Ravishar pauses and blinks at fizz's words and salami. He slowly backs up and closes the door.
I didn't just see what I thought I saw. Or did I?
He rubs his eyes, then opens the door again and reenters.
Erliana looks around the bedroom she'd claimed hunting for reading material, for something to pass the time.
Rizzardo smiles back at Guy "I never thought I would see your ugly mug here as well." The man sniffs the air, then makes a foul face. "My friend I must admit, you and your comrades smell like s$+%, I cannot imagine what trouble Arael and Janiven has gotten you into." The man and and the rest of the group start to laugh hysterically. he holds his nose. "Perhaps you all shall wash up before dinner"
A thin and wiry woman speaks up at Guy's suggestion, slouching in her chair. "I like Faded Hands, it has a nice ring to it, and perhaps we shall all wear gloves in order to give a visual to the name identification as well?"
After Ravishar has returned and Fizzwiddle does his act, A bald man greets the Paladin. "Hello Sir, glad to have a fine warrior like your self among the ranks. We were just discussing what to name this group of freedom fighters of ours. Im sure you, as well as Arael, would approve of the more holy names, "The scions of Aroden" or "The knights of Westcrown". he pauses and looks behind Ravihar. "Where is Arael by the way? It is dark now for he shall be home, did I just not notice him come in?'
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As Erliana searches the room, she finds nothing. shortly after she sits back down on the bed. There is a knock on the door, and it is opened by Morosino.
"Sowwy for bothwering you Ewlaina, but earlier in da sewers I saw your pet racwoon." His eyes grow big with excitement. "I loove racwoons! Can i pet it?"
"About that, the fella by the name of Arael got bagged by the Dottari and they're handing him over to the Hellknights. In all honesty, I would have bailed if I knew what you lot were on about but had to throw my lot in with Janiven when the Hellknights raided our meeting. In for a penny, in for a pound as far as Hellknights are concerned," there was a serious note of disgust in his voice when he brought up the Dottari. He hated to see them turned into the Hellknights' errand boys.
Erliana smiles at Morosino and looks at Rickard.
"Rickard? He's more of a friend than a pet. He's been with me a long, long time. And it's up to him, not me if you can pet him."
As if on cue Rickard trots over to Morosino and brushes the young man's legs.
The boy moves in to pet the raccoon. He starts to gently stroke the back of its head.
"He is so frewendly!"
He looks up at Erliana.
"I wish I could be bwrave like you and Rickward."
Rizzardo gets up angrly. "WHAT?". The Hellknights have Arael and this whole time we have been here listening to this gnome garbage?'
Yakopulio glances at the man "Gnome Garbage? You can hardly appreciate good entertainment." He looks over at her fellow gnomes. "શું માણસ એક વિચિત્ર વાનર. તેને કેવી રીતે અપમાન તમે Fizzwiddle સંભવિત લાગે છે"
What a strange monkey of a man. How dare him insult you Fizzwiddle.
Before the two start going off in a wild argument, the bald man , known as Sclavo, stands between the two. "Now Now, Our leader is gone, for now is not the time for fighting and bickering, we must be united." He looks across the hall, "I'm sure Janiven is already trying to figure out a solution to this madness."
He makes his way into the hall, and then into the next room, quickly followed by, Amaya, Vitti, and most of the others.
Only Yakooulio, the thin and wiry woman, and another woman, decked out in jewelry remain in the Mess Hall/Kitchen.
Edit
"We should follow, we are apart of the group now."
Ravishar heads after them, still not completely sure about all that's going on.
"So the Hellknights must know about this movement? They grabbed Areal and ended up following us to our meeting spot, to where we had to run through a disgusting, goblin infested sewer to get here."
The group walks into a rather small room, with bookcases and a large table. Janiven is standing in front of the table, covered in maps and papers. She joins in on the conversation.
"I am pretty sure the Order of The Rack, while always on the lookout for rebels, are not aware about our movement yet Ravishar. Arael was wanted by the dottari for rescuing a family from the guards inhumane ways of "questioning", the hellknights must of seen this as a work of treason, and demanded custody."
She looks around at the group
"I am sure Arael will not talk, and we have lost the hellknights that followed Morosino to Vizio's tavern in the sewers, so for now the rest of our group is safe."
She starts to unravel a map.
"The Order of The Rack maintains a small holding here in Westcrown known as Taranik house, but their main stronghold is Citadel Rivad north of here."
She points at Rega Scripa (Scribe Sector) on a map of Westcrown
"Most likely, they are holding Arael overnight at the Taranik house, and will be transporting him to Citadel Rivad tomorrow. I think our best chance to rescue him would be during this time of transport, out of the dottari's jurisdiction (The city) and when the hellknights are in lesser numbers."
She Looks up at the group.
"We must act bright and early in the morning, I know some people in the Rega Scripa who will keep a lookout on the Taranik house. If anybody needs to prepare or handle unfinished business do so in the early morning, as quick as possible."
Janiven turns to Sclavo
"Speaking of Unfinished business, did the group decide on a name, but more importantly , a uniform? Tomorrow will be our first real act, and we must keep all out identities a secret."
Fizzwiddle leaps up onto the table yet again and does his bit with the scarf, making it flutter.
Yes we have. Despite the protests of Yako, Kara and myself we have settled upon . We shall reclaim this city.
Do you hear the people sing?
Singing a song of angry men?
It is the music of a people
Who will not be slaves again!
When the beating of your heart
Echoes the beating of the drums
There is a life about to start
When tomorrow comes!
Will you join in our crusade?
Who will be strong and stand with me?
Beyond the city's walls
Is there a world you long to see?
Then join in the fight
That will give you the right to be free!
Do you hear the people sing?
Singing a song of angry men?
It is the music of a people
Who will not be slaves again!
When the beating of your heart
Echoes the beating of the drums
There is a life about to start
When tomorrow comes!
Will you give all you can give
So that our banner may advance
Some will fall and some will live
Will you stand up and take your chance?
The blood of the martyrs
Will water the gounds outside.
Do you hear the people sing?
Singing a song of angry men?
It is the music of a people
Who will not be slaves again!
When the beating of your heart
Echoes the beating of the drums
There is a life about to start
When tomorrow comes!
"Black cloth hoods will do for now. You're right, this will be the first public act of this group but it is not anything we want to be remembered for. Especially this early in our careers as traitors." Guy said when he joined the others.
"Whatever name we take will not be associated with the deed that follows unless we make it so. If you want to be heros to the people then you should portray yourself as more than simple rebels. As for a name," he did not even bother to recognize Fizz's suggestion at this point.
"I still like the Faded Hands."
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I was always taught that its not the name that makes the hero but the deeds. the name will come from the people based on the deeds we accomplish. You really think we became shadow gnomes because we sat in a room and decided a name?
Kara's simple response to the question of a name she looks to Fizzy
I like you Fizzy, but I Can answer for myself
She responds with a wink and a smile
Fizzwiddle bows elaborately to Kara.
"We have little else to do until dawn breaks. I'm not planning on staging a daring rescue in the middle of the night. That's a good way to end up in the gullet of a shadow beast. You're welcome to give it a shot if you so choose," he passed his mug off to his tail and scratched his cheek with a stony hand.
"There are likely plenty of ambush points along the road to Citadel Rivad. Prisoner transport will likely be in a slow moving armored wagon. As long as we wake up early tomorrow and leave before them we'll have our pick of places to set up. Until then have some mead and find a seat. Time needs to be killed."
Erliana kneels down by Morosino to pet Rickard as well. The raccoon just soaks in the attention and starts to purr at the both of them.
"I don't know young man, you were awfully brave in the sewers today. Certainly more so than I would have been when I was as young as you. When I was your age I was terrified of things. It's only with Rickard's company that I learned to be brave. Perhaps you just need to find your own loyal companion." She smiles at the boy hoping to get his confidence up.
Guy is right. We don't want to try and hit them in the city, to many guards, to many innocents. If they aren't expecting anyone to come for him, we may be at an advantage."
Ravishar thinks a moment about what they can do.
"I'm not sure if any of us are good with bows, I know I'm not particularly. A ranged attack may be out of the option. If we could set up some sort of a distraction, might give us the edge we need."
Scalvo Speaks up.
"We have not, thought of a name yet, but as far as a uniform, I approve of Helms or Hoods, and some kind of marker, maybe a red band on the arm?"
"For now , everybody shall rest till morning, I will figure out a couple ambush points and we will figure a plan together."
"I'll be enjoying the fine drinks for a while. Is there anyone good with a needle around? One of the sewer's denizens gave me a bit of a chomp."
Morning soon comes, and Janiven wakes everyone. "Gorvio has left to gather some horses from his uncle while Vitti is finding out more about how many hellknights will be present and Yakopulio is keeping a watch on the Hellkinghts safe house. I am working out the best places to ambush the group and have figured out two options." She lays down two sketches on the table. "We can ambush them in part of the trail where lots of trees have recently been cut down and there are alot of stumps to hide behind, or where the trail crosses the river."
Without looking up she concentrates on the map and her notes.
"Take some time to think about this, and do anything you need before we leave. Everybody meet back here now later than an hour."
She lifts her head up and looks sternly about the room.
Fizzy rises early and sells all the loot. Everyone else awakes to find a small pouch of coins waiting for them.
A bottle neck at the bridge sounds good to me.
As Fizzy waits for the others he eats...a lot and sharpens his dagger.
Ravishar has a fitful sleep, the days events reminding him of his past. He awakens, and quickly empties his minds of memories, use to those types of dreams. He gets up and dresses himself, putting on his armor and sword. After a much needed breakfast, he takes the time to sharpen his sword.
"I also agree with the bridge idea. I am not one for hiding, never been good at it. Plus at the bridge, we may be able to get a few of them into the river to give us more time."
Guy walks in, yawning and looking generally disheveled, "What direction will they be coming from?" He asked, wiping the sleep from his eyes and looking at the maps.
You sell most items without trouble, however it was a little problem selling the horsecutter, but you eventually found a buyer. While in one of the Markets, you overhear some merchants talking about a string of robberies. Supposedly, there is a group of thieves, who paint there faces black, and have been robbing many of the merchants right before sunset.
Janiven addresses Guy. "They will be coming from the south" as Vitti enters the room.
The green haired man speaks. "From my reports there will be a total of 10 Hellkinght armigers (recruits) led by their sponsor, a young gifted, but low ranking Hellkinght Signifier named Shanwen."
"They will most likely be 4 scouts on horses while the others hang on/around one of there Hellknight carriages"
Through your time with the Dottari you have seen these strange hellkinght carriages. a small boxy carriage with many side boards and handles for people to hang on. On the roof is usually mounted an extra large crossbow.
Now that you are all here. I learned something interesting today. Apparently there is a gang of thieves that have been hitting merchants just before sunset of late. They paint their faces black. Perhaps we want to play on that?
Hmm black. That reminds me of a joke. What is brown, smells bad and sounds like a bell?
Fizzy pauses letting the tension build. Duuuuuuunnnnnnnnng
Larko looks over at the Gnome and chuckles.
"Play on that? What do you mean by this Fizzwiddle?"
Perhaps we should paint our faces black when we hit them. They will think that the thieves are expanding their operation, and perhaps they will waste time and effort trying to stamp out the thieve's making things easier on us.
If we want I can venture back out and see if I can learn anything else about them.
Janiven considers Fizzwiddles suggestion then replys
" Hmmmm. Perhaps the Gnome is right. This wouldn't be the best deed for us to introduce ourselves to the public with. I was going to suggest that we dress up in uniform and make this our first public action, but take uttermost care to not kill any of the Hellknights, to show the public we are not all about violence, and minimize the Hellknights pursue by humiliating them. But maybe disguising are self as the other group might take out two birds with one stone."
She smiles.
"What does everyone else think."
Vitti Speaks up
"I have already acquired some full helms and cloaks , so we are ready to use our uniform if needed."
Just then Yakopulio enters the room, and states "They are preparing to leave sooner then we thought, We need to leave in about 30 mins!"
Guy scowled slightly more than usual, "Fine, I'd rather not set the Hellknights' wounded pride after someone else, even if they are bandits but we don't have time for a better plan. Janiven, how many of your people are fighters? We'll need as many hands as we can get."
Fizzwiddle leaps into action. Over the next few minutes he mutters a cantrip over a dozen times. Systemattically turning his hair and all his clothes black. Then he grabs a bowl of butter turns it black and smears it all over his face before licking his fingers clean. Then he stuffs a few pastries into his belt pouch and mouth. Strapping on his buckler he says.
Ready.
Erliana shakes her head. "I am NOT smearing butter all over my face."
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Kara grabs some food for the trip but does not bother with the butter on the face.
Once we need to we can disguise ourselves as approriately but for now I am with you Erli, no butter on the face
Kara breaks off a piece of bread and takes a wipe of butter from fizzy's face and has a bite
not bad
she says with a smile
Ravishar eyes Fizzwiddle slantingly.
"Uhm... Maybe we will find some coal or something blackening on the way? I mean... if all else fails... we can... butter ourselves?"
He raises an eyebrow and looks sideways at the butter. He shakes his head and focuses back on his surroundings.
"Yes, let's pretend to the the bandits. I say if nothing else, it will get justice on their heads a little sooner. I'm ready to head out when the time comes."
Janiven Speaks up "We will go with the plan to blacken our faces." She looks down at the black substance in the bowl and gives a quick smirk."We have coal in the kitchen if you do not wish to use that butter"
Gorvio soon arrives with five horses and two pony's as Janiven speaks about the final details of her plan. "When everyone is ready we will head out, beating them down the trail. My plan is the rest of the crew and I will create a distraction down the road from the creek crossing. They will most likely send out their hellknight scouts on horses to investigate ahead, splitting there numbers. During this distraction the newer stronger members (The PC's) ambush the carriage and save Arael!"
She walks over towards the kitchen sticks out her finger and licks the black butter, before pulling some coal out of a cupboard. "Any objections?"
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"None," Guy replied, strapping his axes back on and sheathing his sword. He had tucked his tail into his pants and began wrapping a scarf over the top of his head to hide his horns.
"Fizz, Kara, and Eiliana, you should stick to the bushes as far away as you can and stick together, it will be more difficult for them to isolate you. Distract them with some magic then Ravishar and I will hit them hard and fast from the other side. If they're just armigers we should be able to shake them up and get them to make mistakes. Shanwen will prove more tricky."
Yes sir Guy. Big Guy...Tough Guy. Just Guy perhaps. I have a nice surprise for any casters they might have with them.
Ravishar nods at the plans.
I'm glad I got in with a knowledgeable bunch. Otherwise... well I might as well have stayed in the sewers.
Ravishar gets a look of disgust on his face at the thought.
"That sounds like a good plan Lord Berrain. I wonder if it might also be possible to distract them even more at the bridge. I could hail them, and talk to them when the are on the bridge, then Lord Berrain, you hit them from the other side. We will have them flanked."
The only thing that would make this plan more perfect is would be a rogue hidden in the water, that jumps up onto the bridge to flank from the middle... Ravishar, stop thinking crazy.
Janiven and the others rub coal on there faces, only Yakopulio and Vitti opting for the butter. The rest of the group mounts goes outside to ready the horse as Janiven joins in Ravishar's conversation.
"If you do choose to hail them, remember to do so after me and the the rest of the group make a distraction down the road to separate the troops. We have caltrops and other tricks to slow the Hellknights, but none of the other members are yet warriors, so it is important to split up there numbers."
She pauses as she rubs her chin, looking for the right words.
"Remember our main objective is to get Arael. Let's try to rescue him with minimal casualties on both sides."
She then move outside to the horses and the rest of the gang.