scotland ♔ yet how the wind revives us here

[untethered]

♬ Presentiment - Manami Kiyota

WHO || Belle, Gold, Emma, Hook, Lila [closed]
WHAT || Several Knights take a secret journey to try to help Amara...
WHERE || Oakhurst, Scotland
WHEN || January 15th, 2014 [forward dated]
HOW || Actionspam

It's probably a very good thing that Gold sweet-talked them a car in the nearby tiny Scottish village of Oakhurst, because it is freezing cold out and snow blankets almost everything around. Walking the seven miles up the Old Road to the ruins would be a bitch and a half.

Instead, they comfortably drove past rocky downs, near stands of old-growth oak covered in snow, and past two farms that looked abandoned. No other travelers were visible on the lonely road, which finally curves, passing east of a narrow ravine. Belle signals for them to pull over here, where, at the road's closest approach to the cleft, several broken pillars jut from the earth where the ravine widens and opens into something akin to more of a deep, but narrow, cavern. Two of the pillars stand straight, but most of them lean against the sloped earth. Others are broken and several have apparently fallen into the darkness-shrouded depths. A few similar pillars are visible on the opposite side of the ravine.

Comments

[bittersweeter]

[ she holds out the scarf firmly to emma, bc yes she cares more about the baby dragon than the goblin. fuck him. she has to think about gold's question for a second before she answers, turning slowly to face the rest of the group. ] Verbally, no, or I've never tried. As long as he's been there before then it's in his head and he can probably lead us there. If not, he can probably take us to someone who does know. I might need to actually poke around in his head though if it comes to that.

[untethered]

[ belle looks ready to make a comment about the dragon, but seems to decide to hold her tongue when the subject changes, and instead draws out a healing potion, kneeling besides the unconscious meepo and administering it to him. He sputters awake, looking around wildly. ]

"Calcryx?"

[uncurse]

You can relax. It's alive. [ and emma will take the scarf and start tying up the dragon's snout. ]

[bittersweeter]

[ lila is going to take the dragon wrangling lull to dive into the goblin's sleeping mind to see if she can figure out if he knows where they should go or not. (concentrate nat 20, 20 total) her eyes close and a little line of effort wrinkles her forehead, but emma's comment about saving amara slapped lila's priorities back into place. (she still thinks they can save the dragon though. both!) ]

[sternshield]

Don't know why anyone would want to see a white dragon alive and well. You're all a very strange lot, I'll give you that. [ he casts a distasteful look at belle's revival of the little kobold ] And you keep strange company.

[ the goblin itself seems to have never been to the grove in question - but it knows that it's below, down below, which can be accessed via the hall of the goblin chief, very close by.

of course that's also where the chief keeps court, along with many guards. ]

[bittersweeter]

[ lila's eyes open after a bit and she frowns, wrinkling her nose. ] Well, Sparky's never been to Eden, but he knows how to access it. Sort of. But we have to go through the goblin boss' great hall or some shit and surprise, surprise, it's full of... [ a pause for dramatic effect. ] More goblins.

[uncurse]

Does he know how many? [ three was easy. twenty ... may not be. ]

[bittersweeter]

[ she shrugs, rubbing the heel of her hand against her forehead. ] A bunch? He didn't give me a number. Um, guards, their leader, random goblin bystanders; so maybe fifteen to thirty? That's as best I can narrow it down.

[unhand]

I've faced worse odds. [Their little band's grown, too. It can't be too bad.]

[uncurse]

Than thirty on seven? We need a plan. Some way to slip past them. Was there a way around the great hall?

[bittersweeter]

The entrance is in the hall. At least the only one Sparky knows. I might be able to find a sneaky way into the hall so we can pick them off from cover, but I'm not sure there is a way around it.

[undealt]

What if there was a way to lure them out of the Hall? [Gold's mostly thinking out loud here.]

[uncurse]

Not a bad idea, actually. At least shrink the number we have to keep an eye on at once. Let's head that direction, see if we can create some kind of distraction. [ to lila, she adds; ] Do you know the way?

[bittersweeter]

I think so, yeah. [ or rather she can make the goblin lead the way and they can follow. she mentally tells him to do just that, no use wasting time. ]

[untethered]

[ as the goblin starts leading them out of there, belle hangs back a bit to whisper with concern: ] If that's just how many are in the Hall, aren't we concerned that a distraction outside it might draw all of them plus more from other rooms as well?

[ the goblin moves through the door to the south, where they see a light source for their first time since coming down here. several torches mounted in crude wall sconces burn fitfully in the long chamber, filling the air with a haze that blurs sight. a double row of marble columns carved with entwining dragons marches the length of the hall. ]

[undealt]

Not if we trick them into thinking there are more of us than there are. They'll likely run before they risk losing more numbers. Assuming Lila can find decent enough cover.

[It's not the best plan, but it's better than trying to fight their way through a bunch of goblins.]

[untethered]

Do you have any illusion spells that might help fool them?

[undealt]

I think I may have just the thing. [He beams at her.] Do you still have a few more tricks?

[Gross flirting activated.]

[untethered]

I might be able to come up with something.

[uncurse]

[ emma's been hanging back and pacing a little anxiously, clearly trying to just keep moving in order to keep discomfort from settling in. but she finally stops and speaks up. her voice all but cracks with uncertainty. ]

I think I've got an idea. [ sorry to interrupt ur romantic moment with MAGIC and shit. she turns her gaze to lila, hand remaining out and expectant towards her teacher. ] Do you know which door it is? [ maybe if she keeps talking and demanding things then ... she won't be anxious and uncomfortable about performing magic. ]

[unhand]

[Hook comes up next to her. He doesn't know she can do magic or have any idea what she's planning (wis 2), but he doesn't like the anxiety she's showing. Still, he'll back her play, whatever it is. She's pretty competent.]

What'll you do?

[uncurse]

With any luck? [ she looks over at hook, then down the hall towards the doors. ] Scare the shit out of them. [ that's the best you're getting you will see when she gets started. which will be as soon as she knows which door it is. ]

[bittersweeter]

[ lila nudges the goblin to stand in front of the right door. BECAUSE POINTING WAS TOO MUCH EFFORT, I GUESS. ]

[untethered]

[ the goblin takes the first door to the right, hugging the wall, rather than heading down towards the end of the hall. he leads them into another dusty sort of back hall, all the way down to the very end.

this is it. this is the door to the hall of the goblin chief. ]

[undealt]

[Gold catches onto Emma's plan and smirks knowingly, adding in a whisper:] The trick is convincing them that there are more of us than there are. They won't fight if the odds aren't in their favor and they're not bright enough to send for reinforcements. They'll clear the hall and we'll have a straight shot to the grove.

[Ideally.]