Move 275: Heading for the Fork
Tunnels--Late, Day 24 (9 Marpenoth)Now that everyone had calmed down for the moment, camp was broken and the party decided to move on towards the fork in the tunnel. Olaf agreed to carry Arachne so that she could rest while they traveled. Even with their late start and with Olaf moving a little slower than usual, they got to a point that they estimated to be very close to the upcoming fork in the tunnels by the time they felt they had to rest. A little searching led them to a small cave suitable for their purposes.
As the party stopped to rest, Aloysius sat down and pulled out his waterskin. After taking a drink, he addressed the group.
"Methink it more prudent to follow the fork to the grells than to take the other fork," he said. "If we do that, we must plan ahead more than we have to date. As Carmeneren told us, these creatures are rather powerful and have the capacity to paralyze their prey. As such, we must emphasize to the degree possible our abilities at ranged combat."
"I think we ought to go toward the grells too," Jana chimed in.
Looking at Echo, he added, "And we may want to forsake the use of scout. If Echo is accosted by grell all alone . . ." He chose not to finish his sentence. "The spellcasters should meet later and discuss the nature of the encantations we will prepare for the 'morrow."
"I agree," Jana said, her gaze shifting toward Echo. "I don't think anyone should be alone at this point, even if they're invisible and quiet."
Echo smiled, "Don't worry, I wasn't going to volunteer to go scouting."
"I can have magic missile spells like always," Echo told Aloysius. "As for other spells, I don't know. I don't need an invisibility spell, but I can use one for Arachne if she wants it. I know a spell that'll weaken its target if you think that'll help."
"What about armor spells?" she asked. "Does anybody need one now?"
Jana smiled sheepishly and nodded at Echo. The relief on her face was unmistakable.
"I think Aloysius Armored me a long time ago ... a _long_ time ago," the gnome sighed. "Way back when we were trying to figure out the surface disappearances. The Armor dissipates eventually, doesn't it? Not that I plan on getting hit, but if you have any Armor or Invisibility to spare, anything that would make me less likely to get attacked or hurt is perfectly all right with me.... Please?
"And I don't know how you'll want to employ me now -- since it's no longer necessary to start burning the bodies right away." She sighed. "You know about
the Door I can make ... and its limitations. The Teleporting I can do over short distances also, but it has to be somewhere that I've been before and taking other people makes it a lot harder. And I have the sort of temporary Cottage -- the Pocket. I'm not sure how to use that in a fight."The gnome shook her head. "I'm feeling useless again," she warned.
"Nay," replied Aloysius. "The armor spell remains effective until thou art injured to a certain degree or until the magic is dispelled. Your protection should be as strong as e'er it was."
Looking at Azrun and Echo, he continued. "Methinks magic missiles would be a good choice to prepare for the grell. If possible, Stargazer shall attempt to emply the wand of frost at range so as to include as many grell within the area as possible." Turning towards Jana and Blacky, he said, "Those in front my wish to have a care before charging into an area the wand has affected. 'Twill be most slippery, I would surmise. It may be prudent to have a certain number of us move invisibly, if only to afford our tactics some measure of surprise once we are in combat. Carmeneren said the grell fight intelligently, so we must as well. The trolls required but simple tactics. I fear such foes as that shall be few and far between from now on."
Echo asked, "Can anyone else cast invisibility? I can only do Arachne and one other person. Who should the other person be?"
"Stargazer can cast the spell if need be," replied Aloysius. "Perhaps yourself and Rennirolas would be good candidates," he suggested. "Both of thee are relatively quiet and could provide a surprise spell attack if need be."
"Yes, Grell are not trolls and we must be very cautious." Olaf said.
Aloysius thought for a moment. "Carmeneren said that they prefer to attack from above and employ their paralyzing tentacles. It would serve us well if we knew when they were nearby. My fear is that their caverns will likely have high ceilings and our light will not reach the tops. Howe'er, our lights will ably serve to advise them of OUR whereabouts."
He continued. "One possibility would be to determine an alternative light source, at least for when we are simply traveling through the tunnels. Perhaps if we simply used a lantern or a torch? Rennirolas has also employed a spell that provides him with some sort of premonition of danger."
He turned towards the elf. "How much warning does that provide thee? Does it last very long?" Aloysius wrung his hands nervously. "This shall be a most perilous test indeed," he said fearfully. "Does anyone else have any magics that the rest of us have not seen as yet? We should leave no stone unturned. Stargazer shall peruse the forgotten pages of his spellbook with great care to glean any possible option."
"You are so in love with your spells," Arachne sighed, opening her eyes. "Sometimes, I wonder if you can think about anything else. You've seen the result when I carry a light and am invisible: indirect lighting. An area is lit up, but there is no obvious target there. It might be an effective way of drawing out the grell attack, though it's likely to be unhealthy for whomever is invisibly carrying the light. ... I should shut up about that idea --
"What else would you have me think about?" asked Aloysius.
"Physics?" Arachne asked.
"Physics?" echoed the mage. "Well," he muttered, "there is that double-slit light experimenthat has always baffled me . . . . ."
"Why, because of the stripes that result?" Arachne asked. "That has everyone baffled. Everyone at University who thought about it, anyway. I think I had in mind more simple things, like acoustics and inertia. No details and nothing definite to suggest, I'm sorry to say. I just wouldn't want to overlook anything we might do with a little bit of magic and a modicum of mundane sensibility."
"Moonspawn couldn't fathom it either," said Aloysius with a shrug. "If e'er I come across a solution of merit, I'll advise thee. Stargazer shall also endeavor to avoid overlooking any available options, arcane or otherwise."
Jana fixed her most dangerous glare on both Aloysius and Arachne. She
didn't say anything, just started rubbing her temples, grimacing.Blacky looked back and forth between Arachne and Aloysius during their conversation, clearly getting a headache. "Does anyone else have a clue what they are talking about?" He asked to no one in particular.
Arachne continued, "The other thing I could do is make my senses very sensitive to the sounds or smells that a grell might make. Keeping that sensitive all the time would be tiring, but an occasional testing or for a modest amount of time... I could manage that."
"How long a time?" inquired Aloysius. "Would you be able to pick out the odor of a grell, whate'er one smells like, from the odors of the rest of us?"
"Yes," Arachne said. "When I'm on my game, I can track as well as a bloodhound. How long I can keep it up depends whether I want to be able to do anything else."
Azrun nodded, "I plan on prepping magic missiles and web spells. That's all I have offensively. I'm going to keep my bow handy also." Azrun took a strip of cloth and tied his tube light to his left arm, so he could still hold his bow and see with the light. "Once we get close Renn should cast his danger sense spell."
"I can make Renn invisible if he wants," Echo agreed. "Who has bows?" she asked looking around, "Jana, Azrun, and Renn?"
"Aye, those are the three amongst us who carry bows," Renn nodded. "And I don't think it would be of help to put a spell of invisiblility on me...unless I were to go unarmored, I would be heard. And I don't think that's such a good thing," he chuckled.
"Yeah," Jana said, "I've got a bow, but I suck with it. Don't count on me to hit what I'm aiming at, unless it's really big and pretty close." She shrugged and grinned sheepishly.
Rennirolas made his way to Azrun's side and chanted in elvish. He laid healing hands upon the bard's bruises.
Renn prayed over Azrun, healing his injuries.
A wave of realization swept across Aloysius's face. "Just a second!" he said enthusiastically. "Perhaps a scout isn't such a bad idea."
Turning towards Renn, he continued. "Your people have a natural resistance to paralysis, correct? Would that apply to grell, if you know? If so, you would make an ideal scout. You are relatively quiet, you can see in the dark, and you have a spell that will enable you to sense danger. If you are resistant to the grells' paralysis, that may be an excellent way to go."
"Now," he continued, thinking hard, "what to do about an alternative light source." He looked around, awaiting comment.
Renn lifted his shoulders slightly. "Your guess is as good as mine Aloysius," he laughed, "though I have my doubts as to how resistant I shall be to Grells' paralysis. It's against the immobilizing touch of undead that I know the People are resistant...ghouls, and, through Corellon's blessing, ghasts as well.
"As for dealing with paralysis, I shall pray for two spells of removal after we've rested. Olaf, if you need to pray for other spells, or Tyr doesn't grant you such a spell, I have two scrolls with one spell of paralysis removal upon each if you have the need," Renn said as he tilted his head and looked in Olaf's direction. "Spread the spells around somewhat, so if I get paralyzed there shall still be someone
who can free those immobile."Aloysius nodded an acknowledgment to Renn's explanation. "Perhaps then those with missile capacity would make the best subjects for invisibility," he suggested. "If Rennirolas, Janathell, Azrun and Arachne were invisible, that would provide us with a surprise attack force for when we meet the grell. It would also serve to allow Arachne some measure of safety as she attends to whate'er miscellaneous tasks she takes on. Alternatively, we could make Echo invisible instead of Janathell. Echo would be free to attack with spells and Janathell would be free to employ her sword, which seems to be her strength anyway."
He let out a long groanlike sigh. "All this planning is rather tiring," he said. "But most necessary."
"That's it!" Arachne's soft voice exclaimed under Aloysius's continued remarks. "I'm in charge of miscellany!" The gnome appeared to be pleased with the notion.
Aloysius then addressed Blacky and Jana. "Stargazer has access to a spell that can make the recipient much larger than normal for a short time. There is an
attendant increase in strength as well. If either of you have any interest in being so enchanted, let me know and I'll have the spell ready.""Do any of the rest of thee have any suggestions?" he asked. "I have blithered but feel as if I've offered very little of constructive value."
Olaf nodded, "I shall memorize such spells."
"I'm afraid I don't have any special skills available ther than chopping the creatures down. I'll try to position myself between the grells and spell casters to give them as much time as possible." Blacky added to the discussion.
“How many invisibility spells will we have?" Echo asked. "I can have two. Arachne gets one. I'd still like to give the other one to Renn. If the priests will have spells that'll unparalyze people, one of them should be invisible and plan on doing that. I know you won't be totally quiet," she told Renn, "but a fight's noisy. If they can't see you, it'll be harder to hit you."
Aloysius nodded with enthusiasm. "Yes, that is an excellent suggestion. If Stargazer doesn't have to prepare an invisibility spell, he can use that power
to prepare an offensive spell instead. Arachne and Rennirolas will be most effective if invisible. Arachne can heal or provide a quick escape route, and
Rennirolas can heal and liberate the paralyzed if need be."Looking at Azrun and Echo, he added, "I was thinking that, 'pon the first notice of an approaching foe, the three of us should unite our magic missiles against one common opponent as our first action. That should seriously wound, if not slay outright, the first grell that we see."
"Ah!" Renn exclaimed and nodded, in time with Aloysius's nod. "Truly, I hadn't thought of that. Good idea Echo. I can travel invisibly then, it does make sense," he said, his lips turned up in a sheepish grin.
"So," said Aloysius. "Janathell and Eric will provide their usual good measure of frontal support. Rennirolas and Arachne will travel invisibly, with the former addressing anyone that is paralyzed whilst the latter will heal and create an avenue of retreat if the need should arise. Azrun, Echo, Olaf, and myself shall provide offensive spells, or as approprate, assistance to the fighters in melee."
He looked around. "Does that sound right?"
Azrun nodded, "Good plan, Aloysius."
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