Vala continues to explore, silently ahead of the group.
Hearing them behind her "I thought they were going to WAIT for me to report back before continuing through! .. so much for silent exploration I guess. We'll see if I can find anything further ahead of their noise, at least...".
Vala continues to see if she can find anything useful ahead.
Vala reflects as she prepares a horse from the stables for her journey out of town.
Looking to a passing patrol of Hell knights "The order. The restriction. These people collect taxes to 'protect' the townspeople around them."
"Protect?" Vala shakes her head as she saddles the horse, attaching a few days worth of supplies to the side of the saddle. Mounting up, she rides out of town.
"Protection is teaching the people to defend themselves. Not taxing them to a level that restricts their ability to do so..."
Vala rides to her training grounds -- Land Rush, school for training fighters
Vala travels back to the fort primarily in silence. She notices Agriver's looks in her direction but thinks nothing of his attack on her and holds nothing against him. Mind magics are cruel.
She makes it back to the fort, goes to give her report to Abernard, turns in for the night, then heads straight away in the morning to the training grounds she has begun establishing on the outskirts of town.
I do not thing you can take 20 on disable device for traps, as there is a penalty for failing.
take 20 wrote:
When you have plenty of time, you are faced with no threats or distractions, and the skill being attempted carries no penalties for failure, you can take 20. In other words, if you roll a d20 enough times, eventually you will get a 20. Instead of rolling 1d20 for the skill check, just calculate your result as if you had rolled a 20.
Taking 20 means you are trying until you get it right, and it assumes that you fail many times before succeeding. Taking 20 takes 20 times as long as making a single check would take (usually 2 minutes for a skill that takes 1 round or less to perform).
Since taking 20 assumes that your character will fail many times before succeeding, your character would automatically incur any penalties for failure before he or she could complete the task (hence why it is generally not allowed with skills that carry such penalties). Common "take 20" skills include Disable Device (when used to open locks), Escape Artist, and Perception (when attempting to find traps).
She takes her time studying all the intricacies of the trap, trying to get into the head of the creators. Studying it and taking extra caution not to set it off unintentionally.
Vala takes a swig, clenching her fists as she feels the now familiar weakness. "Going to have to do something about poison prevention in the future..."
Vala looks to Ansel and nods. She disappears and you feel her hand on your shoulder as she passes you guys in the hallway and heads into the room, stopping a moment to look down that hallway.
Vala cleans her blade and nods appreciatively of Agriver's healing touch.
She watches the carnage of the statue destruction as she searches the pockets of the serpentfolk, then observes Agriver's reaction.
"I had thought he might not approve of the finality of my choice to end the creature... Perhaps, before, he might have been." She looks at Agriver with empathy, observing the stark change in character and knowing, personally, how certain events can shape someone...
Vala grins, pleased Agriver got his justice. She claps him on the back affectionately as she passes, making sure he understands there are no hard feelings for his nearly felling her in half.
She looks towards the statue and her other comrades and, seeing there is nothing she can do there, moves to check to be sure the serpent creature has fallen. And if so, what interesting things it might have...
Vala begins speaking in Azlanti, on the off chance the rescued woman doesn't know the language.
"Something weird is going on here guys. Agriver is under some kinda spell and that woman just requested an unholy symbol we found earlier..." Vala says loudly enough for those in the hall to hear, assuming a defensive posture.
Vala nods to the woman, accepting her response and continuing to the door. After taking back her gear from Ansel Vala goes to unlock the door after her usual trap checking.
"Thank you all. I feel much better." Vala says, testing the strength of her dagger in swipes against the air.
She looks to the woman before continuing on. "Would you feel safer traveling with us through the rest of this area before returning to the surface? Or would you prefer to head back directly yourself?"
Vala takes a more empathetic approach at the release of her comrade, checking him over for wounds and seeing what she can do to assist him, offering water or rations as necessary. Bandages as her minute skill allows.
Heal:1d20 + 1 ⇒ (1) + 1 = 2 It's the thought that counts....
Giving him time and space to acclimate to being discovered and released. Returning his gear to him, etc.
Vala checks over the other prisoner as well. Offering what she can to help her, similarly.
Vala approaches, grabs her tools from Ansel, then goes ahead and picks the lock on the manacles.
"Robin, can you keep watch for these guards?"
"Can you tell us more about these guards while I work on these locks? Anything you could tell us can help us better prepare for when they come back." Vala asks, her eyes on her task, listening closely.
Vala walks in, her eyes light a moment at seeing Agriver alive before she scans the rest of the room for potential threats, taking in the scene a moment before acting.
Perception:1d20 + 12 ⇒ (16) + 12 = 28
Her eyes land on the lady as she observes Agriver's obviously protective stance.
She tries to gauge the intentions of the woman.
Sense motive:1d20 + 6 ⇒ (5) + 6 = 11
@ Ansel Vala takes her pack and begrudgingly hands it to Ansel, stepping a little lighter without the extra weight on her shoulders in her weakened state.
Getting to the door Vala grabs what she needs from her pack and attempts to unlock the door.
Disable device:1d20 + 21 ⇒ (2) + 21 = 23
And just keeps trying if she fails.
Disable device:1d20 + 21 ⇒ (15) + 21 = 36 Disable device:1d20 + 21 ⇒ (10) + 21 = 31 Disable device:1d20 + 21 ⇒ (15) + 21 = 36
"The Statues are part of an acid trap!" Vala announces.
Fort save:1d20 + 6 ⇒ (5) + 6 = 11
And takes Str dmg:1d2 ⇒ 2 two more points of strength damage.
for a total of -7 strength right now, putting her from 15 to 8
Valas grip on her rapier relaxes a moment as the poison courses through her already weak veins. She grits her teeth and goes in to strike none-the-less.
After slaying the last of the creatures Vala moves to a corner and slumps against the wall for a moment, regaining herself as she feels the poison pulse through her veins, weakening her.
Vala nods to Ansel and thinks a moment. "Well. If he's somewhere else on this floor we should go find him. If he's elsewhere then we might get clues as to where from the other rooms."
Vala checks first for secret doors, then, if finding none, heads to the only other exit to this room she sees.
Vala lifts her head from her task, a sense of accomplishment at conquering her obstacle.
She looks around and sees Yon and Robin entering without a word "Hmph. Some appreciation."
She packs up her tools and takes a look around. "Now where did Agriver go?" Vala looks around for clues, seeing if she can use any knowledge from the trap she just disabled to help glean any information.
