[ We find Our Heroes still in the room they spent the night in. Most of them, anyway; Alci went to take a bath, as did Kenji. Max is somewhere doing something, surely up to no good. ] [ The rest of you are, doubtless, having fascinating discussions on tactics. Let's see what's up! ] [ Session Start! ] * Istvan is currently checking a few small red dragon scales he pulled out of his pack for quality, in case he has to replace a scale or two on Alci's armor. Mmm... no cracks, no arrowheads embedded... looks good. * Istvan nods, and puts the scales back in his pack before returning his attention to the planners. "Any new and brilliant ideas for pulling this off while I wasn't paying attention?" * Alcinoe comes walking back in. Maybe she came up with a brilliant idea! Her hair's wet and she's toweling it, but other than that, she's dressed and sober. * HKenji follows Alcinoe up the hall from the bath, still bare to the waist and putting his wet hair back in its topknot. Alcinoe, when you get a chance, lemme have a look at your armor. Wanna double check that all the plates are secure. * Alcinoe blinks, then nods. "Sure." She goes to where her things were deposited and picks out the lion/flying couches headband. * Alcinoe eyes it for a moment, then ties it around her forehead. * Patrick is looking over a large map of the place, finalizing the course he wants to take, ankd possible dangers/reroutes that may be necessary. * Alcinoe drags out her armor and lugs it over to Istvan, depositing it in front of him. * HKenji grabs his own headband and ties it loosely around his forehead. * Istvan takes it from Alci, hefts it over his shoulder, and brings it back over to where his pack and travel forge kit are resting in a corner of the room. "With all the fireball arrows that you'n Kenji are gonna be shooting around, I wanna be sure there're no seams in case you get caught on the edge of a blast." * Alcinoe looks at Kenji. "Fireball arrows?" * Istvan pauses as he starts to examine the armor, a quizzical look on his face. He glances up the stairs leading to the bath, then to the newly-bathed Alci and Kenji, then to Tia, then back to Kenji with a scowl before returning to his work. * Tia is sitting off to the side, unusually somber and quiet, her bear held loosely in her muscular arms. * HKenji doesn't even notice Isty's scowl. * Alcinoe is looking at Kenji, waiting for an answer. I purchased some arrows that are capable of storing a spell to be released upon impact. Truly wondrous, that. I am quite amazed the Isawa have not come up with something similar. Though... perhaps they have. The Isawa are VERY secretive. Aren't ya all? In any event, we have three days. Within that time, Max will finish with the arrows and Anastasia will arrive. Me? Secretive? * HKenji looks vaguely offended. * Alcinoe snerks. "Yeah." * Seylin smiles slightly. * Alcinoe keeps toweling her hair. It will be dry someday. [ There's a knock at the door! ] * Tia 's ears prick, but she doesn't move to answer the door. * HKenji walks over and opens the door. [ Anastasia and Kardos are standing on the other side of the door! ] * HKenji brightens and steps back, motioning the two in. "Greetings!" * Alcinoe idly looks over at the door, and she freezes when she sees who's there. The toweling, it stops! * Patrick glances over and smirks. "Looks like we have some help after all." * HKenji bows deeply to his fiancee. * Istvan looks up, mutters in dwarven, and gets back to work. * Seylin waves politely to Anastasia and smiles at Kardos. * WillS blinks as he sees two unexpected guests. He waves hi while waiting to see what's going on. * Anastasia waves. "Cavalry's arrived... dear." She grins. [ Kardos nods to Seylin. ] I wasn't expecting Kardos, but I am pleased you accepted my... invitation. So he IS a friend of yours. Is he _really_ a paladin? Kardos? He is, as a matter of fact. * Alcinoe walks over to stand near Kenji. "Yeah." As much of one as Alci is, as I can tell. [ "May we come in?", asks Kardos politely. ] * Tia waves at Kardos and smiles weakly, but her expression is dull. Please do. * Max comes flying in, holding a rolled-up parchment and opening his mouth to announce something, but clams up when he notices the visitors. Rising to his feet on his book, he waves politely. "Oh, hello Kardos, Anastasia. This is an unexpected pleasure." * Alcinoe smiles a little. "When'd ya decide ta tag along, Kardos?" * Tia fails to acknowledge Anastasia's appearance, though she faces the general direction of the door, a listless air about her. [ Kardos gives a very small smile. "When I was told what you were planning." ] * HKenji blinks. "Who told you?" * Anastasia saunters in, waving to the party. "Resist the offer to utterly crush an immense Drow force? Me? Hardly." * HKenji smiles a little. "I thought you might be interested. I am glad to see I was correct." So you will be accompanying Kenji and Alcinoe's side of the mission? Should I prepare more arrows? * Alcinoe eyes Anastasia. No, Max. That will not be necessary. * Istvan looks back up, and waves at Kardos, who he hadn't seen immediately from the corner he's working in. "You planning on joining Alcinoe and Kenji's end of the mission, Kardos?" [ "Galahad," says Kardos. ] * HKenji blinks. You're sure? Well, I suppose the time crunch is looming. Too long spent preparing and we will be too late. * HKenji drops his left hand absently to the hilt of his katana. [ Kardos nods. "Yes, Istvan, I am. I plan to make their plight slightly less hopeless." ] * Seylin blinks several times. "He did?" * Alcinoe blinks at Kardos. "He... told ya?" * Patrick glances at Kardos, shrugs, then goes back to mapreading. He must have some interest in it. I imagine Bahamut's clergy would not be unwilling to listen to Galahad, after all. We have an actual plan, it looks like? Of course. We're going to need one. Brute force is entirely on their side, as is geography. Yes. It is a very good plan. You, Alcinoe, Kardos, and myself will walk up to the front gates of the city, break them into small pieces, and kill everything that moves. We will then proceed to draw the attention of the entire city's armed forces by leveling every building we can. When all the forces begin to converge on us, the rest of the people you see here will go in the back way and recover the artifact. Oh, that reminds me... I was thinking, while I was getting ready to make some of those arrows, and made this after I was done with today's batch. *holds up the scroll* This one's for me, so it's an Alter Self, but disguise potions would be sufficeint for everyone else except Tia going into the temple itself. Istvan, would the dwarves have such potions lying around? * Anastasia rubs her chin. "That ..." * Alcinoe still stands there, looking at Kardos and stunned. * Anastasia grins. "That is an excellent plan, Kenji." Thank you. [ Kardos frowns very slightly. "Is something wrong, Alcinoe?" ] Except about the huge probability of death, it's a great plan. Either way, we should complete our task. No? * Alcinoe shakes her head as if to clear it. "No," she says more certainly. "Nothin's wrong, Kardos." * Anastasia smorks at Patrick. "Are you kidding me? The huge probability of death's the best part!" I'm sorry, I'm rather attatched to being alive. (... smirk. She totally smirked. ... what the hell is a smork?) (It's a cross between a smurf and a snork.) * Patrick grins. "Although you would find a lot of enjoyment in it." A good and memorable death in the line of duty is the best a samurai can hope for. * Max eyes Anastasia much the same way he often eyes Kenji. * Seylin looks over at Patrick. "I'm rather attached to you being alive, too." Prolly, Max. But aren't we supposed to be going in etherally? We have to appear eventually, and we can't be positive we will get as far as we'd like. So if we can look like drow, we can tell any incoming that we've got it here and to continue on. * Patrick grins at Seylin. ^^; It's probably not essential, but the less likelyhood of being forced into actual fighting, the better. Fighting takes too much time. I probably should have cleared it with Kenji before making the scroll, sorry. I just got carried away. If we don't use it now, I can use it in the future, at least. If you can figure out how we can speak and understand drow, and explain what we'd be doing there, I'd say fine. Otherwise, it sounds like a bit of a waste. * Anastasia finds a seat, and looks around. If we are doing our job properly, all you need do is look like drow and be headed for the other end of the city. Which incidentally takes you directly past the temple. * Istvan shrugs. "That works." I can speak and understand it. And you can wear the translator devices to understand it, yourself; disguise self will hide them as needed. But still don't speak. * Istvan gets back to work examining Alci's armor. Kenji, did I understand correctly that you'll want a seperate entry point from the rest of us? We will be going in through the front gates. Literally. I understand there is a secret passage the rest of you can use, if you can get past the poison gas. Very well. I do have two scrolls of Teleportation Circle. They wouldn't be good for getting out, anyway, given the 10 minute completion time. that should get you inside any immediate magical defenses. Hm. Perhaps, assuming it is not guarded and/or trapped, itself. It is both. But again, if we are doing our job, it will not be a factor. * Alcinoe looks at the others. "Ah'm sure we can make a lotta noise." * Anastasia grins. * Max smiles, attempting a joke. "Your armor alone will wake the whole city, Alcinoe." ^_^ [ Kardos nods solemnly. ] Yeah, Ah was never good at the sneakin' stuff. [ Kardos smirks slightly. "I don't have a taste for it, myself." ] * WillS nods. He can relate! (In his 2-inch thick armor) So, what is our timetable? How soon after you start your attack do we teleport in? And do we teleport to the secret passage, or just on the city side thereof? Of course, if we are ethereal, we just need to take a direct path from there. * Istvan looks up, vaguely insulted. "Hey! Considering this thing it made of dragon scales, it's surprisingly quiet!" Go through the secret passage, then teleport as soon as you can to the other end of the city. Your... disguise makes your task much easier, provided you can keep Tia out of sight. ...that seems wasteful. Why do we need to enter via that path? To get around any magical barriers placed on the entire cavern. Not to mention that it makes it harder to get out. Teleportation circle will--ah. Good point. That means... hm... * Max counts on his fingers. "Istvan, Tia, Patrick, Seylin, Will... okay, good. Now..." He flips to a seeming scratch page in his Book, and looks over something. I shall have to make do with only two Limited Wishes; the Greater Teleport to cross the city will be essential. Perhaps I can trade in a scroll of Teleportation Circle for two Greater Teleport scrolls? I will have to speak with the local mages. They were kind enough to loan me the scrolls of Teleportation Circle in the first place. * Patrick nods. If I do that... hm. I could prepare another Limited Wish, or just keep a third Greater Teleport as a contingency plan. * Tia 's tail flicks momentarily, but otherwise, she shows no sign of listening. Take care of it. What to do about Tia... hm. How likely are there to be half- dragon half-drow in the city? We might garner her a potion of Alter Self. I would not presume to comment on the breeding habits of either dragons or drow. She can dispell it if our cover is blown to regain her physical prowess. Can't you just make her invisible or something? That might work better. In any case, we have as long as it takes Max to finish with those arrows to prepare. ...yes! I could! Then we move. Just two more days. I'm preparing as many fireballs as I can per day. We'll need one day after that; we don't want me going in with my spells exhausted. * Istvan gives Max a thumbs up, then gets back to work on Alci's armor. Drow are night-cycle creatures, right? So if we hit during the day, that might help, too. Despite the lack of sunlight down there. * Patrick nods. * HKenji kneels on the floor next to where Ana has taken her seat. Anyway, sorry to have interrupted. It's nice to see you again, Kardos. Anastasia. [ Kardos nods to Max. ] * Alcinoe still looks vaguely stunned, but she's been following the conversation. * Anastasia waves to Max, with a small smile. * HKenji whispers something softly to his side, to Ana. * Anastasia nudges Kenji with her elbow and whispers back. * Alcinoe blinks at the whispering couple. She frowns, much like she does when Seylin and Patrick start whispering. * Patrick snickers. * HKenji smiles a little and whispers something softly back. * Seylin grins. * Istvan starts packing away his travel forge kit, and looks up at Alci. "Armor's good to go. Compliments to whoever made this suit'a armor... it's damn fine craftsmanship." *grins* * Tia suddenly looks agitated and huddles miserably against her stuffed bear. * Alcinoe smiles at Istvan. "It is. Thanks." She goes about retrieving her armor. * WillS leans over towards Tia and pets her on the back. * Anastasia rolls her eyes. * Istvan wanders over to Tia, and ruffles her hair. "You hungry, kiddo?" * Alcinoe carries it over to where it normally goes, puts it away, and sits heavily on her bed. She kicks at the wet sheets on the floor. * Tia looks up at Istvan and smiles wanly. "A little." * Tia turns and crushes Will in a hug. Hm. Yes, I think we could all do with breakfast. *looks significantly at Alcinoe, Will, Patrick, Seylin, and Kardos, before noding at Kenji and Ana trying to have a private conversation* * Max drifts towards the door. I know a restaurant near here whose chef would take great pleasure in trying to fill a dracotaur's stomach. Wanna go see if he's up to the challenge? * Anastasia whispers back, then folds her arms. * HKenji smiles widely, but does not reply. * WillS oofs a little and hugs Tia back also. Would you like breakfast, Anastasia? * Max eyes Kenji for a moment, then just continues his way out, waiting for company. He doesn't really want to eat alone, after all. * Tia wags her tail a little and stands up. "Sure, Isty. You wanna come, Will?" * Tia does not seem to notice that she has Will dangling a bit off the ground. Um, Tia? Maybe you should let Will walk... * WillS smiles and nods. He would like to say yes, but is a bit out of breath right now. [ Will begins to turn slightly purple. ] * Tia blinks. "Oh, right. Sorry, Will!" She hurriedly places Will on his feet and steps back, looking concerned. "Are you okay?" * Patrick smiles to Seylin and motions that they should leave for Breakfast. * Patrick whispers to Seylin, too. * Alcinoe looks at Kardos in askance. * WillS crumbles to the ground and takes a couple deep breaths. "I'm fine, Tia. Just let me catch my breath and we can all go eat breakfast." [ Kardos blinks innocently at Alcinoe. "Is there something you wish to discuss, Alcinoe?" ] * Tia nods, still looking worried. "Do you need me to carry ya? I can do that." * Seylin whispers back. Let's all torture Alcinoe! Ah dunno, but there's no reason fer me ta stay here. * Alcinoe stands and walks out. [ Kardos frowns very slightly. ] * Patrick chuckles and whispers back. So yeah. Food. It's what's for breakfast. Follow me. *heads out* * Patrick follows the Istvan! * HKenji catches Kardos' eye and gives him a look that fairly screams "FOLLOW HER." * Seylin gets up and heads out! * HKenji stands up and waits for Ana. * WillS takes a deep breath and stands up shakily. "I can manage.. I think. Lets go, Tia." * Anastasia stands up. "A good meal before some righteous combat. Nothing better." [ Kardos heads out and follows Alcinoe. ] Excellent. I found a wonderful place with Alcinoe yesterday, they have a most wonderful drink. * Tia follows Istvan and Will out the door, Wuffiekins in tow. I cannot remember precisely what they call it, but it tastes quite good. (They call it 'enlightenment'.) Sounds good. * Anastasia exits! * HKenji walks along beside Anastasia, a bit of a spring in his step. [ And so they all went to eat some overly hearty dwarven breakfast. Session End! ]