"Well, ya know... wizards probably would make the front door a bit hard to get through." Colette said off-handedly as Mireleth started to stride towards the front door.
"And I was thinking we could make it to the roof and then work our way down. But if you want to go through the obvious way, then hells bells, have it your way."
The rogue fell into step behind Mireleth, though she did have an instinctual wariness about this, hence her preference for entering the structure from a less obvious entrance point. And so, unless someone else yelled out a warning, Colette would fall back on her Guild training and spy about for the usual warning signs...
Colette will use her Trap Expert move to survey the dangerous area
"Ehh... You're not wrong, but it's not like he's been here to reinforce his front door all this time. Years can do a lot of damage to a door," she retorted jovially to Colette's observation, "besides, if a bunch of peasants can break in, I'll bet we can manage. And do you want to go in there by yourself to unlock the door for the rest of us less nimble types?"
Nagan's knees buckled, and the shaman stumbled, leaning on her staff to keep on her feet. Thoughts, speech, and thousands of swirling, shapeless forms filled her senses - far more than she'd ever seen in one place before. After steadying herself, Nagan took a moment, studying the swarming spirits and thinking upon them.
When she opened her eyes, Nagan rejoined her comrades, pulling them away so Tiana would not hear. "The spirits are thick here," she told them. "Something calls to them, and does not let them leave. I cannot tell if it is a shaman, or some strange magician's artefact, but we should be wary of what we find inside. And that rope... I do not know whether it is for climbing, or part of a snare. We also do not know if traps await on the approach to that door... watch for long grass or lain straw. And perhaps the eagle-eyed among us should walk a circle around this tower, to see what can be seen?"
Mireleth stopped in mid step as she heard Nagan's knees hit the ground, alarm showing on the warrior's face as she hurried back towards the shaman. She reversed her path quickly, but by the time she was at the shaman's side Nagan was shaking off whatever had taken her, and only glanced at Tiana when it became clear that the wildlander wanted a moment away from her. "What rope?" Mireleth asked, looking back over at the door speculatively. She couldn't see anything, but perhaps someone more experienced at spotting a trap might be able to point it out to her.
If anyone wished to take a walk around the whole of the exterior, Mireleth would act as an escort or hold back depending on their preference. Her ability to act as a scout was limited to simply being another set of eyes and a sword to ward off danger, however, leaving this particular section of their journey better suited to another's skills.
(Trap Expert: 2d6+2 = 9 [5, 2]. Gain 1 hold, spent to ask "Is there a trap here, and if so, what activates it?")
Once Colette got close enough to get a better look at the rope Nagan had pointed out, she would find it to be part of a rather simple, if cleverly hidden trap. A closer inspection of the ground below and there were traces of a less than natural aspect to the undergrowth there. The cover of some sort of pit trap as far as she could tell, the rope connected to the branch above seemed to be tied with a number of small bells and bits of metal, probably scavenged from the raided caravans.
The intent was clear enough: Anyone attempting to approach the tower along with path unawares would fall into the pit they'd dug, the collapse of the cover letting the rope and all of its various noisemakers fall to alert those inside. It wouldn't be too hard to remove the rope, but it would probably be simpler to just make their way around it now that they knew it was there.
Recognition dawned on Colette's face, guided as she was by the shamaness' warnings. She recognized the unnatural bend of the grass, the gentle concave slope in the path suggestive of false ground, and then there was the rope and the hidden shine of metallic noisemakers.
Her hand snapped forward and caught Mireleth by the shoulder, pulling her companion back.
"Wait. It's a trap. See? The ground will give way, probably onto something sharp. And then those noisemakers in the tree will let everyone inside know that we're here."
Colette clucked her tongue against the roof of her mouth as she judged the perimeter of the trap, following its contours.
"We should be able too avoid it all together. Just make sure to walk around this part here." She indicated the trap with her finger, then passed Mireleth with her fingers dragging softly along the warrior's arm. "Follow me."
Drawing her rapier, Colette stepped carefully around the trap and moved through the tower's front entrance.
Sable regarded Nagan warily for a few moments after the shaman made her declaration before glancing back to the tower itself to see if there was any sign of this gathering of spirits she spoke of. There was nothing of course, but she didn't have the means to see such things. Regardless, it was worrying. So far the shaman's spirit magic had proven benign enough, none of the corruptive influence of the sorcery Sable was familiar with, but that didn't mean it wasn't dangerous. In fact, this seemed incredibly dangerous even to someone like her with no real understanding of the spirits.
"We should be wary of whatever is causing this... gathering of spirits." Sable gave her own affirmation. Unless it was some artifact left by the sorcerer doing this, it was likely that there was one among their enemies responsible. A tribal shaman like Nagan herself, perhaps.
She waited for Colette to examine the trap laid out in their path, simple nodding in response to the suggestion that they simply avoid it. That made the most sense, they were still out in the open. There was no reason to take the time and risk of disabling it when they had room to simply go around now that they knew it was there. She followed Colette and Mireleth's lead around the false ground, hand going to her own blade as they approached the tower doors.
"So what's our plan?" She asked, looking back at her companions, "We want to try going in quiet, or just fast?"
Mireleth stopped in place without hesitation when stopped, trusting in her companion's ability to see what she might have missed. After looking for a few moments she followed their logic, and thought she had an idea of where the trap was. Nodding, she followed Colette's lead, skirting the trap but keeping close behind the rogue. She didn't draw her own blade, but did keep one hand on the weapon's handle, ready to draw and slash at any threat that might appear.
"Lets try to keep quiet," Mireleth said softly, trying to keep her voice low lest whoever may be waiting beyond the door catch them. A test would reveal that it was unlocked, and Mireleth would let their sneakier companion be the first inside unless the rogue suggested otherwise, in which case she would take the lead. Either way, she would say; "Colette... Take a peek, see if you can spot anything." If Colette was going in first - or someone else if they insisted - Mireleth would be right on their heels, ready to rush to the defense of any of her companions if necessary should trouble be waiting for them inside the abandoned tower's entrance.
Wyndyl frowned a bit, pinching her chin in thought. She didn't understand what Colette was talking about. Enjoying being victimized? "I fear that I cannot comprehend" she replied, and then fell silent. What did it mean to be human? Did different thoughts flit through their heads than hers? Were their minds, their very souls different in some fundamental way? She held her chin pensively. Probably. Trying to understand was part of why she was traveling with this group. Humans were so... fascinating.
Wyndyl stayed quiet throughout Captain Barton's offer of employment and Colette's negotiation of their price. She wasn't entirely certain why the rogue was so insistent about her coin, but she was starting to chalk it up to a human eccentricity. Later, on the road, she furrowed her brow in worry as she rode along on Sir Wolf, listening to the others discuss this sorcerer's tower they had been contracted to clear out. She knew more than most of the group about magic, being practically surrounded by it in her elven home. But not this kind of magic. Not sorcery. Sorcery was a shortcut. A very powerful shortcut, bypassing the normal, rightful sources of power. The ancestors, the spirits, nature itself. But sorcery was different. It provided more control over the forces you were unleashing, and yet... offered those forces more control over you at the same time. Gave them an opening to creep into. To ooze in like a foul miasma. The more of an opening you gave it the more it polluted your mind, your soul... All who dabbled eventually went mad. It was only a question of when.
The tower itself was not that impressive. Certainly bigger than most elven homes, but not necessarily higher. "Perhaps we might find a hidden entrance" she piped in, "but it would likely take us quite some time. With magic it might be dug out very far indeed. I think it best if we assault a more obvious entrance." She would ride in on Sir Wolf if space allowed, her bow at the ready, but if not she would walk along beside him.
Colette smirked as Mireleth urged silence. She turned and breathed into the eastern warrior's ear.
"As a shadow~"
She passed through the door, slipping inside and hugging close to the wall. She glanced about to make sure that the coast was clear, and if so, would motion for the other girls to follow.
(Colette's Defy Danger (Dex) to be sneaky: 2d6+2 = 5 [1, 2]. Unfortunately a failure yet again.)
The door swung open easily, if with a loud creak as the old wood strained against its mounting. The light now filtering in through the open doorway illuminated a large room beyond, spanning the entire first level of the tower aside from the space taken up by the stairs which ran along the outer walls to the level above, and a central pillar. It seemed that the tower's current inhabitants were quite confident in their trap outside, or just that their location was remote enough, because there was no sign of any sentries.
There was another door at the opposite end of the room, closed, which looked like it would lead into the extension that led out of the tower and under the hill behind it. What furniture had once decorated this room was now in ruins, and the new inhabitants had done nothing to make the place more presentable. The trails through the dust were enough to assume that they never used this room for anything more than a way in or out, laying mostly undisturbed other than in paths between the two doors or leading up the stairs.
The room looked to have once been some sort of large lobby and sitting room, though what sort of guests a sorcerer living alone in the woods like this might entertain was a question with no clear answer. The broken remnants of a few tables and some chairs were strewn about the room, and a mostly intact couch sat against the far wall, though any cushions it once had were missing entirely, and there were numerous claw marks in the fame.
Once everyone had entered however, they would hear something, a muffled sounds of voices from beyond the other door in the room. Either their entrance hadn't gone unnoticed after all, or they were just unfortunate enough to have entered at the same time that someone else was leaving. They still had time to prepare though, as there was no sense of urgency in the voices they heard, even if the words were still too muffled to make out. Whether they wished to meet these enemies head on, wait in ambush though, or even simply hide, they did not have long before they were found.
Colette visibly cringed at the loud creak of the door, her entire body tensing up and her cheeks going a rosy shade of red, knowing what Mireleth and the others who had heard her must think, especially after her casual boasting.
She resolved to quickly poke her head inside to take a look around. The coast appeared to be clear so she waved everyone to follow onward as she entered into the dusty entrance hall.
When she was about halfway through the hall she heard the voices coming toward them and her hand immediately went to her rapier's handle. She glanced at the other girls beside her.
"I'm all for rushing them. Catch them by surprise..."
"As a shadow huh...." Mireleth said dryly under her breath following the pronounced creaking. She swept her gaze across the dilapidated room, glanced over the trails in the dust leading to the next door, heard the voices coming toward them and made some fairly straightforward conclusions. Her own hand casually strayed to the handle of her long blade, but she didn't draw it yet, and started towards the other door with only the most half-hearted attempt of remaining stealthy. "Lets do it," she said a little louder, advancing upon the door and reaching it first unless someone else advanced ahead of her, at which point she would simply let them go ahead of her and be first to open the door.
Colette drew her sword and moved with Mireleth, but let the warrior go first, knowing enough about the eastern warrior's desire for battle to not get in her way.
Nagan nods and raises her staff, ready to strike with it, as she strode forward with the rest. Sneaking was well and good, sometimes - and avoiding strong foes who would bring you to ruin was wise - but battle when there were enemies about was the right and honorable thing, as far as her Ways were concerned. If two sides were to clash, the side with less strength, cunning, and will to bring their wishes into reality would make way for the stronger... and, on a more practical note, it would be good to have fewer foes lurking elsewhere, or to let them have the freedom of the first strike.
Sable nodded as Colette and Mireleth opted to face whoever was approaching head-on, drawing her own blade. They could perhaps head upstairs to let the ones approaching possibly pass them by and head outside, but there was no guarantee that they wouldn't check the upper floors, or what they would find above them in the first place. Even if they did, having more enemies at their back was dangerous, so it was smartest to just deal with them now.
"Ready?" She whispered to the others, taking up a position flanking to door with her sword at the ready.
Collette opened the door, not quite stealthily, but then Wyndyl didn't feel that was too terribly important. She sort of expected to meet with opposition right from the start regardless... but as it turned out the first level of the tower was empty of people. It was sort of anticlimatic in a way. The elf hopped off of her direwolf companion and whispered to him in the elvish tongue <"stay close Sir Wolf, the way may be treacherous."> This place was clearly not abandoned, the trails through the dust were proof enough of that. When she heard the sounds from beyond the door opposite them she quickly brought out her bow and an arrow, nocking it and drawing the bow back as she glanced with a look of fierce determination at the door. She would have to be careful not to hit any of the others, but she was sure there would be plenty of targets soon.
While the group's fighters arrayed themselves around the door, ready to strike whatever was approaching, the voices behind the door were growing steadily closer. It didn't take long before the words were clear enough to be understood, but whoever was coming was not speaking a language from anywhere within the Empire. Nagan might recognize it as being similar enough to that which her own tribe spoke that she could make out some of what was being said, and Wyndyl could very likely do the same if she'd had enough interaction with the human residents of the wildlands to learn some of their language.
Even the others could tell that there was no urgency in their tone, nor did they seem to be rushing. What could be made out of their conversation made it sound like one of the two speakers thought this was a waste of time, while the other insisted he'd heard the door opening. Whether there were more than the two who were speaking coming or not was impossible to tell until a third sound echoed through the hallway beyond, loud even through the barrier of the door.
It was a deep, low growl, one which likely prompted some kind of reaction from Wyndyl's partner, followed by a louder snarl and a bark. A third voice spoke up, this one a woman, trying to calm whatever beast had made the noises, but it seemed to be a vain effort. Moments later, all three voices cursed loudly and the door didn't so much open as fly to pieces as a massive shape barrelled into it, showering the women on the other side in splinters.
It was some sort of dog or wolf, or had been at one point, but it had clearly been altered by some sort of sorcery. To Sable, and to anyone else experienced in dealing with corrupted beasts, that much was obvious. Even on all fours the beast stood nearly chest height on the taller members of the group, and was clearly much more massive, its body visibly rippling with muscle. Its fur was somewhat ragged-looking and black, but its most noticeable departure from the beast it had originated as was the spiked, bone-like plate over the top of its skull, and the eyes that appeared almost pitch-black.
The beast looked ready to pounce at any moment, eyeing its potential targets, if they didn't beat it to the punch. Just behind it in the hallway it had burst from were the owners of the three voices, who seemed surprised to actually find others in the tower, but were already brandishing weapons. The two men looked exactly like those that had attacked the city, one wielding a large axe in two hands and the other a similarly massive spiked club. The woman was dressed in heavier leathers and furs and had a whip coiled at her hip and a sword in hand.
Despite the surprise of the beast bursting through the door however, the group waiting in ambush were already ready to strike, and had a chance to do so before the beast pounced or its handlers caught up.
Mireleth barely bothered to shield herself from the barrage of splinters as the mutant hound burst through. She idly surveyed it, noting the bony plate on top of its head as she advanced in a sudden rush just as the people coming in behind it realized that battle was upon them. Her sword flashed out of its scabbard in a quick slash, the downward swipe coming down on the back of the monstrous thing's neck but doing little harm against the armored plating despite the sharpness of her favored weapon. Undaunted, Mireleth whirred, scraping the blade and then pulling it free before she reversed like a dancer, slashing at the mutant hound's throat and opening it, though also slightly overextending and leaving her blade high, open to a counter attack... If only just.
Open with two attacks on ye woofwoofmutant. Both hit, the first with a 12 and the second with a 9, no retaliation of the first, 3 damage rerolled to 1, retaliation from 10 damage.
Just as Mireleth was attacking from the front, Colette was flanking from behind the creature, her lithe form leaping and plunging her blade into its thick hide, puncturing it deeply, like a pin cushion.
She kicked away from it, twisting her blade as she withdrew, adding a painful, crippling effect to her sudden strike.
She crouched low after her leap, eyeing the beast warily, unsure if it would still be standing after her coordinated strike with Mireleth, and worried about what it would take to bring down such a beast if it somehow were still able to keep going.
Colette successfully backstabs on an 11. She deals 7 damage and permanently reduces the beast's armor by 1.
