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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Rybaer" data-source="post: 451222" data-attributes="member: 118">Session #14.4 – Help from afarMost of the group had difficulty finding sleep.  It was, after all, still early in the morning.  Adrenaline was still wearing off from the non-stop excitement of the last hour – from the fight with the hill giants, through the trap-filled lower levels of the keep, to the battle with the giant spiders and umber hulks.  Their substantial injuries left them exhausted and weak, not sleepy.Zalman, using his crown’s power to watch for invisible intruders, was briefly startled as a voice whispered in his ear.  “Zalman?” the voice said.  “You guys okay?”  It took the wizard just a moment to recognize the voice as Jonas’, the head wizard from the Thunder Guild.  He glanced around and spotted the scrying sensor floating innocuously above him.“Not really,” Zalman silently replied by way of Jonas’ spell.  “It’s been a bad morning and we still haven’t gotten the Shadow.”  He briefly recounted the events of the morning.“I’m terribly sorry to hear about Rurik,” Jonas said.  “He was an extraordinary dwarf.  Is there anything I can do for you?”“Care to try scrying on the Shadow again?” Zalman said.  “It’d be nice to know if he’s still skulking around the keep or down here just around the corner.”“Sure thing,” Jonas said.  “I’ve even got the necessary spells prepared, just in case you needed it.  Give me a little bit and I’ll get back with you.”Zalman nodded and watched as the scry sensor winked out.  He quietly explained to the others on watch who he’d been magically speaking with.  As promised, a scry sensor returned about fifteen minutes later and again Zalman heard the voice of Jonas in his ear.“Well, I found him,” Jonas said, “but he’s in a place I haven’t seen before.”“Please explain,” Zalman said.“He’s in a cave of some sort, very natural looking,” he said.  “It’s somewhat irregular shaped and had no obvious exits, though admittedly there were a few areas I couldn’t see.  The room has a large bedroll, some small furnishings, and lots of boxes and sacks.  If I had to guess, this is probably another hideout.  It wasn’t nearly as well stocked as the other place, though.”“What was he doing?” Zalman asked.“Ah, there’s the interesting bit,” Jonas said.  “The Shadow was just sitting at a small table, reading a book by candlelight.  He was wearing all his clothing, cloak, boots, and weapons, as if expecting possible trouble.”“That’s not all that interesting,” Zalman said.  “Though, it does suggest we might have gotten close enough to alert him.”“Indeed,” Jonas said.  “No, the interesting bit is that there was another person with him.  A lady elf, by the looks of her.”“That’s odd,” Zalman said.  “We haven’t heard anything about a woman before.  Dark elf or captive?”“Neither, if I had to make a guess,” the older wizard replied.  “She most certainly wasn’t a drow.  Looked like she was taking a nap on the bedroll.”“Hmmm…I’m not sure what to make of that.  Anything else of interest with him or the room?”“About thirty feet or so from the table, back where most of the boxes were stored, I noticed a good-sized metal plate on the floor.  There are a few boxes and other junk sitting on top of it.  Caught my attention because it was sitting out in the middle of that end of the cave.”“Did the cave he was in resemble this one?” Zalman said.  “You know, rock type and general appearance?”“Actually,” Jonas said, “I believe it does.  I wasn’t paying that close of attention to it, but I’d say that it’s a decent match.  Any idea of where he might be relative to you?”“Yeah, possibly,” Zalman said.  “There was a chimney we still haven’t yet explored.  Good chance it might lead up to another section of caves.”“Well, good luck to you guys,” Jonas said.  “I’m at my limit for scrying today.”“Okay,” Zalman said.  “Thanks a lot for your help.”  The scrying sensor winked out again.Throughout the balance of the day, they continued to rest and plan.  Feng, once rested, prayed to Kord for spells – including a number of ones necessary to undo all the poison and mundane damage they’d suffered.  The key to striking at the Shadow would be in preventing him from fleeing.  They concluded that a Silence spell would work best, to prohibit him from activating whatever it was he used to teleport away.  Aside from that, however, they chose not to develop too detailed a plan – particularly in light of the fact that their elaborate ambush plan had completely fallen apart when a group of giants got in the way.Once everyone was healed and had all their spells prepared, they set off through the caves to the natural chimney.  While the others waited, Bommer soundlessly climbed up the shaft.  Only a short distance further up than the shelf with the dead raccoon, he found that the passage dead-ended at an iron plate several feet across.  He climbed back down and informed the others that they had in all likelihood found the Shadow’s secondary hideout.Per their plan, Feng cast Silence upon one of Nigel’s arrows.  The two of them would lead the way up the shaft and together would force open the plate and rush in.  As an added bonus, the Silence spell might help cover the noise of them forcing their way into the room.  Nigel would use Star Slayer’s ability to See Invisible and do what he could to get the arrow stuck into the dark elf.  Amblin and Amill would follow next and Bommer and Zalman would bring up the rear.By natural and magical means, everyone ascended the chimney until they were all crammed just below the steel plate.  With a nod to one another in the magical silence, Feng and Nigel began to push.Next session:  Finale.</blockquote>

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