BLACK CRATER

[Lucius Foxhound]

To the Griffon: "Uh, well, no thank you, madam. I'm quite full ... oh, very well."

Lucius pulls the mangled orc's corpse over to a corner ... and relieves himself on it.

"For later, you understand."

He gives the Griffon his winning smile

"Okay, if we're going to do this, let's do it now. Quidam! Bring the chidren over here and let's go. Bear & Dalabrac, can you help the children over the wall?"

 

[Roman Gemmalee]

I am going to change back into my human form and then secure one end of a rope in the nexus room and throw the other end over the wall. I will climb up the wall from the nexus room side and wave to get the attention of Quidam and the others (I won't yell because that may disturb the griffon).

 

[Van Dyksun]

Use the rope

"Tie a seat in the rope and let the ones above pull the children up. I will climb this wall by myself, after they are safe."

 

[Tom Cashel]

One by one the children are pulled up: Kolya, Horsa, and finally Herjolf. They stand staring in openmouthed wonder at the griffon in its giant nest.

Quidam whispers a prayer to Tymora and glides gently upward to land in the Nexus Room.

Last but not least, Bear uses his powerful claws to scale the side of the ruined Nexus building. The griffon is startled by the arrival of a black bear, but it is a simple matter for Lucius and Wisp to calm her.

When all are in the Nexus, Quidam asks, "Will we be the ones to step through a dimensional portal with the children, once Portal one is open? Because we are willing and able to do so."

 

[Lucius Foxhound]

"Yes, Quidam, we're bringing the children through. Kaemrus had the power to Dimension Door, do you have the same? If so, once the door opens, I propose you dimension door with the chidren to the forest beyond the ruins. If you wish, you may run back to help us, but I think the children should be your priority.

"The rest of you, as agreed, we open the portal and send Artemus (and perhaps Dalabrac?) through to scout ... then Quidam and the kids Dimension Door ... then Bear and then I will follow.

"Cast what spells you may upon yourself and let's get ready to rumble. We go through in 1 minute."

 

[Lucius Foxhound]

OOC: I say we don't open that portal until we're all on the boards. Agreed? Mike? Where are ya?

 

[Roman Gemmalee]

I gather the rope and attach it to my shoulder. "Quidam, if you have any special power that may help us then please tell us. The plan is that we will conceal ourselves in this nexus room and send in one of our own to investigate what is on the other side of portal one. This phase of our action will include Bear smelling the air for the scent of an enemy and possibly Dalabrac sneaking through the portal and hiding in the shadows to do the investigating. We hope to avoid armed confrontation at all costs until we know what is on the other side of the portal. Even then, we will try to think of a way to avoid armed conflict and take the children safely to the caravan.

"Everyone suggest a way that they can help gather information when we open the portal and how they will conceal themselves. Does anyone have a spell to conceal the children?"

I look around the nexus room. "I say we first move the orc bodies out of sight of portal one. I can cast obscuring mist so that when we open the portal, Dalabrac can easily slip unnoticed into the portal and the children will not be seen. I can also transform into the shape of a tree or dead log and position myself in plane sight of the portal. In this way, I will not be discovered and I can see directly into the portal at least as far as the mist allows."

"If we are detected I suggest that plan B is to close the portal immediately to protect the children. Dalabrac, you may be in jeopardy for a brief time when we close the portal so use your skills to protect yourself. Meanwhile, we will regroup with more information to make a plan. We could also construct a trap with the rope over the portal in case something tries to come through. For instance maybe the rope causes a "tree" to fall on anything moving through the portal."

"What does everyone think?"

 

[Roman Gemmalee]

ooc: the trouble is once we are all on the boards, we all have different ideas

 

[Van Dyksun]

"A little slower, wizard. We open the portal and wait to the side here. Let's see if there's anything on the other side that's curious as to why the portal opened. Also, give me a moment to snif the area from the other side, to see if I can catch a scent of anyone.

Then, stealthily, Dalabrac and either Artemus or myself, in stages, where one goes five-to-ten feet to a hiding spot, then the other goes five-to-ten feet further to a hiding spot, scouting all the time. The person in the lead has to indicate that it's all right for the next person to move on--otherwise, we know that the person in the front has spotted someone or something.

If we spot something, the person in the front comes back (when they can) to identify what it is.

The trick is moving slow. Moving quickly is the way to death, unless you're running from it. Since we don't know what's there, we need to go slow."

I rub my throat, visibly pained by the long speech.

 

[Roman Gemmalee]

"Lucius has the most aggressive plan, mine is the most cautious and Bear yours is in-between. Every time we have gone through a portal save the first time, something has been waiting on the other side. I really think we need to be more cautious here. Perhaps we can amend my plan to send me as well as Dalabrak in thus bringing this plan closer to Bear's but I really think the rest of the group should hide as well as setting a trap or preparing something for the foe that will inevitably come into the room from the portal. The aggressiveness of entering the portal is up for debate but I think the group that stays in the room must essentially take a defensive posture and only enter when we give the all clear. Quidam if you can dimension door them to safety through the portal then that would be as good as hiding them. We have sacrificed much to get these children and I don't want to lose them now."