"You hear that? Someone's coming. Grumble, should you bar the door?" Calvin whispers.
"No! We need to allow them in and then cut off their escape."
With a plan forming in her mind, Libby dashes into the mess hall to check the door on the south wall. She returns at once.
Poki took a coil of rope from the storeroom for her very own. At the approach of the guards to the main door, her first thought was to duck into the mess hall and hide under one of the tables, but she won't abandon the rest of the party to do so.
The door Libby tries is unlocked. She doesn't open it, but she does hear voices - a man's and woman's - on the other side talking casually.
"Poki thinks ambush," the gnome pipes up. "Half in that office, and half to the south. The ones in the office attack just as they pass. And as for those --" she points to the door Libby just checked " -- Poki will hide under the table nearest that door, and surprise them."
"Yes? No?"
"Sounds good enough to me," Gideon says, nodding to the gnome. "Just as long as we cut them all down."
"I'll stick close to Grumblejack. He needs some good fortune so he doesn't spend the entire scuffle unconscious on the floor."
Ferrin collects a coil of rope from the store room, as well as a signal horn.
Looking down at Poki, he says quickly and quietly "That sounds like as good a plan as any. Why don't Gideon and I step into the office, the rest of you go through the door to the stairs, and we'll see if we can't pinch them between us. Except you, Poki - you get ready to poke, just as you said. When we come out and attack them from behind, you can send Grumblejack into 'em from the front, I bet he'll like that."
At Ferrin's suggestion, Libby wordlessly heads back towards the stairs, climbing halfway up to give the others room.
Still struggling under the weight of the rope coiled around her body, she decides that it's surplus to requirements and dumps it onto the floor beside her.
She waits.
You all move into position just as the doors at the end of the hallway open. Two guards move into the hall, apparently unaware of your presence. You can overhear their conversation.
“That Blackerly is a damned thief! That game was rigged last night!” One of them says, sounding slightly drunk.
“If it’s rigged, why do you keep going back to the gatehouse then?” The other asks.
“The beer’s passable.” A laugh is heard. “Drinkin’ on duty! Damn, this place has gone to hell. Captain Callidan would have never tolerated that crap. That’s for sure!”
“Captain Callidan … he left, what? Two years ago?”
“Almost three and since then the place has been straight down the s+#!ter. That old wizard never leaves his tower. He stays up there reading his books and petting his owl!”
“Petting his owl? Is that what they call it these days?”
The guards enjoy a bit of a laugh as they open the door directly across from Gideon and Ferrin.
Ferrin waits until he hears the guards begin to move into the room across the hall. He then opens the door as quietly as possible and steps into the hall just as the second guard enters the doorway. Raising his club in both hands, he brings it down solidly on the back of the guard's neck, keeping perfectly silent as he does so.
It seems the guards are completely unaware of your presence in any of the rooms you occupy.
Surprise Round
Initiative Order:
Gideon, Calvin, Ferrin (already posted action), Poki (currently hidden), Guards (no action this round), Libby
Seizing the initiative, Gideon rushes out of the room, sword in hand. Aiming to box in the unaware guards, he steps around the one farthest from his hidden allies. Wearing a malicious grin, he lashes out at the man with his longsword.
"Give 'em hells, Grumble," Calvin whispers to the ogre. He projects the images of bones crunching under the meaty fists of the large man.
Grumblejack, hearing the sound of battle commencing throws open the door and steps into the hall. "Break your bones! I will break your bones!" he threatens menacingly.
Remaining where she is, Libby inhales deeply, closing her eyes momentarily as she does so.
"Just the two guards this time, gents...just think of it as practice."
Once again, the girl's words cut through any hint of doubt in the minds of her allies and bolster their desire to escape.
Round 1
Initiative Order:
Gideon (already posted action), Calvin, Ferrin (already posted action), Poki (currently hidden), Guards, Libby
With everyone in position, Gideon lashes out at the guard near him. Unfortunately, as the man turns to meet his attacker, he manages to narrowly avoid the blow - even with Libby's encouraging words spurring the Antipaladin on.
Ferrin, however, manages to land a blow on the guard. The guard groans in pain before cursing at the Rogue for the attack.
"You're both going to get crushed and die!" Calvin cackles gleefully - and safely behind Grumblejack - at the two guards. "But first, you're going to get skewered by our ex-paladinian comrade!" he says at the guard , projecting the image of him getting pierced by a sword, over and over again.
Poki will delay until any of the doors open in the room that she's in.
The guards, shocked by the sudden attack, reel in defense. Both draw their swords and lash out at their attacker.
for
for
Both fail to land a blow. The guard nearest the door pulls it open and retreats into the room .
Grumblejack steps forward and attempts to smash the guard remaining in the hallway with his meaty fist.
Just as it looked as if the guard would nimbly dodge out of the way, Grumble's fist followed and found its mark on the man's skull.
Round 2
Initiative Order:
Gideon, Calvin, Ferrin, Poki, Guards, Grumblejack, Libby
Ferrin lifts his club high and strikes like a rogue, missing his opponent.
Unable to influence the fight further, Libby watches on.
Gideon closes in on the guard who opened the door and with a grunt of effort swings his blade at him once more.
Calvin laughs madly as Grumble's blow lands on the guard. He focus his attention on the guard Ferrin is facing. "That armor does you no good. No good at all."
Gideon's sword arcs through the air and connects with its target. The blade cuts deeply into the man's shoulder who groans in pain with the attack, clearly hurt by the blow.
The other guard looks down at his armor as Calvin hexes him. He seems to be looking to make sure it's still there. As he looks up, Ferrin's club catches him cleanly in the temple. He looks as if he's about to drop.
The guards both lash out with their swords once more.
for
The guard misses Gideon, but the other lands a clean blow on Ferrin.
The guard facing Ferrin seems uncertain about what to do, so he retreats towards the exit . The other just steps backwards from the Antipaladin, further into the room.
Grumble growls as he is unable to do anything at the moment.
Round 3
Initiative Order:
Gideon, Calvin, Ferrin, Poki, Guards, Grumblejack, Libby
Working quickly, Libby removes clothes from one of the felled guards on the stairs. From these, and using belts to secure it, she fashions a makeshift sack into which she inserts the papers and ledgers taken from Blackerley's office.
Ferrin is pleased to have struck the guard in a vulnerable spot, and is surprised when the man doesn't fall, and even more surprised by the blade cutting across his upper arm. Ferrin's surprise turns to alarm as the guard begins to move towards the exit, and he says "Oh no you don't!" He raises the club across his body and smashes it into the left side of the guard's head as the man turns, bringing him crashing bonelessly to the stone floor.
The club lands on the back of the man's head as he turns to flee. He crumples to the floor silently.
Having fended off the fleeing guard's attack with ease, Gideon follows after him, grinning madly. Hefting his blade, the antipaladin throws all the weight he could muster into his next swing.
Calvin laughs madly as the man falls and the other flees.
Seeing nothing else to do, he just continues cackling.