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Sefayll continues to use her magic to fly, so she is leading the horse by the reins.
Sefayll nods at the dwarf's assertion. "He's right, of course. They may not try to follow us out of their territory - not leaving any bodies behind helps with that - but the devils might enjoy the sport and the hellknights might follow us for the fun of the hunt. The further we are from the fort before we rest, the better. Even if we can hide the campsite," nodding at Tikrok, "we're in trouble if we are needing to leave and they are crawling through the trees around us." "Of more importance is whether we can obscure our trail as we travel." She raises an eyebrow as she looks at the shapechanging human. "Can you do that?"
Sefayll snorts at Camlo’s apparent innocence. ”Indeed you were.” ”Master Ivori, I shall share a secret with you because you have aided us and offered more in the future. Not all hellknights are hidebound and lacking in imagination. Just most of them. I am a member of the Order of the Nail, officially drummed from the order for crimes unspecified. In fact, the Order has a problem that my superior feels can best be resolved by someone acting independently. Someone inside is sharing plans with a certain criminal element. Of greater immediate concern, however, is the purpose of our odd fellowship, so I travel and aid these you see before you. One day we will return to Magnimar to solve the Order’s issue, track down a certain criminal mastermind, and clear both my name and Master Camlo’s.”
Sefayll sees the doubt in the halfling’s eyes. She nods, ”I know. Perhaps it would have been better if I just went back to turn myself in. But then there would be no reason to keep them alive except to test my loyalty to them. Now, they have value - to capture,” pointing at herself, ”the one they believe to be a traitor. It is good we did not kill any of them. That will make future negotiations, should we have the opportunity, easier.”
”They are innocent, but they are associated with me, a criminal in the eyes of my... of the hellknights. Our friends may be held as ransom for my return or they might be ‘questioned’ extensively regarding where we might be planning to go. Whether they will pursue us into the wilds I cannot say, but I hope the two of them are wise enough to hold out long enough to give us a head start and not long enough to suffer unduly. I must reach out to my superior. Maybe I can get them freed and that overreaching witch assigned to swabbing the devil arena.” There is a darkly satisfied look at that thought briefly, but the morose stare returns quickly.
Once everyone is accounted for, Sefayll's immediate concerns are met and she allows herself to think about what just happened. Soon she is sitting facing the direction they came from, particularly thinking about the bard and the elf they left behind. She feels betrayed by her fellow hellknights, but she knows not long ago she would have been following their orders without question, also. Are they right or wrong in their blind devotion to the law? Was I wrong all those years? Or am I now straying from the truth?
Sefayll realizes there's nothing she can do for the bard and the elven mage and she also knows they aren't the hellknights' true targets, so they should be safe, if very uncomfortable. She casts wall of fire to cut off the approaching guards from the south.
She flies to where Alwyn waits to spirit them away.
Sefayll will adjust her elevation as necessary before centering a fireball between the insectoid devil and the bone devil on the south.
Of course they’re devils! These are hellknights, they use devils as manservants! But which ones?
[b]”Bone devils, well I haven’t forgotten everything, but that doesn’t help much.”[/dice]
She conjures up a glowing hand that hovers next to her and flies another forty feet east before turning to make sure the others clear the keep.
Sefayll holds her arms out wide in a gesture of peace and says, "We wish you no harm. Drop your weapons to the courtyard and let us pass."
Irresistible Demand: This is the 8th-level ability of the Enchantment school's Controller subschool. Here is the ability per AoN.
Irresistible Demand (Sp): At 8th level, you can force others to do your bidding. As a standard action, you attempt to dominate a creature as though using the dominate monster spell, except that the creature must have a number of Hit Dice equal to or less than your wizard level . The targeted creature receives a Will saving throw each round to negate the effect. The DC is equal to 10 + 1/2 your wizard level + your Intelligence modifier . You can dominate creatures for a number of rounds per day equal to your wizard level. These rounds do not need to be consecutive. You must concentrate as a standard action to maintain control over a dominated creature.
Illes and Elisile move cautiously from the tunnel to stand by Sefayll. To the other spellcasters, she says, ”If you have a way to disable them without killing them, use it. They will not stop pursuing us if we leave any dead. They will forgive embarrassment eventually. Come with me.” She moves toward the gate before focusing and casting another spell.
The disgraced signifier slides away from the door, floating scant inches from the ground, and turns to face the guard nearest the gate. With a momentary concentration, she casts a spell on the hellknight.
Tikrok, plans are proceeding to drop the tower where you are hiding.
Headed out on vacation. I anticipate having access and probably more opportunities to use it, but one can never be certain. Please bot as necessary - but it shouldn’t be necessary.
"A distraction that causes them to look toward us sounds less than ideal. Would that the tower was closer to the far wall... Tikrok sees only four guards. Perhaps speed is more key than planning?"
Sefayll shares the cheetah’s observations.
Sefayll focuses for a moment through her helm on the cheetah. What was it you tried to tell us, Tikrok?
Sefayll shakes her head. Also whispering, "Maybe he saw something. I imagine he can see better than we can in this dim light. What are you planning with this tower again?"
My computer is down with all of my notes and character information, so I will be unable to contribute until I can figure out how to undo whatever’s caused this.
While they talk, Sefayll has been gearing up, visibly relieved to take up her helm and set it back in place. ”Don’t draw attention too quickly - our mounts are unlikely to be saddled and of little use until they are. Otherwise, it’s as good a plan as we have.”
I already have overland flight in place, but I think we need the mounts - or will before long. It sounds like the gate will be easy enough to open for those of us that remain bipedal.
"Unbarring the gate is unlikely to go unnoticed by the hellknights on watch."
”Not favorable odds. How did you get in? Can we return the same way?”
Sefayll shakes her head. ”Trying to shame them can only harm us. When they get the orders from Magnimar, hopefully their superiors will unbraid them for overreaching. Nothing we can do will have that effect.” ”How many of the knights have you overcome? How many remain?”
”Good point. What is your plan for leaving the fort?”
"As long as they don't have keys or Camlo, that should not be an issue. As for gear, mine was left in the stable with my horse." She assists with searching bodies for keys or items that might help them free themselves. "How did you three find each other and come to be here? Did you kill any of the hellknights? I hope you did not. You might not like them, but they are only doing the job set before them. Worse, the Order of the Nail will most assuredly not stop looking for us if one of these dies."
The Rest: "Did you that? Was that Alwyn threatening the guards? Master Zenovia, are you able to investigate? We may need to move, and quickly!"
The Rest:
Everyone else:
The Rest: She smiles, "Not a thief, just a fellow of many talents."
The Rest: She gives him a grateful smile. With a steadying breath, she pushes the depression of the situation out of her mind and says, "That altruistic streak will bring you to harm someday, Master Zenovia. Please free my hands. Do you think you can re-tie them so I can free myself if necessary?"
Once her hands are free, she will take a moment to cast detect magic and concentrate on different parts of the room to see if there is any sort of magic in force.
After completing her examination of the room, she whispers, "Shame I don't have my helmet. Barring magic that would prevent the passage, we could teleport out of here."
The Rest: ”You have a lot of faith in the one too stupid to remember she was under a death sentence if she returned to the fold. Your best option is to cut ties to me and leave. I will not hold it against anyone that chooses to turn their back on me. Look for that warrior I was talking to. He was going to camp along the trail and wait for us. I think he could serve as our... as your guide.”
She sighs quietly. “In my attempt to be inconspicuous, I left almost everything on the horse. My armor, my helm... I was a fool and should have waited for you on the trail. |