"Well now that the Dire Wolves are taken care of we need to start getting ready. Tea put them into stasis while Smithy kills the scent of the blood to stop predators from coming. Espically that damn hydra, we do not want it here before we are ready." Sasha immedantly took comand of the situation.
Tess looked around the cave and made a quick decision. "I will reinforce this cave so that we have a base camp, it will give us a few days to properly canvis the area and build the hydra trap. There is also the bandid camp two days away from here, what are they hold up in, an old mine right?"
"I shall look at the area around and see if I can find the perfect spot for the ambush. If we can then we just need to chanel the hydra into a single area where it can't get out of and kill it from a distance." Embrda said while his sister healed everyone to remove their exhaustion.
"Great while Em does that Tess and Tea can prep the cave as a home base we can use while in the area in the future. Once we have that taken care of we will process the corpuses and make this place into a thief's hideout. We can look into the bandits and if the old mine has any value we might buy it with some of the reward money." Drassisa said helpfully.
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While that was taking place Embrda had already sliped out of the cave to look around. He had the idea to turn the place into a thief's hide just as they did and was scalling the cliffs to get at a place with a better view.
From the rocky outcroping he could see farther then from the ground that is for sure. Looking around he spotted the hydra in the distance and immedantly ducked down onto his belly to avoid being seen. Not wanting to be smelled as he was vaguely down wind he used a sent destroying potion to cover all his bases and decided that this would be an excelent spot for some spelled defenses to fire from.
If they set up and fire artillery spells from here then they could snipe with the monstrusly destructive spells from an entire league away. Build channels into the mountain and they would have the abillity to flood whatever came below them. It would be a good spot to fight a hydra if they could just raise enough earth to make a kill coridor and sink the ground in there so that the beast could not get out easly. Yes this place has potential to do the job they were here for all right.
"Will need some days to get the prep work done and in the mean time I will look for a better place. No sense in making the fall back hideout to obvious if we can avoid it now is there." Embrda said to himself.
Looking around to see if he could find any trace of the mine and seeing smoke in the distance near the base of a cliff. He decides that it is worth checking out and canvasing he area for patrolls. The last thing that they need is a group of bandits walking in on them with their pants down.
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"I am going to go North a little ways and try to find the mine we were talking about. I think I saw it and was wondering what we would do about patrols in the area. No sense underestimating the bandits in a situation like this is there?" Embrda said to the group that had gathered to hear his report.
"I also saw the hydra in the distance so everyone be sure not to leave any scents in the air. It was on the edge of its hunting grounds if I don't miss my guess so we should be safe. We should be able to fortify the cliff face for our needs but I will let Tea take a look at it to double check. Anyone want anything while I am out?" He asks the group.
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"I could use some plants and the like, I will make you a list with some drawings so that you know what to get if you come across them. I am sure Sasha would like some for making poison if you can find some nightshade plants or wolfsbane. Just be SURE that you DO NOT TOUCH IT! It can kill you, or at least make you sick as a dog for days on end. Got it?" Smithy said to the thief who now look a bit panicked at the thought of dying so easily from something so small.
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After giving Embrda the shoping list and having Tess prepare the cavern for what we would need the group started to get the bodies ready for processing. The pelts would be worth a good amount of money on their own sense they were in perfict condition. The bones would go to Teamasa for undead creation while the meat would be used for rituals and bait.
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Spreading out the blood in the corect symbols Sasha showed Dressisa how to call on a patron for favors. "Now what are you asking for, you need to know in advance and with The Lady it is important to always balance your books. She will let you go so far into debt that it would take you centuries of service to pay it all off. She will also be displease when you fail to pay it off. Best to pay it off if you want the good deal when you are gone from this mortal coil." Stated Sasha as if it were no big deal and to her it was not. Just a fact of life, one of many.
"What is your hearts desire children?" A voice said out of the glowing symbols painted on the ground in the Dire Wolves blood.
It was not the blood that called her, just the act of sacrificing part of their kills for her attention. Symbolic gestures like that had power when you got to her level and while it was not worth all that much she still considered it something special because it came from the team that she had subtly helped creates first hunt after all the peaces got together.
"I would ask for a good hunt of the hydra, that none of my companions get hurt while we bring it down." Drassisa said after thinking for but a moment.
"Very well fortune will favor you on your hunt if you are willing to place the hydras heart on the alter when the hunt is overwith and done." The Lady of Bargins said after considering the request.
"I accept and shall do so my Lady." The Dark Elf said to the succubus and bowed.
After the ritual was over and the demons voice had disappearedfrom the cavern the Dark Elf had to ask about how what was offered was not equal to what was promised.
"It is because you will be in her debt, a hydras heart can be used in many high grade potions so giving it up is a blow to you so the debt is ballance. And yes it is possible to just not ever pay her back. To keep what you promised and she will still deal with you over and over again." Sasha stated befre asking Drassisa, "does that sound like a good idea to you?"
"No it sounds like what you will have to do to pay off the debt when you die will be unpleasent. It wont pass on to your children but if she gets your soul then she could make you do all kinds of unpleasnt things to pay back the insult." Drassisa thought out loud while having a shiver go down her spine.
"Right you are but the rewards are worth it because on top of a successful hunt we will also get her favor and you want her to smile on you. She will be more inclined to ask you to do things that you already want to do for profit from her if she is pleased with you." Sasha explained to the young Dark Elf after everything was over with.
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While that was happening Teamasa was taking a look at the cliff face and saw what Embrda had seen. It was a perfict position to fall back to if ever they needed to. The cabin is so heavly spelled that taking it would be a total nightmare and a half but with this as a fall back all they would have to do is bind some scrolls of Teleportation to the area and dig a tunnle for them to retreat through the entire mountain while an army tries to fight and entre mountain.
Turlly a necromancers and a wizards playgound. She was going to have quite a bit of fun with this place. The best part was going to be putting illusions all over the place so that people could not actually see what all was there. The looks on their faces when they realize what they were really facing was going to priceless.
Never give a wizard, a necromancer, a alchemist, or an artificer time to prepare for you. And they had all of those things ready to take on the entire world!