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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Wraithdrit" data-source="post: 766262" data-attributes="member: 10820">Session 3 (Cont)The plan had been set. These men worked for the Zhentarim. They were in league with the men who had attacked them twice already. This would be decisive and final. Once the smaller camp was destroyed, the large camp could be taken care of in due course, then the mines would soon be freed. Or at least, that was the plan.Tanerus slipped quietly forward, inching quietly closer and closer to the camp. Tanerus watched the guards then slipped up behind the first of the small tents. He wiggled beneath the outside wall of the tent to find two guards sleeping. They would never reawaken. His work done he went to the next tent, and the next one. Each time he would wait and watch. The savage little ghostwise halfling was pragmatic to say the least. It was what had to be done. They would only cause trouble when his companions arrived.The last of the sleeping guards dead, Tanerus crouched beside a supply tent and dropped a shiny copper coin to the ground a few feet out and away from the camp. Will's owl, circling overhead, saw the signal and relayed to Will that it was time. Will, Amador, and Durgaden began jogging forward quietly, closer and closer. The guard beneath the pavillion stood, "I'm gonna go get some jerky, you want some?"The guard by the fire nodded, "Sure." The first guard looked at the tent Tanerus was hiding behind, then turned and walked toward the other supply tent, after all, it was closer. Tanerus' companions grew closer and closer. They would be here soon. Tanerus waited, then moved up next to the largest tent, hiding in the shadows there.He gazed at the man beside the fire, raised the drow hand crossbow and let loose. The bolt buried itself in the man's neck, he fell gurling to the ground, just as his friend returned with the jerky.A pair of arrows whizzed out of the darkness, embedding in the first of the female guards on patrol. She screamed out in pain. More arrows followed. Durgaden began to run toward the camp, Amador loosed arrow after arrow and Will stopped and began to cast. Another arrow embedded in the first female guards chest and she fell to the ground.Tanerus dropped the hand crossbow, drew a dagger, flipped it up into the air, caught it by the blade then flung it at the returning guard. It tumbled end over end and buried in the man's chest. He dropped the jerky, stumbled back, fell to knees, then fell forward. Will's spell complete, tentacles sprang to life in and around the large tent. Shrieks came from in the tent, frantic spellcasting could be heard within. The remaining female guard pulled out her sword, terrified at the tentacles appearing around her. A pair of arrows sunk deep into her chest and she was dead before she hit the ground.Durgaden ran to the mine entrance. Staring in, he saw no one. He looked back at the large tent and frowned. He did not like the mines being open like that. If anymore were inside they might have heard the screams. No time to really consider for long though, the dwarf turned toward the massive tent.Mere moments after the tentacles appeared, they began to writhe, about to start their search for prey when they stopped in midsway, turned brittle and dissolved into nothingness. The spell had been dispelled.Tanerus slipped toward the front of the tent, hearing multiple voices within casting spells. Durgaden let out a bellow and charged toward the side of the tent. He slammed one of the support poles with his shield, snapping it. The corner of the tent started to buckle. Amador ran forward, and kicked another one of the supports out from the tent. Will jogged up and around toward the back side of the tent, keeping his distance.Tanerus rolled into the tent, coming up with his sword in his hand. The tent was empty. "What the....?" He called over his shoulder, "The tent is empty!" He started to relax his stance when a  woman reappeared on one corner of the tent, a wand in her hands.Flames jutted forth from the wand, and Tanerus barely managed to dodge out of the way. Tanerus' companions saw a 5 foot wide jet of flame shoot 30 ft out from the tent opening. Will shook his head, "Dispel my tentacles will you?" He set his feet and threw his hands up. Arcane words slipped from his mind and past his lips, energy crackled around his hands and a massive horizontal column of electrical energy ripped off most of the top half of the tent.Inside Tanerus stayed crouched down, his head covered as lightning coursed overhead. The woman with the wand screamed as the upper half of her body dissentegrated in the energy of the lightning bolt. Her lower half collapse to the ground with a sickening thud.Tanerus was back on his feet when a second spellcaster reappeared, this one an older looking man. He was burnt from the lightning, but very much alive, his own hands moving quickly in arcane gestures. He pointed at the halfling and Tanerus cried out as his muscles seized and locked up. He fell to the ground, unable to move. Tanerus' voice echoed in all the companion's heads, "Help! I can't move!" A man in full plate armor appeared in the tent next, grabbing up the halfling. The spellcaster cried out, "Hold! Or the halfling dies!"Durgaden would have none of it. He leapt over what remained of the tent wall and buried his axe in the man's back. "Let him go!" The warrior stumbled away from the dwarf trying to turn away. Will frantically tried to dispel the Hold on Tanerus, but the spell was just too powerful. Amador leapt over the tent side as well and sliced at the wizard standing there. He managed to cut him, but not nearly as deep as he should have.The warrior who had Tanerus tried getting away from Durgaden, but the confines of the tent made escape impossible. He turned, trying to put the halfling between himself and the raging dwarf. Durgaden was ready though and came in high against the warrior, well over the halfling's height. The warrior's head fell to the ground, followed by the rest of his body, and the halfling.A fourth figure appeared within the tent, this one a female in full plate armor as well. She held a morningstar and called upon divine energy and pointed at Durgaden. Like Tanerus, his muscles seized up, and Durgaden collapsed to the floor.Will threw his hands forward and glowing orbs spiralled into the mage in the tent. As the orbs struck home, the mage and his cleric companion were both seen to grimace in pain. Amador called out, "She has him shielded!" Before either could get off another spell Amador called on Corellian's winds to mute the sounds within the tent. A bubble of silence formed around the tent's interior. The mage stumbled back from the angry elven cleric and drank a potion. Will was not done yet though, his arcane voice heard outside the bubble, he threw up his hands and giant strands of sticky webs grew from them, draping themselves over everything in front of Amador in the tent. The elf stumbled back from the web, pulled his bow and started shooting arrows in at the wizard who was well stuck within the webbing. The priestess ripped herself free of the web, and drank a potion. Will strode forward, shaking his head.At this range, with the wizard stuck in the web, he was a sitting duck for Amador's arrows. One after another struck home, and the wizard slumped forward, not moving. The priestess lept from the ground, her potion of flying sending her upward. She tried to rip through the webbing, but it was no use, she became as entangled as a fly in a spider's web. Amador turned his bow on her. Two arrows later she slumped, dangling, stuck in the web, blood dripping from her soon to be cooling corpse.Will stepped up, dispelled the web and pulled out a knife. He walked up to the wizard, helping Amador up as he went. He plunged the knife in the wizards chest, twisted and repeated the process for the priestess. Tanerus and Durgaden both gasped as their muscles loosened. Tanerus said quickly, "We need to get out of here. The sooner we are gone the better." The companions started cleaning up the mess. A large tarp was found to throw over the top of the old tent structure. This would hopefully hide the destruction for a little while from the giant bat that patrolled the skys. Will entoned a detection for magic and the party quickly stripped everything they could. Besides the magic of their fallen foes, the companions found a pair of maps and some notes written by the female mage they had slain. Tanerus slipped out to await the return of the runner the camp had sent out earlier. He would be returning from the larger camp soon, and he needed to be silenced before he ever made it back.The companions assumed they would have about two to three hours before the large camp would be due another message. The contents of the notes and the map, convinced them to head into the mines...</blockquote>

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