Moving away from the roots of the apple trees, you soon discover that digging under the shield proves to have positive results as the shield does not seem to extend under the ground. With Brandr and Peter taking over for the boys, they start to make a burrow underneath shorn up with the boards.

Meanwhile, Ela and Crow worked in the same area to see if they could have any effect on the shield with arrow and bows, timed to the other attacks upon it. The water thrown by the ladies merely poured off the shield without a reaction, but the impact of anything against the dome caused it to go redder in that area for a briefly second. But even then, it wasn’t drawing enough magical energies away to make a difference.

“Look out!” BOOM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The bad hooch had been lit, causing a huge fireball to erupt across the shield and upwards into the air. For a moment, the energy of the shield before you becomes transparent and the redness collects around the blast. The archer fires a few arrows in rapid secession but they are still stopped. However, the shockwave passed quickly, almost dispersing the fire in the process. A loud cheer comes from the men behind the blast, as if they were somehow victorious by merely creating a big boom.

After an hour of digging and planking, there is a trench created under with enough room for all of you to move underneath if only one at a time. It will require some crawling and your horses will have to be left behind. You grab what equipment you need from your horses, and prepare yourself to enter the dome. The young apprentice once again tells Derry to take the Emergency kit so he might use its power to save his master and the princess.

OOC: I will assume everyone is moving in with the main weapon at ready. If you’d like to change that let me know. It doesn’t matter who enters first because nothing jumps you immediately.
You stand on the edge of an apple orchid that grows right outside the manor house. The red light within makes the leaves look black and the apples hanging ripe as if soaked in blood. For those with infravison, the redness is blinding for a few moments, as if you walked into the bright sunlight from a darken room. However your eyes grow accustom soon enough, except for the odd quality that human eyes seem reflect the red light back making them look undead and demonic to the Syls.

It is quiet.

Very quiet.

Almost too quiet. There are no sounds of the wind or of animals or even insects.


Brandr is the first to notice a dead bird on the grass where you stand - then another and another followed by a squirrel to two. When the ranger cautiously moves the animal corpse with his boot, he notices the grass has a slightly greasy liquid on it.

Noctus produces a map that one of the local ladies drew up quickly and crudely to give you some sense of direction. She had suggested the party was mostly in the Grand Ballroom.

Noctus returned to the others when he noticed the tunnel was complete. With rapier in hand he went under the wall. Once on the other side he pulle dout a piece of parchment. "During the course of our 'conversation' the lass was kind enough to provide a map of sorts. My 'swordplay left her much impressed. She has her own considerable 'talents' and was eager to return the favor. If her services in this regards to the map as half as good as her other services I can attest to it being a very good map." He shared the map with the others. "Her indication was that most of the villagers were in the ballroom."

As the tunnel was finished and the group prepared to enter the dome Derry couldn't help noticing how simple muscle had been a match for magic on this occaison. Or at least appeared to be a match for getting in. While he missed the opportunity to be the one to bring the dome down, he probably couldn't have done it anyway. The simplest way was usually the best. And it had worked, which really is what mattered.

Once o nthe inside he looked around carefully. The red eyes of his companions made him uncomfortable, but there wasn't much he could do about that. The dead birds made him very worried about those who should have been in the manor house. And the oil substance was . . . odd. Desiderius bent down and scooped up a bit of the stuff on a stick. (Just oily, I assume?) Not much there.

As Noctus celebrated his victory with the map Derry couldn't help shaking his head a bit. At least inside perhaps the female distractions would be gone. Except the princess . . .

But for now the swashbucklers endeavours had indeed brought them something useful. "Ok, well, it seems we have an idea where to go. Do we go in the front door? It hardly seems likely that if anyone is on watch that they failed to notice our entrance."

There was something most certainly wrong with this. The silence and the red light that hung over them was making her head throb, the sooner they got done with this the better. She listened as Noctus went over the map, and the ‘swordplay’ he had used to get it. Over her veil her eyes rolled slightly at his explanations but she said nothing.

She stood directly behind Crow while they approached the ‘Castle’ and arrow knocked and ready to be fired if necessary.

It was Derry who spoke up first, "Ok, well, it seems we have an idea where to go. Do we go in the front door? It hardly seems likely that if anyone is on watch that they failed to notice our entrance."

She sighed a little. “I would not assume that we are not being watched just because we made it past the bubble. The front door seems a likely point of entry to me, if that map is any good… it appears to be the most direct route to the ballroom where yon” she coughed a little as she spoke the next word, “lady said that the guests would likely be. I still think we should not let our guard down. The fact that no one has openly made notice of our entrance only makes me more antsy… I hope that this red light does not permeate the building, it is driving me insane.”

Under the veil a frown fixed on her lips and she narrowed her eyes, watching the trees and the path ahead of them for any sign of movement. Part of her nervous that it might be an attack, and part of her hopeful to find something besides themselves that was still alive.

"I never meant to suggest I thought we were unobserved. Given our mode of entry, if anything was watching, it has seen us. That doesn't mean it will act right away. But it probably means that it is too late to sneak in anywhere. Either we have been seen, or nothing is watching. Front door, side door, whatever. If the front door is the direct route, I suggest we use it."

Crow had remained quiet as the how’s and where to enter had been discussed, knowing that no matter where they entered, front door, back door, window or the like he would be at the front checking for any and all manner of traps.

As Ela and Derry continued to debate the mode of entry he started as thorough a scan of the buildings exterior as he could to try to familiarize himself with the dimension’s of the building’s outside in relation to the interior map they had been shown. As he finished his initial examination, he slowly moved a little closer to the front door. Turning his sights towards it he tried to gauge the type of lock and what he would have to do if indeed the door was locked. Until the rest decided on where to enter all he could was keep alert and try to gain as much info on the building before them as he could from outside of it............

Brandr was actually somewhat surprised to find that his simple idea had been successful. On the other hand, not knowing how magics truly worked, he really had no reason not to believe that digging a tunnel under the strange red dome would make a difference. He thought it obvious the magical field of energy would end where it met the ground, just like it did… Or when the big ranger now put his mind to it, he found he hadn't really thought about it at all.

As the group crawled through the small tunnel to the other side, what they met something Brandr had not expected at all. All was quiet - very, very quiet. To a man of nature it was all too quiet to be real. The only sound he could hear was their own movement and breathing and it made the situation strange. It was so unnatural that a lesser man might have been scared of the silence. And even the warrior, whom the locals would no doubt call barbaric, felt a creeping wave of cold crawling on his back. And to add to the absence of sound was another oddity - the redness. Everything was red in a most strange way… And then he noticed the birds and squirrels…

Then started again the thing that always did in a mixed group of adventures coming from various backgrounds - the democratic offering of ideas, thinking and thinking about what to do next. Each more politely than the other suggesting an option. In dire straits it would get them killed. Now? Now it might too even if not right away. Brandr was not a stupid man. Even if he looked somewhat barbaric or simple in the eyes of city dwellers and had been called both many a time, the tall blonde man was not quite that. And yet, he didn't wish for intelligent conversation right now. Now he felt like sitting duck and wanted to move.

The big man took a quick look at the map and then turned his eyes on the manor. Though not a strategist, Brandr felt that the entrance hall of the castle might prove to be too tight for them to fight efficiently if need be. Neither did he - just like Derry - have any doubt, that should someone be on the watch in the mighty building, that same someone would most certainly have noticed them trying to get through the barrier. It was another matter though to catch them digging a hole under the red sphere however. It was hard enough to see well through the thing and the apple trees had probably given them some cover. They had not necessarily been seen to enter yet, though at the moment they could only assume they had.

Turning to his companions, Brandr checked that his swords were loose in the scabbards and spoke: "I say we split up." He nodded to the priest of Therassor and continued: "You're carrying too much armor to sneak in unnoticed, Peter, so you'll have to go through the front door. But you'll need someone watching your back. Why don't you take Ela, Derry and Noctus with you and we'll circle around the back with Crow? We can all get fairly close to the front door under cover of the trees. It's not fool proof, but better than nothing. After Crow has checked the main entrance, he and I will try to stay unnoticed and continue to the side door with our backs to the wall. Just give us some time to get there…" Brander looked at the syl rogue for affirmation. "Count to… say… two hundred before you enter?"

"Ahh the old divide and be conquered plan. One of my personal favorites and I employ it often. Of course I tend to try and get my enemies to do the dividing and me the conquering. Interestingly enough it seems to work just as well on young ladies as it does monsters. Since we have no idea of what or how many 'things' there are I think we should stick together. It also cuts down the chance of us accidentally attacking each other in the heat of the moment. As for the method of entry I would suggest that since Crow will be the one to put himself at risk clearing the way for the rest of us that we allow him to choose the route."

"…old divide and be conquered plan…" "…accidentally attacking each other in the heat of battle…" Brandr felt like shaking his head and asking Noctus to repeat himself. Had the fancy swashbuckler just insulted him in front of their companions? They were a group of people trying to work together for a common goal, but they came from different backgrounds and naturally had different views of the world. But the syl's words not only questioned his intelligence, but what's worse - his skills as a warrior.

Shaking his head slightly all traces of a smile disappeared from the huge man's face. "Noctus, my friend." The stress was on the last word. "I will let that go because we've only worked together for a short while and you apparently do not know me or the ways of my people well enough." The eyes cold blue gaze caught the sylvari fighter's eyes. "Were we up north in Vidarak land, I couldn't leave such an insult pass unpunished."

"I do not attack anyone by accident, be it friend or foe. Not in any situation. As for being divided and getting conquered… You maybe somewhat correct. Should there be a huge force inside, four people might not be able to hold them off in the hallway shown on the map. But I doubt six would fare little better."

Still looking directly at Noctus, Brandr continued: "However, being able to engage the enemy from two sides and possibly catching them unaware of the rear attack would be well worth the risk. But I can't force you to do as I suggest. If you all wish to go through the front door, by all means do so. I'm still going to circle around to the side door."

With that, Brandr set out towards the east end of the building, slowly and quietly and using the trees as his cover.

As the discussion of who to go where and if or not to divide the parties forces in the face of an unknown enemy, Crow himself had remained quiet. Though surprised at Noctus’s comment on he being the one to choose the party’s means of entrance, he in no way saw himself doing that. Master of the mechanical yes...leader of party, nope, no way, jose.

His thoughts interrupted with Brandr’s final words and the big fighter walking away he quickly turned his eyes to Ela’s and with a quick nod to her proceeded to follow the big man around to the estates rear area’s.

“Brandr let me go first to make sure the way is clear” Crow spoke to him as he quickly passed him by. On the alert for tricks or traps Crow led the way for the two of them till they reached the buildings back door. As he had at the front he examined the door and its lock to see what it would take to open it if locked. If unlocked or once opened he would defer to Brandr and allow the big warrior to enter first, after all this rear entry was his idea.

Noctus shook his head wondering why everyone seemed to take evry statement personnaly. As Crow moved to teh door, Noctus moved to Brandr so they could talk in private. "It was not you I was worried about attacking us on accident but rather that any of us could make a mistake. You are from the north and in your lands my comment might have been an insult, that much is true. Were we there I would not have made it. But we are not there and you must adapt to customs here. The plan you proposed is a great one if we know there is a single enemy group and we can surprise it. However we do not know what is in there and so it is likely that we will be surprised and not them, especially if they heard that loud blast. They could be expecting us. What if you run into a spellcaster? Without one of our own it could be bad. And if we trip a booby trap because we have not thief? I for one like having you around to watch my back, I may be good with my sword but I have not eyes in the back of my head." Noctus offered his hand, "Friends?"

Derry couldn't help but shake his head at the potential dissent in the party. He was not a fan of splitting up. Seeing the floor plan, it appeared that anyone going in through a side door would have more than one door to pass through to reach the ballroom. In fact, both groups would. That provided too many opportunities for problems. He had to admit, he thought Noctus was right about this one.

But all of these thoughts stayed in Desiderius' head. The two sword fighters needed to work this out. Hoepfully Brandr would stay with the group. If he didn't want to, Desiderius wasn't about to stand in his way.

“I say we split up." Brandr, "You're carrying too much armor to sneak in unnoticed, Peter, so you'll have to go through the front door. But you'll need someone watching your back. Why don't you take Ela, Derry and Noctus with you and we'll circle around the back with Crow? We can all get fairly close to the front door under cover of the trees. It's not fool proof, but better than nothing. After Crow has checked the main entrance, he and I will try to stay unnoticed and continue to the side door with our backs to the wall. Just give us some time to get there…" Brandr looked at the syl rogue for affirmation. "Count to… say… two hundred before you enter?"

"Ahh the old divide and be conquered plan. One of my personal favorites and I employ it often.” Noctus commented, “Of course I tend to try and get my enemies to do the dividing and me the conquering. Interestingly enough it seems to work just as well on young ladies as it does monsters. Since we have no idea of what or how many 'things' there are I think we should stick together. It also cuts down the chance of us accidentally attacking each other in the heat of the moment. As for the method of entry I would suggest that since Crow will be the one to put himself at risk clearing the way for the rest of us that we allow him to choose the route."

"Noctus, my friend." The stress was on the last word. "I will let that go because we've only worked together for a short while and you apparently do not know me or the ways of my people well enough." Brandr replied. "Were we up north in Vidarak land, I couldn't leave such an insult pass unpunished. I do not attack anyone by accident, be it friend or foe. Not in any situation. As for being divided and getting conquered… You maybe somewhat correct. Should there be a huge force inside, four people might not be able to hold them off in the hallway shown on the map. But I doubt six would fare little better."

Still looking directly at Noctus, Brandr continued: "However, being able to engage the enemy from two sides and possibly catching them unaware of the rear attack would be well worth the risk. But I can't force you to do as I suggest. If you all wish to go through the front door, by all means do so. I'm still going to circle around to the side door."

“Brandr let me go first to make sure the way is clear.” Crow spoke to him as he quickly passed him by to head towards the door.

Being together for such a short time had not given the party time to iron out a plan of attack in these situations. Disagreements happened as they did in their first adventure, but once the fighting began the unity formed as each knew what they had to do.

PAFFT
The sound was heard by all, a distinct noise that sounded like a bladder of ale being hit with force. All thoughts of dissent and orders were gone as everyone looked toward the castle.

“KILLIEEE! KILLIEEEE!” came the high pitched cries of a dozen short dog-faced humanoids running towards you, each with a javelin in each hand and wearing dirty rags and broken wooden shields on straps across their backs and chest. The front shields were all crude painted in red with an eye emblem. Kobolds! How the heck did they get here? These foul creatures were the dretch of even the most evil society.

There was no time for talk. They were closing in at 30 yards away, with Crow being closest to them all. You are outnumbered two to one, and the kobold’s only strength was on numbers.

OOC: Combat. I need actions in combat for the round and a follow up with what you plan to do beyond that. You are surprised of course by not caught flat-footed.

The struggle of shoveling was both hot and exhausting. Peter could feel his skin glistening with a coat of sweat beneath the heavy splint mail. He sighed as the sun beat down and he and Brandr toiled side by side beneath the red dome. However their struggles paid off beautifully and left a chute that tunneled right into the manor’s orchard. Peter grinned at Brandr, proud of his work. He waited for the party to come clap them on the backs but instead found they were hurrying inside. He sighed and tried to put aside his egoism and come down to task, as much as he loved accolades there was something of more importance at hand.

Noctus returned looking rather satisfied and he had discovered a map for the party to make good use of. Peter smiled at him, that sly bugger, he thought to himself, grinning broadly. Peter was listened over the eager discussion about what should be done. Again his feelings of glaring inadequacy niggled up in his stomach. His experience came in head to head combat, all he had learned was the glory and devastation that battle taught him on the fields between Ertain and Sendria. The blood drenched mornings and the bone-white moon of the nights of ghosts were what he knew, not the cunning of creeping. However, Peter trusted Brandr for his honourable nature, his warrior’s dignity and, perhaps, though Peter did not like to admit it, for his race.

Peter tried to follow the argument, but before he could engage himself Brandr and Crow were off to meet them through the back door. Peter looked about himself, Ela, Derry and Noctus. He was comforted to know that they were all capable individuals and he would not find himself lost or alone in the context of battle.

However, before these thoughts could extend themselves too far, he saw before him the shadows of short, ugly abominations. Dog-like midgets, Peter thought to himself, accursed Kobolds. They were scum, parasites that clung to those thriving and raided, killed, pillaged, swept in in great numbers, watched their brothers fall at their side thoughtlessly. They raged with pure evil. But there was no time for morals now. Peter slid his long sword from the scabbard that hung at his side.

Crow was out in front and Peter felt a sick worry overtake him. The Syl rogue was not nearly as prepared to take the slashing blades of these beasts and, besides, they needed him very badly if they were to make it through the mansion alive.

Peter leapt forward with his blade bright in the light, he shouted to his Syl comrade, “Crow get back, I got you covered.” Just as he spoke he saw the rapid movement of his swashbuckling fellow diving toward the enemy line, seeking to dash it into bits with his devilishly and deceptively sharp rapier.

"I'm with you scoundrel!" Peter shouted grinning, pumping himself forward with the man, his blade held up, prepared to slice the malicious monsters into mince meat. He bent himself towards meeting the scourge of goodness on their left flank with Noctus, careful not to get in the swordsman's way but to be near at hand if help was needed. Before the clash, he called out to the wind, without looking back, “Brandr, you there?”

-Dragonblood

Noctus watched the two start to go around the building and was just about to go after them when things got interesting. Kobolds of all things came rushing to attack them. Crude armor made of shields and poor quality javalins showed them to be their usual poor quality troops. However there were quite a few of them. Not wanting to stand around and be on the receiving end of thrown javalins, Noctus deceided his best bet was to close the gap quickly and rely on his superior swordplay. At least he hoped it was superior swordplay. "Aaaaarrrrrggggghhhh!" he yelled as loudly and fiercly as possible while attempting to get to the left edge of the kobold line; rapier in hand. The plan was to try to work his way inward one kobold at a time from a flank.