If it is not too many actions, Dreya will ask Snarg what would be coming from that direction. If it is too much to all do, then obviously she doesn't do that.

Elwood nods towards Dreya, letting her know that he understood her translation.  Upon hearing Len's news of possible trouble coming from the southwest, and not hearing any commotion from the hunting lodge, he quietly makes his way towards the direction Len was taking, making sure he stays to the left of the fighter so as not to interfere with the fighter's mighty ax swings.

Hugh had been studying the surrounding area when Len mentions hearing something coming from the southwest. The monk trains his eyes in that direction and remains vigilant. The party is scattered on many fronts now and danger could come from any direction. His muscles tense in anticipation of quickly responding to whatever threat comes their way.

As Len and Elwood sneak into the tree line, a woman, two men, and a couple ogres enter the clearing from the southwest.  The humans are all topless with loose leather pants.  None of them wear boots or shoes.  The ogres display the usual mix of bad taste and stupidity.  They each carry a very large, bulging sack in one hand and a large club in the other.

The woman looks over Dreya, Hugh, Cole, and Snarg, as well as the orc corpses lying about the clearing.  "Well, well," she says.  "Looks like we have some adventurers wandering about the woods today.  Is it orc season again already?"

Snarg takes no notice of the strangers.  His berry aggression is far more intense than Dreya seems to expect.  He rips her belt pouch away and frantically goes through it, then throws it to the ground.  [Language unknown: His e whilo ounichcon!  Viramende sele urure din allinewer?  Mo trwil ie.  Iou!]

Meanwhile, up in the lodge attic, the hairs begin to stick up on the back of Khaaven's neck.  His ears strain for the sound of breathing or movement.  He looks over his shoulder toward a particularly dark corner of the attic.  He stares intently for several seconds.  As his eyes begin to adjust to the dim light, he notices a glint.  Then a few more glints.  The more he stares, the clearer it becomes a large mass of eyes is looking back at him.

What do you do?

Hoping the creature or creatures he sees are taking refuge in the attic because of the protection from the light. He takes a moment to cast prestidigitation with the light or shower of sparkling lights effect to be cast as close to the eye area as I can get it has a 10'range. If nothing else will give me a light barrier for them to cross in order to get to me.

Also I have infra vision as a half elf and bonus to hearing  did that allow me to see or detect them any better or sooner what was up there with me etc. which might make me decide a different course of action.

Dropping to her knees, Dreya retrieves her belt pouch Snarg so rudely tossed down, then begins crawling around to try and quickly recover as many spilled normal berries as she can. [Language unknown: "K venna Li hisverhat not elndnt, Rinoel! Whe...P proiveove set conhatove traousvor."]

In reply to Khaaven (msg # 46):

Thanks for the infravision reminder!  As your eyes adjust, not only do you see a large mass of beady eyeballs staring at you, you can see the largest freaking spider of your nightmares poised to charge at you (or some other horrible spidery action!  Who knows what a giant arachnid is about to do, other than something thoroughly unpleasant and skin-crawl-inducing?).

You can still cast the spell or you can take a different action.
This message was last edited by the GM at 21:13, Tue 25 Oct 2016.

In reply to Dreya (msg # 47):

Snarg is much more physically aggressive than that.  As soon as you stoop to pick up the belt pouch, Snarg grabs you and continues his demands as he shakes you.  Think single-minded, out of control junkie.  This is not a quirky conversation with an odd orc.  Snarg is aggressive bordering on violent.  You won't be able to recover spilled berries while Snarg is shaking you.

Oh my gosh! In a sudden panic, Dreya thrusts her hands into his face and casts light. If it causes him to become stunned, even briefly, she will tear herself away and backpeddle a few paces to put distance between the crazy orc, her poor friend Snarg, and herself. What the hell did she put in those berries, she wonders?

Knowing that he is sharing attic space with a large spider, he fires his Heavy crossbow at it. Since it is of monster intelligence should be able to get a sneak attack which is +2 to hit and +4 damage. Once I fire the crossbow will drop it and grab my readied sword next to me for when it or the others close to melee range.


Crossbow for dex and sneak attack +5 to hit and damage is +4 no idea what level bonus I get to hit.

Elwood looks at the party of 1 woman, 2 men and 2 ogres, then looks over to see that Khaaven is nowhere in sight and Dreya is occupied with Snarg, and concludes that perhaps a diplomatic approach might be called for in this situation.  He lets his presence be known by clearing his throat, then steps out of the trees trying to look non-threatening, or as non-threatening as you can be in chain mail holding a shied and mace.

To the woman, Elwood responds "Greetings and well met! Yes, we came upon this party of orcs when we came here, not to mention some bandits that were here earlier. I am Elwood, and may Flyspamon's blessing be upon you.  What brings you to this area?"  [OOC:  Alas, Elwood's charisma is far greater than my own - he is trying to be as diplomatic and charming as possible, hoping to avoid an all out battle, or at least to buy some time]

While speaking, Elwood still keeps his distance.  If things become nasty, he is prepared to cast "Sound Burst" into the midst of the new party.
This message was last edited by the player at 03:08, Wed 26 Oct 2016.

Hugh stands ready to spring to action in the event Elwood's parlay goes south. He begins mentally assessing the battlefield, looking for a strategic advantage should it come to conflict.

Taking Elwood's queue, Cole steps in between Dreya and Snarg, Vera ready at his side should the cleric's diplomatic approach fail.

Khaaven is fortunate.  A sneak attack by crossbow in plain view is by no means an automatic thing with a monster of animal intelligence.  This particular spider has never encountered a humanoid with a missile weapon, so it is caught completely by surprise when Khaaven's crossbow bolt launches into its eye cluster for 14 points of damage.  It heaves forward with a spidery scream and lunges toward the assassin.  Khaaven is still next to the hole where the stairway used to be.  Dropping down the hole may be a viable way to escape, but would the spider follow?  If Khaaven still wants to pick up his sword for melee combat, he'll need to make a dex check to attack in the upcoming round.

Cole wedges himself between Dreya and Snarg.  The orc becomes enraged and tries to shove Cole out of the way, but finds the ranger too big for such man-handling.  Snarg snarls fiercely as he tries to reach around Cole to get to Dreya.

The woman looks back and forth between Elwood and the trio of Dreya, Cole, and Snarg.  She does not seem impressed by either Elwood's fancy words or the Snarg Situation.  "Orcs and bandits, you say?  You seem to have bitten off more than you can chew today.  Perhaps you should give the orc what he wants and then we can discuss what gives you the right to go hunting in our forest."

The shirtless men are looking around the clearing, sizing the situation up.  They begin to spread out.  The ogres seem fully engaged just holding their sacks and clubs.  None of them seem to be aware of Len hiding in the woods.  Vecivious's snores have stopped.

What do you do?

---

Spoiler text: (Highlight or hover over the text to view)
09:14, Today: Castle Keeper, on behalf of Elwood, rolled 12 using 1d20+3.  Charisma check.
09:06, Today: Castle Keeper, for the NPC Snarg, rolled 12 using 1d20+3.  Overbear Cole Hiller.
09:01, Today: Castle Keeper, on behalf of Khaaven, rolled 14 using 1d10+4.  Damage to spider.
09:00, Today: Castle Keeper, on behalf of Khaaven, rolled 16 using 1d20+6.  Shooting spider

---

Khaaven will grab his sword and engage the spider. It is broad sword, have shocking grasp active so with any melee contact or sword strike do 1d8+1 lightning damage to the spider on top of any other damage.

Hugh adopts a neutral defensive stance, something his master refers to as the Way of the Morning Breeze. Hopefully he will not have to transition to Way of the Western Wind, but he is ready to do so if the shirtless men advance.

He continues to follow Elwood's lead, not particularly wanting to incite violence if it isn't necessary.

Dreya doesn't like new strangers. At all. Uncharacteristic of her usual bumbling manner of speaking, Dreya presses her lips tight and eyes the new commers warily, taking a step back to stay out of Snarg's reach since Cole seems to have him blocked.

Elwood now understands that flattering words and flowery talk are of little use.  However, one must still show confidence to gain respect.  "We have no interest in hunting in these woods.  Our interests lie within the lodge over there.  Or, more precisely, what lies underneath it.  There is a source of foul necromancy coming from there, and it needs to be stopped.  Might I know with whom I am addressing?"

While waiting for a response, Elwood wonders to himself "what in Flyspamon's name is going on with Khaaven?"
This message was last edited by the player at 03:19, Fri 28 Oct 2016.

Keep in mind Khaaven has only been inside the lodge for maybe 30-60 seconds at this point.
This message was last edited by the GM at 13:11, Fri 28 Oct 2016.

Seeing that Snarg has become rather aggressive toward Dreya, Cole thwacks the drug-frenzied orc across the side of the head with the hilt of his sword, hoping to knock him unconscious.

(Cole will add 2 luck points)

In reply to Cole Hiller (msg # 61):

Are you adding the luck points to your to-hit roll, your damage roll, or one point to each?

In reply to Castle Keeper (msg # 62):

To make sure I hit him successfully.

In reply to Castle Keeper (msg # 60):

Elwood is just getting a little impatient.  30-60 seconds can sometimes feel like 2 or 3 days
This message was last edited by the player at 21:21, Fri 28 Oct 2016.

The spider scuttles at Khaaven with horrifying speed and its mandibles flash toward the assassin's face.  Khaaven times his duck to pick up his broad sword at exactly the right moment.  The spider bites on air as Khaaven grabs his sword and slashes wildly at the spider's furry belly.  The spider bats the sword away with one of its legs.  The sword's blow may have missed, but a sharp crack sounds with a flash of light as the spider is electrocuted.  The force of the electrical blast sends the spider flying across the attic.  It staggers back to its feet with great difficulty.

Meanwhile, outside the lodge, Cole thwacks Snarg on the side of the head with his sword's hilt.  Snarg crumples to the ground unconscious.

The topless woman says to Cole, "Oh, well done.  Orcs can be quite tiresome at times."  She turns back to Elwood.  "You are addressing Gloria, Queen of the Wood."

The men and ogres knuckle their foreheads and chant, "All hail the Queen of the Wood."

Gloria continues, "The lodgers in the lodge -- ha! I didn't plan that one -- are current on their rent.  Nefarious or not, they have leave to be here, unlike you.  They have not disturbed the peace of the wood, again unlike you.  Now, your business with the lodgers is your own.  Trespassing in the woods makes you my business.  If you will promptly pay the toll, you may pass inside the lodge and resolve your business in private with my leave."

The party can hear the electric crackle of Khaaven's spell coming from the lodge as Gloria finishes.

---

Spoiler text: (Highlight or hover over the text to view)
11:51, Today: Castle Keeper, on behalf of Khaaven, rolled 8 using 1d8+1.  Shocking grasp damage.
11:43, Today: Castle Keeper, on behalf of Cole Hiller, rolled 7 using 1d8+2.  Subdual damage.
11:42, Today: Castle Keeper, on behalf of Cole Hiller, rolled 25 using 1d20+5.  Attack Snarg.
11:35, Today: Castle Keeper, on behalf of Khaaven, rolled 8 using 1d20+3.  Attack spider.
11:34, Today: Castle Keeper, on behalf of Khaaven, rolled 16 using 1d20+5.  Dex check to grab weapon and attack.
11:33, Today: Castle Keeper, for the NPC Spider, rolled 13 using 1d20+3.  Attack Khaaven.
11:32, Today: Castle Keeper, for the NPC Monsters, rolled 5 using 1d6.  Initiative.
11:32, Today: Castle Keeper, for the NPC Party, rolled 3 using 1d6.  Initiative.

---

Dreya roles her eyes. "Self appointed queen, perhaps." She mutters under her breath, with air quotes around "queen" and everything.
This message was last edited by the player at 19:22, Sun 30 Oct 2016.