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Firmly in Ten-penny's chokehold, Gondork fails to respond in any way, his face so close to hers that his only response surmounts in wide-eyed stammering.
Then he kisses her.
Arwyn grinned and unbuckled Gondorks armor while he was otherwise occupied, leaving him his cloak for modesty's sake. She added it to the 'to be concealed' pile.
Ten-Penny is completly stunned... Who the hell does he think he is!?! She releases him from his headlock and kicks him over into the snow.
She then kicks him in his crownjewels.
"Wh.. wha..., WHAT the HELL! You OAF! You BASTARD! You... You... Gggrr ha!" Huffs Ten-Penny as she kicks snow towards Gondork, and then she storms off, her face red as a beet.
What... a woman...
Gondork adds, with a squeaky voice face down in the snow, while clutching his reproductive organs.
One day, I'm going to marry this woman.
Giacomo... could you... help me up please?
Giacomo, completely stunned, offers his hand to help Gondork up, and promptly gets pulled into the snow.
After finding out that Ringeirr was recently arrested, your attention is drawn to the piers. A group of local men carrying ogre hooks, looking like thugs, have encircled a local fisherman. You hear them knock the fisherman to the ground, pleading "please, i can't afford to pay!"
The fisherman that you were talking to, Giacomo, points them out "That's them now, they're part of the Fishcamp Guards. Same ones who dragged Ringeirr off a few days ago."
Arwyn glared at the guards harassing the fisherman.
"I don't like bullies..." She said, clenching her fists.
they dont even seem to notice you.
leave them be... there will be misery plenty we can't afford to help out with in this evil country.
We could pretend we're on their side, and that we have beef with Ringeirr. Tricky.
"Yes." She snarled, clenching her fists. "That would be the smart move. The locals could not help but be grateful we didn't do anything to help."
Don't take it out on me, Arwynn... us helping these poor folk could jeopardise the plan to save the lives of all the people in your own village as well.
Gondork adds through gritted teeth.
"Usually we could use some disguises, but something tells me our party doesn't have a lot of use for such charades..." she says while giving a quick glance at Gondork and Caladan. She then pictures Giacomo in the oversized clothes, and realizes that such a plan will never succeed.
She looks around, are there any other guards around?
If not, then we might get away with it if we act fast.
"We could dispose of these guards quickly... There is a boat to stash them which we can then push onto the lake... maybe with holes..." Ten-Penny quietly adds.
"Anyway, we could always use some more allies. Helping these people might provide us with some. Very handy when we need to lay low. I say we help him. Maybe we can pin the guards disappearance on the water ogres a little way back?"
"Come on guys, we have to help that poor man! And maybe they'll take us to their hideout, just like last time!"
Arwyn nodded sharply. "Let's do this."
She casually strolled up behind one of the thugs, walking as if she belonged here...
Then she picked up one of the thugs and tossed him off the pier and into the water (or ice sheet).
"Da Troll brothers sends they regards..." Said Arwyn boldly, trying to disguise her voice as well.
Ar...wynn.
Gondork facepalms.
"Lets go raid me some guardhouse. Must be mighty fine weapony to be found there. Besides information, of course. I'm going to put my armor back on."
"Well then, next stop: the guardhouse."
Arwyn grabbed Gondork.
"We're just a gaggle of innocent citizens of Irrisen, out to conduct trade," She hissed at Gondork, smiling at bystanders. "Stone knives, bearskins, etc. We certainly are not dangerous outsiders, since we aren't wearing military armor or weapons; dangerous enough to send for help from the witch rulers here. Certainly not."
"Good. Now let's get a look at this guardhouse; see how hard a target it is." Arwyn said, taking a firm hold of Gondork's arm and encouraging him to come along now.
Arwyn manages to interrupt Gondork's attempt at putting his armor back on, dragging him to the guardhouse.
Arwyn casually looked around the guardhouse, looking for access points, guards, lookouts, innocent and not-so-innocent bystanders, etc.
Ten-Penny follows Arwyn's example, waiting till she is passed by a little while ago. Then she too inspects the building and its surrounding.
The windows of this large, ugly, unpainted building are boarded shut. Its construction is rough and haphazard, as if it were once a smaller shack that had many additions tacked on later.
The word “guardhouse,” along with a crude symbol of a shield crossed by a hook, is painted on the building’s only door facing the road.
Despite being in the center of town, the locals seem to try to avoid coming anywhere near the place.
You don't see any guards outside the building.
This shack used to be a small residence before it was taken over as the Guardhouse.
The construction of the guardhouse is poor.
The wooden walls are weak and flimsy.
The simple wooden front door has no lock but is probably barred from the inside.
You see something in the back of the building. Those scratches, the discoloration... There could be a Secret Door accessing the rear of the building.
Ten-Penny goes back towards the rest of the party.
"So, what's the plan?"
"I think there's a backdoor into that building. We should try to charge in from behind, they won't expect that."
"What? Arwyn said, then looked closer. "I can't believe I missed that.
"Well then, as I see it, we have two ways to do this.
"One; loud but fast. We smash in, beat up the guards, get out with our guy. No time for the guards to call for reinforcements, no time for locals to get involved.
"Two; smart and sneaky. We cause a commotion that the guards have to go see to, lure them as far away as possible. Maybe start a trash fire on the outskirts of town. Then while they're away, sneak in and extract our guy. Sneak out, leave no trace.
"What do you think?"
"Why not both? I can hardly see all the guards leaving."
"I like the sneaky way. It also affects the locals the least."
"Let's try sneaky. Brute-forcing can lead to some ugly fights, like in the wizard tower last time."
Ugly!? That was great!
Gondork says as he slams his fist into his open palm.