and in the interest of time:
so either way an 18, and 2 assists. you make an admirable stew, and during the day nearly a dozen servants come and go , cleaning, preparing some quick breakfasts, cleaning and scrubbing pots , etc.
do you want to do anything after the stew is made? change disguises and explore the keep? make your way out as mamma G? make your way out through the secret tunnel?
rushing to put on pants, disguised as a tower laborer, while rushing to mama g's place...
sheesh, can't anyone wake a sleeping girBOY in this town. Well I should have plenty of time assuming they haven't set the old lady's place on fire...that's my joVictor, what in the nine hells are you doing? Are you waltzing with an unconscious and...is she naked? Are you wearing her nightgown?
I didn't see mention of the poison, so if I don't see Ash drop the poison I imply strongly that he should do so so we can go. Once he's taken care of the dirty part and we stir it in really good, I make my way out as Mamma G. I walk back toward Mamma's house and make the appropriate signal to Victor/Neji that I'm all clear and they should get out before the poison takes effect and the guards come to investigate.
there's a lull when breakfast is served. you get the taste right , and then add in the arsenic so you don't poison yourselves.
not a 1. so you're good.
Temperance, you leave and have you're signal given.
what are they going to do? burn the place down? or just leave her unconscious and remove as much evidence as possible?
all four doors are locked, except the one to # 2. you can hear fairly loud clanging and banging of metal on metal coming from in there.
doesn't open. looks to be a little better quality lock.
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while i'm opening the other doors, and just leaving them open a crack but not too noticable. Leo can take a look inside. I'll listen at the doors. and knock, before trying the locks. "housekeeping"
assuming i don't get a response, i'll try unlocking them all.
i'll try 3 times on each door just to move it along.
got it, moving on to next door
no go
got it. moving on to next door.
got it ignore the next door.
no go.
nein.
finally.
all appear empty. no answers are heard, and you begin unlocking them.
#4 is a small private quarters room. the room is sparsely furnished and doesn't show any signs of having been lived or slept in recently. you both recognize the green cloak and some of the buckle accouterments. you think this is Captain Ryan Varning's quarters. the scout captain that you killed.
as you're exploring, you hear some comings and goings in the hallway. but no one checks in the room.
#6 these quarters are handsomely appointed. The wardrobe is full o clothing more fitting a noble than a captain. there's over 20 lbs of finery that ash easily estimates as being worth 500gp at least. You find a collection of explicit love letters exchanged between Zack and Kaitlyn Mott, and realize this must be Zack Eddarly's quarters. In addition to that, in the foot locker, you find his gear. With him in prison, they must have placed his things here in his room. there's a mwk composite longbow (+2 strength pull), a longsword, a dagger, 20 arrows, a mwk chain shirt. and a belt pouch with a key to this room.
the clanging and working in #2 continues. no one checks in. its been about 5 minutes each room. looking around.
#5 this room is very spartan. everything has its place here, and there's little of anything personal. Over the bed hangs a mwk halberd, in the closet there's a mwk composite longbow (+4 str pull), 20 arrows, a dagger, a longsword, there's an armor rack with freshly polished mwk full plate armor, and a belt pouch with the key to this room. with the halberd, and the polished armor, you think this might be Mott's room, cleaned up after his death in the duel at the hands of Zack Eddarly.
#3 the largest of the rooms, and the most lived in, someone definitely sleeps here every night. There's a bed, a wardrobe, a desk and a chair, as well as other typical furnishings. There's a medal of commendation ( made of silver with a sapphire ). nothing else of value or interest to be found. It would have to be captian Barhold's room. His brother owns the lord's dalliance, and you've seen him come in once. unlike the other captains with rooms in town, he seems to sleep here every night.
whether you take anything or not, you slip out, and peek in #2 to go back down into hiding:
and find its a busy smithy, with 7 soldiers working on armor, weapons, doing repairs etc.
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well s&!!.
can't get down that way now. i'll take the room keys to mott's and eddarly's quarters.
i don't want to touch the rest. i can't tell what's magical or just masterwork, and it might be noticed. lets just hang out in Varning's quarters until nightfall, then we can sneak back down into the tunnel. if the smithy clears out earlier we can go back down then. I just go and quickly re-lock the rooms, and go into varning's and lock the door behind us.
omg that took too long.
i'll take 20 from inside, locking varning's door.
we've gotta wait. i guess. and no way to send a signal back to Temperance and the rest.
Hmm sure, we'll leave you in Varning's room for now... or i'll do something behind the scenes to keep you guessing. Fade to black on Ash and Leo.
Mamma G slips out with no problems, gives her signal. and Victor and Neji ... keep her knocked out, but remove the ropes, and as much evidence of their being there as possible, and depart. By the time she wakes up later, runs to the keep, its too late. There's no word about what happened. But something is up at the keep. That evening none of the guards come to town for drinks at the Lord's Dalliance.
There's no sign of Ash or Leo.
Victor and Neji return to the camp outside of town, where Forsythe and Loran are.
Temperance makes her way back as well. So the 5 of you are in camp, and haven't heard from Ash or Leo since the morning's poisoning, with no idea if they got out, or something happened in the keep and they've been captured.
Its Moonday evening, and it seems things are going wrong at watchtower Balentyne.
Well, looks like things didn't go according to plan. Not sure why Ash and Leo didn't get out when I did. Even if the back door was inaccessible for some reason, they could've just disguised themselves as dwarves or other non-soldiers that would travel in and out of the keep at will.
We should investigate what happened. If they caught the 2 boys then we could have a problem. We may need to strike sooner rather than later. Any ideas?
Well I assume, considering a soon to be consumed poisonous meal and report of dwarven conspiracy that if they did disguise as dwarves they were potentially arrested. If they were compromised, they are in for a world of hurt. Did either tell you what they were doing when you last saw them? If they had any wits about them they may be in hiding. Either way we can not risk our men blabbing about the master's plan to avoid the lash nor allow the enemy to send birds regarding a poisoning/conspiracy, so it may be best to head back while they are at their weakest regardless.
no other suggestions?
so the options on the table are:
disguise yourselves and go through the servant entrance / back door to the watchtower that Mamma G used?
or take the secret tunnel in.
to get in via the Inn's passage, you'll need to wait until midnight.
I'm guessing, and only guessing, that going in through the front door would be a bad idea. Especially if there is the potential conspiracy of others dressing up as servants to sabotage the tower. If I were them, I would be extremely paranoid of anyone coming in the front door.
Ash, how long will your potion take to affect the masses? If we do go in I would like to go in at the height of their poisoning as to run into as few guards as possible. And the ones we do run into are either fatigued or weakened as to make them easy prey. Based on that, I think we should enter through the passage and if we need to attack them while they are down, all the better.
Victor can guess enough that the arsenic will be fast acting, and make people sick within an hour of eating. Ash can't answer.
a few hours pass, its late Moonday night.
a few more hours pass. The Lord's Dalliance shuts down. You're waiting indecisively in camp when Ash and Leo show up. They tell how the Forge sits directly over the trapdoor to the store room with the secret entrance. if we're going to use it, it'll need to be in the dead of night.
The plan seems to have worked, they didn't mingle so they don't have a count, but they overheard some maids talking that a few people died, and a lot of guards are sick. The watchkeep is on lockdown.
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I think we need to go back in tonight, and take out their communication tower, before they realize its not Cholera but Arsenic and call for help or report their suspicions. Thats a good idea about just changing our disguises. I'll think of that next time. So, anyone up for coming with me to gank an old buzzard in the tower with some crows?
Indecision worked in our favor for once. Glad you boys are back and uncompromised and we didn't have to risk anything in the process.
Tempy strokes Ash's cheek and pronounced brow in something that appears to be a friendly gesture. But in fact, she's more than a bit suspicious after hours of paranoid debating and second-guessing about what to do about the missing companions. She wants to make sure that Ash feels like Ash and isn't some goody goody using disguise self on themselves to infiltrate our knot. Assuming everything is normal, she continues...
It's late, the passage should be cleared. We can sneak in and wipe out the rookery before anyone is the wiser. That may escalate into a full-blown assault if we're caught, but if not we may have a chance to take out a key figure or two before we fall back to regroup. Hopefully by then the dwarven plot will be revealed and they will be distracted by a fruitless witchhunt.
Then when they are distracted, we can strike. Take out the Lord, the Priest and the Mage. Open the gate and let the horde in. We've schemed and planned and prepared. Soon we will bathe in the blood of our foes.
She hesitates for a second, glances at Loran, smirks, then adds.
Or whatever suits your palate.
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Sounds good. We can move the camp into the tunnels, we'll be a little shut off, but the storeroom has plenty of food which is mostly everything we need. I just want to prepare another mutagen in case we need it today, meanwhile the rest of you can get ready.
Everyone ready? armor off. we just need to be quiet going into the Lord's Dalliance. Forsythe, perfect time for a little Silence if you have it handy?
Sorry I didn't pick up on the indecision. I guess my overwhelming confidence assumed everyone was inline with invasion via the tunnel to kill birds and find friends.
You two get a room a room later, we have idiotsKNOT MEMBERS to find. I'm ready to go!
I tap myself with my nightly Knight's Watch (which is over half empty by this point I believe. How many days has it been since we checked out of the Dalliance?)
Neji, pay attention. The 'idiots' are standing right next to you. They showed up while we were debating what to do next. I understand Ash and Victor may look alike, but no one looks quite like Leo and he's so bulky, how did you miss him?
Still, I'm agreed on the plan, lets go kill some birds.
I alter self to be a small child, thinking the small size will make it easier to sneak (mech: +4 f/ small size). Then take 10, for a 16.
Ash opens the door and ushers you downstairs where Loran opens the secret door and its off into the tunnels you go. 15 minutes marching through the tunnel leads you back to the storeroom beneath the watchtower. Depositing your camp gear in the tunnel close to the storeroom.
you prepare to go up. Ash and Leo try donning disguises as soldiers.
I will also disguise as an appropriate, male soldier, accepting any help from those better with disguise.
Do we see/hear anything beyond the store?
If so, what is the tone those we can perceive? Relaxed, panicked, tense, etc?
I will join the Message pool with my own.
You both look perfect to me. What am I doing wrong? Ohhhh my breast plate is on backwards! Wait, now my greaves are falling down. Those are grieve things right? Or are they my vambraces?
Ugh, maybe I should just be a servant, armor's hard. I don't suppose you guys saw servants walking around with Masterwork Lucerne Hammers, did you?
Neji, you're forgetting about your headband again. It's not just for looks. Well, it is just for looks, but it's for very convincing looks. It can disguise that hammer of yours and make the armor look a lot more convincing.
I alter self and disguise self to look like one of the mook soldiers I've seen. I auto-aid the others in improving their disguise.
Right again! Am I happy to not be burdened down with all that steel. Good ole Mage Armor for this girl, tappity tap.
You hear no one beyond the storeroom. Upstairs, the forge sounds silent. like the hollow after a bell has been rung.
Well my fellow monsters, you know this place better than I, but I don't hear any of the Lord's mice stirring upstairs, shall we move up?
Unless someone disagrees I climb up to the forge and listen/check the 12 & 8 doors for activity: &
Or if the tunnel comes up under 14, then I listen at 16 & 9. Or if I am way off, swap in the appropriate two major path doors.
You listen at the stairs up, and the door, and can hear some sounds coming from the room above you , from the stairs. Its pretty quiet, but you think you hear something up there.
You're intending to go up, so you act casual and two of you go up first, Ash and Neji, disguised as guards. You see a tall circular room with six large flags hanging. There's one door to the northwest. the stairs come to a landing in the west of the room, before continuing up along the northeast wall. Standing guard here, you see one of Mott's men with his halberd at attention standing guard over the commendations, honors and flags hanging in the room. He looks over and gives you a quizzical eye, but seems tired.
You two look like you're faring pretty well, no cholera for you then? What are you doing up here?
he doesn't notice you draw the dagger. you manage to get close like you're answering his question, and stab him pretty close to his jugular, blood starts spurting out of the wound as you wind up to punch the dagger into him again, but he collapses to the stones. a dark red pool forming under him as his eyes glaze over.
You get your bearings and ascend the stairs from the flag room (#32), and go up to (#38). Arrow slits adorn the entire outer wall. Wooden racks contain a huge store of arrows. Hanging on racks are dozens and dozens of quivers, all loaded with 20 arrows. Two torches on sconces light the room. No doors exit it. Stairs on the southwest wall ascend up.
Neji, gives Ash a smile and a wink when he checks for ready and noticeably shivers with excitement at the Guard bleeding out on the ground.
Neji lightly elbows Ash in the ribs,
::Those quivers and arrows sure would make some excellent kindling. Perhaps we check the last level, as there may be spotters, but come back down and destroys these before we head back down to the ground floor.::
yeah, top of this tower is where they were seen arriving/departing in the day or two of keep surveilance you guys did.