Well, it's a big dumb brute, but at least it is alive...
Xov smiled to himself, amused at how exagerated Essar's description of his and his family's power was.
If they were anywhere near as powerful as he seems to think they are, and if crazy-mouth were as important as he thinks he is, the cultists surely would send something more powerful than a lazy giant.
Waving his hands, he imbued Othan with additional power .
Then, he ran back, away from the ogre.
whispering Essar spoke,Hold Othan this creature may not be what it seems to be...why use a normal ogre when you could kill it and use it as a far more lethal undead creature?
Essar let his eyes take in the scene in truly magical terms...
My friends we have a problem, one that you eye would have spotted if you had actually been thinking. The ogre shares the source of power that Othan does, don't believe me? Let your eyes see the world of magic as it truly is and you will see what I see.
"So, are we killing it or what?" Ebran whispers from the shadows.
"Let's see if we can knock it out..."
"I don't do good with keeping things alive."
Othan charges at the beast
Charge with Power Attack for dmg
Edit: for crit confirmation
Why do I get the feeling that this won't end well...
Ebran throws a chakram, and draws another.
crit confirm
x2 dmg
A psionic ogre...no way that is possible in the traditional sense. Ogre's were first encounter by Karnathi settlers who had fled from Sarlona, they were not at least to his knowledge native to the land of the mind thieves. Ogres simply weren't smart enough to use the powers of the mind without heavy modification from someone or some being...There was one way to figure out what was going on.
Essar grabbed his dagger and began the slow process of opening the head and looking at the brain, if something was off he would find it in the brain...
heal check to identify why an ogre has achieved psionic potential,
"Good to see that you carry your brain surgery tools with you at all times." Ebran says, looting the creature's pockets.
Essar examine the brain without even the slightest revulsion, tending to the men and women who thrane had tried to burn alive had eliminated any queasiness...
Well, that went rather well, my psionic allies are certainly powerful.
Quickly, Xov renewed his Message on Othan, Ebran, and Danir, before whispering
I think it would be safer to keep the group together as much as possible, and besides, our mission right now is to become a better team, and staying together helps us do that. The concern was that Ebran's dragonmark is visible, but if he stands in the back while we speak to the cultists, that shouldn't be an issue, and Ebran's calm voice is an asset in any sort of negotiations. As for crazy-mouth...
Does anyone have rope? There are knots that appear to function as handcuffs, but actually allow the 'restrained' person to undo them himself very quickly by pulling his wrists out. We could go in with Essar apparently as our captive. And, since I get the sense the cultists really don't like him and would like to have him captured or dead, that might give us a chance to talk. We could do a sort of hostage exchange...or just figure out where they're hiding the eldritch machine, then have Essar break out of his faux bindings and finish things! The upshot is that if at any time something goes wrong, all five of us will be present and ready for action immediately.
If no one has rope, I have some blankets that could substitute, possibly cut up into slimmer pieces.
What do you guys think? Which plan would you all prefer?"
Ebran will split the money fairly among the party. The shard he will pocket for later examination, and he will ask Xov to detect magic on the dorje and tattoo kit (shard too before pocketing it).
"Sounds good just make sure Essar is practiced in removing the rope cuffs so that he is comfortable and there are no mishaps."
"Let me see those..."
Xov scanned the objects .
"I would complain that you didn't leave any for me, but truthfully I'm fine with it..." Danir says with a chuckle as he hands over his 50 feet of hemp rope to Xov-
"As requested."
Danir scanned the corridor down which the Ogre had come while his companions attended their own actions, his crossbow ready and he also searched to see if there were any other magical traps in sight range.
That would also act as a result of 22 to spot traps as well.
"There's an alarm ward right there..."
Xov points towards it.
"My guess is that they know we are here, lets push on before they can establish a better defense."
"Yes, i'd rather not tarry here any longer than is necessary"
Xov quickly renewed Message on all his companions, before whispering
"Very well. I suggest, then, that we refrain from any discussion of our strategy or objectives out loud, then. "
"shall we invite ourselves in then?"
Othan charges at the door, using his enhanced size to aid him in smashing it apart with the powers of his mind.
dmg to the door
"yes, let us go", Xov whispered.
Danir stood back and watched Othan smash into the door, marveling at the sheer power of the Shifter's savage will honed into a weapon... Not for the first time he found himself pleasantly amazed at how the world of Eberron still managed to surprise him.
Ebran remained at the rear of the party, prepared to engage targets at range.
Essar put the brain into a rucksack and followed the group to their goal...a psionic ogre, how is that possible?
now that the door is out of the way, Othan charges into the room looking for more targets to smash.
Ebran takes advantage of the fog for protection.
Xov tried to scan the room for active spells or psionic powers in the hopes they would be visible through the fog .
Essar looked around for anything that was a red aura, his cousin had been an inquisitor and possessed a modicum of spellcasting...
Finding the fog to be a hindrance in seeing around the area, Danir takes a pair of battered goggles out of his backpack and begins to weave a simple charm into them that would help him see and hear better to compensate for the fog.
As quietly as possible, Xov whispered to his companions
With a flick of his hands and a single word, Xov conjured an illusory noise, 35 feet to the side of where he and his companions were standing, producing the sound of 8 shrieking, terrified humans .
Xov gestured to his companions to move left. Whispering through the spell, he asked
"Does anyone have a way to clear the mist?"
He attempted to determine whether the mist was magical or psionic in origin, or whether it was a natural effect .
"i can only make more," Ebran replied via Xov's spell.
Othan tries not to stray from the main group in the fog.
"The fog appears to come from a spell, so it probably has a rather limited area. Let us see if we can not push our way through it. "
Xov continued to watch the area as the group moved forwards...
Ebran continues, looking to keep a wall to his side and the party within earshot.