Hell's Kitchen

[Proven_Paradox]

Cyrick nods to Zyldra. "I've a spell or two that will protect and empower us; 'twould likely be better if you used the scroll whilst I cast those. If nothing else, you and I could use them at the same time and hope one works on her."

[Stycotl]

Kuru grins, fangs glistening, "I don't care so much where we take her on, so much as how and when. The sooner the better in my opinion. First strike is the one that counts the most, especially if we are assuming that she can't see us coming."

[Rachel Lorelei]

"Then I'll go survey the town from above. I don't think I'll be questioned; if I am, talking my way out of things shouldn't be difficult. I'll be back to let you know when I've spotted her."


(Shalla will, barring protests, teleport off, view the city from above. With my bluff/diplomacy/etc, I don't think there's a problem in assuming I'll be able to move around freely. Teleporting around should find the marilith eventually, at which point Shalla will teleport back to let people know where she is.
She'll also poof back to update them every, let's say, ten minutes or so.

Ahhh, teleport at will...)

[Townopolis]

Shallashandra

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The city is rather large, and as a result, your search takes a while. One or two vrocks, of which there are many, stops you to demand what your mission is, but it is a simple thing to provide a lie and a reason for them not to pry any further. You take note of the vrocks, there seems to be one or two keeping watch over every dozen or so blocks. There are also dretch patrols on the streets. A pack of six dretch for every vrock.

You poof your way about the city. Every sudden appearance sending anyone observing from the streets fleeing in a mad panic. Eventually, you catch sight of the marilith as she is just leaving the ruined outer wall of the castle. As she approaches, people do not flee, but freeze in terror; those who have enough presence of mind grovel.

Except for a few vrocks who have begun circling her in the sky as she parades, and the occasional dretch patrol passing by, she is alone. The path she is on now is a boulevard, the main approach to the castle, although it has certainly seen better days.

[Rachel Lorelei]

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Shalla will take the form of a Nalfeshenee and persuade the Vrocks that they are needed elsewhere, either waiting to meet someone or for orders to arrive. Between +30 Diplomacy, +24 Bluff, and Suggestion as an SLA (no component, high DC compared to a Vrock's will save) this should be possible. I hate to say "I roll bluff", and I'd normally play this out, but solo side-missions aren't really possible on PbP and I don't want to leave everyone cooling their heels for a week as we do this. If it's not reasonable for Shalla to get'em to fly/teleport off, just say so.

Shallashandra

The succubus reappears near the rest of her group.
"I've found her! She's not guarded; on the boulevard leading to the castle. Whitescar--we need to get there quickly. What's the fastest way?"

[Proven_Paradox]

Upon Shalla's return, Cyrick stands and quickly readies his shield, muttering under his breath, "'Tis either a feint or arrogance unmatched. By the Archpaladin's blade, I hope the latter."

[Stycotl]

Kuru dips his head in farewell to the rest of the freedom fighters, and turns to follow Shalla.

[Solophoenix]

Zyldra

Alright, let's go!

Zyldra eagerly follows along.

[Townopolis]

Whitescar jumps at Shallashandra's sudden appearance, clearly still unnerved by her, and it takes him a moment to recover himself before he can respond.

"The main approach? That would be... here, I'll lead you.

Unless you can disguise us all, we had better go below."

((assuming nobody throws up a Veil or the like))

Whitescar heads up into the inn above, into the kitchen, and then down a ladder into the city sewers. They reek, of course, but are not particularly full, and the catwalks are dry. The corridors twist and turn with occasional grates providing light and breaths of fresher air. You pass by innumerable side passages, some larger than the one you are on, some too small to pass through, but Whitescar seems to know where he is going. Eventually, he slows down from the hustling pace he had begun to set.

"We can't emerge in the boulevard itself, but we can emerge from any of the houses around it. If one of the... ladies, was to confirm the general's location, I believe we could be able to set something up along her path."

As he mentions the inability to enter the street directly, Whitescar motions to one of many shafts that have begun to appear in the ceiling. They open directly above the central trench, but are aligned slightly right or left, in a staggered formation. Angled light comes in through them. They are all square, roughly two feet wide.

[Rachel Lorelei]

Shalla nods to Whitescar and vanishes, appearing high above the city for a moment to take in the general's position, then teleports back down to inform Whitescar of his position.

She also murmurs the words of a spell.

(Casting Shield, minutes/level.)

[Townopolis]

Shallashandra

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From where the group has stopped, teleporting directly above the street will show that the general is still two city blocks away, but approaching the group's position.

You judge the road to be about fifty feet across, with a five foot curb on either side before the fronts of the buildings, which line the street solidly when they aren't broken by another street. Streets coming off the boulevard are smaller, only about twenty feet across, but with the same five foot curb on either side. There is a uniform distance between side streets, at least three-hundred feet.

This section was certainly one of the richer parts of town once, but seems to have taken a large share of punishment in combat, and the once well-appointed stone houses are crumbled and ruin in some places, scorched in others, and their red tile rooftops lack many tiles, and sport gaping holes in some places.

From that height, there isn't much else you can see, but you do note that any bustle or business on the parts of the mortal citizens has stopped along her path, for about three blocks in either direction, and the tiny specks of people don't seem to be moving at all in her presence. Further than three blocks, in the direction she is headed, the road is rapidly clearing out.

Although the original Vrocks are long gone, you spot one more perched on a rooftop, watching the parade.

[Stycotl]

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i realize that i can't see this--just trying to get the kind of info that i think would be relevant to us: l.smoothe never mentioned shalla's plan to bluff the vrocks, so i am assuming that this went off without a problem. or am i to assume that we just didn't end up having time, cuz the marilith showed herself sooner than expected? if not, how many vrocks can shalla see at the moment? just the ones that

Kuru looks to Whitescar, "Does the marilith ever utilize illusions as far as you know? I wouldn't want to spoil our ambush against a phantasm..."

Then he turns to the rest of his team. "Did we end up getting one of those dimensional anchor effects?"

[Rachel Lorelei]

Shallashandra

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From where the group has stopped, teleporting directly above the street will show that the general is still two city blocks away, but approaching the group's position.

You judge the road to be about fifty feet across, with a five foot curb on either side before the fronts of the buildings, which line the street solidly when they aren't broken by another street. Streets coming off the boulevard are smaller, only about twenty feet across, but with the same five foot curb on either side. There is a uniform distance between side streets, at least three-hundred feet.

This section was certainly one of the richer parts of town once, but seems to have taken a large share of punishment in combat, and the once well-appointed stone houses are crumbled and ruin in some places, scorched in others, and their red tile rooftops lack many tiles, and sport gaping holes in some places.

From that height, there isn't much else you can see, but you do note that any bustle or business on the parts of the mortal citizens has stopped along her path, for about three blocks in either direction, and the tiny specks of people don't seem to be moving at all in her presence. Further than three blocks, in the direction she is headed, the road is rapidly clearing out.

Although the original Vrocks are long gone, you spot one more perched on a rooftop, watching the parade.

Shallashandra informs the others of the Vrock's presence, and that she's going to deal with it. She assumes the form of a Vrock herself and goes ethereal, shifting up to an alley near the Vrock, then shifts back to the material plane and perches on the roof beside it.
"I come with orders for you!" she communicates telepathetically. "There is a plot awing. You are to obey my commands, and tell no one of this."
The words bear the weight of a magical Suggestion.

(Suggestion, DC 30, plus potential bonus for a 'reasonable' Suggestion. Woo woo.

We do have scrolls of Dimensional Anchor. CL 10, I think. We gave'em to Zyldra, didn't we?)

[Proven_Paradox]

Cyrick nods to Kuru's question, and (if it hasn't already been done) hands the scrolls to Zyldra. "These scrolls will produce the effect, though they're not strong enough to be guaranteed. It may take multiple casting for it to work, but between these three, at least one should work."

[Stycotl]

Kuru nods, a grin forming on his scaled face, "Good. I like to consider myself agile and mobile, but even I cannot much compete with a perpetually teleporting fiend."

[Townopolis]

Shallashandra

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The vrock looks over, suspicion in its eyes as it sees you perched there. However, at your words, its expression changes to one of keen attention.

"Plot? Plot you say? Orders... what?

...kill?"

The vrock tilts its head to the side, waiting or orders. Once it receives them, it takes to wing and flies off to execute them with haste.

In the meantime, the marilith makes her slow, stately, and menacing way down the street.

[Rachel Lorelei]

Shallashandra

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The vrock looks over, suspicion in its eyes as it sees you perched there. However, at your words, its expression changes to one of keen attention.

"Plot? Plot you say? Orders... what?

...kill?"

The vrock tilts its head to the side, waiting or orders. Once it receives them, it takes to wing and flies off to execute them with haste.

In the meantime, the marilith makes her slow, stately, and menacing way down the street.

Shallashandra's orders for the Vrock are designed to take it well away--she has it lead weaker demons to where no one is watching and then eliminate them.
She resumes her ethereal slate, slipping down through the street to rejoin the party and rematerialize.
"I've dealt with the Vrock watcher. The marilith is still moving; time to strike. I could wait for you to get there, then hit first and hope to stun her momentarily, or step out to distract her while you get close?"

Edit: Shalla also tells the Vrock to give her the Marilith's name.

[Proven_Paradox]

Cyrick frowns. "We should all strike together if we can. Even if you can teleport, I'd rather you not have to test your mettle against her alone."

[Stycotl]

"I agree with Cyric, though i am wondering how we will execute the assualt so that we all pounce at the same time. I would hate to become bottlenecked at this sewer entrance."

He looks to Zyldra, "Can you teleport at all, or dimension door? If so, Zyldra and Shalla would make the ambush easily, while Cyrick could be waiting just below the opening, and if I am the last one out, I can still probably cover the distance fast enough to hit her about the same time."

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all right, when we get back from this mission, i say we spend some quality time training (team benefits--in particular, take a look at the marine corps tactics in my homebrew sig), coming up with a team name, and discussing (nonmechanical) team tactics, and look into a team spirit (sounds kinda fruity...), maybe even a homebrew one that we can all enjoy.

[Rachel Lorelei]

"Mariliths are not... a new threat, to me. I'm confident I can at least hold her off, with words or with spells--but if you'd prefer, we'll go together. Of course, it's possible we could come up in an alley? Then we'd all strike at once."

[Solophoenix]

Zyldra

Responding to the question asked of her, Zyldra speaks.

"I can dimension door short distances, only up to 60ft though"

[Townopolis]

Whitescar shifts uncomfortably in the gloom.

"We should make our move before she passes us by. If... Cyrick, Kurukshetra, and I are to strike, we will want to do so from an alley or conceal ourselves in one of the houses lining the street, then we can catch her between us, or wait until the ladies begin the fight, or... whatever it is we are going to do, we should decide quickly."

[Rachel Lorelei]

(Let's get to it, I guess! We've put it off long enough. )

Shallashandra

"You're right, it's now or never. Spells ready, my friends, and then get to an alley; Zyldra and I will engage her and you can rush out from the side."

Once everyone is in positon, Shalla launches into her own spellcasting, invoking what other spellcasters might recognize as Greater Blink, then Bite of the Werebear, taking on a more feral appearance. She also gestures and speaks a short word, throwing a quick Haste spell around her allies.

Then she nods to Zyldra and sets off, ready to confront the Marilith.

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Heading for the Marilith as soon as the others are in position. Shalla and Zyldra teleport in, I guess? I'm a little vague on locations/distances.

Shalla cast Greater Blink, Bite of the Werebear, and auto-quickened Haste (extended with a lesser rod). Cast just before engaging, so duration 13 rounds, 14 rounds, and 28 rounds (Haste is on everyone) as of just before contact is made.
Shalla gets the usual benefits for having Haste up thanks to Swiftblade.
Shalla also has a Shield spell up for the next ~10-14 minutes.

[Stycotl]

Kurukshetra looks around, "Well, maybe one of these side alley sewer entrances is accessible from here." Then he feels Shalla's haste spell sink into his muscles and bones and nods to her in thanks.

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i still don't really have much of a visual idea of where we are, except that the marilith is aproximately 2 blocks away--though she can probably cover that in one round if she wanted. kuru is looking for one of the sewer entrances that would lead to an alley that would conceal them from the main road as they come up. if i need it, here's a spot check. (d20+18)[25]

[Townopolis]

((things are a little vague here in the sewers, things should get more concrete topside.))

Whitescar nods to Kuru and Cyrick and leads the way down a side passage and up into an alley by way of an easily moved, by anyone much stronger than the average man, grate.

"You may want to hide your light, my draconic friend, in the hole if you cannot find a basket"

His face humorless as he speaks, Whitescar then turns and prowls to the mouth of the alley and crouches behind what cover he can find.

~

When Shallashandra and/or Zyldra pop up into the street, they find the Marilith has enlisted a patrol of dretch to help round up citizens to watch her as she slithers majestically through her city, she has crossed the first block of buildings and is halfway through the second, scared humanoids following her at the prodding of the baggy minions. She seems to be perfectly typical for her kind, a longsword in each hand and not much on.

Catching sight of Shallashandra ((I'm assuming Zyldra will be invisible)), the general slithers a bit more quickly, although taking care to maintain her royal countenance, to close the distance between the two ranking demons.

"[Abyssal]Who are you, and why are you here? Speak now!"

Her tone is demanding as it can be, and a flash of anger lights up the marilith's eyes as she considers the ramifications of a strange succubus in her conquest.

~

The marilith quickly, almost suddenly, slithers into view from the alley, and she barks something in abyssal, anger manifest in her voice. She slows to a halt that leaves the end of her tail in view from the alley.

[Proven_Paradox]

Cyrick gets a grim expression, and begins to go over his prayers in his head.

The moment he hears a sound indicating that battle should be joined, he will cast Divine Power on himself (preferably during the surprise round if that's an option.

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I'm assuming the alleyway is to tight to allow Cyrick to grow to large size after casting Righteous Fury; if not, he'll cast that instead.

[Stycotl]

Kurukshetra follows the celestial creature up out of the sewers, dousing his radiant light, and flattens himself against the corner of the nearest building as tight as he can, and waits. When he hears the demon's voice, and realizes that she addresses Shalla, Kuru's eyes narrow to feral slits and he fairly trembles with anticipation. Breathing deeply, he waits for the fiend to get closer to the alley.

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initiative: (1d20+11)[13]

[Rachel Lorelei]

Shallashandra alights on the road before the marilith, her white garments fluttering out behind her; her scarlet hair forms a corona. She stands stock-still for a moment, then moves without warning, like a suddenly-bared blade, a clear-sky thunderbolt. Her arms, one hand holding her staff spread wide; her wings do as well. She seems to grow, although her size doesn't change; her eyes burn like flames, and the very force of her presence moves the air about her as she gestures. Flagstones crack beneath her majestic gaze as she shifts it to the marilith.

In the distance, there is a sound like the beating of a thousand wings, drawing closer, closer. Her voice rings out like a bell, a hits like a crack of thunder.
"Did you think you could be autonomous? Did you think your lieutenants were content to remain under your command? They have contacted my lord; my lord has sent me. I am in command, now; you will do as I say!"

At the same time, her thoughts drift towards her companions' minds: Wait for it. Not yet...

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Swift action--Assay Spell Resistance; SLA: Suggestion, on do-as-I-say. Will DC 28.

[Townopolis]

(1d20+21)[24]

The marilith's eyes narrow as Shallashandra gives her speech, then widen, as if with fear. She had raised her swords, ready to strike, but now they come down. She recoils, just a bit.

"[abyssal]What... who... what would a balor want with this?"

Fear creeps into every aspect of the marilith's countenance, as her subconscious fills in the blanks leading to her sudden turn of attitude towards a lesser demon.

[Stycotl]

Kurukshetra listens in growing confusion, "I do not like mind games much. Too many possibilities for failure. Especially where demons are involved."

Muscles twitch and ripple underneath his scaled hide, and he looks sympathetically to Whitescar, Cyric, (and Zyldra if she is with us in the alley).

"I hope Shalla knows what she is doing."