<div class="spoiler_container"><div class="spoiler_header" onclick="hideSecond (this);" role="button">Status</div><div class="spoiler_body">AC 18   HP 83 of 83     Skirt &amp; outfit generally damaged, but armour intact.<br/>Spells remaining: 7 of 7 1st, 4 of 4 2nd, 1 of 1 from bonded object<br/>Ammunition remaining: 22 common arrows (+36 more in pack), 15 silvered, 20 cold iron, 3 Tangleshot, 1 Flare (for extraction)<br/></div></div><br/>Zombs responded first, but Rayne, too, would have objected to Lizzy's eager volunteering.  She was too young, presumably too crafting-specialized to be effective if any fighting was required... and she was their only real crafter, which made her probably the single most precious resource the fort's inhabitants had.  But the girl was determined, and when even Zombs capitulated, Rayne held her peace.  But her face revealed her misgivings, and she stared at Lizzy a while longer before turning and nodding to Zombs.  "Yes, we'll be careful.  It sounds like, so long as we haven't found the source of the spawns in-city, there's no point in culling the monster ranks anyway.  So we'll stay defensive, stay quiet, and bring back all the crafting stations Lizzy can identify - if we have that many scrolls.  And yes, I can use Shrink Item scrolls, no problem."  She waved her hand dismissively.  But good luck to all the rest too - making noise and enraging some monsters sounds great, but please do it safely."<br/><br/>It felt good to be able to help - and this sounded like a good plan to her.  Rae-lynne wasn't entirely sure that the system would still keep their encounters party-appropriate... the way the city was invaded, it seemed perhaps more like the occupying monsters were like those in the countryside, with weak nests and strong, and one just had to pick one's destinations with care.  Or worse, since the creatures were roaming about.  But she really didn't know this - while it certainly<em>felt</em>like the monsters were already out there waiting to be stumbled over, EHO had already demonstrated its ability to provide a spectacular, immersive illusion.  So, they'd see.  If she was right, maybe it would just be a handful of hapless goblins standing between the heroines and their prizes ... or nothing at all, even better.<br/><br/><hr/><br/>Rayne felt pretty safe on Dixon's back, Lizzy's arms clutching her waist they sped purposefully toward the Trader's Garden.  Drakula carried the "muscle", in the obvious form of Grogza behind the more deceptive one of Sabrith.  "You OK back there, Lizzy?  Just hang on... and if we get into any trouble down there, you stay behind me, OK?  And if I'm going down, you run and hide, understood?  You shouldn't have to face any of this... and you're too precious too, with your skills."  The half-elf considered whether she wasn't being too frightening, and reached down to squeeze the crafter's knee.  "But we'll be fine, I just want... to be sure."<br/><br/>Rayne was rather pleased to see the Garden's entrances collapsed - yes, something may have been trapped inside, but she was more worried about new intruders entering while the search party was working inside.  This gave them a certain security, privacy... as long as they could come and go through the roof.  Which, once they found the trapdoor, proved possible.<br/><br/>"We might as well save your spells, for... whatever."  Rayne crouched down, lockpicks out, and examined the lock - mildly difficult, but between her Vest of Escape and her Masterwork tools, not so very challenging.  She set to it, and was pleased when the lock sprang open smoothly after barely 10 seconds.<br/><br/><div class="spoiler_container"><div class="spoiler_header" onclick="hideSecond (this);" role="button">Disable Device attempts</div><div class="spoiler_body">At 2014-09-03 17:55:32, victoria4 (uid: 37138) rolls: 1d20a12 DC: 25 Result: 14 (https://elliquiy.com/forums/dicebot.php?r=64055)<br/>At 2014-09-03 17:55:38, victoria4 (uid: 37138) rolls: 1d20a12 DC: 25 Result: 32 (https://elliquiy.com/forums/dicebot.php?r=64056)<br/></div></div><br/><br/>After all three had peered through the trapdoor and backed out again, Rayne shook her head.  "No, I'm afraid I can't see much of anything.  I'm assuming you didn't see trouble close by, Grogza?  There's something I've been meaning to try... just a sec."<br/><br/>Rayne drew her silvered dagger, cast a quick Light on the blade, then re-sheathed it, hiding the light.  "Lizzy, you have Dancing Lights... if you work that around, Grogza and I can both have our bows ready, and plug anything that comes into view.  The Lights are bound to draw out any lurking trouble for us to perforate.  It might even be outside of the darkvision range of anything that's here, buying us more time."<br/><br/>"If something comes at us, I can quickly drop the dagger for illumination, and we can deal with it up close..."<br/><br/>Rayne had been considering acquiring Dancing Lights as a distant spotlight for shooting into the darkness, and now might be a chance to try it - if something came out to investigate the light, that is.  Some of the market's halls could afford convenient shot-lines.<br/>