Skirmish In the Iron-Heart caverns

[harknail]

At a loss for words, Katril looks at her brother while giving a tentative sounding reply, "Umm, Thanks?"

[at]

Callo steps forward and makes a short bow when her name is mentioned, but lets the others speak as she gauges their response. It would only take one red agent slipping amongst them for things to go very badly, as it had the first time around.

[mighty]

Varis, growing impatient at the continued conversation while they stand out in the open of the dwarven tunnels, begins to glance around the various passages, not wanting anything to surprise the party from the dark. However, as the conversation turns toward talk of the elves and the long destroyed forests, Varis feels the rage rising with him once more. Fists clenched, he takes several steps away from the group, fighting back tears. The red army would pay. The red king would pay. He would see to it personally. Once more his thoughts shift to him standing upon the red king, delivering the final strike. Striking down again, and again, not letting the final breath of his opponent stay his blade. Years of anger finally released, his sole purpose for living. Again and again, slash after slash. The day would come, he could accept no other outcome. So distracted was Varis with his own thoughts, he failed to see the reveal of the two elves their paths had crossed with. A sign that his people were not fully gone, and could rise again. There was only the red king, the need to strike again and again. The last saw him striking out at the stone wall of the cave, aware of nothing around him, as he fought his battle for the hundredth time. The day would come. The king would fall.

[messiahmoose]

Forests, by the gods what would that be like? Wind had seen them in visions, one day acting as steward and guardian, ageless and powerful running through them shaped as... he couldn’t even name them. One animal wore a mask, and the birds. Beautiful. 

Reverting to his form would do no good, though he wanted to express his agreement and loyalty and commitment but couldn’t. They needed him in this form and, strange as it seemed, it felt good. 

Wind continued to survey the tunnels, protecting his friends, for there were limited animals to guard these days. 

[(George) 3.5./ ZEM ( 4.0)]

Drying his eyes with his paw.


" varis that wall could very well cause a mini collapse if you hit it hard enough and wake what ever else is sleeping in these caves. I don't get your angry right now but you got to calm down. Its a joyful time. What was once lost is now founded in new hope.

Even better a light bring of Ra is hear to help and expert on stealth who ambushed those attacking us quite well. "

He walks over.

Not standing to close so that is the weapon sliped or missed it mark it would not hit him.

" Varis, my friend I get your hurting but think what they have gone through. If anyone will understand your pain it would be them. This news should bring happiness to all of us including you. If we let ourselfs give-into hate,we then grow in anger. Then at somepoint after its us who are dead inside and thats worse fate then being dead. In so getting you go do so they have won not once but twice.

I am serious about that cave in tho you never know. I get trusing is hard so u dont have too if you dont want. Yet we will need thier help if we have any chance in freeing the prisoners."

[(George) 3.5./ ZEM ( 4.0)]

There does not seam to be movement up ahead. Yet those whacks do echo
Given what Wind knows ; sound in a cave can travel far and could wake up many monsters.

[(George) 3.5./ ZEM ( 4.0)]

Letting varis think on his words. Omar returns to the others.

" Oh i almost forgot Bast is my Godess she is the nature God. ( since Egyptian pantheon had sooo many nature/animal Gods I just combined them into one for ease.)

I know of your God Ra by the way. He is The Sun god. Thank you for you help that raw devine magic like I said earlier is something i have not sean in a long time given there are not too many clerics these days. It's nice to see there are thouse around who still can. You must be quite devoted for such a belessing.

I am thankfull you were able to use it to aid us and thanks for offering to heal its nice to have others who can do so. As to my wounds im ok.

Since it looks like we are teaming up were would our next course of action be? "

[harknail]

Katril asks "Why are you here, what is your goal?" Her tone of voice makes it clear that she is just asking for information without other meaning to the question.

[(George) 3.5./ ZEM ( 4.0)]

" That is excellent two questions direct and to the point. I wish i had a better understanding of how to address them so ill do best that I can.

The simpler one was to see the location of the Red prison and see what the condtions were then form a action plan from that info.

However our team felt it best to not show up knocking on the frount door to knock. So it took a while some keen eyes and teamwork to find and enter the side entrance that led us here.

If they hold your loved ones captive we should form a solid plan as to how to proceed. Tho pure show of force i feel would be very unwise for we don't want to risk your loved ones being hurt and alerying the hole prison to what is going on. Tho resting in a different area maybe a wise course unless everyone is ok to locate elsewhere? "

[mighty]

Varis hears the words of Omar, and gradually the rage seeps from him. Hand on the wall, he takes a moment with his thoughts as Omar returns to the rest of the group. The anger wasn't gone, never gone until the red king was killed. To get there, he needed to keep it at bay awhile longer. Was he dead inside? Did it really matter? The only thing that mattered was the death of the red king. He would see to that. Turning back toward the group, he sees for the first time the pointed ears of the two elves? Could it truly be or was it some cruel trick of the mind? Omar's words came back to him, truly registering this time. What was once lost now found. At a loss for words, thinking he would never again see a full blooded elf, Varis rushes forward to do something he had not done since his days as a child. He embraces the elves in a great hug, one after the other.

(I should say, Varis will attempt to hug each of the elves. No words, just an awkward hug from a ragged half-elf that has long forgotten how to hug...)

[kaia]

Arianna says "well that is the best start to healing that i ever did see, Are you guys all okay....? As for your plan Omar, do we pretend to fix a potential cave in instead of collapsing the tunnel and escape and plan to meet with who ever we can get to and escape at a later date or even try to take out the bigger problems?"

[(George) 3.5./ ZEM ( 4.0)]

" The 4 of you would have most information about the prision and who is in it. Its more so the number we would be able to liberate without drawing attention. I would defer that to those who know caves better then I do if thats what is what is decided on if fixing a fake collapse or even making a real on is a good idea.

Ultimately i see it as its your loved ones at risk in there so it should be your groups call given you have most at stake, my task is to help keep all of you alive as best i can.

Our only main plan so far til now was so lay low not be seen, observe and go from there. we did not get/form the rest of the plan given we need much more info about the going ons onside and around the prision.

Tho i will admit wacking the side of the cave may have alerted other monsters or beasts down here. So we should gather up and head out soonish if at all possible.

[(George) 3.5./ ZEM ( 4.0)]

( Given Omar is an npc i feel its up to party members to form a plan they wish to go with. Omar will do his best to support party in thier endeavor. )

[messiahmoose]

Wind in spider form, makes one last look around for potential enemies coming toward the noise of battle. 5YlxLfghp_1-20 +9 perception. 

He makes his way back to the center of the group and shifts back to his original form. 

The group now sees a dusty kenku, dressed in leather armor and robes, with a quarterstaff and shield strapped to his back, and pouches hanging here and there. 

In various accents and voices, male and female, dwarvish and human, Wind says the following in very broken common.

“Cave in. Easy. Maybe. Spies. Help. Stealth. Cover. All of this can be yours! No charge.”

He stops talking, suddenly uncomfortable in his feathers.  1-20

[(George) 3.5./ ZEM ( 4.0)]

Omar " Thank you wind. Those will be wonderful assists in helping all of us in our task."

[(George) 3.5./ ZEM ( 4.0)]

( Oh just for general all pcs would know this background history:

Shapechangers like Wind are also been know to not be around in large groups or sean regularly. So ever since the forests were burned down most are now nomads wondering the world.

So yes there are still some around but its not likly you would just run into one well until now..)

[harknail]

Katril answers, "Sounds like you were planning on doing the same things my brother and I have been doing. Except that we been doing our investigation as prisoners since we've learned about as much as were going to staying there."

"Mostly the prisoners are sent to work in the mines. A few of us are sent to explore new tunnels and clear them of hazards so that they can be opened up for mining."

"We were going to escape to look for outside help, covering our escape with a tunnel collapse, leaving behind some of the issued equipment to convince them that we are buried and dead. But it seems that we have found our outside help here in the tunnels."

[namklim]

Fiseath will add: "The two plans I see are to either head to the outside and contact more for assistance, or to head inside and take them down from within. Sadly, we were not able to explore most of the interior, so we have little knowledge of just how many there are and how far to their leaders."

[Maddt Spladdt]

Kizthe sits against a wall, cleaning her nails with a dagger. Since the initial introductions she's been hanging back and drinking in people's words and their takes on each other, with talk of ancient alliances and forests burned to ash making her head swim. She expected to perhaps find strange folk outside of her people's prison, and she has dim memories of what the world outside used to be like, now colored by the retellings of her elders. But firbolgs and shapeshifting beaked people are more than she was prepared for.

She shakes her head, trying to clear it of confusion and uncertainty.  Nothing matters but her people, and the ultimate destruction  of the Red King's regime.  Focus on the parts, the steps, get a plan going...she sets her jaw and finally speaks again.

"If we're to do anything at all to get my people free - and let me make clear that I have no higher priority - we need a clear route to get as many out as we can.  So that's one problem. After that, anything that gets back to the chain of command will mean reprisals for any left behind, and I'm not okay with bringing down more misery - so it seems to me we need to cut the Reds' ability to communicate, and that's another problem entirely.

"In the short term, though, I need to make sure that we do in fact seem to have died out here in the tunnels, like Katril said.  Anything else we do to deal with the rest, whether we go out for more help or not, puts my family - my immediate family, or what's left of it - at direct risk if I'm known to be anything but a hapless casualty."

She looks at the firbolg.  "Omar - it was Omar, right? - you mentioned possibly falling back to a safer place to plan and prep in peace, and I'm not opposed to that at all.  But I'm not sure where that spot would be."

(DM, thinking back on the journey from their cells to here, does Kizthe recall any nice side chambers along the way for such a purpose?)

[messiahmoose]

Wind looks to Katril and says in their voice, “Tunnel collapse.” And then in Fiseath’s voice, “or... head inside and take them from within?”

He gestures questioningly as if asking where to go. 

Then, sounding like one of his colleagues (Callo I think it was), “Resting in a different place.”