In His Glorious Majesty's Service

[Ryuuk]

Tero

Tero didn't really find the smell as offensive as he felt he should. he didn't exactly like it, but he had had enough time to get used to it as a kid. Passing the telescope to someone else, he looks towards the temple off in the distance for a few seconds before turning back to the Eyes. "It might be doing it against its will, but as you said, its just a guess. We'll make sure to get a concrete answer." he seemed pretty usre of himself as he said this last part.

He turns to his fellow Binders "So, unless we do something about it, they'll see us coming. Think a few illusions would do it?"

[Sicarius]

Violet

"Shiny, shiny, shiny." Violet points to each of the group wearing metal armor. "No cover. Hard to not see. Hide the metalmen in a bag, hope they can hold their breath." Violet waves a cloth sack in Tero's face for a second. "Play pretend we belong? Or wait until the sun hides it's eyes."

Violet takes the spyglass and looks around, searching to see if perhaps the field has enough tall, dead grass or rock cover to approach the building. She would prefer to sneak in the building it if it was at all possible. She was better at hiding than she was at talking.

[Xion]

Ryu raised his eyebrow questioningly at Violet then turns to the creatures and tries to judge the distance between himself and the temple.

[Naleh]

Vorelm

Ignoring the enigmatic Violet, the priest of Pelor frowns at the distant tower. "Are they controlled? Deceived? Perhaps insane? ... Well, we shall have to offer them redemption, or execute them. We can't have anyone allying with the daemons."

[Swooper]

"I think our best bet would be to charge right in and take them out quickly, before they can alert the whole place that we're here," Kabrain says after looking through the spyglass. "Their position does not allow for much of a stealthy approach, it seems. Unless one of you has a way of making us all invisible and silent. Better yet, make us invisible and them silent, so they can neither hear us approach nor call for aid," he adds and looks around at the group.

[Sicarius]

Violet

"Hi, Mr. Guard, you look missing or dead." Violet waves to the air. "Everyone notices, everyone fights. Hard to close bad place. Make me invisible, I can sneak in. You can hide in here!" Violet holds up her sack again.

[The Boyce]

Belmund considers the situation at hand, the mission, and the realities of getting back out of the building. Having done so he decided to speak, "Sneaking by them could be a very bad idea, because if they are working with the demons, or are under their control, they could be alerted to our presence after we have gone by them and come in after us. If they don't then we'll probably have to deal with them anyway, on our way out. That said, we have two options kill them or talk to them; while killing them could be the simpler route it doesn't make it best. We do not even know if they are evil, and I would rather not soak my hands in the blood of innocents. We should at least give them a chance to explain themselves."

[Xion]

Ryu (sill trying to judge the distance) rises his left hand with an extended index finger announces “killing them is a bad idea think how much we could learn. Like for example, do they work for the demons if so is it willingly or not? And what if they aren’t working for them then why are they here? Knowing the answers might help us in the long run.”

[Ryuuk]

Tero

"You know, the sack could work. At the very least it would give us a way of approaching without raising too much alarm. I don't think they'd get the entire temple moving just for an individual at least." He pauses here, visualizing the encounter in his head. "Once we can talk to them we'll have a better idea on how to deal with them. Best case scenario, they're not actually with the daemons, worst case we have to fight our way through. Even then, I'm sure I can take care of the Lamasu without having to kill it. We can just take it back as a statue."

[Sicarius]

Violet

"I like playing pretend!" Violet dances around a bit. "Does anyone walk in or out? People maybe? Prisoners? He would make a good prisoner." Violet points at Belmund. "No suit made of metal!" Childlike glee follows her every word. "And I can use the big ones to hide from the bull-man!"

[Xion]

Ryu turns around and sighs, apparently giving up on his idea. “ I highly doubt it is a prison camp.” He then sits down, pulling out a board and begins to make a sketch of the two creatures.

[Mephe]

Auryalle turned to adress Vioilet,
"A prison camp is possible. We have observed other creatures, also non-daemonic in origin, enter. But the few glimpses we caught of them moving through the courtyard seem to indicate they are there of their own free will."

[Sicarius]

Violet

If Violet was supposed to be deterred from the dismissal, she certainly didn't show it, her childlike enthusiasm stronger than ever. "Then so must we! Pretend to be demon friends and the door opens for us. No need to touch the knob! Just walk right in!" This time, she moved forward, ruffling the closest hair she could find. Finally, to end things on a matter of confusion, she seemed to straighten up and deliver a clearly worded response. "If subterfuge is called for, we might try to intercept and interrogate a group as they leave, outside the daemonic telepathy zone. Direct combat is only going to attract attention, and any daemon worth his salt can teleport in and we'd be overwhelmed before we knew it." Back to child-Violet again, she opened and closed her hands repeatedly. "Poof, poof, poof! Hundreds and thousands!"

[Xion]

“That could work, but we should think some more for umm about umm Ten minutes more yeah that sounds about right.” Still working on his sketch.

[Naleh]

Vorelm

The paladin turns to the masked woman at last, his look thoughtful. "Yes, that certainly could work. If there are some non-daemons in there, why not add more? I don't like it though - it's dishonourable, for one, and pretty risky, for another..."

[The Boyce]

Belmund smacked himself in the head and let out a small laugh. "There is a much easier solution, I'm ashamed I hadn't thought of it before. I can turn myself or any of us into one of them, or something similar for a short time. That should allow for some reconnaissance."

[Swooper]

"Hmm... I still think killing them both quickly and silently, before they have a chance to alert others of our presence is the best tactic." Kabrain says, folding his arms. "If we use a disguise of any sort to get closer without alerting them, the better, but I doubt anything significant information is to be gained from talking to them. If they're standing guard outside a Helltomb I think it's fairly obvious that they're in league with the daemons. Why they are here is irrelevant, and even so, we might possibly find out inside the temple anyway. We are Binders, our task is to seal Helltombs and destroy or banish all who stand in our way - not gather intelligence, for that is the job of the Eyes."

[Ryuuk]

Tero

"Very good point... I'm sure the path will be clear once we meet them face to face." He's choosing his words carefully, most of his mental efforts working elsewhere. "How easy is it to go in and out of the sack anyway? Would you be able to hear everything that's going in outside?"

[Sicarius]

Violet

"I never went inside. We can try right now." Violet places the bag on the ground, beckoning Taro to climb in. She opens the bag of holding as wide as it will go. "Daemons inside their minds, instant alarm. Best security. Unless we poof in, the daemons know. Major badness. major badness. Scary scary, not want to fight entire temple of daemons. Make us go SPLAT!"

[Ryuuk]

Tero

"Oh, you mean you've never..." Tero looks into the dark hole on the ground quizzically. After a second or two of hesitation, he shrugs and steps forward, starting his descent.

One leg aready in he stops and considers a story he once heard. Before going any further, he unfastens his quiver and leaves his haversack on the "edge" of the floor. "Better to be safe then sorry." The deed done, he disappears into the bag.

[Swooper]

Kabrain considers Violet's point for a moment, then addresses the group as a whole. "Do you think luring them away from the entrance and killing them outside the range of the daemon's telepathic communications might work? Do we even know the range of those abilities?"

[Sicarius]

Violet

Inside of Violet's bag of holding is a wealth of things. Clothes of all sorts of different colors for all sorts of occassions, lovingly painted and organized porcelain masks similar to the one she wears currently, some of which painted slightly differently to show emotions like joy or sorrow. It looks like the backstage of a theater.

"They see dead people!" Violet cheerfully answers, giggling. "But not always right away!"

[Naleh]

Vorelm

Vorelm frowns at Kabrain. "I doubt it. Even if they could be lured, they could easily tell their masters that they were leaving their posts."

[Swooper]

Kabrain shrugs. "Just an idea. Anything that keeps the whole Helltomb off our backs while we do what's needed is a good thing, but I still think that, as Belmund pointed out, if we sneak past them they might come up behind us when we're inside and fighting something even nastier. We need to kill those beasties."

[Sicarius]

Violet

"Why don't we just sneak in at night? Plenty of shadows and then I can climb in through a window! Lower rope and let you all in! Ir lets light and thieves in!" Violet is now preoccupied with juggling some of the fancy jewelry she is wearing. Any woman of generous means would have a heart attack at how callously she treats such expensive material.

[Xion]

Ryu puts his sketch away with a big smile on his face. He stands up and his smile disappears, replaced by a look of seriousness. In a much deeper voice than before he announces“Does anyone have any sort of spell that can find out if there’re being mind controlled or not?” Also looking at the Eyes while he says it. And no, I’m not getting in your bag because if I do my spikes will pierce it and I will be stuck in the alternate dimension.






(OOC: I took 20 on the sketch.)

[Mephe]

Auryalle turns to glare at the duskblade, “Why, no! Odd…in all these years, we have never thought to bring any spells that can see in to minds. Of course we have scrying spells, you Bahrhen! What, do you think we are a couple of fools who just like to take in the scenery?! Our inquiry failed to yield any evidence of mind-tampering, but that could just as easily come from an incredibly powerful and subtle spell.”

[Xion]

Angered Ryu retorts “Then why did you not say anything when I said and I Quote “killing them is a bad idea, think how much we could learn. Like for example, do they work for the demons, if so is it willingly or not? And what if they aren’t working for them then why are they here? Knowing the answers might help us in the long run.”

He rests his on right hand, with his left hand out to stop Auryalle from replying“You know what I don’t care.” Turning back to his group he states “Lets take a vote we can,

A: kill them.
B: Sneak in I don’t see how though.
Or C: Reason with them.
Personally I go for C”

[Sicarius]

Violet

Violet creeps up to behind Auryalle. A tender hand rests on her angered shoulder. She leans close to her to whisper something in her ear.

Spoiler

Show

"Patience. It is a troubling time for us all. Please be calm. He doesn't appreciate the sacrifices the Eyes make." Her tone is suprisingly clear and free of childlike whim.

"As swift and quiet as a shadow am I. The night sky hides all." Violet turns to face the group. "Too risky to talk, too visible to fight. I'm a work of art and don't like getting hurt."

[Ryuuk]

Tero

After spending some time in the sack, Tero climbs out of the "hole" as efficiently as he can. While listening to the others argue above, he'd had plenty of time to get a decent proposition together. "Then how about we risk something that doesn't care if he gets hurt?"

He continues talking as he puts on his pack and secures his quiver. "We don't know how this pair will react to strangers showing up. They might reason, they might not, lets just cut to the chase and find out." He walks to an area where he can get some space. "We send them a decoy and watch how they act." He closes his eyes and visualizes a human in pain as some invisible monster grabs hold of him. A slick looking translucent substance seems to start sprouting before him, growing. When he opens his eyes the now large blob takes the shape of the man he visualized, only now in life size and as a wooden statue.

"I'm sure you all remember those demonic machines that scour the wastes. Large, spider like and and they have a stare you don't want to meet. Anyway, they grab hold of their prey like this guy here shows and drag them kicking and screaming, if they're lucky, to wherever the being that ordered the retrieval is. Now, how about we see how these guards react to having one of them pass right by the entrance. If they're under a spell that orders them to attack any trespassers, they should get rid of them quickly. Negotiation's probably useless there. If they don't jump at it immediately it would mean that they either had to think about it or saw through it. It means we might have a chance to reason with them. if they just ignore it, well then sneaking in suddenly becomes much more viable, no? If we can get a better view..." Here he turns to the Eyes, "...then we might even be able to get a better idea of their allegience depending on how they deal with it." He pauses here to catch his breath and look at his companions. "What do you say, yea, nay?"

If the idea is well accepted:

Spoiler

Show

The statue was made with Minor Creation. From there he'll manifest Astral Construct to create a a 5th level one that looks like a large Retriever
and another Minor Creation, this one used to create a large amount of Hematein, a natural dark brown dye, above it to cover up the silvery astral substance that makes it up.

"Retriever's" stat blocks is as seen here for a 5th level construct and using the Claw (claws instead of slams, from constructor, Menu A), Celerity (+10ft speed, Menu A), Extra Attack (3 claws, Menu B), and Improved Grab (Menu B) menu options.

Extended Construction makes it last for 12 minutes. Spending one on its paint job, it should have 11 minutes to reach the temple's front gate. Should be doable if it double moves or runs all the way. (it would move either 1000ft or 2000ft per minute if it runs)

It'll first move in front of them. If there is no response, it'll drop the statue and try to enter the temple.