A Light in the Darkness [closed]

[scene24]

Thallios, elf wizard

The sound of tiny hand bells was surprisingly loud. Thallios spared only a moment to see the results of the scorching ray he unleashed.

"Thank you, Tychus Helder," Thallios said to the man freeing him from his bonds. Though his neck was chafed and aching, he ignored the discomfort as more pressing matters had his attention.

Over the racket of the alarm, Helder was saying "... my spell components, if you can! Small brown leather pouch!"

Thallios looked Tychus in the eye and nodded once in acknowledgement. "Right. Small brown leather pouch."

The elf sprinted for the chests, even as the remaining drow began to regain their composure. Fortunately, the chests were in grimlock territory. Though the creatures were grumbling, they didn't seem to be an immediate threat. I hope. Just in case, he detoured as necessary to maintain some distance.

Once he arrived, he quickly looked for non-drow gear. Once he found it, he knew exactly what to look for - his own Handy Haversack, and Tychus's small brown leather pouch which would smell like spell components. And weapons.

OOC: Search +6 ;-)

[blackfox]

Ginevra

"Thank you," the green-eyed woman says hastily to Tychus when he unlocks her collar. Not wasting any time, she slips into the shadows.

(OOC: Ginevra will go around to the chests and look quickly for her gear, specifically her bracers of armor and her shortsword. If she sees her bracers, she will put them on, and get into flanking position with Tiriel so she can backstab. If she sees her sword, she'll grab it and get into flanking position anyways. If she sees both, she'll put on the bracers and get into flanking position and backstab. Hide +16, Spot +11)

[kuja.girl]

Tiriel
Until she see's what Ginevra's next move will be, Tiriel's sword will continue to strike down the closest drow, each hit giving off a small burst of flame upon impact. While she hadn't truly planned on having all of the prisoners freed, she's well and glad that they are.

• Tiriel will be watching the sergeant, if Ginevra or any of the others attack him and have trouble, she will move in to help.
• Tiriel will be happy to work with Ginevra (or any of the others) in trying flank the enemy..

[Dr._Bob]

An arrow streaks across the cavern, striking the drow sergeant in the chest. The female warrior cuts down the last of the sentries.

Quickly, Tychus frees the gnoll and Thallios (the elf wizard) who blasts the other drow soldier (that had accompanied the sergeant) with a gout of flame, killing him instantly.

The tiny dragon, the gnoll, and Thallios are free. Thallios begins to move towards the grimlock porters.

Tychus works on Andrea's and Ginevra's collars next. The lizardman and the drow prisoner wait impatiently for their turn to be freed.

[hr]
Whatever you may think of the drow, their discipline and combat prowess are not to be underestimated.

Though still dazzled by the daylight spell, they quickly form ranks and rally to their leaders. One squad forms up near the grimlock porters. The sergeant of that group (armed with a pair of hand crossbows) hisses a command at the porters. Twelve of them pick up crude clubs and begin to shuffle forward (somewhat unenthusiastically) toward the cave entrance where the female warrior and elf archer are positioned.

A second squad forms up around the unit commander (next to the now irrelevant lantern) and his second in command, a tall (for a drow) soldier wielding a large two-handed curved blade.

The sergeant with the spiked chain, pulls the arrow out of his chest, and unfurls his weapon. His chain whistles through the air as tries to keep his prisoners at bay. He coughs, and blood drips down onto his chin.



OOC: The two drow with the hand crossbows are down (one dropped by the tiny dragon, the other scorched to death). Their sergeant (significantly wounded) holds position about 30 ft away. The commander and a unit of six drow are positioned near the lantern and several chests, 60 more feet behind the sergeant. (3 o'clock relative to the prisoners.)

Six more drow are positioned in the other direction 90 feet away, by the packages that had been carried by the grimlocks. (9 o'clock relative to prisoners.)

A dozen grimlocks are shuffling toward the cave entrance, where the "rescuers" are positioned. The drow sentry/patrol squad that had been positioned there has been annihilated. (12 o'clock relative to prisoners.)

[hr]
In the upcoming round, Tychus continues to unlock the prisoners, so Ginevra and Andreas can move freely. The lizardman and Trinark, the drow prisoner, remain chained.

[scene24]

Thallios, elf wizard

Before he moved a few steps toward the porters, a sextet of drow soldiers formed up there. Are they guarding the packages? Or is it a coincidence?

Thallios detoured instead to the more intact drow archer. The one that the tiny dragon killed. As he reached the body, he paused and wove a brief pattern in midair. Yes, I believe I am going to get myself killed. Power words flew from his lips, and he released a trio of magic missiles at the leader of the soldiers near the porter's packages. The bolts of energy flew toward the dual-crossbow wielding dark elf.

The elf wizard, his blue hair stark in contrast to his pale skin and white shirt, dropped to the floor beside the drow body, hoping for partial cover. He then took the hand crossbow from the body. Let's hope my dark cousins aren't immune to their own poison!

OOC: okay, so that's what he does instead of searching the packages. In case it matters, Thallios is still prepared to Dispel Magic if need be. He plans to grab the drow's additional bolts and use the crossbow to fight. If a more combat-oriented fellow slave can make better use of the crossbow, he'll hand it right over.

[kuja.girl]

Tiriel
Will attempt to intimidate the grimlocks who now stand in her way: intimidate check (1d20.each(10)=15)
If that fails, she'll go back to hack & slashin' them.

OOC:
Scene 24: Won't casting dispell magic also disspell the "daylight" I cast on the rock? I'd hate for most of the prisoners to suddenly be plunged into near darkness...
Grey_angel: what are the chances that you can finish up the sergeant before he causes more trouble? ;) I hate reach weapons.

[grey_angel]

Elf Sorceress/Fighter

Without hestiation, she reaches for another arrow and loads her longbow. Her actions are quick and smooth as she raises her bow and aims once more.
Back talk me, will you? Let me show you what I do to those who do not perish when their time has come.
She lets loose the arrow, aimed for the Drow Sergeant's heart.
This, sir, is your time.

[Dr._Bob]

A second arrow buries itself in the drow sergeant's chest. He drops without a sound, his spiked chain sparking as it skitters across the stony cave floor. From her protected vantage point, the elf archer smiles with grim satisfaction.

[hr]
With the drow in the immediate area dispatched, Tychus can continue to concentrate on freeing the last prisoners. The bard raises his voice in song as he works, providing a vibrant counterpoint to Andrea's inspirational song. Soon, the lizardman and the drow prisoner are freed.

Andrea kneels down and scoops up one of the drow hand crossbows. He has never handled one before, but its operation is intuitive, and he has no trouble pointing it and firing it toward the combined drow/grimlock unit. Unfortunately, the bolt misses and Andrea is unsure exactly how to reload the weapon.

Thallios also picks up a hand crossbow, but not before sending a pair of magic missiles spiraling into the center of mass of the dual crossbow wielding sergeant near the grimlock bundles.

The gnoll warrior, once freed, howls in rage and charges the command unit. The drow soldiers, including the drow commander and his lieutenant (the tall drow wielding a falchion), have taken cover behind the wooden chests. The drow send a flurry of poisoned crossbow bolts into the gnoll. At first he appears unfazed by the small projectiles, but within seconds, his legs begin to wobble, and he collapses in a furry heap just in front of their makeshift barricade.

[hr]
A dozen grimlocks shuffle toward the cave entrance. The blond human female turns to face them, pointing her longsword directly at the musclebound creatures in silent challenge. Flames flicker and spark along her blade as crimson blood drips from its tip. Unseeing, the grimlocks march forward under orders from the other drow sergeant. The grimlocks lumber forward until they are only about 30 ft from Tiriel. At that point, something makes them pause. They hesitate, even though they outnumber Tiriel (literally) a dozen to one. Is this human female being brave or foolhardy? None of the grimlocks seems to want to be the first to find out ...

[hr]
The daylight imbued stone lies near the prisoners, making it difficult for the drow near the grimlocks to see the escaping prisoners well. The drow soldiers squint as if trying to stare into the sun.

The bright light casts stark shadows across the floor and walls of the cave. Ginevra slips into one of the shadows and seems to disappear. The tiny lizard likewise seems to have vanished (probably hiding somewhere nearby). The rest of the prisoners, however, are dangerously exposed.

Crossbow bolts hiss through the air, but between the blinding (for the drow) daylight, and the combined songs of Andrea and Tychus, fortune seems to be with the prisoners for the moment. One bolt glances off of the lizardman's thick hide. The other bolts zip overhead as Andrea and Tychus take as much cover as they can behind the bodies of the fallen drow.

Ginevra's voice whispers from the shadows to Thallios, Andrea, Trinark, and the lizardman, "We are too exposed here in the middle of the cave. We have to move!"

[hr]
The drow near the packages take cover and busy themselves reloading their hand crossbows. Their sergeant, still smoking from Thallios' magic missiles, notes the hesitation of the first set of grimlocks. He hisses again in Undercommon, sending the remaining dozen grimlocks toward the cave's only entrance/exit. It is clear that he intends to cut off the prisoners' only escape route, using overwhelming numbers if necessary.

This leaves only six drow (including the sergeant with dual hand crossbows) guarding the large packages. There are a dozen large bundles, covered in tarps and wrapped with heavy hemp cord. Each bundle forms a soft cube, roughly 5 ft on each side.

The uniform appearance of the packages makes it seem doubtful that the prisoners' gear is kept there. It seems more likely that any valuable items taken off the prisoners would have been secreted in the wooden chests and kept close to the unit commander until they could be identified.

The prisoners therefore face a dilemma. One option would be to break for the exit, hoping that Tiriel and the elf archer can keep the 24 grimlocks at bay long enough to allow everyone to escape. A second option would be to make for the large packages, hoping that they contain something useful. A third option would be to charge the command unit positioned behind the wooden chests. A fourth option would be to try some combination of the other three strategies. If the prisoners do not move, eventually they will all be picked off by poisoned drow crossbow bolts ...

[kuja.girl]

Tiriel
Grinning, Tiriel will take a step forward while contiuning her stare down with the grimlocks.
Intimidate (again) (1d20.each(10)=23)
If they try to move in closer, she will use her free hand to snap her fingers and activate another spell (protection from evil) before attacking them.

OOC: woot! an okay roll finaly.

[Yoric_Steele]

Trinark, Drow Cleric

Trinark hears and senses, more than sees, the chaos going on around him. He takes a step or two trying blindly to move away from the sounds of melee. He is stopped short by the chain still hanging around his neck.

"Quickly, someone release me and help me find my sword!" he shouts in a random direction.

[Corridorgeist]

Tychus

Lying flat on his stomach in the grit of the Underdark as poisoned drow bolts zip by overhead, Tychus Helder grits his teeth, thinking hard. There isn't much he can do without his components, and his words would not affect the enemy much with the dangers of combat all 'round. But...

It is a long shot, especially considering the nature of his target. But pinned down, unarmed, unarmored and nearly helpless, he can't help but grin. For he is a worshipper of the Smiling Lady, and is this not her own domain? Daring, bold, foolhardy rescue and thousand-to-one chances?

Truly, if the Lady is with him, this might well win them the day. And does she not favor the brave?

"Right," he mutters to the rocks and silt before his face, "enough thought. Time to act."

He rolls to one knee, crouching near their light source, and weaves the subtle tapestry of a spell together, one of his few that requires no components. He draws all the pieces together, sliding one under the other, around a third, into a fourth. He weaves them around the drow commander and offers Tymora his prayer. It is all he can do.


OOC: Charm Person on the ever-popular drow commander, +2 saves against enchantment etc. notwithstanding. Here's hoping.

[runehawk]

Lizardkin Druid

The druid had been shielding his packmate as they waited to be released. He had realised that from the direction the human had been working from, they would be the last to be released.

He snarled in anger as the drow who had captured him fell, killed by another. He channeled his ire to other targets. Spying a group of the darkskins behind packages where their items were probably kept, his eyes narrowed into slits as he settled on his new kills. As soon as the chain came off, he grabbed trinark and flund both of them on the floor, minimising their exposure. He heard his packmate earlier and knowing he was blind, whispered in his ear:

"I WILL get back the weapon. Stay down and safe and crawl that way soft skin"

Steering him towards the side, away from the range of the crossbows, Ssathiya watched him crawl to safety. Turning back to the drow who sat behind good cover, firing crossbow bolts, he wondered as to how he may bring them down. He notices the stone still glowing with brightness of full day and then glances back to them. He crawls towards the stone, intending to grab it and hurl it at the drow before charging into their midst.

[scene24]

Thallios, elf wizard

The elf, feeling exposed despite the blinding daylight stone, grabs a dagger from the body of the drow soldier beside him and runs toward the perimeter of the cavern in the direction that the lizardman and drow prisoner went. He does his best to run evasively, though it certainly isn't a skill he has ever cultivated.

Arriving at the edge, in the closest thing to shadows available, he considers his condition. No armor, magical or otherwise; virtually weaponless; among strangers with unknown agendas; opposed by well-armed and disciplined drow soldiers. I'm tremendously fortunate to be uninjured!

Thallios looks for Ginevra. If anyone would know how to use a hand crossbow, it would be her he was sure. He tucks the dagger into the waist of his pants and drops the crossbow and whatever bolts he acquired to the ground in order to free up his hands for spell-casting. It occurred to him that the range on the small crossbow can't be particularly long.

He was more comfortable with a dagger anyway. It reminded him of Arialthina, the love of his life, who taught him the fine ways of wielding a dagger and how to use his deftness rather than strength when wielding it.

The lizard man started to head toward the center of the cavern again. Now what is HE doing? he wondered. Thallios looked around for the others. Tychus Helder was still out there, casting some kind of spell. Where was Andrea? Ginevra? The little dragon?

Realizing that if they sat still they would be taken out one by one, he decided to join an offensive against the command party of drow. Focusing his mind, he gestured and spoke ancient words. He cast the spell Bear's Endurance upon himself before moving out.

OOC: If no one else is planning an attack, Thallios will join Ssathiyaa and Thychus Helder. Thallios still has one remaining Magic Missile spell which he would try to use while still at several range increments for the drow hand crossbows.

[blackfox]

Ginevra

After warning the other prisoners, Ginevra slips around behind the dual-crossbow wielding drow commander and his group. Waiting in she shadows, she watches the lizardman. If he charges... the drow will be confused. Me attacking from the shadows won't help them either...

And if those crossbows have sleepy poison on them, that won't help me at all.

Meanwhile, the green-eyed woman studies the packages from her hiding place. They looked to be about the same size and shape, which could mean they belonged to the drow and probably did. However, if they had some sort of obvious weapon in them, she'd go for it. A sword especially. This dagger, enchanted though it may be, won't help me much if the drow have longswords

Ginevra glances at Thallios. He's a powerful mage. Good. Hopefully he won't get himself killed, he could be very helpful in saving all our lives.

(OOC: If the lizardman charges the drow, she'll attack the commander from behind in the confusion. If she can, she'll take a crossbow from him and try to take out one of the drow, if not, she'll go for the hands of as many drow as she can, trying to incapacitate them. If the lizardman doesn't charge, she'll initiate the confusion the next round by attacking the commander anyways. Search +5)

[paladin_tahmoral]

Andrea

Andrea hears the other bard stop singing and begin another enchantment.
Is that...? That'll never work against... especially not now. Least it'll distract the drow over there. Here goes!


Andrea charges toward the warriors guarding the chests. He'll try to grapple the first drow he comes to who's weilding a ranged weapon (with an attack roll total of 20). The goal in upcoming rounds is to grab a weapon.

[Yoric_Steele]

Trinark, Drow Cleric

Trinark allows himself to be guided by the Druid. He continues to blink, trying to clear the spots from his vision.

[OOC: As much as possible Trinark will try to assess the situation. If possible he will take refuge behind any available cover.]

[Dr._Bob]

Tiriel holds two dozen grimlocks at bay with her flaming longsword. They shuffle laterally, forming a loose semicircle around her position at the entrance to the cave. The grimlocks in the front row, closest to her, shuffle uneasily, some of them actually tremble nervously. The grimlocks to the rear, grip their clubs and try pushing the grimlocks in front forward.

The stalemate at the cave entrance nevertheless prevents the prisoners from simply sprinting to freedom.

[hr]
Thallios and Trinark crouch toward the back of the cave, as far as possible from either the drow near the packages and the command unit near the chests. Trinark's vision has cleared, but he still finds the illumination from the daylight stone uncomfortably bright.

[hr]
Unseen, Ginevra skulks in the shadows until she is positioned behind the drow who are taking cover near the cubical packages. The sergeant with the dual hand crossbows is focused on the grimlocks, exhorting them to move in and overwhelm the human female using their superior numbers. The other drow seem to be taking up defensive positions, as if they are more concerned about protecting the packages than in recapturing their prisoners.

She peers at the packages, trying to ascertain their contents. Based on their labels, several appear to contain reserves of food and water, necessary for the journey through the Underdark. Five, however, are marked FRAGILE and THIS END UP in Undercommon. She sees that the "special" packages are have individual labels: BLACK, BLUE, GREEN, RED, and WHITE.

[hr]
In the center of the cave, Tychus attempts to enchant the drow commander standing near the chests. In response, four crossbow bolts streak toward his exposed position. One strikes the bard in the thigh. Tychus rips the bolt out as quickly as possible, but he feels the drow poison seep into his veins, and he has to fight to stay awake.

The lizardman tackles Tychus and tries to shield him from the other bolts. From his lying position, he fumbles for the daylight stone, and he hurls it towards the drow command unit like some kind of grenade.

Just as the lizardman and Tychus prepare to charge, they see Andrea sprint in toward the drow command unit (hoping that they are busy reloading). The second-in-command steps forward to intercept him, raising a wickedly sharp falchion over his head.




OOC: Andrea has 30 more feet to cover before engaging the drow in melee. The lizardman and Tychus can also reach the drow in one round if they take a full move. The chests serve as a minor obstruction, but will prevent any attacker from charging.

[Corridorgeist]

Tychus

His leg throbbing and drow poison seeping through his veins, the bard smiles grimly at the lizardman shielding him. "And sometimes," he murmurs, "the Lady's smile isn't on you. My thanks, friend, but we'd best get in there fast; I've a spell of heroics I can cast on you, and I won't be far behind you."

He reaches and lays a hand on the lizardkin's tough hide, speaking the initial words of a spell to make his scaly defender more effective in combat.


OOC: Casting Heroism on the lizardkin druid, then moving as far as he can towards the drow commander's party.

[zeorge]

Yix

Yix growled in triumph as the Drow fell before his mighty sting, but soon realized the situation he and his... companions were now in. They were vastly outnumbered by the Drow and their henchmen, their only exits blocked, the enemy closing in and their time running short before they were overwhelmed by sheer force of numbers.

Now, Yix was no great strategist by any means, but he knew that the poisoned crossbow bolts were likely to be the biggest asset of the Drow and the most trouble to the escapeé's. Therefore, he immediately set about taking out the crossbowmen with his sting as stealthily as he could, one by one, starting with the closest and moving on from there.

[scene24]

Thallios, elf wizard

Thallios winces as the black drow bolt drives into Tychus Helder's thigh. The poison's effects are evident, though the bard appears to be fighting them for the moment.

The elf watches Andrea head for the drow commander's party, and sees the falchion-wielding one interposed ahead of the human. I have one more spell to throw into this mix... Let it be enough to help these men.

Thallios casts a volley of Magic Missiles at the lieutenant.

Now, the center was swept clean, but maybe here in the back of the cave I can find something I can use. The blue-haired wizard looks on the floor for a pinch of sand; he could take out a few grimlocks with a simple Sleep spell. He also is on the lookout for a forgotten droplet of candlewax. He checks his own and Trinark's clothing - is it made of wool?


OOC: if he has access to wool, he'll use his dagger to scrape up a fluff of wool and prepare to use it to cast Ghost Sound... Likewise if he can find some forgotten wax.

[kuja.girl]

Tiriel
Things are not looking good at the exit. Tiriel's never cared about a fair fight, but 2 dozen to 1 is just ridiculous. "Damn it." she swears silently to herself. She watches the drow commander shout and provoke the tentative Grimlocks. She looks at the drow commander and then back to the grimlocks, who as a mass, outnumber even the drow, and she smilies.

She lowers her sword a bit and adresses the silghtless humanoids in common:
Hail, citizens of the deep. Unless I am mistaken, you and I have no reason to fight. Instead we should work together so that all here can walk free after our common enemy,the Drow have been disposed of.

edit: Diplomacy roll: (1d20.each(3)=16)

[blackfox]

Ginevra

Skulking around in the shadows behind the packages, Ginevra decides to make her move while the drow commander is distracted screaming at the grimlocks. She slips around the packages and stabs him in the back.

(OOC: She's still trying to get the crossbow. The more drow she can knock out, the better.)

[runehawk]

]Lizardkin Druid

After guiding Trinark to safety, he turned to see the human who had freed him hit by a dart being fired by the starnge weapon the drow carried. Alarm vsibly showing on his face, he rushes to him and tackles him shielding him from further missiles.

The human smiles at him and whispers words which he catches partially over the din. Realiising that human intended to assault the group of drow with him, he scrabbled forward and flung the glowing stone at the dorw, blinking as he did so.

As he fell down for cover again, he felt a light touch and snatches of words. At that moment images and sounds of sitting around a crackling fire back in the hunting grounds of the people, listening to the chants of great heroe sung by the loremaster or the tribal brethren. The shadows of the re-enactment of the deeds swim in his mind's eye. He shakes his head to clear his head but the drum beat does not die away and he feels his spirits rise. A deep desire to take his place among the Revered names comes over him.

As another naked human charges blindly to the drow and runs to certain death, he springs up and lets out a deafening roar. His claws spread out and his arms opened wide; He stood there, a prmial being of terror. He lets out another open mawed roar before charging straight for the drow who raised a sword in readiness to cut the human down. His claws and tail raise up as he lumbers with gaining momentum to make the leap onto him.

OOC: Jumping Charge at liutenant and declare dodge vs him. I love going all velociraptor ;D

[paladin_tahmoral]

Andrea

OOC: Do the chests with (supposedly) our stuff have big menacing locks on them or do they seem quickly openable?

Andrea will avoid charging the falchion-weilding warrior, but if there's a drow reloading a crossbow (and not in AOO range of the melee guy), he'll continue going for him.

[scene24]

Thallios, elf wizard

After launching his magic missile attack at the falchion wielding drow, and once he had collected a pinch of sand and some wax or wool (or failed to do the same), Thallios looked at the drow prisoner.

The dark-skinned one seemed genuine enough; stripped of all posessions, slightly wounded, desperate. A drow presumably so chaotic that the lawful evil drow hunted him down and enslaved him. But perhaps it could also be an indicator of a good streak in him. Thallios decided that he had no choice but to trust the other prisoner.

"Hello, stranger. My name is Thallios. I'm sorry there's not more time to chat, but can you operate one of these small crossbows?" He pressed the hand crossbow into the stranger's grip, and tapped the small wooden container that held the spare bolts on the ground in front of him. "Here are the spare bolts. The others are taking the offensive. And for now, we'll need to defend ourselves against any attacks."

[Dr._Bob]

At the cave entrance (12 o'clock)

Tiriel attempts to win over the grimlocks, but they either don't understand her words or aren't swayed by them. Their courage returns, bolstered by their numbers, and they close in to attack.

Tiriel backs up into the cave entrance so that only a few grimlocks can attack her at the same time. She parries most of their clumsy blows. One of the grimlocks manages to slip under her guard, striking her thigh with his club. In return, she cuts him down with a single flaming downward chop.

[hr]
At the lantern/chests (3 o'clock)

Tychus and the lizardman charge the command unit from one direction while Andrea dodges in from the side. A set of magic missiles converges on the falchion-wielding lieutenant, just before the lizardman leaps through the air, claws and teeth bared, knocking the drow to the ground. With surprising agility and speed, the lieutenant rolls to a kneeling position and slashes upward, slicing across the lizardman's flank.

Andrea lunges at the nearest drow soldier, who fires his hand crossbow at point blank range. Something seems to punch Andrea in the gut, but before he consciously realizes that he's been shot, he has tackled the drow soldier and is busy attempting to wrestle the hand crossbow away.

Unable to use their projectile weapons for fear of hitting their comrades, the other drow draw rapiers and move to protect their unit commander.

Up close, it is apparent that the commander is a female. She is armored but appears to be unarmed. Waving her hands, she casts darkness on the lantern at her feet. Although the darkness is unable to dispel the daylight spell radiating from the rock (which has lodged near the chests), where their effects overlap, the drow are no longer dazzled.

[hr]
At the bundled packages (9 o'clock)

Ginevra slips out of the shadows and plunges her dagger into the drow sergeant's back. He curses and spins around, trying to bring his hand crossbows to bear. The other drow react quickly, tossing aside their crossbows and drawing razor sharp rapiers.

With the daylight stone having been hurled to the other side of the cave, these drow are no longer dazzled. Ginevra moves with panther-like grace, but the soldiers have her surrounded, and one manages to slash her across the arm, causing her to hiss with pain.

One of the drow soldiers unexpectedly drops his rapier and slumps to the ground. Yix is a blur, his stinger poised to strike as he zips through the air, looking for another target.

[hr]
At the back of the cave (6 o'clock)

Thallios picks a small tuft of wool from the drow prisoner's tunic. The moon elf then presses the small crossbow into his cousin's hand. The drow doesn't seem to understand the common tongue, but the meaning of the gesture is clear enough.

[grey_angel]

Elf Fighter/Sorceress

She takes a step forward into the cave and places her oathbow back on her shoulder. She quickly scopes out a small group of grimlocks that are relatively nearby, but distant from any allies.
She faces their direction, closes her eyes, raises her hands, concentrates....and casts Burning Hands.

[Dr._Bob]

At the cave entrance (12 o'clock)

The elf steps forward and a sheet of flame splashes into the massed grimlocks. The grimlocks in the front row take the brunt of the blast, screaming as their bare skin blisters and smokes. Many grimlocks in the next two rows also howl in pain and rage, suffering serious burns.



OOC: Nine grimlocks are affected by the burning hands. Four take full damage, while five take half damage. The grimlocks look angry.

[scene24]

Thallios, elf wizard

The moon elf saw the incomprehension on the drow elf's face. "Don't speak common? I don't speak undercommon..." He asked "How about elven? Good!"

Thallios took a look at the action across the cavern. The two packs of drow were fighting his fellow prisoners in opposite directions around the perimeter of the cavern. He needed to move in closer to use his magic and create a ruse with any hope of success, but he had to move inconspicuously.

The elf ran a hand through his short blue hair. Between the fingers of his other hand, he held the tuft of wool that would enable him to cast Ghost Sound. He looked at the spell component for a moment, determined to cause that small gray clump to vaporize as he enforced his will upon the senses of other sentients.

Turning back to the drow beside him, Thallios said "Cousin, I need your help. Can you cast darkness on this?" he asked, holding out the hilt of his stolen drow dagger.


OOC: if Trinark agrees and can cast darkness on the dagger, Thallios will suggest they move under cover of darkness in the direction of the chests and the competing daylight stone and darkness spell. Enough chaos existed in that area that he had a chance to arrive undetected and do some good - not to mention that Trinark should be relieved of his dazzlement by hiding in a darkness zone.

[runehawk]

Lizardkin Druid

The reptilian grunts as the falchion connects but does not seem the least deterred. He spins around the drow, seeking to find an opening an end the creature's life before it gets up.