Week Twenty, Day One
While everyone else is taking a bit of time off Grey Eyes and Lilly set about with the final party preparations. Firstly they get a rental van to help get all the goods to and from the lair. They have made orders for the most appealing dishes they can afford with their budget, some colorful décor and beverages of all sorts. The setup is lengthy but they have the help from the bucks to speed it along.
Not long after the set up Jeffery stops to pick up his custom made kamas from Kati. She hands them over and lets him inspect them. Well enough pleased he takes his new equipment and heads back off to assist with preparations.
While most everyone does show up to the event most seem ill-at-ease and conversations are forced and uneasy. It is assumed that even though Dlar has given much of the life and freedom back to his followers they are still very much afraid of it. Grey Eyes moves about the attendees and tries to encourage them to talk to Dlar who has been feeling very alone even though a party is going on around it.
To try and make Dlar feel better Grey Eyes offers to give its scales a wax. Cecelia and Kati offer to help with the task while Grey Eyes talks Jessica into helping as well.
Jeffery tries to schmooze it up with Kati with a dance. He does rather badly once more, leaving her confused. Jeffery leaves for now to collect himself and Kati goes back to the festivities.
Once the day is done Grey Eyes and Lilly stay behind with Dlar.
Week Twenty, Day Two
Somewhat rested and ready for another day of work the team opts again to patrol their area. Midway though their patrol they hear the sound of what is remarkably similar to the sound of a building being demolished. Investigating the sound they find three misty-blue creatures tearing up the rear wall of a house. Understanding this would be classed at least as vandalism they open fire upon the vandals. Rather than retaliate the creatures enter through the hole they made and duck out of sight.
Following them in the team searches the house for them but no evidence of their presence is found. Moving outside to check for them further Grey Eyes feels a slight breeze blow past her from behind. She stays behind while Jeffery goes to investigate the direction the breeze came from. Nothing is found and the team seems out of clues. Not wanting to waste any more time they ignore the events and continue their patrol.
The rest of the day is uneventful for the most part and so they return home. Glitterdust is used at the front door to help detect and deter invisible visitors. Clairvoyance is used to try and check up on the surveillance team but there is not much success. Krystal gives Grey Eyes the task of writing up the report for the team so far.
Week Twenty, Day
Three
First thing in the morning the team returns to their headquarters where Krystal turns in the report. As it turns out they have a message that was waiting for them. They have been selected for a mission in New Lyshy. The mission is being set up by O’ Laura Kashoka which whom the team has had dealings with in the past. A meeting to discus the nature of the mission is set up for tomorrow and thus for the time being they have the day off for preparations for their impending trip.
The only details they have is that the New Lyshy mines have been invaded by group of unknown creatures with an unknown language. Grey Eyes gets the idea to try and find a source of the spell Tongues. She rents a car and colors it anew with cantrip. She checks with Lybrida for a scroll of tongues but she does not have one available. Not having much else to fall back on she opts to instead make a copy of a spell from her father’s books that allows one to communicate with a corpse. Done with the car she returns it.
Lilly wants
to hunt for
She leads him back home to her graveyard, but he is very hesitant to enter as is to be expected. She tries to convince him that it’s just a quiet and avoided place she lives in and that the crypt in the middle she uses is vacant. He at least agrees to go look for himself. The crypt is much as Lilly described, just two stone coffins while the rest looks lived in. She closes the door behind them and invites him to join her down on bedding in the corner for the promised physical gratification.
Once the
two of them are finished she knocks on
Elsewhere Lilly has a similar idea and pays Dlar a visit. She opts to stay the rest of the day with him.
Kika and Jeffery both understand that returning to New Lyshy after what Kikah did might invite trouble. Jeffery suggests a “makeover” to change her look enough that she might not be recognized. Kikah agrees to this. They stop for lunch first before visiting a salon. Kikah has her fur and hair color changed along with the usual enhancements to her look. Afterwards she does look like a new person, who is in pain. She hurts all over but feels the change is enough to do what is needed. They stop again for dinner and ice cream before going back home.
Week Twenty, Day Four
Meeting back at headquarters first before moving on to the center where O’ Laura is waiting for the team makes their last general preparations. They are to meet O’ Laura in an office building at a yet unknown meeting room. The front desk acknowledges their appointment and sends them to the correct room. O’ Laura fills them in on the situation at New Lyshy and provides them with a means of transport. On the main floor she introduces them to Joey, the person that will be driving their van to New Lyshy. The van is also set up to hold and produce various ammunition so Joey functions as a drive, a mechanic and a munitions expert for their trip. Ready as enough as they are the team sets out at once. The trip is a long one taking two days but they encounter no complications.
Week Twenty, Day Six
Upon arriving at New Lyshy it is thought best to met with Cyrus to get a more detailed and up to date report on the situation. What is known is that unknown forces have invaded the mines several of the miners are missing, among them is Desmond the supervisor. To get information for themselves they move to the mine and try to do a little scouting using invisibility. Grey Eyes gets the idea to try and use Dlar to talk to them telepathically, which just sets the invaders to alertness. From the entrance two invaders come out holding smoking objects suspended by three small chains.
The team retreats from the area and tries to use clairvoyance to have a look inside. This turns out to be a bad idea as smoke emanates from the scrying devices. Figuring the smoke will attract the invaders to their location they abandon the mine and head back to New Lyshy to plan anew.
Understanding that Nahh is a very dangerous tool if the invaders figure out how to use it they decide it would be best to try and shut it down. As Randolf has the necessary know-how needed to remove the power core he is selected to come along. While it is not sure if the core will be removed or not it is felt best that he is near should the situation arise.
The get more information about possible access to the mines and learn that there are many air and tailing shafts along the mines length. Kikah suggests that they plug up the tailing shafts and use the air shafts to deliver poisoned gas into the mines to clear it out. While this seems a good plan they still need to know if there is anyone in the mine that would be killed other than the invaders.
With the time they have left the team decides to make their way back into Old Lyshy and scrounge up anything that might be useful. Kikah guides them back to the same blown-out entrance they used on their last visit safely as she knows the way best. At the entrance they hear a soft clicking sound. The sound turns out to originate from a synthetic being, the sort they know to guard this place, that is fidgeting down in the blown-out room. A silent image is used to test out its reactions, which turn out to be violent. Its attacks are not affective against the illusion which abruptly ends. The being scratches what might be its head in what looks like confusion, patrols the area for a few moments and then leaves.
Entering the facility the team moves as quietly and carefully as they can down to the locker room they know to house weaponry and ammunition. Hoping to get the aid of Commander to open the lockers they try to find a way to open the door to the room he was found in. The green door is closed and trying to move past it ethereally they find it to be solid but red. Meanwhile Luke tries to open a locker using shocking grasp upon which the locker opens. Inside are found a case of sonic and crystal rounds which Luke takes. He opens another and another until one resists his attempts and stays locked. The botched attempt causes a security alarm to go off and the sound of metal on metal can be heard approaching. As they cannot seem to figure out how to close the door as it has slid into the wall, Lilly casts a silent image of one in hopes it will help. It seems to fool the guardians long enough for them to make a plan.
Invisibility is cast on each member as Jeffrey tries something. Grey eyes uses a dragon soul to silently cast spider climb on him as he uses a potion of invisibility. He climbs out of the room and along the ceiling to get a bit of range before using a smoke grenade as a distraction. The guardians do not seem phased and continue to wait at the door as if expecting it to open. With his ploy found to be ineffective Jeffery moves off to safety. The others try much the same idea with spider climb and invisibility to move along the ceiling to get out after putting the stolen goods back. They get some distance before they are spotted anyway and a hail of gunfire chases them. Running as best they can they leave the facility and meet up. The guardians do not seem interested in leaving the facility so they are free to return to New Lyshy for medical attention.
They do a quick check at the mines to see if the situation has changed. There are still five invaders around Nahh just as before. This is not an improvement but it is at least not looking worse. Returning to New Lyshy they plan a method of infiltration that will rely only on their own resources. They decide to use the tailing shafts to get access to the mine and get reconnaissance. Using spider climb and invisibility once more they move along the ceiling of the mine to get an idea of the numbers hold up within. Reporting back to O’Laura they formulate two plans. The first is to seal them in using solidifying foam and use Nahh to blow it open. The other is to seal it with the foam but also poison the mine.