>>5697838The sly Silkscale Infiltrator’s proposal is cut short as a prematurely-loosed arrow pierces your shroud of black and embeds itself in his chest. He stumbles back, human hands clutching at his chest as his false face displays dull surprise at the deadly point transfixing his heart. His silken undergarb darkens with lifeblood in the grayscale of your monochromatic darkvision… And yet you see RED.
“Oh Gods Above!” Queen Ekaterine cries out, clutching her hands to her mouth and shrinking back… Then moving to help.
“Foolish girl!” snaps the Duelist, and yanks her back, throwing her roughly to the ground and moving with admirable even agility to protect her, both blades drawn in an instant.
“No,” the Occultist muses, with a nervous rattle of laughter. “I do not think thossse godsss are with usss.”
“Shall I return fire?” Alu asks, his own weapon-of-choice drawn as well, his own arrow at-the-ready.
Natvodosk rears up and flutters his undersized wings in a threat display, spreading his arms wide and letting loose a shriek, precipitating another rain of arrows-all of which blissfully miss you, or are deflected by the Duelist’s swift swords.
“A demon could distract them,” suggests the Occultist in True Speech, almost sounding excited at the possibility. “I’ve tamed and contained just the creature, I think…”
The North-Merchant slumps down, falling to his rump and taring dumbly at the arrow in his chest, scrutinizing it as if weighing the cost-benefit analysis of its removal.
It’s up to you. What will you do?
>Produce your bow and return fire from inside the darkness, providing cover for the rest of your group to affect escape>Draw one of your blades [Moon-blade? Serpent khopesh? Mundane elven sword? Assassin’s blade?] and team up with the Duelist to slice and dice these men to ribbons>Allow the Occultist to summon her demon as a decoy and scapegoat, as you bypass this checkpoint>Let Ekaterine attempt negotiations—maybe if she tells them who she is and why you’re all here, they will recognize and accede to a Princess of Hawksong?>Write-inWhat will you do with the North-Merchant?
>Protect and defend him [specify if you do so yourself, or assign someone]>Abandon or ignore him for now 