A Dangerous Gift

The Unseen - Round Four
On the roof, Elowin is face-to-face with a cloaked drow, who is looking very uncomfortable, both for being spotted and for being in the morning sunlight. Somewhere close by, another drow lurks in the shallow part of the sphere of magical darkness that extends up and out of the roof. Elowin calls out to the drow: "Lets talk before blood is spilled. In Lunea's name, we just want our people. What is it that you want? Be quick, the fool duke is on his way." The drow twitches at the mention of Lunea, but he's happy to talk while he's loading his crossbow. "We want the treasure for the glory of our Queen." "Our Queen!" agrees a murmured reply from the darkness nearby. The drow she can see continues: "The soothsayers told that a powerful artifact had been found in Grayhaven, by a sage named Tykus. We've spent too much time in the open air" - here he shudders - "to give up now. Tykus is dead, but the Duke took his body and his map. While the Duke is away, we've come to take the map...but there is no map here. Only Tykus' confidant, this idiotic gnome. We're taking him with us; you're welcome to everyone else."

Elowin responds: "The map have been found and is out of the Dukes hands!" When she sees the determination on the drow's face to attack the party redoubled, she tries to negotiate. "I don't have it on me. You will return the gnome to us alive and well, if you want a chance at the map. At twilight, outside the city walls by the big oak tree?"

Down on the ground, in the sphere of magical darkness, Adran is being attacked by an unseen assailant with long, sharp claws charged with lightning.Adran blindly attacks the darkness, but his dagger tastes no flesh, nor anything else.
The glowing humanoid creature by Eozindra floats away to one side. "That means you have the map, or you know where it is." The cloaked drow hidden in the darkness stands up again and looses a crossbow bolt at Elowin, then ducks back down into the darkness. "Either way, taking you is better than just taking the gnome." The cloaked drow she was talking to also uses his crossbow at the cleric, then he moves back along the roof, reloading. Frustrated by the sunlight, he calls out. "Slave, get her!"As the bolts are flying, Ishi takes a few steps back and then takes a running leap, easily grabbing the edge of the roof and pulling himself up between Elowin and the point where Elysia is hanging from the eaves. Before he can help her, Elysia kips up onto the roof, drawing her daggers and flinging them through the space where the visible drow stood. The daggers clatter on the roof tiles and slide, tumbling, to the street below. "Maybe it was you who hurt my friend and spelled my companion. You’ve made an enemy for that." Elysia flourishes, gesturing so that the drow can clearly see the spider ring she wears. The drow's eyes widen beneath his hood. "THEY'RE WITH HOUSE A'KALI!" He grins, a mixture of fanaticism and sadism. "Now we have to kill you all."Eozindra sees her sister on the roof and calls encouragement to her. "Don’t let them get away, zus!" (Elysia now has 1d6 Bardic Inspiration). Then the bard rushes into the darkness. She hears Adran in the darkness, and the two of them hear each other. Recognizing her charming perfume, Adran knows that she's not an attacker. Eozindra puts a hand reassuringly on his distinctively-armored shoulder as he continues to stab and slash toward the door.
Morik the bear charges into the darkness, immediately smelling Adran (oil, metal, and leather) and Eozindra (wood, steel, and flowers). There is a lingering smell of the drow (rot, stone, and sour sweat), Findal (ink, parchment, and bird droppings), and a strange smell of the creature (ozone and death)...but all of those scents are stronger the higher he lifts his muzzle. Morik rears up on his hind legs and tries to bite at the strange smell, but it rises beyond his jaws. He swipes with his claws and feels his attack connect. But it is clear that the drow, Findal, and the unseen creature have now gone to the roof.

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24 - Elowin (17/17) (0 temp)
18 - Adran (16/19) (7 temp)
12 - Cloaked drow
10 - Ishi (25/25) (0 temp)
10 - Creatures
9 - Elysia (14/17) (0 temp)
7 - Eozindra (10/10) (7 temp)
4 - Morik bear (30/34) (7 temp)

Round four, continued

Adran blindly attacks the darkness, but his dagger tastes no flesh, nor anything else.
The glowing humanoid creature by Eozindra floats away to one side. "That means you have the map, or you know where it is." The cloaked drow hidden in the darkness stands up again and looses a crossbow bolt at Elowin, then ducks back down into the darkness. "Either way, taking you is better than just taking the gnome." The cloaked drow she was talking to also uses his crossbow at the cleric, then he moves back along the roof, reloading. Frustrated by the sunlight, he calls out. "Slave, get her!"As the bolts are flying, Ishi takes a few steps back and then takes a running leap, easily grabbing the edge of the roof and pulling himself up between Elowin and the point where Elysia is hanging from the eaves. Before he can help her, Elysia kips up onto the roof, drawing her daggers and flinging them through the space where the visible drow stood. The daggers clatter on the roof tiles and slide, tumbling, to the street below. "Maybe it was you who hurt my friend and spelled my companion. You’ve made an enemy for that." Elysia flourishes, gesturing so that the drow can clearly see the spider ring she wears. The drow's eyes widen beneath his hood. "THEY'RE WITH HOUSE A'KALI!" He grins, a mixture of fanaticism and sadism. "Now we have to kill you all."Eozindra sees her sister on the roof and calls encouragement to her. "Don’t let them get away, zus!" (Elysia now has 1d6 Bardic Inspiration). Then the bard rushes into the darkness. She hears Adran in the darkness, and the two of them hear each other. Recognizing her charming perfume, Adran knows that she's not an attacker. Eozindra puts a hand reassuringly on his distinctively-armored shoulder as he continues to stab and slash toward the door.
Morik the bear charges into the darkness, immediately smelling Adran (oil, metal, and leather) and Eozindra (wood, steel, and flowers). There is a lingering smell of the drow (rot, stone, and sour sweat), Findal (ink, parchment, and bird droppings), and a strange smell of the creature (ozone and death)...but all of those scents are stronger the higher he lifts his muzzle. Morik rears up on his hind legs and tries to bite at the strange smell, but it rises beyond his jaws. He swipes with his claws and feels his attack connect. But it is clear that the drow, Findal, and the unseen creature have now gone to the roof.What do you do for round five?

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24 - Elowin (17/17) (0 temp)
18 - Adran (16/19) (7 temp)
12 - Cloaked drow
10 - Ishi (25/25) (0 temp)
10 - Creatures
9 - Elysia (14/17) (0 temp) WITH BARDIC INSPIRATION
7 - Eozindra (10/10) (7 temp)
4 - Morik bear (30/34) (7 temp)

"For striking a priestess of Lunea, in service of peace between elven kind. I hereby curse you and your kin." Elowin sings the curse in Elvish as she lunges forward into the darkness and attacks the unseen drow hiding in the curve of the dark sphere. "The peace denied you under the sun, is now denied under the moon as well!" Her blade bites deep into flesh (dealing 5 damage), and Lunea's power flows down her arm and down the blade into the flesh, setting up a building resonance ready to explode with concussive force should the foe move away from her. Anyone looking down into the street would see the purple lights illuminating the horses wink out of existence.
Making sure to avoid his companions, Adran stabs into the darkness, but the drow have already climbed up onto the roof. He sheathes his dagger and grabs onto Morik's shaggy fur.
The two cloaked drow desperately try to stop the flow of curses with their crossbows...missing once again.
Ishi wades into the darkness by Elowin's side (their waists and legs disappear) and slashes down with his sword, hitting the hidden drow crouching in the sphere again, dealing 9 damage.
Something - an invisible creature - attempts to strike at Elowin from behind! But Lunea is with her cleric, and the claws swish through the empty air. For the moment, the creature is visible: a shaggy, glowing blue humanoid form with long claws on its hands.
"We shall see." Elysia bows, then dashes across the roof and lunge, stabbing the cloaked drow for 7 piercing damage!
Eozindra swings her rapier in the darkness, the blade whistling through the air, careful to avoid both bear and elf. She, too, grabs onto Morik's shaggy fur.
With a grunt at the extra weight and a scrabbling of tiles in the darkness, Morik stands, digs his claws into the terra cotta tiles, and hauls himself (and his two riders) up onto the roof.What do you do for round six?

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24 - Elowin (17/17) (0 temp)
18 - Adran (16/19) (7 temp)
12 - Cloaked figures
10 - Ishi (25/25) (0 temp)
10 - Creatures
9 - Elysia (14/17) (0 temp)
7 - Eozindra (10/10) (7 temp)
4 - Morik bear (30/34) (7 temp)