Where hope dies (Afina, Surarruthru, Calleigh)

[Anastasia]

Peeking out, you see you're right in the middle of the city. One street to your left curves around and around, a self contained coil with no roads leading in and out to the rest of the city. The buildings here are all tall towers. The street is wider than usual and great hounds roam them. Taller than even Hanna and much wider, these dogs are made entirely of glued together hunks of body parts. They move with an unnatural grace, patrolling constantly.

The streets to your right are less immediately troublesome. In one direction it lest to a small square and a four way intersection. In another it leads to a larger square, one with some sort of overlarge pillar in the center. It's made of solid iron, a sturdy gray that seems almost vibrant against the endless blacks of Hopelorn. Robed creatures of all sorts sit before it, still. Mostly ones with rotting flesh or no flesh at all, though you spot what looks to be a dog-headed humanoid amid them. An arcanoloth - you've face that kind of foe before - albeit one with the flesh of his dog head rotting and crawling with maggots.

[Iron Dragoon]

'If we run into something like that again, I can try to Shadow Walk us. The city is warded, but I might be able to get us into another part of the city.'

[Anastasia]

Surraruthru, could you use ' instead of " if Tryll's passing along thoughts?

[Iron Dragoon]

Certainly. I'll edit my post to reflect that.

[Ebiris]

No sign of that bonemill... really what does that look like? She should have asked. She just assumed it would be like a watermill or windmill but... ossified? Flying up a bit further for a better vantage, Afina casts her gaze further afield for any likely candidates.

[Iron Dragoon]

Surrauthru follows Afina, keeping an eye out for anything out of place or suspicious.

[Anastasia]

'I have no idea how that gloom did it. Probably the locals know a trick we don't,' Sylvie remarks.

The two fly on up. You can get a view of things - you're near the center. A few more blocks inward is a massive center square. Here likes a great expanse of bones, all littered about. Several odd buildings are here.

One is a vast tower, where skeletons scoop up the bones into barrels and carry them within. Dozens of them work, yet there seems to be more bones. Indeed, just as they clear a patch out, more rise up from the ground, which shakes like lard to spit them out.

Another is a tower where dozens of arcanloths hang from the walls, hung like executed prisoners. Spectral ghosts, wraiths and other things tear at them all the while, never stopping, yet their wounds stubbornly heal just as fast as they're made.

A large, elegant tower of obsidian rises up. It has no features nor any windows. However, mouths. Hundreds of mouths that constantly gnash their teeth silently, crying out without a sound being made. Shrouded and black robed figures fly about, harvesting teeth from the mouths with metal pliers.

A rather large, black building stands a bit to the side. One thing stands out - tall, misshapen creatures of flesh stand guard around the entrance. Afina knows them from her studies - flesh golems.

[Ebiris]

Found it! Flying back down Afina appears visible before her companions once more, and gestures for them to follow as she charts a course towards the flesh-golem guarded building. She has a plan for getting in without engaging the outer defences, though it does require being out of sight to pull off. She can survey their lines of vision better once they're closer on the ground though.

[Anastasia]

Striving to just sneak along then? Okay. Everyone make Hide checks here.

This'll take 3 more charges of your wand, Calleigh.

[Ebiris]

[18:21] <@Ebiris> roll 1d20+45 Afina hide
[18:21] <Kobot> Ebiris rolled 1d20+45 Afina hide --> [ 1d20=8 ]{53}
[18:21] <@Ebiris> roll 1d20+25 Tryll hide
[18:21] <Kobot> Ebiris rolled 1d20+25 Tryll hide --> [ 1d20=4 ]{29}
[18:21] <@Ebiris> roll 1d20+24 Calleigh hide
[18:21] <Kobot> Ebiris rolled 1d20+24 Calleigh hide --> [ 1d20=8 ]{32}
[19:04] <@Ebiris> roll 1d20+51 Surraruthru hide
[19:04] <Kobot> Ebiris rolled 1d20+51 Surraruthru hide --> [ 1d20=15 ]{66}

Spoiler: ShowHide

Afina: 208+14/208, heroes feast (CL 20), greater mage armour (CL 23), moment of prescience (CL 23), resist energy (cold) (CL 23), resist energy (acid) (CL 23), shadow form (CL 23)
AC 60, spell resistance 38, blindsense 30, immunity to fire, water, disease, poison, fear
Spell charges: 6/10/7/7/8/7/8/8/6/7

[Anastasia]

> roll 1d20+50 Sylvie
<Kobot> Kotono rolled 1d20+50 Sylvie --> [ 1d20=2 ]{52}
> roll 1d20+34 Master
<Kobot> Kotono rolled 1d20+34 Master --> [ 1d20=11 ]{45}
> roll 1d20+30 Tannin
<Kobot> Kotono rolled 1d20+30 Tannin --> [ 1d20=11 ]{41}

> roll 1d100-25 vs 70
<Kobot> Kotono rolled 1d100-25 vs 70 --> [ 1d100=59 ]{34}

The party sneaks through more silent streets, around and to the square. You're more or less opposite your target and can get a look. Two golems stand just outside the main door - an archway with doors of solid, polished white bone. It stands out painfully against the black all around you. Others seem to patrol around it, a pair coming by every 30 seconds. There's no way a pair could cover the building that fast, so there's likely several pairs doing constant patrols around the perimeter.

[Ebiris]

Using the other buildings and alleys for cover, Afina works her way around towards the rear or sides of Finality. Going through the front door's just asking to be kicked right out again after all!

[Anastasia]

Going alone or with the others? I had the impression you might be scouting it out first.

[Ebiris]

Safety in numbers! Some solo scouting will be required once we find a decent entry spot, but have to wait till we find one first.

[Anastasia]

> roll 1d100-25 vs 70
<Kobot> Kotono rolled 1d100-25 vs 70 --> [ 1d100=33 ]{8}

In silence the party slinks through the streets and the alleys. Fortune is with them and they come around. They find the building has...no alleys connecting to it. It's all buildings and black walls, no sign of an easy way to slip in. Alleys end abruptly when they get close to it, blocked off with tall black walls.

Tannin eyes one and says, 'Bet you ten to one some paranoid devil's worried about sneaks finding their way in.'

'No bet,' The Master says immediately, 'But what will a wall stop a real threat, when they can just fly?'