Comet nodded at the instructions given to her by Vargas. That was something she could do. And she was doing it with Carja too! How fun! "Sure, I can help set up. Right after I'm going to go home though to look after my siblings." the last part was directed at James because she knew he probably wouldn't be happy for her to be there. Setting up was the least she could do though.

Adonia and Sprig seemed to be the magic learners of the four, so she would try to teach them all she knew about the spell she had learned so they could defend themselves.

@James (partly)

Attikias's hand never left the bow he'd tied around his wrist. It felt childish to need something like this, but he had so much pent up energy in him that he needed this output. It was Master Vargas, after all. How long ago had they even talked? Memory served him right in how he carried himself, at least, and he could feel his muscles relax even while his heart refused to let up.

"You aren't the first to suggest meeting the Blacksmith," he reminisced once everything was said and done, mostly to himself- he didn't intend to talk over anybody with more dire inquiries. "I'm not the greatest at magic, yet, and didn't want to hurt myself trying too much again with more... Involved spells. I'll go when he's not as busy." The elf nodded, half to himself, mind returning to the beads he still carried with him. He kept a set in a pouch, now- if anybody else offered enchantment, after all, he'd gladly take advantage of it.

Plus, he could sacrifice a few to distract the beings in the caves, if he needed to. He had a larger pouch of pebbles and wood pieces for that, though- but, he worried on of he'd ever need to use it anyways.

He still wasn't sure if he felt comfortable going in the tunnels. Not when he had a family to protect.

"I'd like help from anybody who knows how to lay traps, magic-wise." He directed his voice towards the others, now, though he wasn't demanding in his request. "And I can teach people how to make traps, show them how they'll spring. And-- If you're cold, we brought some pelts, too." One hand gestured to Carja, and he turned to her, hands anxiously coming up to grip the leather of his satchel.

"Do you think you could make a sort of ice blockade at the tunnel entrance? I don't know if we can protect from fliers, but if they're coming from the ground we should funnel them to one alleyway, I'm thinking." He had turned away from her to look at everyone else but still continued, bringing in his arms and hunching his shoulders in emphasis at the bottleneck. "We can make it large enough to step over- or tall enough to duck under?- with sort of hills on either side that the smaller people can use." His hands lifted and indicated a sort of curve in the air. "I don't know if the hunting ones I'll use will work as well since they're not easy to avoid in tight spaces, but it doesn't hurt to try."

Attikiss glanced to Carja, looking for any potential reactions.

mostly @Carja !

Pride listened quietly, studiously, trying to commit to memory all that he was hearing. James received a gentle nod of greeting, and a quiet murmured hello; then Attikias drew his eye, and ear.

Pride stepped over toward him. "I believe I could help you with some traps," he suggested. "I can easily form gemstone into the shape required-... Well, not easily. But it can be done, particularly if we've time to prepare. In addition-..."

The stag turned, looking around for a bare patch of ground. "This would need to be prepared shortly before the assault, but it may be useful..."

Rock before him glimmered, the floor briefly wavering with an unearthly shimmer. This faded, after a moment; he fired Attikias a dryly amused look. "This part is unpleasant," he told him, and then stepped into it.

At once the stag was jerked off his feet, flat onto his chest and stomach, with a grunt; there he visibly struggled to stand, and failed. "It will," he offered, after stopping his struggles for a moment, "hold a target down for several moments. The magic will of course fade shortly, but it would give others an opportunity to strike and the trap itself is quite invisible."

"I'll come, and do what I can, but I've got the feeling that laying my spores around won't do much good in the snow," Giggle said, with a grunt.

She paced for the Black Spire, peering up at it from a safe distance and observing it.

Shining. Oily. "The hell is that thing, anyway?" she asked bluntly, glancing with some worry at Vargas. It looked like the Spire, but... black. Evil? Giggle didn't know, but she sure as hell didn't like the way it reminded her of the void.

rain stock: D Sharon Pruitt wiki commons; hyena Benjamin Hollis on flickr

Nemo

Vargas's enthusiasm causes all the feathers on his neck to stand on end, but more in surprise at the sudden change in tone from others, and a bit in his own shock as being... as useful as some others.

He nods along as Vargas tells him what he could do, fiddling with his bauble to keep his nerves under check, before adding a simple, "I 'll stop dying my feathers, for this. I'll hide better in the wind and snow without it." before quieting down to listen to the rest of his assessments, and the statement about them not having any front line soldiers other than... Dracouna, and the hissing thing behind Vargas, which gets a bit of a glare from Nemo himself if the dripping, spitting thing aims it's ire at him.

The lammergeier watches everyone else as well as he can, wincing at the gravity trap demonstration but agreeing that it seems very useful, and he just sort of... shifts in place.

A lack of front line warriors is concerning, but... what can he do, other than bodily attacking something?

The ideas from Attikias have him nodding, and he starts to mentally brainstorm some ideas to defend against other creatures in the air, wondering exactly who they'd be up against... and if they could even be saved...

Giggle's question catches his attention and his head jolts, and he looks back up and up at the corrupt Spire before them, adorned and guarded by the two large creatures... and an odd thought flickers across his mind.

Would I still be me if I touched that?