Marik mood brighten for a brief moment as he burst into laughter at the display, putting his gloved hand before his mouth to cover the sound. For a brief moment, the tension and fatigue of the day lift off.


"BaHahahaha! That was...Your face...Your should have seen your face..." he calm down, still grinning. "Nicely done, Filimena. That was a good test."


Marik pause, taking time to find his words.

"We killed most of hobgoblins, but one escaped and sounded...alarm. We retreated in Jzadirune to gather our forces and discuss. Sondor here gave us some information on the fortress below (Marik quickly relay the information found of the flow chart)...I say we lay ambush in the plaza for when the auction is over and captives taken to Underdark. We can't fight them all, but we can scare them. Make them think the ghost of Jzadirune are after them and maybe force them to flee or surrender the children with Filimena illusions. If that doesn't work...well we could always launched a quick attack and flee back to the elevator before they catch up to us...which also means someone would need to stay behind..." 

OOC: sorry for the delay folks had a family emergency which required me to fly across the country.

What's the plan?

"I worry that, if the lift is the sole entry, then we won't get past the first hall," Omaron rumbles, examining the rough map of the lower level. "Sondor, is the auction held near the cells, or nearer the entrance to the Underdark? And do you know of any other ways into the Hold below?"

"Is there place to hide in the plaza?" ask the elf to Sondor. "crates, large statues, high beams or is it just plan rock walls?"


"Otherwise, if ambush isn't possible. We could create a distraction at entrance and try passing by the forge again to the throne room. Would be quickest way without passing by the hall. Would be risky."

This message had punctuation tweaked by the GM at 16:19, Thu 14 June 2018.

"So...ambush out the question and no other entrances..." note Marik.


This is suicide, he thinks. In the face of such heavy opposition, any sane skirmisher and hunter worth his name would retreat back and wait another opportunity. And it's not like the hostages were important to him. They were children, yes, and their loss would grieve their parents. Their loss would add to the multiple sources of chaos and violence threatening to bring civilizations to their fall. But did they matter to him personnally? No...they aren't elves...They aren't even childrens he knows...They were childrens in a distant city he was just passing though hoping to meet a contact...sure, he felt some empathy for them despite his distaste for citizens...maybe he wanted to avoid other people some of the distress he felt ten years ago. Still... was it worth risking Rani life, his only real friend, to the blades of hobgoblins and a trollspawn? No, absolutely not...Quite frankly, he should have turned tail much earlier when it became apparent it wasn't going to be a quick hunting mission for a few gold pieces.

And yet he is still here and thinking of ways to get into that fortress... How?

He is not sure he could explain it himself...Best he could describe it would be a tug...a compulsion...There is... something... that is drawing him below. Not a calling or a voice...just...a kind of curiosity he never felt before.There is something down there he needs to see... Something making the simple idea of turning tail unconfortable and remote...

Are the others feeling it too? He can't say.

All he knows is that he need to take that elevator again and see the inside of that fortress. Be it the children or something else, he want to see what it is...


"So, distraction it is...We need something that would force as many enemies as possible to investigate something in the direction of the Underdark for a time while we come for the other side and rescue the cildrens...Any ideas?" 
This message was last edited by the player at 18:46, Mon 18 June 2018.

Filimena winces. "My telepathy and Minor Illusion only work up to 30ft," she says. "I can conjure an Unseen Servant only slightly further, 60ft. I suppose an Unseen Servant at 60ft could toss a pebble even further, but that wouldn't be much. Could any of us conjure something more... permanent?"

OOC: I'm back!

Trying to think of a clever plan is hard =S

"Magic isn't always the answer. Perhaps this conundrum can be ameliorated by more physical methods," Omaron said. "Have you found any stores of combustible materials or liquor on the upper levels? Sondor, do you know if the brigands below store great amounts of either below."

"Liquor?" ask the elf, confused. "Do you intend to get drunk and punch them all to oblivion? Is that some kind of dwarven ancient power?"

"As much as our legends may speak to the contrary, no," Omaron chuckles. "Liquor is flammable, however, and with enough of it we could create quite the distraction."

"Oh...." says Marik, his mood suddenly darkening "Fire...right..."


His eyes dart to Sondor, awaiting her answer.


As much as a distraction would be great, he hope...he really hope she says there aren't any...



OOC: Was there any smell of booze amidst all the...let's say refuse and vomit when we passed by the ogre lair?

OOC: you didn't see any booze or gunpowder in Jzadirune

While feeling a wave of relief from the lack of fire involved, a certain sense of desperation begins to set in Marik. They don't have a lot to work with.


"If they keep such a tight leash, maybe tensions are running high among the group...Maybe there could be our distraction. If we could somehow sow discord between the hogboblins and the goblins...make them think the goblins are fed up with them and want to help us...Could that be done? What tasks are the goblins doing the the auction?"

Filimena ponders the elf's suggestion for a moment. "I can conjure the sound of a goblin," she offers. "Perhaps saying something incriminating. I don't speak goblin, though, and it still can't be from more than 30ft away." She proceeds to demonstrate, making vague goblin-like noises emanate from the dwarf with Minor Illusion.

FIlimena sighs. So much for that idea. She would have had to get close enough anyway to cast an illusion that the hobgoblins would be able to see.

"So what's the plan? I suspect in the end, we may just have to go down there and see for ourselves what we're up against. At least we have a better idea than we did before. So far all our ideas seem to surround illusion. I could try to create some kind of distraction, or maybe cause a bit of panic with a scarier image. But like I say, I'd need to get close enough to do that. We should try to stay stealthy. Maybe the dragonborn can stay back a little bit, ready to rush in should it come to a fight. And somebody could stay at the elevator, ready to take us up again if we need to flee."

"Agreed...We don't have a lot to work with...and not much time to think about it. Seems we'll have to improvise in each room and try to find a way to clear the way if we can.  If we stay stealthy, I could pick them one by one with a few goods shots.  "

The tea finished, Marik put the tea set back in Rani's bags. He climb up on the panther back, sigh, then signal Rani to advance in the direction of the elevator.


OOC: I'm going to Italy for a month starting monday. I'll try to post as often as possible. In case of doubt, Marik will follow the group and act as sniper if given the chance.

"Seems like there's no easy way to do this," Omaron agrees. He lifts his gear, settling weapons and armor into comfortable positions. He turns to Jor'en, "I think it might be best if you can escort these folks back to the portal we used to get here. Maybe try and find us some support, if you can."

Jor'en nods, "I can do that."  He steps close to Omaron and whispers, "That the auction is probably over by now and kids are in the Underdark... this find and rescue just got seriously complicated."

Omaron nods grimly at Jor'en's aside. "Naught to do for that. If we'd gone in as we were, we'd likely have done nothing but be auctioned, or killed, ourselves," he replies. "Let's be optimistic, though. Perhaps we'll find the wee bairns below, trussed to be taken off by their captors, with minimal guard. Only time will tell." He turns to make his way toward the lift, then pauses. "If we find we cannot rescue those taken, we can at least ensure their fate does not befall others. At least, not from this group or this place." He grasps Jor'ens forearm in farewell, then turns to make his way back to the lift.

Apologies for my unexpected absence. I broke my computer recently and don't have the funds to get it repaired yet.

Filimena pouts slightly, not quite convinced by the dwarf's motivational words. Still, as long as they've decided to head back down...

Alright so what is the plan here? You've gotten the few rescued folks away!

I feel like you are gonna go back down - is that correct?

OOC: Yes, we are going back down, Marik was leading them to the elevator.

Even if he didn't heard Jo'ren words, Marik get the sense from Omaron expression and words that their quarry could very well be elsewhere now, probably down below...

It seems they could go to the Underdark after all...On one hand, Marik feels almost relieved. Since their entry in this fortress, he has felt ill at ease fighting in these enclosed spaces. While the cavernous depths of the Underdark would be far from welcoming, they would at least be something more "natural", he feels, something with more space to run, hide and lay ambushes than the malachite fortress. It would be also something he heard a bit about as he studied the Drows, ther culture and their war tactics.

One the other hand...well, let's hope the elders were just overly dramatic when they called the Underdark "The place where hope is eaten in silence"