Karilla shrugged.

"You do you, cleric. I have no problem standing watch."

Thank you Karilla.  This spell will let me know when you are in immediate danger.  It has served as a very useful tool.

"Are we going to keep going in and out of the door?" Kora asked. She fidgets nervously, very much out of character. Sirenya's recitation of the dangers and mysteries just in this block seems to have driven home to her how dangerous the ruins actually are. "It faces the road and would only take one person looking in the right direction to make it obvious someone's here."

((ooc:
Setting up a watch:

The "north" side of the mansion map faces west. Most of the windows have a good view of the copse of trees between you and the river and not much else. However, the master bedroom does have a clear view north to the cut that was being used as a path.

All of the windows along the "south" side of the mansion map overlook the Way of Heroes.

Only Talindra's bedroom has a view to the south, toward the intersection and the fancy inn.

The other option is keeping watch from the roof. There is no overhead cover. The tower has a half-size wall, which would provide a bit of cover to those looking up from below. The roof has no edge; it just very gently slopes west (towards the forest). Sirenya has another invisibility spell, which will last for 2 days, but there's nowhere to hide against things that can see through invisibility.

I need to know who is taking part in a watch rotation, where you're located (a room, the roof, outside), and where you're looking. Also, is someone going out to get Kitheras, or do you have another way to let him know to come in?

Talindra:

This one is on me for not clarifying earlier. Talindra has busied herself with examining her former master's study and casting chamber. Unless you explicitly say you go and get her, my assumption is that she is not present for party discussions. I'm fine with you having her there for Sirenya's de-brief, but if you want more information from her, you'll need to ask questions (she is not a Mrs. Jennings type, who needs to be constantly talking to fill the silence.)))

#10 and #13

"I agree that this is a problem.  I don't know if any of the windows open, or if we could lower ourselves from the roof.  Then again, I don't know that the street is necessarily more frequented than the wood behind us at this point."

"If we can watch 10 and 13 from the windows--we should.  That's the easy fix.

"If Sirenya can make me invisible, I can easily scale down from the roof and retrieve Kitheras to avoid people seeing the door opening and closing from the street.

"Speaking of, we need to either minimize trips through the door, find another way out, or find a way to disguise the door. Sirenya, you're our resident illusionist, can you make it seem the door is still there when it opens?  That should eb a first circle illusion, correct?

"Finally, it doesn't seem like it should be too long before one of those parties return, and I know all of us despair of boredom in the tower.  I'd like to see two days of surveillance, and if they haven't been noticed by then, we will remand the watch to Talindra, Katarn, and Kora, and we shall begin scouting further East to locate the Six Tyryl Towers--the mage school nearest us now that we know our position.

"I don't like the idea of further investigating anything in the neighborhood until we know the nature of these two bands."
This message was last edited by the GM at 04:42, Thu 16 July 2020.

Katarn nods. "Sounds like a fine plan to me. I can keep watch with all o' ye. Did plenty of hilltop watches in my day."

Looking at the map that has been updated and the descriptions given, Krackor checks the rooms windows for which place would be best to see all objectives (#10 & #13).  Once he has a feel for it, even checking different angles in the rooms and potential to use mirrors inside the building.  He then converses with his companions.

There is a potential that we can view both buildings from one location, this will cut down on the number of people needed to keep watch at any one time.  This I am in favour of.

What you mention about another exit that isn't on the main room, is why I suggested we check the Cellar, this has now been decided to be the wrong move at the moment at least if not altogether.

So there are the choices as I do not recommend anyone being on the roof.  If however anyone does go on the roof, please ensure I have made you a recipient of the spell which notifies me of imminent danger, so I can signal you to get back inside or over the wall.

Karilla volunteers to take first watch, and sets up in the window Krackor picked.

((ooc: Karilla, please roll an Intelligence check.))

After Sirenya casts invisibility on Corym, he heads out to inform Kitheras of the watch arrangements and bring him in. Instead of going out the front door, he climbs the tower and emerges onto the roof. Moving to the back side of the house, which faces west towards the forest, he grabs hold of the edge and begins climbing downwards. The wall is fairly smooth, the passing centuries resting lightly on it, but he shimmies down with the ease of a vine. He steps off the wall onto a dry branch, which cracks loudly. Chagrined, he tries to make his way more stealthily towards the shell of a building where Kitheras is keeping watch. A quiet exchange in elven later, and the two head back to the mansion. Going up the wall proves little more challenging, and the door into the tower opens without issue. Once it closes behind them, the two elves begin breathing a little easier.

((ooc: Kitheras, you hear Corym coming, so meeting up is not a problem. Whether you comment on it is up to you.

Everyone is back in the mansion and has been brought up to speed. I'll update the Talindra thread in a few hours. Whoever is taking watch after Karilla also needs to roll either an Observation NWP check, or an Intelligence check.))

Kitheras and Corym would be on different shifts so we could spread out the 17 intelligence characters.

EDIT: both passed
This message was last edited by the player at 00:01, Sat 18 July 2020.

16:24, Today: Karilla Silveroak rolled 18 using 1d20 ((18)).

Karilla is so distracted by the sounds of the forest that she misses everything going on around her.

Hopefully, it won't kill her.
This message was last edited by the player at 23:26, Fri 17 July 2020.

Krackor explains that he will take the shift after Karilla.  Then he will get his sleep.  Very little will pass by the Guardian Priest, although it could happen.

Karilla and Krackor split watches over the remainder of the day, keeping their eyes looking out into the city. Very little seems to go throughout their watches. Not even birds seem to want to fly, though Karilla does see a trio of fiends flying off in the distance, going north to south.

As the sun goes down, Krackor notices a couple of familiar shapes emerging from one of the entrances to Building #10. Tall, burly, dark gray skin, heavily armored, it would seem that hobgoblins have taken over the former halfling burrow. Neither of them see anyone coming to or from Building #13.

"Personally, I think we need to keep watching.  Someone from that other building is going to move, and we want to know who it is."

"My first instinct is to say that the hobgoblins seem surmountable--that we could ambush and eliminate them. However, their presence here suggests one of two things: either these aren't your typical hobgoblins, or these hobgoblins have developed methods by which their survival has been enabled.  The former counsels caution, and the latter requires further investigation, or at least some attempt to capture and question one."

"The gnome mansion with the undead Nagas also seems explorable.  Those nagas, as described, seem like guardians--and people don't leave guardians without something to guard."

"The Hezrou are in the opposite of our intended direction of travel, and so I suggest we leave them alone."

"Areas 4-7 seem the most promising from a return-on-investment perspective. Particularly 7. I still think areas 10 and 13 must be dealt with before profit exploration."

"I think we have to deal with them in either case before continuing on toward the Six Tyryl Towers in any case.  We simply need more experience in terms of facing the inhabitants of the city and these are fair proving grounds."

"Thank you for your analysis," Kitheras compliments.

"There's only so long we can sit here.  Perhaps you have the patience of the mountains to sit and watch and plan, but I daresay that the rest of us have a hard time bearing that lonely and silent burden. We can't all endure that."

Kitheras places his finger dramatically on the map on area 10 where the hobgoblins seem to lair.  "We know a threat resides here, and we are reasonably certain we can take them.  Their continued presence can only expose our own--so I say we strike.  Let us prepare spells and consider our exit and entrance carefully.  Let me view the venue of battle prior to help direct you according to our strengths.  But let us strike!"

Krackor considers the movements of the Hobgoblins and the conversations taking place.  He sees little to no issues with either avenue however, he has an idea of his own.

The Hobgoblins are close, yes.  Are they a threat?  Not really.  I say this because they are sleeping a lot of the time and when they are out, they appear to not be close to here.

How does this suit us I hear you say?  Well, whilst their presence is close, others may assume that nothing else resides close by, but if they are removed from the arena, something may start asking questions.  If we time our movements with theirs, this would give us more camouflage.

I can see the value of what you say Corym regarding the Hezrou as long as they don't travel or look in this direction, if we can do the same as we have in identifying the movements of the Hobgoblins, again, timing becomes our friend.

The Guardian Nagas... now there is a conundrum.  Yes they may be guarding THAT entrance, what if there is another that has already been raided?  Lets for now assume that there is only the one entrance.  Can they see invisible creatures and if so, would we be able to pass by them that way?  If we are able to get by them, can we get through the doors?  More importantly, can a Gnome get us through them and the door without us having to resort to magics and combat?  At which point he purposefully looks at and waits a moment for Sirenya to respond.

Why don't we eat in the Watch Room whilst this deliberation continues  He hopes that everyone else has been thinking of the windowed corner room where Watches has been taking place, as the Watch Room, so he doesn't have to explain further.

"The hobgoblins pose a unique threat.  Their base is position in front of ours.  There are many of them--by their tracks--and they're active.  They are the ones that stand the most predictable chance of us entering or exiting Bhepel Tower. Once we are detected, they will likely seek a means to attack us or breach the tower.  The nature of hobgoblins is to expand their influence and dominate their neighbors.  Even if their eventual assault were ineffectual, it would draw attention to our position."

"Your point is a good one, Krackor," Elorfindar chimed in. "However, I tend to agree with Kitheras here. Coordinating our movements with the hobgoblins is a clever idea but it is difficult and bound to fail sooner or later, and I would like to avoid the consequences of that. Better to strike first ourselves." The moon elf paused and sighed before he added, in a lower voice: "It will be difficult enough, I fear."
This message was last edited by the player at 20:10, Thu 23 July 2020.

In reply to Elorfindar Silveroak (msg # 943):

Then maybe we could do both.  Prepare fully and plan for a couple days, then strike at the Hobgoblins, after all, watching for a single day does not show a true picture of the neighbourhood and it's activities.  For instance, the Human type people whos tracks were found as recent additions or the bigger creatures that may hunt the Hobgoblins?  We have already seen Orcs and Ogres as well as Vrocks I think you called them Corym.

Krackor was all for attacking but he just had a feeling...

Let me ask of Gorm for Guidance as I use the Divination spell again.

Once all in a modicum of agreement, Krackor will cast Divination, asking if taking out the Hobgoblins would bring greater foes soon.

Krackor works his divination, calling out to Gorm to share his blazing truth on the murky path. For a moment, the air around him tingles with possibility. Then it clears, silently, the spell failing.

In reply to DM (msg # 945):

"It appears that the effects of the Mythal and the close proximity to so much magical power of this building, are playing on the connections to my divine Bronze Lord. I therefore have no insight into our paths ahead."

Corym sighs, swallows his objections, and sets to the plan. "Okay.  Let's do it.  We're still down spells from the earlier fight, and we don't know if the whole group is there.  We'll rest, and then send our strike team out. We'll shroud as many as possible on the approach with Invisibility 10', and then let Kitheras scout ahead to obtain tactical advantages on our behalf.

Sirenya, your cloaking magic is superior to the rest of ours. If you would prepare sufficient spells for that purpose, we would be grateful.  Doing so will leave your spells considerably depleted, so I want to have you on the roof watching the neighborhood. You know our bird call code, and should be able to communicate with us from that vantage.

I'll stay with the group that awaits Kitheras' orders.  The signals we've converted to bird calls were based on the silent military code we used in the Tomb Guards of Evereska, so I'll be able to relay any messages he transmits to us and communicate it to Krackor, Karilla, and Elorfindar.

Katarn, Kora--I want you to stay in the entry way of the tower.  Its possible that we'll be coming back with hell at our heels and we'll need you both fresh to beat it off us on approach or to be deployed in support by Kora.  In an underground catacomb, large numbers can be a hindrance, but holding forces in reserve can be a strategic god send.

We talked earlier about each of us preparing of spells that would help us in case of common magical attacks instead of relying solely on Dispel Magic.  Let's do that, and remember that the safety and survival of each person in the group belongs to each member of the group--not just the priests.

Questions?"

Sirenya nods. "I can do that. I'm not much good in a fight, but I'm good at avoiding one."

"Fantastic--everyone else, prepare your spells, we leave in an hour."