Writing furiously in WORD so as not to lose the post. Don't lose hope. Today's my day off.

Re: the placement of Pae and Andrea; You’re not officially posted to any one section of the walls. Rather, Jon convinced the Captain to allow you to move freely between them. That gives you both an opportunity to help out at each battlement if necessary, or to escape to scout out the rest of the town more easily (as you are not expected to be in any one place). It would certainly be easier to move about the town while most of it is asleep.

Re: keep details; The walls that form the gated in area are about 20ft higher than the city walls, with no clear connection for a soldier to transition from either part. One would have to either scale the side of the second wall, or go through the gathouse and up a rampart. The gate is, of course, currently barred. Jon was able, however, to give a quick scouting account of the inside of the gated area before the keep when he went to the stable. It’s a fairly large building, and would seem to accommodate around 25 horses. A quick count reveals only about 16 animals currently being taken care of. One wing of the stable seems to be avoided completely. A number of well armed guards are stationed outside of the stable. Two other buildings dominate the courtyard. A rather long and large barracks contains the rest of the Baron’s fighting force. Not being able to go inside the building does little to help Jon estimate its contents. A third building, located behind the Baron’s keep, is patrolled by guards leading mastiffs. The large double-doors on the front of the building remain closed. In terms of guards, all of the soldiers on this side of the wall, including the gatehouse, appear armed and armoured with better quality gear. Their eyes also follow Jon a little more vigilantly. Additionally, a few more soldiers appearing like the sergeant met earlier dot the gatehouse wall. A rough count of visible guards numbers around 40.

Jon’s treatment of the guards has a discernable effect on their morale and their performance. They are attentive, respectful, and energetic. They do not hesitate to refer to Jon as Sir, and take to his training with enthusiasm. The training, though exhausting, has a tonic-like effect on them, and those assigned to scout and keep watch scour the horizon, seemingly itching for a fight.

I’d like for the following to occur before you decide to head to the gates. If you still intend to head there, this will provide enough of a distraction to go there.

Several hours into the shift, before daybreak, a tremendous screeching sound fills the air around the town, before it explodes into a blinding flash of light and flame, just short of the town’s walls. A moment later, another one crashes into the mountains behind the town. If the Andorans are taking shots at the town, they appear to be adjusting their aim.

Andrea, Guligak, and Pae will notice an interesting detail about these blasts. They don’t seem to be leaving scorch marks where they land, indicating that there probably isn’t any heat or force created by the ‘blasts’. Jon’s focus is elsewhere, probably on his troops, but the alertness installed in them by his command allows them to point out the fact to him. “T’aint natural! What kinda flames are those?”. It would appear to you that the Andorans are ‘pulling’ their punches as it were. The spellcasters among you could fairly easily identify the blasts as the work of illusionary magic.

The castle walls erupt into activity; all resting guards are now at the ready, crossbows levelled at the horizon, anticipating more blasts. After several tense moments without more attacks, the guards look to their respective commanders for advice.

“What do we do now, Sir?”

Gorum snorts in derision. "Those cowards are using fancy magics to fool us. Just ignore them for now; it's sound and light, nothing more."

I'll be on vacation until Monday. See you then.

"Aye..smoke and Mirrors to scare the locals with the might of Andoran..nothing to fear lads"

Andrea motions to Pae and leads the way off the wall into the town making for the dog pound

“What do we do now, Sir?”

Jon considers several replies of varying acerbity, before settling on a neutral, "Just continue watching. Have someone take a good look along the base of the walls. The Andoran's may have tried to sneak some sappers in while we were blinded by the blasts."

He waits a moment before continuing, " That's some pretty impressive magecraft. Sound and image together. Does the Baron have any mages or such to help us counter them?"

Pae uses the distraction to have a good look around the battlements, he's not sure if Jon is to be trusted anymore...he seems to be taking this post too seriously.

Andrea sees Pae isn't foloowing and returns to the battlements...

"What's the matter with you she whispers..we have to go now or not at all"

"Oh, yeah" whispers Pae as he scuttles off after Andrea....

"I'm worried that Jon is taking this too serious...do you think he's actually an agent of the Baron sent to capture us?" Pae's mind is running overtime with the intrigues of Sothis and conspiracies.

Andrea gives Pae a look that is fortunately covered by the darkness..

"He's a soldiers soldier..remember we are trying to get this done with as little bloodshed as possible..so it helps if his men trust him enough to surrender when he orders it..you have to know when not to fight as well as when you have to. Those boys are scared and jittery and would probably fight just because they are more frightened of the Baron than they are of the Generals army..which would just see them all killed and probably a good few of the attackers"

In response to Jon's question, the guards consult each other using worried glances before shaking their heads. "Not that I know, Sir. But some say the Baron himself practices magic. I've heard rumours, you know, but not much. Some say he talks with demons, but I think that's just an exaggeration. You don't think he has that kinda power, do you? I mean, if he did, couldn't he just wipe out the Andorans right now?"

While Pae and Andrea explore the battlements closer to the keep, they note the stillness at Shenk's Dog Yard. Despite the commotion throughout the town, the dogs do not bark and there is no movement there.

The opposite is true for the gatehouse. A great creaking sound marks the upward winching of the large gate. A number of soldiers begin to push a large mechanical contraption into the middle of the town. Other soldiers travel between it and a nearby shop, laden with a small cart filled with sealed casks.

They begin to load the contraption with these casks; a few turns later and the machine is loaded. The cry of "Fire!" signals to one of the soldiers to release the cask. It sails far above and beyond the town, and lands just short of the Andoran forces, smashing and igniting in very real flames.

The Baron's soldiers seem to make some adjustments to the catapult, and begin to load it again.

Andrea turns to Pae with an worried look on her face...."They are using Alchemists fire...I've never seen so much of the stuff in one place..one mistake and the whole town could go up like a torch if they are using it in those quantities"

"Sounds like a really good distraction to me..."

"Oh yes it would be a really good distraction..so good that everyone inside the walls would be dead and then how would you get your money..ghosts can't inherit you know."

"Come on..you watch my back and I'll get the meat prepared for the dogs"

Andrea crouches in a shadowy corner and begins to add the drug to the meat

In response to Jon's question, the guards consult each other using worried glances before shaking their heads. "Not that I know, Sir. But some say the Baron himself practices magic. I've heard rumours, you know, but not much. Some say he talks with demons, but I think that's just an exaggeration. You don't think he has that kinda power, do you? I mean, if he did, couldn't he just wipe out the Andorans right now?"

... The cry of "Fire!" signals to one of the soldiers to release the cask. It sails far above and beyond the town, and lands just short of the Andoran forces, smashing and igniting in very real flames.

"Well I don't know if the Baron can talk to demons, but I hope not. Those who command demons usually care less for their men. I'd prefer a cleaner magic."

When the catapult fires, Jon tells his troops, "Give 'em a cheer, boys. Alchemist's fire is something we can count on. But it's no good them shooting into the dark. They can't properly aim. I'm going down there. Willem, (naming the best of his bunch) you're in charge while I'm gone. Don't let them gawk too much at the fire. They'll be night-blind and won't be able to see anything coming in the shadows. Send someone to quick foot it over to the west wall. Ask if Winter Rose can meet me at that catapult."

Jon leaves the battlements thinking, " Pae and Andy are scouting up there. 'Gak's up there too. We might be able to get together and try the dog-pound in force." He strides purposefully toward the catapult.

Pae loads a wand of enfeeblement and a wand of scorching ray in his Wand Rifle. and then holds a wand of charm person in his off-hand....while covering the herbalist...;) [/i]

Andrea finishes adding the drug to the meat and nods to pae.."we need to move quickly...while everyones distracted by the engine"

She leads the way to the compound
do we still have a DM or has he vanished again

By the way, I'll be on vacation from Aug 19-26. See you next week (on the off-chance the DM returns)!

I'm here...Dahn...where is ye?

Can anyone cast Summon DM?

(it's like Dungeon Master in the old cartoon!! LOL)

Quick someone quote "Eric the Cavalier"

(If I owned this module I'd prolly pick it up, even though I barely have time to play right now, much less run the 3 games I'm running...heh...mostly cuz I have no live group currently since my extra work is mostly done on the weekends.)

Xaaon, please check the discussion thread.

Jon stumbles on a cobblestone as he advances down the street.