Shadowed Figures

A slight feminine form, dressed in dark leathers (and much smaller than her companions) crouched on the balls of her feet, her fingers spread out on the ground in front of her, like a cat poised to pounce. Covered head to toe, only her red eyes were barely visible behind her hood and mask. She nodded in affirmation of the order, then turned her gaze to the keep as the shadows ever so subtly shifted where she made contact with the ground.

An enormous figure of a man stands atop the keep's highest tower. The seasoned woodsman watches the landscape with vigilance. His eyes cast a glimmer in the moonlight as he scans the area with magical low-light vision. If alerted by any suspicious movements among the shadows of the night, he would cast over himself a Wild Instincts spell, further heightening his senses.

His heart would begin to pound as his blood rises with the thought of warfare looming in the dark stillness of the night.

A man in a black priest robe and black masked hood and a black cloak slinks down in the shadows near the road that leads up to kragg. ((30ish hide and ms)) He seems to be just observing whats going on.

The man on the tower looks down to the common area on the roof below, and he calls out to the elf in his thick Illuskan accent.

"So I'm not just seeing things?"

The priestess stretched her back with an audible crack as she rose from the table containing the alchemical gear. She collected the rolled bandages and the vials of liquid and packed them carefully into the bags designed to hold them. Then it was time to snuff the flames, take the glass ware - alembics, retorts, valves and tubing - and start to soak them in the solvents for cleaning.

Sylira sighed - she knew it must be the middle of the night, but it was so easy to lose track of time down in the depths of the Keep - and decided to leave the equipment for a while. She was hungry, so she trod heavily up the stairs to the roof, mind fixed on a slab of meat between some bread. She was quite surprised to emerge, therefore, into an atmosphere of watchful tension. She looked around at the elf and the guards nearby and, not bothering with questions, went to go look and see what could be seen.

Sylira nodded briskly. "Right. One blonde guild leader, coming up."  With a last glance around at the guards and the situation she clattered off down the stairs, headed for the Headmistress' rooms.

Not a second after receiving her orders, the petite female silently disappears into the shadows as if stepping into a cloud. She takes up a position somewhere in the brush and watches the docks, the only movement from her a beating heart and slow breathing.

OOC:

With a nod to the elf, the man joins the archers in readying his bow. He simply continues to scan the area.

Elektra would respond to Lira's call. Hurried footsteps could be heard as she races from her bedroom, down the hall, to the armory. With a quick flick of a key, the heavy door opens, but she only glances at the armor, spears, long bows, cross bows, blades, potions of heal and destruction, and more. . . And she advances to the passage leading up to the Commander's Tower. Ignoring the pounding of her heart , both to excitement and sudden exertion, she arises to the platform, where the entire area, the lower towers and approaches are in direct line of sight. She would quickly cast night vision on her self and any guards or persons there with her.
She would then bang the alarm gong, which is present in every tower. (( the walls and towers are completed, just need the update to go in. )).
"High Alert !" . she would call out for all to hear from her perch. " Bar the Gates ! ( now one front and one in rear of walls ). Lower two scout parties over the wall, I want the approaches searched, the woods out side our walls, and that cave towards the beastmen. Do not engage!. .Report only. If enemy forces are spotted, you know what to do. ...fire a lit arrow into the sky, and return. This could be a drill, or. .it could be all our lives. Take it seriously!"
She would then tell a guard to go knock on the sealed room that used to be Roman's, not to enter, nor wait for response.
( Having ranged her spells from the tower and the walls. and the lower wall towers IC IG , there are markers on the road and trees to assist archers and spell casters to target and judge distance )

Eyes that need very little light to see, red, and still as a snake's eyes, flitted to the door as knocking came. The nimble teifling , almost never truely sleeping, steps quickly into her dull gray , padded armor, its magic fabric strong against damage. Every bit of her attire was designed for muffling sounds of movement.
The raging heart inside, never recovered from the roving madness of Yulash when it fell into the abyss. Decent people, suddenly obsessed with insane passions and fears. ... Alasha 'Ur Kassalem had learned the desperate, critical and deadly art of survival, often killing before a foe could even know she was near. To her, a fair fight was one where her enemy had no idea she was there. The art of anatomy and how to use it to disable and kill was forever fresh in her mind. Killing from the shadows had become a simple and constant way of life, and now, this alert, was exactly what she needed to relax. Waiting in safety was beyond tedious to her.
She had all the keys that she needed to exit the Keep where none would see, and few even know.
She would begin to scout, hidden in both light and shadow ( MS and Hide 86 , spot 48 )
she brought well padded traps with her, deadly negative , deadly holy, deadly fire. If she did not encounter enemy in the shadows and night , she would set traps in places enemy could gain cover.
If she does spot enemy, she would seek an isolated place, and with her oil of flame. ..fire a lit arrow into the sky. Then she would return to hunting a trophy, willing to let enemy live, as long as they lost something important. She would seek to stun first, then maim.

Hearing the order to avoid combat, Jaerlsvir remains on the tower and calls out toward Elektra.

"Should I gather the Hounds?"

"Confirm targets! Use True Sight ! Call out what you see from walls and towers .., watch for flaming arrow signals.
  We don't want to ping any innocents out there. Make the enemy exposé themselves, mark you targets, and fire on anything that looks like Zhent , Drow, Undead , orc , Beastmen ... or anybody else sneaking or marching on us.
We have walls and towers for a reason. Maintain your stations and field of view!  Expect feints and distraction.
Archers , man the towers and prepare for Wyvern air attack.
   Call out your targets , so we all know!
Lock down all internal doors.
Escort all guests to the Fest Hall, and lock it.
Stay sharp... Stay calm ... Aim well."

Sylira followed along after Elektra - where she would stay unless ordered away. She had her crossbow and her spells ready (Bless, Battletide) and quickly cast magic Vestment at the highest level on the guards nearby as well as herself and Elektra.  Her senses were not going to useful aiding them, so she listened and waited.

Hidden in plain sight, and moving in silence ( 86 ) , Alasha seeks signs of passage , tracks, broken or bent grass, crushed leaves, marks on the ground, disturbances of the land in any way. ( Survival 33 ).
Even if she is unable to spot a hidden form, she can see the path that they made getting there.

((...so are we just reporting movement or are we engaging? You've ordered us to do both lol

(( if you see enemy, call it out to us. That way we can support your position))

Jaerlsvir simply remains on the tower, awaiting the order to notify the Hounds.

Gerhardt was standing in front of the fireplace, a half smoked cigar in one hand a glass of rum in the other when he heard the knocking at his door.

"Captain! You are needed at the roof, sir. Possible attack!"

Hurried shuffling is then heard as the guardsman leaves to contact others.

A small grin curls on Gerhardt's lips before downing the rest of his drink in one swig.

"To battle then."

Gerhardt, already battle ready makes for the roof and upon seeing Lia and Electra would approach them, hand resting on the hilt of his blade then looking out on the area, nodding softly to himself as he sees the men already moved or moving into positions.

"What do we have?"