Group 9I’m only posting this once per group thread, but it’s true unless I specifically post otherwise:
All status information from all groups is flowing on the Link; everyone knows what is happening everywhere and can share, and act on, everyone else’s information.
And Star’s combat map is giving current locations and status, but she cautions they are a little approximate unless she can actually see you.
There is a lot of pain on the Link, which hits just after Star’s warning comes on the Link about two seconds before the dismay on the Link from groups 3, 4, and 5, followed by group 7, and then the grim determination that group 8 puts on the Link to tough it out and do their reconnaissance mission.
Group 9 also hears on the Link, just in Time,
{Star} Forbiddance! That’s what blocked our Gates at 3, 4, and 5! Groups 7-8-9-10, we’re flying into it!The Plan
TM has been for the groups 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, and 9 to enter in very quick succession, since their primary mission is to provide a distraction from group 10 whose mission is to get to the slave pens and rescue the slaves, if they are there... and they had already lost ‘surprise’ time compared to groups 1, 2, and 6 because they came via Earthglide instead of via Gate. Since groups 1, 2, and 6 didn’t run into anything worse than Alarm, groups 3, 4, and 5 bolted into their locations as soon as they could, and spilled out of the ceiling right through Glyphs and into a Forbiddance. Now the earlier three Earthgliding groups are putting a flow of information on the Link which matches well what Magic the later two groups, 7 and 8, are reporting, not at all like groups 1, 2, and 6.
Group 9, like group 8, knows what may be coming, but they too have to soldier through it… they are a key distractor, the only ones in area CC, and are also the only source of intelligence in area CC, so they have to go in as fast as possible to see what the enemy is doing, giving the enemy as little chance as possible to scatter or hide. And they have a key demolitions objective, the bridge from the barracks island to the mainland. They even expect to see into the back end of the slave pens and may report to Group 10 about an area that is out of Group 10’s initial view. And group 9 is one of the tougher groups, with more Life Energy.
However, with the few extra seconds of warning beyond what group 7 had, Vir9 does have the opportunity to keep the parrot cloud in the Bag where he put them on the way here, but they will be locked in; the parrots may not fare too well against the Forbiddance damage, and Vir9 can always Earthglide into the rock and out of the Forbiddance if he wants to let them out a little later.
I’m going to assume that group 9’s parrot cloud of death stay in the Bag unless Vir posts otherwise. It’s Vir’s decision whether to risk it or not, but he has to decide before you make the damage save for the parrots. At least you can see in advance what damage will apply if he risks it and their save fails.
Steeling themselves for the pain, the whole group Earthglides down out of the ceiling into the location marked with a 9 on the map, and emerges in battle ready positions in the air, flying as planned.
The location looks about as expected from the map. You are in a big open area at the foot of a bridge to the north, on an island in the river. A large triangular building is to the southwest, not quite directly below, another more or less rectangular building is to the south, and others that are what you expected from the map. Some of the largest buildings look like barracks. The floor is blocks of polished stone. The walls have carved designs. The ceiling is carved as well, very ornately, about fifty feet high.
Ror9’s demolitions target is a few feet along the bridge to the north according to the combat map; you’re almost exactly at the point to place the explosive charge.
There are swirls of damp breezes coming off the river, and the sound of the rushing river echoes from every direction.
Vir9 senses Magic all around in the 30ft of open area visible. Ror9 senses the same, for 60ft since that much open area is visible. Their senses do not penetrate the ceiling, walls, or floor. Both sense that a Spell just triggered. The Detect info on the Link allows Ror9 and Halt9 to recognize an Alarm Spell, via Spellcraft.
They too also see two different Glyphs painted Magically on the floor, ceiling, and walls, including all over the big expanse of area CC, that are not otherwise visible: Ghoul Glyph, and Glyph of Warding with Shivering Touch. Explosive Runes are loaded onto the Glyph of Warding so that someone who tries to Read the Glyph will set them off. However, like the groups before them they have not Read the Glyph; they simply recognized it, via Spellcraft, and did not have to Read it to bypass it – the normal procedure – because absolutely everyone, including parrots, has Nondetection from the ScryBubblegum, which foils both Glyphs – they realize this through their Spellcraft. Neither one triggers, so Reading them is not necessary. Also Ror9 senses the proper way to pass the Glyph with Find The Path; it’s not necessary to Read it. There isn’t a password, but he senses that his Alignment shifts to LE. Tanatou9 also senses this shift in Ror9.
There is also a lot of pain, as they were warned.
Via Spellcraft they too confirm a Forbiddance in place, and Ror9 knows for sure via Find The Path that it has no password, instead his Alignment presents LE to the Forbiddance as well, as the correct way to pass the Forbiddance.
Ror9 takes no damage. Everyone else takes damage as follows; no one has enough SR to matter. WILL Save DC 22 for half (and remember you roll twice, take the better +2, plus whatever other bonuses – but not the parrots… if they need to save because they’re out of the Bag; they’re not on the Link with Star – but the parrots do get +2 Luck bonus from Janis).
Vir9, Sheerak9, Halt9: 44
Tanatou9, Halfaz9: 23