Thema: "A simple escort," she said ...

[Zanan]

"Maybe someone can spy on the bridge by magical means before the attack? It could well be that they slaughtered these two humans with a purpose ... if you get what I am saying?!"

[Sheiriya]

"Just wait a moment. I'll take a look." That said Sheiriya murmurs some words and seems to concentrate on something.

[Korach]

The cloud of dusk moves towards the githyanki and whisperes to him: "Could you carry that chain you saw back in the tower if stealth is needed? You could just throw it towards the derro if it comes to a fight."

[warlockco]

"I never said that Illithids were harmless, just that you knew where you stood with them, as a potential meal," says Xune, "Derro on the other hand" to which she just shrugs.

[Fabius Maximus]

Farviaan turns towards the cloud, with a slightly puzzled look on his face. "I could do this," he answers. "But chains do rattle. If it, or you, cannot be silent, you'll have to crawl."

When Xune responds, he laughs mirthlessly and says: "I prefer to think of flayers as prey." The tattoos on his face begin to move on their own, and he continues: "No squidhead will ever lay his tentacles on me again."

[Mikayla]

"The best way to take a bridge is from both ends at once."  Kylara'anon says.  "I can lead a small group of those who can remain quiet and stealthy to the far side of the bridge, there.  Once there, one of the arcanists can start the attack with a spell, an area effect upon the pillar, be it fire or web or something else.  Then we attack from both sides trapping the Derro at the pillar between us.  We will not use missle weapons - we don't want to hit each other - but we will rush into close combat."  She looks out at the bridge.  "Before we do this, however, I want a scout's eyes on the far side of the bridge to make sure there is not an army there waiting for us.  Who can get eyes-on the far side of the bridge and then report back without being seen or heard?  Other than me that is."

[warlockco]

"Why do we want to take the bridge, when our goal is to just cross it?" says Xune looking at Tavia, "Are we going to cross back over this bridge in the near future?"

Looking at Kylara'anon, "You are the boss for this, so we will do it your way, but needless fighting will weaken us for no gain, unless these Derro have something that could benefit us."

"Maybe this is a toll bridge, and the one slain tried to force their way across, or maybe it is a change of management. What we need is more information about the situation itself before we go charging wanting to kill everything over there."

[Zanan]

"To my knowledge, this has always been a toll station, but the last time I crossed it, duergar occupied it. Before that it were ... orogs, drow, a beholder and its thralls, drow, an illithid, and duergar again. Unless I got the order wrong somewhere." She looks at the yathrin. "In any case, I doubt that these three derro are the only ones on the bridge. Then again, they are just derro ..."

[Phaerven]

"Are we considering paying toll to those?" Zhadristan asks, giving the last word a derogatory inflection.

[Draezen]

"Before we take any course of action, we first need some intelligence on what's on the other side of this bridge and if any other creatures besides these derro are on it," Szordrin says in Undercommon.

"If the derro are the only beings dwelling on this bridge I don't think we should give them anything but a blade in their sick twisted little hearts. From there we could take the coin from whatever tolls they've collected for ourselves."

As Szordrin finishes his last sentence the red and purple spider marking on his back shrinks in size and crawls over his face dwelling there for a time before moving from the surface of his skin to the surface of his shadow silk shirt. Upon reaching the center of his shirt it begins to pulse with a dim purple light before finally settling there, it's restless wandering at and end, at least momentarily.

[Fabius Maximus]

"I don't know", Farviaan states, "if we should attack these sods. Derro are flayer slaves by default, so there could well be an illithid up there somewhere. In that case, I'd attack. It's to dangerous to leave a living enemy behind." He scratches his head and continues: "But if they are just collecting a bridge toll, we should pay it and go on. We don't know what creatures take the derro's place if we kill 'em."

He turns to Tavia and asks: "How'd the derros act? Like normal, or like puppets on a string?"

[Sheiriya]

"The Derro aren't alone" Sheiriya informs the others. "On the other side are two hooded beings which may be some kind of skeletons. The pillar has an upper storey with battlement that provides cover and is a good lookout. There are another hooded and two armored skeleton-likes, a red robed woman and a strange looking man in black robes around some kind of stone table. Three chained, nearly dead humans are on that storey, too."

[Zanan]

"Just like normal derro," Tavia replies to the Gith's question. "And the blood and entrails at their feet looked normal too."

[Draezen]

"I suppose we should pay the damn derro then. But just in case they pull something, one or two of us who can spider climb should scale the ceiling and make sure that spotter on top of the pillar doesn't snipe us."

[Romaal]

Tarinyon finished his scribbling and stands up. Then he approaches the other partymembers.
"I think we should kill the derros and then revive them. They can be of use for us best as dead soldiers. L'alurl derro zhah elghinyrr derro. (The best derro is a dead derro.)", he says in drow tongue.