The three swarms approach!  Two of them bounce off the beast bane barrier, but the third makes it through and they bite at May!  But don't manage to harm her.

Meanwhile Mits zapped two swarms and the big beetle.

"Swarms hard to hurt with ranged attacks," she says, "But area attacks are bigtime ouch for them.  I'm holding off on mine till they're clumped up."
This message was last edited by the player at 04:44, Sat 05 Apr 2014.

Raichel moves up and begins whacking beetles with her staff! With a wide swipe, she knocks quite a few out of the fight!

---

Move: To block beetles from getting much of anywhere
Standard: Five Storms v Beetle Swarm 3. Hit(23)!
 dmg: 15, vulnerable 10 = 25

Beetle Swarm 3 HP: 88 - 25 = 63

  While the item he has hurled against the ground has been totally worth it so far, his attempt to shoot the swarm does not go so well, as it splits out of the way of the crossbow bolt.

  He still toughens up May while he is at it though.

Timothius tries to put a seal on the swarm, but, well, swarm. "And I'll give Pelor's blessing on the fight when they clump also."

---

Astral Seal v Swarm 3. Miss(16)

May says, "Thanks, Kyle!" and then just swings at the bugs with her stick, figuring she may as well catch their attention. A bunch of bugs sting her, though, and she activates Kyle's buff.

---

Bugs attack! Hit(30)!
 dmg to May: 8
Shield Feint v bugs. Hit(28)!
 dmg: 6/2=3

MAYCH-P: 60+18-8=60+10
Swarm 3 HP: 63 - 3 = 60
This message was last edited by the player at 05:02, Sat 05 Apr 2014.

"Eeee!" the beetles squeak as they repeatedly rush the force field to no avail.

More Mittens zaps.  The third beetle swarm gets ejected from the beast bane area!

"Nice."

Raichel throws a ball of lightning at the beetles and it explodes in a blaze of glory! "....SO glad I learned this technique!" she half-squeals.

---

Vezzuvu's Eruption. Hit(24)! Miss(18), Hit(26)!
 dmg: 7
 dmg to swarm 2: 7+10vuln=17

Shadow Beetle HP: 37 - 7 = 30
Beetle Swarm 2HP: 83 - 17 = 66

  Sqeeeing bugs vs Squealing Cats.  The Movie.

  Kyle takes a pair of shots at the most smashed bugs he can actually get a good firing angle on, hitting twice for negligible harm.  But at least the side effects are in full force.

OOC:  M weapon vs swarm 2, hits.   Buffs all cats.
ACTION POINT: Repulsion vs swarm 2, hits.  -3 Melee to hit until end of kyle's next turn.

Swarm 2 HP: 54 left.  Kyle AP 2.
This message was last edited by the player at 05:20, Sat 05 Apr 2014.

Timothius moves towards the beetles, bursts forth in holy energy, then returns to his position behind the group.

---

Move: To be close enough to enemies
Minor: Solar Enemy (burst 2)
Move: Back to original spot.

May hunkers up where she is, but makes sure to make it harder for the enemy to hit her.

---

Full Defense

Mits glows with a mysterious force field, steps forward, activates her circle and KABOOMS!  One of the swarms goes down, and the remaining enemies are severely injured, the big beetle blown back!

Raichel twirls her staff around, does a breakdance on the ground, and then hops back to her feet! The beetles that were on her are now crushed, and the ones that were around her are smacked down. She then spits some necrotic gunk aside. "GROSS!"

---

Raichel takes 5 damage
Five Storms v beetle swarm. Hit(24)!
 dmg: 19+10vuln=29
Save throw: 19 success

Raichel HP: 37 - 5 = 32
Swarm 1 HP: 28 - 29 = done

The big beetle charges at Mits but bounces off the force field.  It wiggles its antennae for a moment then sprays her with black gunk!

"Ewe is right!" Mits complains, "I'm stuck!"

  "Thanks for squashing them anyway, Raichel."  Before it could so much as attack Kyle no less.  The Artificer steps down, points a finger at the giant beetle, and zaps it right in the antenna, causing it to make an electric jacob's ladder impression before it flops on it's beetle back and legs curl up.

Timothius rushes over to Mittens and hugs her. He bursts with holy enegry and everyone feels tougher as Mittens' wounds all vanish. He then looks at the remaining swarm and says, "You're going to lose."

---

Move: To Mittens
Minor: Healing Word
 roll: 18. +11=29
 Mittens gets a save: 1 fail
 Everyone gets 4 thp
Standard: Prophetic Guidance on Beetle Swarm 3

Mittens HP: 26 + 29 = Full

Fwoosh!  Mits blows the last of the beetles back against the wall, splattering them!

"Thanks, Timo."

Unexpected Parley
When the PCs have completed the last of the previous
three encounters, they find their luck running
out. Sarshan’s guards, alerted by the combat in the
tower, begin to close in. Do not allow the PCs a short
rest in the aftermath of the previous encounter. If the
party is not in area 10, modify the read aloud text
accordingly.
As soon as the previous combat is done, read:
Before you can catch your breath, a sudden shout comes
from below. Through the open floor, you see shadar-kai
guards coming through the main doors.
Give the PCs time to strategize, then continue:
Six shadar-kai hit the levitation lift, and footsteps in the
distance herald groups of four coming through the doors
of each of the towers. The squad that comes up from below
is led by a grizzled captain, who has ritual scars standing
out on his cheeks. Two panthers move at his side with teeth
bared as they hiss. “Stand down!” the captain shouts, “or
your lives are forfeit!”

The shadar-kai captain is Thannu (see the Last Stand
tactical encounter for his statistics). Though he means
business, his inclination to slay the PCs outright is
tempered by his knowledge that the absent Sarshan
will want to question them first.
The PCs should hopefully recognize that this is
a fight they cannot win, and that standing down is
their best bet in the short term. However, if the party
is more the fight-to-the-death crowd, allow them to
strike back but have a pair of shadar-kai witches show
up to immobilize them with magic.
Be careful not to be too heavy-handed with this
scenario. This section of the adventure involves
important revelations and decisions for the PCs.
Allowing the players to feel like they’re being railroaded
is likely to undercut the importance of what
they learn here.

"We'll play along for now," Mittens answers, "But before long, we're going to defeat you."
This message was last edited by the GM at 06:07, Sat 05 Apr 2014.

  "Honestly, the poor quality of your operation on a combat and bookeeping level fills me with more dread than anything else today."  Alas, Raichel being slightly wounded means the party can not literally claim they came out and the end of everything without a scratch on them.  Thaaaaanks Raichel.

  Sorry writers, but over twenty people and two panthers arriving unnoticed in the span of less than five minutes (Boy those kitties smash bugs fast) is already too heavy handed even for the most naive player.  You're just lucky we know it's not the GM's fault and the deserve Icecream for needing to work with you.
This message was last edited by the player at 06:22, Sat 05 Apr 2014.

Timothius says, "We've heard "kill them" and "show no mercy" and "you will die" and other such from our enemies before. But this is a first... someone actually giving us the option of not having to fight for our lives." well it is. This is literally the first time an enemy offered surrender.

May says, "We've stopped an army before. Supposedly overwhelming odds who were meant to take down a city and us five stopped them. You're going to have to think of something more inventive to convince us. Or, to drone what most of our enemies have said to OUR offers of surrender: "You'll kill us anyway, or torture us to death." So... unless you want a bunch of your soldiers to fall, give us reason to stand down: Put away your weapons."

Raichel says, "...she has a point. We don't trust you to let us live. And we've faced worse odds before."

Timothius says, "Is it worth pointing out we haven't killed a single one of your soldiers? The only dead guy is because some wraith killed him to make another wraith pop up." Poor Gloomblade. Didn't even get to act and then wound up food for a wraith only to spawn a minion that didn't get to act.

---

I realize the whole plot rails business, but yeah... thanks to past experiences, my brain can barely manage an excuse for Timothius and maaaybe even Raichel to surrender, but not May. Not because she's stubborn or anything, just that surrender means her friends die. Everyone (even heroes) and I mean EVERYONE besides our group has been all "kill first, ask questions later" mentality, so May expects this guy to kill us as soon as we've surrendered.

OOC:
Thannu opens his script writer's handbook and looks for good reasons for the PCs to not fight him to the death or attempt to escape.

"You're in a Closed Circle and unable to leave.  Becauuuse...  It was a Dark and Stormy Night with Dramatic Thunder...  Nonono.  You're Locked In a Room.  Nonono.  A wizard/super-scientist/Eldritch Abomination stuck you in a pocket dimension in a Bottomless Pit beyond the Point of No Return surrounded by Broken Bridges, Invisible Walls, Locked Doors, and an Insurmountable Waist-Height Fence!"

Kidding of course.  Deciding to not make any excuses and just MRA.

---

Thannu is clearly infuriated with the answers he receives, but does not attack.

"It's true, sir," one of his lackeys says, "They were all breathing."

"Interesting.  Well Sarshan wants you alive as well.  So if it takes my men putting up their weapons for you to surrender, then so be it.  Sheathes your weapons, men."

Most do so.  But the chainfighters look at their spiked chains, stumped.  The women don't look offended by being called men.

"Sarshan wants to do the classic villain speech where he gloats then offers for us to join him," Mittens predicts.

The PCs are outnumbered to such a degree that
Thannu does not bother taking their weapons or
equipment. If the party is not in area 10, Thannu
orders them to be taken up to the guards’ quarters on
the third level for questioning. Adjust the following
read aloud text and use it when the PCs and their
escorts are passing through the garden of shadows.
Once the PCs stand down, read:
Suddenly, the garden is illuminated by a pulse of white
light. The archway to the south flares as it reveals the black
shrine, and a familiar figure steps from that chamber to
this. It’s the veteran you spoke to in the Happy Beggar, but
he is no longer stooped with the appearance of age and his
scarred skin turns gray before your eyes.
The guards around you salute the shadar-kai, who
doesn’t hide his surprise at seeing you. He takes in the
scene before him with a cold eye. “I am Sarshan. I assume
someone has an explanation for this?”

  "A now headless Modra, for starters.  From there, you probably already know what happens when people intend to send armies through where we live.  Though I'm somewhat more perturbed by your labwork towards putting your warriors out of a job in favor of lesser creatures."  Well okay not REALLY more upset about that than army smashes city.  But it's a close thing.

Upon seeing the captain be reasonable, May actually stands down. Since she is allowed to keep her weapons on TOP of that, she even smiles while she's at it. If a fight breaks out, she will be ready.

Raichel says, "Modra fled here, which is how we wound up here."

May says, "Many have been attacking us since we arrived in the shadowfell. We've been defending ourselves until now. The nice captain actually OFFERED surrender unlike every person who has ever attacked us."

Timothius is silent.

Whatever the PCs’ initial response, Thannu quickly
interrupts to deliver a military-style report on the
PCs’ incursion of the tower, noting the areas they’ve
infiltrated and the number of the dead and wounded.
However, before he can finish, additional information
arrives.
Even as the captain finishes, a warrior enters at a run,
calling to his master. As he approaches to whisper in
Sarshan’s ear, the shadar-kai turns to you with a look of
wonder.

“You are, quite literally, the last people I ever expected to
see here. The charges leveled by my captain warrant torture
and death. However, I am told that 'an episode of sabotage
in my foundry appears to have been thwarted, and that the
traitorous Modra has been executed by persons unknown.'
What might you know of this?
So your story seems to hold up.”

"Makes more sense now why you would talk about 'everyone has a price,'" Mittens says, "I stand by what I told you then."

If the PCs admit to the action in the foundry, Sarshan
nods thoughtfully. If they are suspicious enough of
Sarshan’s motivations that they deny everything,
assume that his Sense Motive automatically beats
their Bluff.

“As far as you’ve managed to infiltrate my operations, I can
only assume you know a little of who I am. My wealth and
reputation turn largely on honor, obligation, and secrecy.
When I spoke to you of Modra, I hoped you would kill him
and save me the risk of more exposure than he had already
caused. The fact that you journeyed here to do the job is
a surprise, but for your part in ending his threat to me
and whatever he meant to do in the foundry, I am in your
debt. However, for your role in the death injury of my personal
guards, you are more greatly in mine. Here is a bargain that
balances the obligation for all of us. Join me.”

"Called it!" Mits cheers.

Thannu looks annoyed.

  "Joining you does not really seem to have much of a future, even if your measurement of debt and bargains were not flawed.  It is hard to trust the worth of an employer who can not even deal with the likes of Modra, as many threats of 'that or die' you might throw around.  Maybe if you improve your performance I would consider it in the future, but at the moment you leave much to be desired."

For interrupting her, May is sure to say "BLABLABLA INTERRUPT BLABLA" when the captain first talks, but doesn't say anything more. She has readied to hold up her spiky shield to anyone who tries to hit her, should some guard feel the need to try to do so for her "offense". That way, she technically didn't actively harm anyone. The guard just hurt themselves. May offers a high-five to Mittens when Mittens says she called it.

Timothius says, "Sarshan, sir, we just want to protect our home... if joining you means innocent people stop getting hurt, then I'm sure my friends would agree with me that it would be a good idea..."

Now that it is literally Sarshan asking for the team and not Thanuu to speak, May says, "Ya know, Thanuu, I was TRYING to compliment you before you interrupted. Guess you just didn't want me to let Sarshan know what a great guy you are. Let's see... injuring a couple dozen soldiers in self defense is muuuuch greater than the intentional death of several dozen, ruining years of research, and the destruction of an entire facility or two. No, sir, you are in our debt more than we in yours."

Raichel says, "I agree with Timothius. But we got clues you were just seizing an opportunity of something else invading the Prime Material. Maybe we can work for you after all, if it turns out you don't mind us stopping an invasion to our home."

"And this is the part where he leaves us dangling over a vat of acid saying something about how we made the wrong choice," Mittens predicts.

Sarshan is clearly angered but calms himself and headshakes.

"Your skill at arms is clearly first rate. I offered you a place
to use and advance that skill. Moreover, I offered you a place
where you might live long enough to enjoy the fruits of your
bravery. In a month, or six, or a year, your world will be a
place you will not want to live."

"Join the ones who are going to help make it that way?" Mits echoes, "I'm gunna go with no.  Unless... you can tell us who it is."

“Though I am nicely positioned to take advantage of these
things, I know relatively little yet. What I do know, I cannot
share for professional reasons, but trust me when I say that
you do not want to know."

You feel a familiar shaking beneath your feet as another
tremor rises and falls quickly. The shadar-kai’s dark eyes
blaze, but he smiles as he shakes his head. “Your conviction
is to be commended. A pity it failed you in the end.”

Then suddenly, an ear-splitting explosion shakes
the tower. Near the eastern side of the chamber, one of
Sarshan’s guards shouts out: “My lord! The foundry is
in flames!” The guards are in motion, Sarshan all but
ignoring you as he barks orders. One group is sent to the
foundry, and another receives orders to keep the mercenary
camps under control. Sarshan takes a last squad of
chainfighters with him as he moves for the lift. Thannu and
his panthers are the only ones left with you.
“If I was as cruel as my reputation implies, I would
send you back to watch your world die,” Sarshan calls. “Be
thankful that I am merciful.” Then to Thannu: “Kill them.”

"With pleasure!"