Trissae Darkwhisper |
"Confound it all! Ozz get Adrien cleaned up! Adrien, lay there and look pretty! Tease go scout ahead, Adrien's feint isn't going to work looking as he does, I'll get more stuff out of the box to try and fix up the disguise."
Trissae spouts as she rushes to her pack, tossing anything useful she can to Ozz as she searches for her kit to fix Adrien's disguise.
Tease |
Tease shrugs, looking around a bit nervously. "That all happened right next to the staircase... We weren't quiet. If no one heard us, I'd be surprised."
Tease looks at the doors connected to the hallway, recognizing no one has yet poked a head out. "Though most Shields are probably not in these rooms... If the guards downstairs heard us..."
He sighs. "I'll follow your lead. What do you want me to do?"
Trissae Darkwhisper |
Hurried in her searching through the bag, most of which is out on the floor at this point she glances over.
"Yes, Adrien? Her tone is stern and short, not for disinterest but for the necessity of haste.
Trissae Darkwhisper |
Her demeanor softens a little as she scuttles across the floor with the box between her knees.
"Adolescent, actually, but I tend to exaggerate my stories anyway."
She begins wiping away the blood with the cleaning rag she has in the kit, noticing that its taking more time and that the cuts don't simply clean away she begins getting increasingly more concerned. Not hiding it well, she looks to Ozz panicked.
"Why didn't you tell me it was this bad!?"
She scrambles for a moment looking for a healer kit, clearly so upset by the situation she's momentarily forgotten she has the magical capacity on hand to heal him.
Grellik |
Grellik will make sure there is no fur showing, pull his hood over his face, and exit Beldabar's Rest into the city. He will attempt to make his way out, and begin the last leg of his journey home.
Tease |
"Uhh... Folks..." Tease says, clearing his throat and trying to get their attention, clearly the injuries making it easy for them to Ignore Tease. "There's no way that half-elf jackass AND the guards downstairs didn't hear us. I don't believe we're that lucky. We need to replan, quick."
Adrien Cavell |
Cavell's head lulls weakly from one side to the other as Trissae wipes at the deep cuts. He mutters under his breath, "He's right. I can stand. We should make for the balcony. I have rope."
GM Grey |
So I'll tell you all the story bout the Bindle and the Grell of the night.
Leaving through the common room, Grellik attracts the turned heads of many patrons. The room goes silent as they watch the hulking, masked and well-armed figure leave through the main entrance.
Going up a sloped ramp that smells of horses, Grellik eventually gets to the main gatehouse of the Rest. One of Beldabar's guards, a human woman humming softly and wearing robes, sits in a chair, reading by lantern light. Seeing you approach, her eyes go wide with surprise, before she regains herself.
"Ah. Have a good night out there. Leaving just in time, sounds like the storm stopped." She says, giving you a little wave and gesturing at the front door.
Exiting through that and into the streets of Yartar, it is an eerie night. Selûne and her Tears shine brightly in the nearly cloudless skies above a soaked city. The gatehouse empties onto the a street right near the central market, a cleared area at this time of night, with several empty vender stalls and bulletin boards making a a wooden skeleton of the market. Strange though, you see no execution area here. You haven't spent much (if any) time inside of Yartar, so your experience with how it operates is fairly low.
You can see the bridges that cross the Dessarin, and the large citadel on the other side. Reorienting yourself Eastward (where you know is the best gate to get out of town and home), you walk through the rain-soaked streets.
It's quiet, few people out at this time. Every now and then, you notice someone poking their heads out of their homes to see that the storm has died, but upon seeing the large, shadowy figure, they quickly shut a door between themselves and the night. You notice no city guards walking as you travel.
Eventually, you notice that there is a pattern of paperwork on the building sides and town-boards. They are mostly soaked through and unreadable, but have a similar enough pattern of ink that you can tell they are identical copies of the same parchments posted all over the place. Finally seeing one that survived the storm well enough, your eyes get drawn instantly to the familiar faces of the wanted posters.
Cavell, Giant, Trissae, Ozz, Caira, Feng, Mornak... The Bogsharks, your friends. You haven't seen their faces in a year, and the first you see of them in all this time are on posters above the following words:
The Bogsharks. For crimes of banditry, unless their boss shows himself to take their sentence, one will be executed upon the eastern city walls come every half-tenday.
An execution you were told... To take place tomorrow morning. And the weather is great.
Trissae Darkwhisper |
Tease cutting in jogs Triss back into the situation at hand.
"Tease, in the whole time you've been here.. has there ever been mention of an owlbear as the tower pet? I mean it, because if not then you have but only point down the blood trail for the tower guards to follow. They'll be plenty more interested in the invading bear which is unexpected rather than us."
She claps her hands together and begins chanting. While the bulk of it is in Elvish the last few words ring clearly in common "and let Frostheight's evil unmake him." and she touches Adrien. Cure wounds (0/3) slots left
Cure wounds: 1d8 + 5 ⇒ (1) + 5 = 6
She rolls her head to the side, glancing down the stairs.
"I am, however, open to suggestion at this point."
Tease |
"Errm... No... No mention of any owlbear, but they don't often talk around me. I'm in a cell most of the time, when I'm not out working. I've overheard some things of course, but no one ever said anything of an owlbear!"
His brow furrows in thought. "But... Now that I think about it... I did hear talk that seemed to imply there was a pet that they kept. They were rather fond of it from what I could tell, stayed near the officers rooms. Called it Marvin if memory serves. Just figured it was a dog or a cat or something. You know, something sane"
Adrien Cavell |
Cavell chuckles under his breath. "Saw a tray, empty. Just some blood on it. Must have been meat for their f$*@ing pet."
He groans as he stands with Ozz's help, looking a bit better after Trissae's spell.
"Wish we had killed it."
Trissae Darkwhisper |
Trissae can't help but smile.
"Tease, you're in a shield uniform... talking to a Drow, and helping the people that landed you in this mess indirectly.... how's an owlbear for a pet sound now?"
Trissae Darkwhisper |
"Lead on, I'll catch up." Trissae slides back over to her pack and begins loading everything back inside it with haste. She keeps an ear toward the stairwell to listen for noise
Perception - hearing: 1d20 ⇒ 13
Adrien Cavell |
Cavell will follow along, still a bit dazed, sabres clutched tightly in bloody fists. He doesn't seem in any shape to lead. He unlocks Ozz's manacles.
Grellik |
Hokay, I'm goingto do a list of If/Then's These are in order, so he will do the first one that is positively answered.
If he knows where the prison is, he will stalk off to case the place.
If there is anyone around, turn to page..I mean he will accost them, towering over this comparative midget. "The prison, where is it!" he snarls at the innocent passerby. intimidate: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (5) + 5 = 10
Otherwise, he will stalk off toward the east wall, trying to find a seedy tavern he can slip into to gather info. He'll order some cheap drinks and try to listen to the rumors as he hangs out in a darkened corner.
GM Grey |
With Trissae's magic at work, Adrien's wounds close but the damage repaired is mostly superficial. Though he no longer looks injured, the damage inflicted to him by the beast still aches him. Additionally, the damage to his clothes and the blood that had gotten onto his uniform still makes for a dangerous look.
The group gets their things together and gather themselves to prepare for, hopefully, the final task to get out of this trial. They resign themselves to do things the noisier way.
Anything else you wish to declare before moving on?
Unaware of where Yartar keeps its prisons, Grellik heads eastward until he finally comes across someone walking through the clear night. Catching the man unawares, Grellik shouts the man into immediate submission.
He stammers with fear as he replies, quickly. "Shield tower! North!" the man says.
The Shield Tower... Beldabar had said something about it being in the contained section of the town.
Ozz the Bog Ghost |
Ozz takes his pack, and shoulders it so Adrien only has to deal with his own things. Unstrapping his axe from his pack, he keeps it ready, and hands Tease his spear back.
He pats the still dazed Adrien on a shoulder. "You scared it." he smiles. "You screamed down an owlbear."
Trissae Darkwhisper |
"Where's the balcony? I won't risk anymore engagements if I can help it."
She throws her bag up over the opposite shoulder from the one that got gashed by the owlbear.
Tease |
"Uhh, let's see... If we came in from THAT direction..." Tease says, orienting himself, mentally and pointing one way. "... and the balcony is on the East side... then... That way. On the North side."
He points down the hallway the owlbear has slunk down. "But, you know, down one floor."
Trissae Darkwhisper |
"We'll go together, you lead we'll follow. If we run into anybody we'll feign that we've taken you as captives. Ozz you be on Adrien, I'll be on Tease. It'll explain why Adrien's busted up and it'll keep up the ruse for you Tease."
She walks over and puts a hand on Tease's shoulder and holds her rapier in the other and nudges him.
"Move maggot." She turns her head to Ozz and motions for Ozz to follow suit.
Adrien Cavell |
"We're the...captives now?" Cavell asks, trying to regain his composure. "Right...then...take these," he hands his sabres to Ozz, eye's darting nervously around the halls, searching for 'Marvin'.
He clears his throat, wiping some blood off his face.
Spearman Tylers |
"Please, I was just following orders. I--I kind of like the Bogsharks. Please, don't hurt me. I'll do whatever you say," Tylers stammers and begs. "You're all dashing and so good looking. Even the half-orc!"
Trissae Darkwhisper |
Pushing Tease down the stairs in a rough fashion she looks back at Ozz.
"If he keeps up like that... Gag him, with your sock if need be." She puts on her best overtly thuggish voice as she calls out.
Ozz the Bog Ghost |
Ozz chuckles softly through his grinning mask at Adrien's quips. He straps one of Adrien's blades to his pack, holds the other to its owner's throat, and keeps his battleaxe ready for fighting. Using Cavell's body as a shield, Ozz guides him forward.
Deception: 1d20 ⇒ 19
with advantage: 1d20 ⇒ 8
"Move!" Ozz growls, and for a moment, Cavell remembers the times he was afraid of sharing a sleeping area with the large half-orc. Apparently Ozz summoned up old memories of his original enmity toward the human to make his threat at his life convincing.
GM Grey |
With Adrien being guided down the staircase first, Ozz immediately behind him, Tease and Triss follow.
Triss, are you taking Tease's spear for this?
Everyone roll a deception for this next scene. Trissae and Ozz with advantage as the disguised Adrien and Tease provide extra depth to the con and them being dressed as themselves, other shields immediately sympathizing with their captives against the feared Sharks.
Grellik |
If Grellik finds such a building, he will hurry to the roof or a tall window, then jump out, using Featherfall, landing behind the quarantine line. He will look to make sure no one saw, then hurry to the Shield Tower(though saving his strength--no sense running himself to death just getting there :P)
If not, he will approach near the quarantine zone, looking for a place where he might be able to slip by.
Spearman Tylers |
Deception: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (20) + 4 = 24
Cavell suppresses a chill at the threat, and the sharp steel against his throat. Better actor than I gave him credit for...I hope.
It doesn't take much effort to act scared and desperate, on top of being badly wounded.
GM Grey |
With the group pulling together a pretty convincing act (The kind-hearted, and emotionally exhausted Trissae being the only one having difficulty playing her part as the villain against Tease, and even then convincing to all but a keen insight), they descend the stairs to the second floor.
With Ozz guiding Adrien in the lead, they turn corner of the staircase and begin their way onto the second floor landing.
Ozz and Adrien immediately hear the talking coming from further down the looping staircase as Ozz pushes down the hallway Tease had indicated, hopefully toward the balcony.
"... hope they didn't kill him! I cou- Hey, they're moving!."
The hallways down here look similar to the ones above. 10 foot wide passages going in to directions from the staircase, well lit by lanterns, with many rooms accessible from it. The doors here, however, are fewer in number and are mostly double doors. The smell of cooked food lingers in the air, which fades as they group moves away from the staircase (and therefor, the other hallway).
At the end of this hallway is a single door, reinforced from the back and with a sliding slot at eye level. There is a heavy bolt slid locked on this side, and near the top of the door is a rope coming through a hole in the wall down to a large bell on a stand. 15 feet away this door is another passage that bends again to the right.
Trissae and Tease come down next, just behind their companions. Like her friends, Triss catches a bit of conversation from downstairs.
"Okay, just a moment more... Then we-..."
"Sounds like they took host-..."
Triss and Tease get 15 feet down the hallway passage when the sounds of booted feet march up the staircase. Adrien and Ozz are within 5 feet of their friends, and 20 feet away from the bend in the passage (35 feet away from the heavy door).
Four people run up the stairs, three armed and armored Shields, and the half-elf in casual clothes passed earlier. The two spearmen at the front lower spears and slowly walk forward once at the top of the stairs. The third Shield (a familiar, dwarvern guard, you are all sure you've seen before), follows with warhammer ready. The half-elf hangs back just a bit, apparently not eager to be part of the fight.
Upon seeing the two shields being held hostage, the two front guards stop advancing.
"Hey there. Let's not do anything dumb." One of the front Shields says, cautiously. His spear point glints. (These front two shields are 10 feet away from Triss/Tease)
Spearman Tylers |
Tylers says high-pitched with panic, "I think they're happy enough with just one hostage," then swallows nervously, trying not to move his throat too much against the blade. It's pretty clear if a hostage is getting gutted, it'll be Tylers first.
Trissae Darkwhisper |
"Too late for that I'm afraid." She says in a short hiss as a response. Her eyes scan the crowd gauging the tenseness of the situaiton.
Insight: 1d20 ⇒ 2
She slowly edges back toward Ozz and Adrien pulling Tease along at arms length, spear at the ready.
"You, in the back! Come forward. It's hardly fair to so willingly throw your allies to the Sharks without having at least the grace to stand at their side!" She sneers.
Intimidate: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (18) + 4 = 22
"Now!"
She gives the man no time to respond and her demand rings with genuine rage, having exhausted herself of patience as the day has worn on.
GM Grey |
Trissae's own tenseness makes everything feel like a powder keg, and she isn't able to properly gauge the situation over her own beating heart.
The half-elf man goes pale when called out. The familiar dwarf looks back at him questioningly, to which the unarmed man shakes his head, stunned.
He slowly passes the front line of guards, approaching Trissae.
"Wh-what do y-you..." the man stammers.
Getting a closer look at the man with the time to look him over, you gather several thing about him that you missed when passing him in the stairway. A pouch at his belt and a ring with an arcane symbol on it, you think that he might be a mage of some kind.
A door opens behind you. Near the reinforced door, a side door opens to another soldier, peering curiously (And then shocked) out into the hallway. Gathering herself, she lowers her spear threateningly, and then observes to try and understand what is going on.
Sharks: You are 10 feet from the three soldiers in front of you, and 30 feet away from the one behind you. The hallway bends to the right 10 feet in front of the back solider. The half-elf in within melee range of Triss, and is holding his hands up.
Are you continuing to move as this goes on, or are you standing still?
Ozz the Bog Ghost |
"Mage..." Ozz accuses at the Half elf, before wheeling around to face the new threat. As Trissae is holding Tease as a shield to the people on one end of the hallway, Ozz has whirled to hold Adrien as a shield to the guard at the other end.
GM Grey |
Having sneaked into the quarantine'd area, Grellik manages to make his way up to the shield tower and sneak in with the assistance from one of the Bogshark elites that he had came across, a tricksy bullywug cleric named Splotz. With his disguising magics, you enter the tower and see a spear-pointed stand off between Trissae and Ozz who are holding two shields hostage against an enemy on both sides of them.
(read regular post below)
Before Ozz or the half-elf could say anymore, a side passage swings open revealing two more figures. The magic fades from around them, revealing Grellik and one of the Bogshark elites, a bullywug cleric.
"Boss!" Splotz the bullywug croaks, as the shields attack at the arrival of this new threat.
Tease takes a thrown spear to the gut from a missed throw and yells, slackening in Trissae's arms. At the same moment, the half-elf begins to change.
His form bubbles and stretches out, his shape changing horrifically. You have all seen this before. Ludo Cryastied was an excellent turncoat because of his talented shapeshifting abilities, and as the half-elf takes on the troll-like battle form of the Boss of the Bogsharks, he roars out challengingly to the shields.
Roll initiative
It's probably best you all ignore this post! ;)
The other ones are still good.
Spearman Tylers |
"Easy, easy, please..." Tylers nearly whispers, eyes wide as he's pulled to face the other direction.
Trissae Darkwhisper |
Init: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (2) + 4 = 6
Trissae's eyes widen as the scene plays out, more grandiose than any play she could concoct on her own. As Tease slumps into her, she turns and cries out to Splotz.
"Splotz! hurry, come help this man!" She then turns her attention to the frantic shields "Surrender you fools! Please! No one else need be harmed!"
she then moves herself to shield Tease from any further harm.
GM Grey |
Just to be clear, there is no boss, Grellik, or Splotz. Tarshakh is the fourth month of the faerun calendar, so the beginning of it was my sign for April First.
We legitimately left off with:
Sharks: You are 10 feet from the three soldiers in front of you, and 30 feet away from the one behind you. The hallway bends to the right 10 feet in front of the back solider. The half-elf in within melee range of Triss, and is holding his hands up.
Are you continuing to move as this goes on, or are you standing still?
-As well as Ozz's post.
GM Grey |
Haha! I got one. I think ball is still in your court though, Trissae.
Trissae has a momentary daydream of friends arriving to help her out of this situation. Her imagination even plays upon some of the rumors of the Boss to flavor the fantasy. As the half-elf nears at her command, however, the grim reality of this situation returns to her; surrounded by guards within their own base.