Again Rissa stopped in her tracks, and came back to the group.

It seemed she was content to let the others lead.

The guard doesn't react to the mention of Count Parlfray; rather, he fires another shot at the illusion, this one "hitting" it in the chest. When the bolt passes through, the guard lowers his crossbow and begins scanning the area more carefully.

When the guard actually manages to hit the illusion, Lucien decides the game is well and truly up. Since he can't think of anything else the illusion might allow them to learn and no reinforcements appear to be coming to join the guard, he releases the spell. He takes a few moments to retreat from the edge of the woods back to where the rest of his companions are waiting. "They don't appear interested in talking and it seems safe to assume they aren't working for Palfrey. What should our next move be?"

"Well, by my count there's 5 of 'em, wearing leather, and they're all inside the gate in the courtyard. Beyond the main entrance, the best way in is one of 4 chimneys. I say we have 2 options. Hit 'em hard and fast, or spook 'em into surrendering by using that spell of yours to let them know that they are out-matched and their best best is to give us what we want... which is just to poke around. We don't give a shit who they are or what they are up to. They can stay holed up here forever, but we want the run of the place because we're looking for a document about some family history from the actual owner's of this land. If we die, there will be more coming. If we come back with the info, chances are this place will stay abandoned." the Dragon born says.

"If the archer is any indication they may not be willing to listen to our declaration.  I say we wait till dark, build two ladders to scale the walls, and drop down on them hard.  If they want to flee, surrender, or talk then, so be it.  I don't want to shed any more blood than is necessary, but if they are unwilling to even talk...."

"Agreed."

Rissa was getting antsy, pacing back and forth.  She bore a pained expression on her face as she walked, but said nothing of it.

Three Elks moved off deeper into the woods, axe in hand to start working on creating two simple ladders.

"So six of them?" Lathan asks skeptically. He glances around then begins to back away with Three Elks and the others.

"We can spend the rest of the day preparing for an assault. It'll best if we can find a way to gain the element of surprise, but if not, hitting them fast and hard might be our best bet."

Lucien nods. "If there are indeed only six, then I think that with the element of surprise we should be able to handle them. A night attack from a direction that they aren't expecting probably. It would still be better if we could take them in a couple of smaller groups. Maybe we should try to handle the lone guard first." He seems to be contemplating the options as he follows Three Elks. He pulls out his rope and twine, but sets them aside and draws his dagger to get to work on the smaller branches.

Three Elks was no craftsman, yet he had an axe and enough survival skills to have experience in building simple wooden structures.  After reaching a distance, where the sound of chopping would likely go unnoticed by the strangers occupying the fort, he set to work.  "Do we have enough archers to take out the guard before he can alert the others? If not, our best bet to take him out with surprise is to utilized the coming night and hope he does not have the eyes of an elf."

"Aye, if we can take him out before he can alert the others, that would indeed be to our advantage," Lathan says. "Of course, I suspect that as soon as we step into the clearing, he'll ring that bell again, so we'll want to take him out from the cover of the woods, which will make for quite a difficult shot.

"I'm willing to try it, though, if everyone else is."

"I think it's worth a try at least." Lucien looks up from where he is lashing together a ladder. "Who else can hit at that range?" His eyes travel inquisitively to Rissa, Gazira, and Terminax. "Worst case his reinforcements will have to charge us across that open terrain and we can either retreat or pick them off before they reach us."

"They might not charge us if he gets filled full of arrows, but I think you're right. I MIGHT be able to hit him with a bolt of fire from here. Of course, someone sneaky might be able to get right up to that tower and disable the alarm or just yank the fucker down with some rope." the dragonborn offers.

When the party returns to the clearing after dark, there is still a guard stationed atop the tower, which is located at the northeastern corner of the keep. The gate is located on the western side of the keep. The party can see faint lights coming from the small windows of the keep, and smoke rises from the three chimneys. There is no one else visible apart from the lone guard on the tower.

Before moving away towards the tower, Lucien turns and nods to Rissa and Three Elks. "Once we've dealt with the guard in the tower, we'll check on you with the familiars. I know a spell that will let us coordinate silently at a distance. If you get into trouble, we won't be far behind."

He turns and disappears into the woods. Aided by the cover of the trees and the darkness, Lucien then silently weaves his way through the underbrush to where he has the best shot at the guard in the tower.

Lucien Nailo rolled 12 using 1d20+7. Stealth to approach the tower.

Terminax nods and creaks after Lucien, his hand at the ready, a spell on his lips.

Lathan moves to a spot away from Lucien that will still enable him to have a good shot at the guard, then waits for a signal to proceed with the attack.

Rissa stayed back with Three Elks, ready to rush forward when signaled.

"Guess it's just you and I," Three Elks said to Rissa as he scanned the clearing.  The moon was sufficient for his half-elven eyes, but even he couldn't see the other team.  They would have been on the far side of the fort.  "I don't suppose you can see traps or magic hidden in the field?" he asked the Tiefling, never having dealt with demon folk before.

"I'm trusting in the dark.  I not going to sneak, I'm going to run as fast as possible to get to the wall." He looked to Rissa to see if she would argue.  "Ready?"

"My eyes see farther in the dark than almost any other, including those of my blood."

Rissa answered esoterically, her large purple eyes enormous now that the sun had set.

"But I have no more ability to see traps or glyphs when at a full sprint than you do.  We will run, and hope the night covers us."

She hefted her portion of the ladder.

"Ready."
This message was last edited by the player at 03:11, Fri 10 May 2019.

Sighting along the shaft, Lucien takes his aim and looses an arrow at the guard. With the dark and the distance, even his elven eyes have trouble making out the target.

Action: Attack hits AC 13 for 16 damage.

Lucien Nailo rolled 11 using 1d20+3.  Initiative.

Lucien Nailo rolled 13 using 2d20+5, dropping the lowest dice only with rolls of 3,8. Surprise longbow attack w/advantage.

Lucien Nailo rolled 10,6 using 1d8+3,2d6.  Damage.

Lathan magically marks the guard, then fires an arrow at him from the safety of the dense foliage.

Initiative 19. Attack hits AC 17 for 6 piercing damage.

17:00, Today: Lathan Swiftstrider rolled 3 using 1d6.  Hunter's Mark.
16:57, Today: Lathan Swiftstrider rolled 3 using 1d8+1.  Damage.
16:57, Today: Lathan Swiftstrider rolled 17 using 2d20+4, dropping the lowest dice only.  Attack (advantage).
16:56, Today: Lathan Swiftstrider rolled 19 using 2d20+2, dropping the lowest dice only.  Initiative (advantage).

Three Elks breaks in a full out run trying to cross the field as fast as possible to set the ladder and get atop the building before an alarm can be raised.

Terminax speaks and hurls s bolt of fire at the lookout

Rissa ran with Three Elks, her eyes piercing farther into the darkness than any other.