Selvin, despite having the symbiote's form encasing him, began to feel the effects of the increased smoke. Or maybe it was affecting Zac and impairing them both. Regardless he didn't like it at all.

He shook his head at Chandanar, and tried to keep his voice (and the coughing) quiet. "Only - cough! - myself an' Zac short distances. I could - cough - summon some distractions up? Or go distract 'em so ya'll can get away."

"Maybe we just lop off her head as we run past her." Zuni said with an undisguised malice.  Oh she wanted to take Josephines head from her shoulders, but she also knew that her blades would not be up to the task.  Damn the woman.

"I can't teleport at all but I am willing to try and cut her to pieces."  Lucky was just ready to move and was now breathing a little better now that the smoke was gone.

Lucky looked to the body on the bed to see if the fireball had any effect on anything there.

"Teleportation? No. But I can definitely keep her here one way or another. But we came to destroy her phylactery, whatever it may be. Should we do that and try to take her down at the same time?" Even if they destroyed it, they'd have to kill her. Re-kill her? Un-kill her? "She's only going to be more prepared for us next time."

"Okay, but we need that phylactery of hers first."  Zuni said, keeping an ear to the door.  "I wouldn't mind killing her a few ties but it shouldn't become a habit."

"Anyway that we can sneak out of here?  I don't think hiding is much of an option, but maybe if we bolt out the door quick enough and find another room..."

In reply to Zuni Runesong (msg # 96):

Lucky, the body is so much charcoal briquette.  There's nothing of interest there.

Chandanar scratches his chin.  "Uhhh...don't we have like a gazillion gallons of that potion that turns us to mist?"

He opens his bottomless pouch and rummages inside. Then starts laying out several bottles of a grayish liquid.  A quick inspection of them by those of you more arcanaily inclined verify these potions will turn the imbiber into so much smoke.

You guys have about ten of them. Just never used them

"And we have our way to escape."  Zuni said, stepping forward and taking a potion from Chandanar.  She looked at the potion in her hand and then turned to the others.  "But what is our plan here.  we came to find her phylactery to kill her for that snake thing.  We haven't found the phylactery so we can't kill Josephine yet.  Are we going to mist around the dungeons here until we find it?  Can we do that?"

Lucky moved to get one of the potions too but when Zuni presented her question Lucky turned to her and shrugged.  "I don't know enough about the magic to give you an answer on that.  It certainly would be handy to do so."  Lucky turned to Izzick and Selvin for an answer.

Selvin cast a spell on the form of the eidolon surrounding him and some of the wounds disappeared. "Hmm. Can we still be harmed while...mist or whatever? An' how fast would we go? I don't wanna think about what might happen when we can't defend ourselves." He gave a shrug. "I can make myself invisible while ya'll go that route if we want, t'make sure, if needs be, that they focus on me."

He looked closely at the body one more time. He really wanted to find the phylactery but wasn't sure what to look for.

10:25, Today: Selvin Larst rolled 26 using 3d8+10.  Rejuvenate Eidolon spell.

Chandanar points at the clearing smoke and pops the top on his bottle.

"Just act like smoke...whatevertheyweres.  And drift near the ceiling.  If they're so focused on what happened, we might be able to sneak out over their heads..."

He shrugs.  "Unless you guys wanna take on a lich queen and all her minions."

He downs the potion and is soon so much smoke, floating up towards the ceiling.

Lucky took the top off his potion and drank it as Chandalar had.  He too floats up to the ceiling blending in with the other smoke but more towards the door.

Moving us along

You all drift up towards the ceiling as smoke just in time.

Josephine, the dancing halfling, and three rather morbid lookin types come in.

Josephine looks over at the charred corpse and shakes her head.  "I knew leaving that out was a mistake."

The halfling smirks at her.  "Oh but it gets worse!"  He jerks a thumb back into the bedroom.  "Guess what's missing?"

Josephine's dull, lifeless eyes scan the bedroom.  "MY ROBE!"

She begins tearing the bedroom apart.  The halfling chuckles.

Sorry all.  It was the robe

The lot of you begin to waft down the hallway.  By the time you begin to reform, you are back near the juncture leading to the couatl's hiding place.  past the southern door of area D10

You are all people again.

Zuni was grinning like a giddy school girl as she reformed from mist, her eyes wide with excitement.  For a moment she forgot all about Josephine and was consumed by the wonderment that was the experience of a magical potion turning her into mist and back.  It was an amazing feeling, and she was about to say just as much to her companions, when she realized where they were.

The snake things room.

Like a being dumped on by a bucket of cold water, her expression diminished until she was all business once more.  "Josephine seemed to be a little upset that the robe was missing.  Do you think that's the phylactery?"

Though Lucky had never had the feeling of being mist he certainly knew what it was to be unseen and silent as the night.  He too heard the commotion back in the room as Josephine tore through it looking for the robe.  THE ROBE!!!

"Yes I believe you are right Zuni.  I stand corrected I guess.  How did she make the robe her phylactory?  Or is it not really a robe but a disguised item instead?  Anyways, we need to destroy it so we can kill her?"

In reply to Lucky Six-Fingers (msg # 105):

Chandanar looks over the robe and shrugs.  "Seems kinda gaudy to me.  Should we take this to...what's it's name? Water-Over-The-Rocks?  Let him deal with Josephine.  We can scoop up the prisoners afterwards."

Izzick stared at the piece of fabric, "I think acting fast is the best. Light it on fire, tear it up, do whatever we've got to do to get rid of it." If they were lucky, mortality might keep Josephine away for a bit. But he'd have also much preferred a Naga running around the underbelly of the city than a lich known for experiments...it might have been better to make sure she was down for the count. "I don't want to know what would happen if Water-Over-The-Rocks fails even with the phylactery in it's...tail?"

In reply to Izzick (msg # 107):

Setting it on fire?

Assuming no objections, I say so

DO it!!!!

The thought of a mortal Josephine was warming to Zunis inner being.  "Burn it." she said with a wicked smile.

In reply to Lucky Six-Fingers (msg # 110):

Catching the robe a blaze takes some doing.  It finally requires Izzick calling up a potent ball of flame after Chandanar does something holy to it.  But at last the robe catches fire.

A sort of blackish mist rises from the smoldering cloth.  It seems to form a human shape, much like those candles did before.  But then a wind springs up from somewhere and scatters it.  The smoke becomes so much ash and then the ash is gone.

From down the hall, in the direction of Josephine's room, you hear a loud BANG.  Then some voices raised in alarm.

You can make out the following

"Why did she just blow up like that?"

"They must have really found it!  This is great!  Let's grab her stuff!"

The loyalty of minions towards their departed leader is truly touching, isn't it?

As the smoky human image formed and then dispersed, Lucky knew the Lich was dead.  It was confirmed by the loud BANG heard from the direction they had just come.  The voices further confirming just that.

"We need to get down there and beat them as well.  If she had powerful magic they could use it to further her deeds."  Lucky began to move that way with both kukris in hand.

"That was what I was thinking as well." Zuni agreed with Lucky.  She fell in step behind Lucky.

In reply to Zuni Runesong (msg # 114):

You come up outside the southern door That is the southern door in area D11

Peeking through, you can see that weird halfling who had all the dancers and a woman with greenish skin leafing through everything in the room.

Someone calls out from the bedroom area to the north

"Someone grabbed her spell book!  Are you sure she's got a gate key?"

"Yeah.  Saw her use it once," says the halfling as he looks inside a vase.  "It was a battleaxe.  How the hell can you not see a battle axe?  Anyway, we need to find that.  We should be able to loot the castle's treasury since the gate warps into it."

"The axe is a Gate key?  What is a gate key?" Zuni whispered to the others.  The idea of being able to warp, whatever that was, somewhere into the castle sounded exciting and very useful.  If they could use it to warp right into the castle and avoid all mess of trouble on their way to deal with the Queen, then it would be of great value.

"there's only the two of them.  Let's take them out."