liam's command. "If you're honest with us, we might be able to work something out. What are you doing here? And why have you petrified all these people?"
With Doritan out of the woods for now, Maya casts Blindness on the medusa.
Maya had been about to unleash a spell on the medusa, when Doritan stumbled and his skin began to harden. Not if I can help it...
Maya nods. "Let's do this."
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