Female Elf Psychic (Rebirth) 4|HP: 18/18|AC: 12/12/10|Saves: Fort +1, Ref +1, Will +3 (+5 vs. mind-affecting, +7 vs. enchantments)|Init: +2|Perc: +9
Alara looks down at her feet and thinks for a bit.
"...I might have an idea." She nods and addresses the party. "Bernard, while Lyraesel's spell is working, how about the two of us get some fancy clothes and pretend to be a pair of nobles interested in making some deals with the Rimerunners? We've got time to look for some nice clothes in order for us to blend in, and the others?"
You can easily have the non-disguisable people stay about a block away in case something goes really wrong, watching the place while just loitering casually in the neighborhood, and have the disguised folks go in.
You spend about an hour selecting some clothing that will give you the appearance of merchants of middling wealth, and top it off with some perfume. With your warriors taking the role of grizzled bodyguards, you head to the Guild to make your entrance.
The door guards halt you and one says, "Good day, coin-keepers. Welcome to the Guild. What business can we assist you with today?"
Time for someone to speak up and make a Diplomacy check!
"We are hear to speak with a guild representative," says Alara smoothly. "As you can see we are well-heeled and well-traveled and we would like to talk about your local business."
Nothing she says is strictly a lie, and with her sunny disposition the guards are put a bit on their heels. One smiles and says, "Why of course, miss! You and your bodyguards can come in. Let me call someone."
Another pair of guards are summoned and you are escorted inside of the building. Taken through a hallway, you are ushered through a doorway and into a room with comfortable furnishings. Your "merchants" are seated in plush chairs while their "guards" are stationed in the corner against the back wall (standing room only).
Shortly thereafter, a human man enters and offers his hand. He has the blond hair of the Ulfen but looks like a businessman, with a colorful vest and bloused trousers.
"Welcome to the Guild," he says. "We are the prime purveyors of trade and intercity commerce for the city. What kind of business can we do today?"
Female Half-Elf Druid 4 (Wolf shaman) HP 38/38 AC/T/FF 18 (20)/13/16 | F +7 R +3 W +7 (+9) Totem Transformation 0/4 Low light vision 60ft, CMD 16: Perception +9, Init +2
Earlier
As Alara and Bernard acquire the clothing needed to pull off their ruse, Lyraesel sits quietly in the grass, chanting in the strange druidic tongue as she communes with the natural world, seeking the aid of some of it's simplest, yet most complex creatures.
Cast Insect scouts:
This spell summons one or more vermin to investigate a single location or building you can see. Your scouts must spend 1d6 hours investigating the target location, but need no oversight. When done, they return unerringly to you with their findings, traveling up to 1 mile per caster level you have to rejoin their master. Each insect’s size is Fine. Each insect has 1 hit point, AC 20 (+2 Dexterity, +8 size), a movement speed of 5 feet, a climb speed of 5 feet, and a fly speed of 20 feet (perfect maneuverability). The insects use your saving throw bonuses, have a total Perception skill bonus equal to 5 + 1/2 your caster level, and can’t attack. Because of their incredibly small size and magical nature, they can attempt Stealth checks to avoid being noticed even if they lack a source of cover or concealment, and they have a total Stealth skill bonus equal to 18 + 1/2 your caster level.
Each scout that returns passes along memories of specific structural flaws, defenses, and alarms, granting you the ability to reroll one failed skill check per scout, as long as the skill check involves that specific location’s layout, such as a Stealth check to sneak in, a Disable Device check to silence an alarm, or a Perception check to notice a trap. If even one scout returns, you also gain a rough understanding of the building’s layout (at least, any portions your scouts could access). All insight (and the associated rerolls) fades 1 hour per caster level you have after the scouts return. Your insects remember nothing about creatures, and so provide no information about guardians or any conversations they may overhear.
Would suggest flying insects to map out the layout of fortress
Now
The druidess hangs near the back of the group, silently paying attention to her surroundings, and the guards.
Lyraesel sends her swarm into the building to scout...
Lyraesel:
The two-story building has several clerks, managers, factors, and guards. Your bugs sneak past them, and find that the bottom floor includes a manager's office, a closet of office supplies with a trapdoor in the ceiling, a meeting room (which you are currently in), and a pair of guest chambers. Upstairs there's a counting office with tables and chairs where a factor is counting and accounting for money with ledgers, a guard dormitory, and a secure storage room with a heavy, locked iron strongbox. Do you want your bugs to crawl into anything for more details?
Female Elf Psychic (Rebirth) 4|HP: 18/18|AC: 12/12/10|Saves: Fort +1, Ref +1, Will +3 (+5 vs. mind-affecting, +7 vs. enchantments)|Init: +2|Perc: +9
Back in!
Alara shakes the man's offered hand, and Bernard speaks up. "We're in the business of plotting safe caravan routes for trade between Varisia and the Lands of the Linnorm Kings. We see much value in the goods these lands have to offer, and we believe that the establishment of a proper and safe caravan route between Kalsgard and the city of Magnimar to the south would yield great profit for us both."
Bernard will take 10 to Bluff, if possible, for an 18.
...now I'm really wishing Alara had ranks in Bluff...
