It is New Year’s Eve, and near midnight on this frigid evening the heroes gather in a small condemned tavern in the Free Citystate of Gate Pass. Located in the mountain pass which separates two hostile nations — Ragesia and Shahalesti — Gate Pass has been neutral since the end of their last war, but now from Ragesia a scourge comes for the city.
By now, every magic-user in Gate Pass knows of the Scourge. The Emperor of Ragesia died barely a month ago, and in a move to cement herself as the next emperor of Ragesia, Leska, leader of the Ragesian inquisitors, has decreed that all disloyal users of magic — arcane or divine — are to be tracked down and killed, to prevent future threats to the empire.
To carry out Leska’s command, the inquisitors, clerics specialized in countermagic, travel with military escorts to the borders of Ragesia. Their first target is Gate Pass, its neutrality long viewed as an insult to the nation’s honor. Those who resist them will have to face the searing power of the Ragesian Empire.
An entire army marches for Gate Pass, and the people of the city fear that they will not be able to resist the might of the Ragesian military. The city leaders are bowing under pressure, and have barred the exit from the city, intending to welcome the inquisitors that come with the army, for they foolishly hope that the Ragesians will reward their cooperation with mercy.
A local resistance movement, devoted to keeping both the Ragesians and the Shahalesti out of the city, has gathered vital military intelligence, and they need messengers to deliver the information to allies at a distant wizard’s school. With all their strongest warriors preparing to hold back the Ragesian assault, this vital mission falls to a party of inexperienced heroes.
The Ragesian army is nearly at Gate Pass’s doorstep, so time is short. The war is about to begin.
The Poison Apple Inn. Hmm. I think I've been there before. A halfling, possibly drunk, thinks to himself about the target destination. It certainly has to be better than this dump.
The halfling goes by the name of Xaivan Slingblade, this you either know from rumor or first-hand knowledge from his exploits in Gate Pass. Why he would care about running information to a wizard's school is still a mystery, however.
So, am I to do this by myself? Where are the others? I thought there would be others. Beer wench! Can I have another of your finest swill, please?
Cael steps into the inn, his hood pulled up tight about him to keep the cold off. He had gotten word to come here from a source in the old Resisance. "Well, can't say I'm surprised... Damnable Ragesians."
Patting Ashyra his faithful she-wolf, he steps in and looks around. The mood in the air seemed thick with dreadful anticipation and he could guess why. Then as he and his companion walk towards a table a voice rings out. Looking over he sees a Halfling. Walking over, Cael sits near the little man and raises a hand himself. [b]"And a hot tea for me, please!"
The bar grows silent as a tall half Orc walks out from the cellar hefting a barrel of beer over his shoulder and immediately zeroes in on the Halfling. "It's about time you paid your dues Xavien." He snarls, slamming his fist on the table "Let's take this out back." As he turns to walk away he flips a silver coin to the bouncer and sends a meaningful look at the door.
Xaivan looks up from his drink to see an elf come to his table and sit down. Pondering this elf for a moment he then notices the wolf and decides to speak. This is a private table. And, he continues, pointing at the companion, I'm not sure them things are allowed inside.
When the half-orc arrives the mood of the halfling changes a few shades. Dues? I've always paid my dues! If there is one thing I can be counted on its one thing and that one thing is paying my dues! You can take that door out back and whittle it into whatever it is you want but you'll do it without me.
Just then the halfling turns toward the bar. Another thing I can count on is the fact that I ordered more swill! Would you be SO kind as to bring it to me? I'm not sure I could reach the bar at the moment...
The pub is in a poorer district about a mile from the western city wall, filled with slushcovered cobblestone streets and dark, snow-filled alleyways. The evening is dark and claustrophobic, the multistory buildings of the city looming in the night, no lights in most windows.
The pub is a two-story building attached by a rooftop bridge to a neighboring house. The door and windows are boarded up, and the curtains drawn. A notice has been posted on its door:
Trehan Finner, owner of the Poison Apple Pub, has been taken into temporary custody under the protection of the city guard, until such time that he can be questioned by representatives of the Ragesian Empire, and found innocent of hostile collusion.
The Poison Apple Pub is hereby closed until further notice.
You notice a small amout of light on the inside seeping through the boarded up windows.
As Caelrahd passes through the cold and dreary streets, his eyes dart from shadow to shadow. He'd been called back in, and though he didn't like the prospects of yet another war, the Pass was his home and devils be damned if he wouldn't fight for it.
Stopping at the door, Cael reads the note and frowns. "They made it here already..."
Barrack never felt comfortable in this stupid city in this stupid valley. More than anything he just wanted to be back up in the mountains where the air was clear and the only sounds were the wind in the trees and the occasional sound of the wildlife. In this Damnable city all the noise of all these people made it difficult to even to hear the handful of spirits that made their home here.
As he moved through the night to his final destination he used a simple torch not wanting to draw attention to his ability to cast magic. Up ahead he sees someone who he has met out in the wilderness more than once.
Caelrahd... its good to see you. Glad I'm not the only person here who knows how to survive outside the City Walls. Ah and how is our friend Ashyra.
Barrack leans over and pulls some smoked meat from his belt pouch and slides the food to the wolf.
The steady footfalls of leather on stone carry through the night as Arelius strides confidently through the darkness towwrds the poison apple inn. Arriving at the inn he glances at the note: and proceeds to loudly knock on the door before stepping back and readying his massive ram.
Xaivan downs the last of his drink. I didn't get nearly enough to get drunk. Probably a good thing since I may need my wits before the night is through, especially with the half-orc around.
The halfling somewhat tags along with the others that he assumes are part of his assembled party. With a little effort he reads the note that has been posted on the door. Hostile collusion. My, that sounds serious.
Hmm, seems somebody is here. Perhaps we should take a look inside by... or we could simply knock. Xaivan then tries to find a spot that he can see inside the inn via a knothole or crack in the wood. He'd like to know if there is hostile collusion waiting inside for him.
Cael jumpscslightly at the voice before turning. "Barrack? By my ears, it's been a while. I can only assume you got the same message?" Stepping towards the dwarf, a look of worry is on his face Even as Ashyra sniffs and then accepts the portion of food, Cael eyes the cat before continuing.
"Do you think that wise?" Cael looks to the half-orc, curious as to why they may have just given their position away.
In a hushed tone...
It does not seem a good idea to me to begin a clandestine meeting in a location that may already be watched by... certain authorities... by announcing to the entire city that we're here by ramming down the door with a tree.
Arelius turns to the dwarf with a condescending glare and whispers back:
"This 'tree' isn't for the door. It's an Orc skull ram and besides, unlike the rest of you I have an excuse to be pounding on doors in the wee hours of the morning. What where you going to do, moodily skulk in the shadows and wait for someone to come along and solve all your problems for you? I'm sure the city guard would be more than happy to. The longer we stay out here the more likely we are to get caught."
I happen to be quite good at skulking in the shadows, thank you. Now, since you knocked, we might as well see if someone answers. The halfling continues to seek out a place that he can see into the building.
A woman opens the door a crack a few moments later. After checking to make sure it’s safe, she lets them in, gesturing casually to a table where she has set up a lamp, a map, several mugs, and a small keg of beer.
“Thanks for coming,” she says. “Have a drink. Just because we’re about to go to war doesn’t mean we can’t celebrate the new year. My name is Torrent.”
The darkened pub is mostly empty now, its many tables and chairs pushed to one wall and covered with sheets. A single table sits in the middle of the room, with enough chairs for all of you. A small oil lamp and a keg sit on top of it, along with several mugs. At the back corner of the common room beside the bar, a staircase leads upstairs. The windows and door facing onto the street are closed, and you know they have been boarded up from the outside. On the wall behind the bar hangs a bronze bust of the former emperor of Ragesia, Drakus Coaltongue, a regal, aged half-orc with a scar cutting diagonally across his face. You and Torrent are the only people in the room.
You hear a variety of distant bells throughout the city chiming to celebrate the turning of the New Year.
muttering quietly to himself... Orc Skull ram... Damn fancy name for a log if I ever heard one
Barrack enters in shaking the snow off his cloak... He turns his head and listens...
It would seem the new year has begun
He makes his way to the table and begins filling all the mugs from the tankard. He takes the last two tankards. Handing one to Torrent and keeps the last for himself.
He raises his mug into the air...
A toast... to old friends and new allies... May the spirits protect both.
Cael shakes his head and follows Barrack into the room.
Sitting down, he has Ashyra settle in next to him as he rubs his hands together to warm them. "Thank you for letting us in, Torrent. The message on the door, I can assume that what we're doing here is related to that, yes?"
Looking to the others he nods. "Yes, yes, a toast. May we all live to see the end of the year, and may the Ragesians learn to fear the Pass once more."
Yes, a toast. I'm thirsty for something better than the swill I had earlier. The halfling smiles. To staying alive in this godforsaken place for another year.
To getting out of this hellhole. Arelius adds before continuing But we should be getting down to business, I doubt we have all night.
Torrent grimaces and straightens in her chair, nodding to Arelius saying, “Another year gone. I guess it’s time to get down to business."
“The city’s in trouble. The Ragesian army is marching on us, and will be here by tomorrow. Before then, we have a mission.
“I used to study at a magic academy to the south, called Lyceum. They’re good people. So when word reached them about Ragesia’s ‘Scourge,’ they sent out messages calling foranyone fleeing Ragesia to come to them. They want to stand against the Ragesians, and the resistance wants their help. We just need to get a message to them."
“Normally we would have sent something by teleporting courier, but something strange is going on with planar magic. The last courier who teleported into Gate Pass, rumor is that he showed up burnt to a crisp. Not that I have that sort of magic anyway, but if we’re going to talk to Lyceum, we’re going to have to go overland. And that’s a problem, because the city’s walls are sealed.
“Ever since their emperor died, the Ragesians have been trying to show that they’re not weak, and they’re marching an army in our direction, since the mountain pass we’re in is apparently ‘strategically valuable.’ Either way, a few idiots on the city council want to negotiate with the Ragesians, and rumor is they’re going to invite a group of inquisitors into the city to look for ‘magic users who are hostile to the empire.’ They’ve sealed the gates of the city so no one can get out, to make sure they look like they’re cooperating, and only military personnel can get in or out."
“We’re going to have to get out of the city, and I’m open to suggestions as to how. Once we’re out, I can get us safely to Lyceum, but before we get ahead of ourselves, we have a mission tonight."
“The short version is that we’ve got to meet a contact — a gnome named Rivereye Badgerface — in about an hour at a guarded depository about a half-mile from here. He’s carrying a case of vital military intelligence which he stole from the Ragesian palace, and the heads of the resistance think that it needs to reach Lyceum. We’ve got to get that case, get out of the city, and get far away from here before the idiot city council lets the Ragesian inquisitors in. Once that happens, the odds of us escaping are —“ she finishes off her mug of beer in one long guzzle “— slim."
“I know I’d love to stay here and fight against the Ragesians, but I’m no soldier, and this mission might be more important. Worst case, you get away from the Ragesians and we can part ways a few days down the road. Best case, you can come with me to Lyceum, and we come back with an army of our own to drive off the Ragesians. But we’ve got to act fast either way. Are you ready for this?”
Sounds like fun. Xaivan takes another drink and looks at the others. Look, this place is my home. Call it what you will but I've never looked to leave before. However, I'm sure there are those who know how without anyone knowing about it. We just need to look.
Another option is to disguise ourselves as a military patrol but, well, I don't look much like military.
So we need to get out of town without drawing too much attention to ourselves... All the gates are barred... Either we go over the wall, under the wall, through the wall or around the wall. We can do so stealthily, fight our way through, trick our way through, possibly bribe the right person, use a diversion, or any combination of all those. The disguise is an interesting idea... But someone would still have to talk us through the checkpoints. What other ideas do people have?
see if Barrack knows of any breaks in the wall or if their is some sort of sewer outlet outside the city or if he knows any of he guards.
"We need those military plans and a method of escape." Looking down at Ashyra he frowns. The thought of fleeing was so odd, his mind having gone directly to his old Resistance past.
Then Cael looks back to the group. "Sabotage and distractions. Back in the resistance we rarely got into fights with Ragesia, we dug ditches in the road, waylaid messengers, that sort of thing. What we need is something to draw the attention of those at the gate and draw them away."
Rising to his feet he paces for a moment and then looks at the bust. "The statue... Is there any way we could destoy the statue of the emperor? Barring that a few good old burning buildings might work..."
The walls of the city are patrolled, and the gates are closed and guarded, except to official city personnel and a few diplomats. Simply walking out is impossible, and sneaking out will be difficult.You do know one city councilman, Erdan Menash, is sympathetic to heroes and adventurers.
Torrent chuckles at the quick thinking individuals. "Keep in mind that drawing attention to ourselves may not be the best option with the current density of forces around." She leans back into her chair. "The owner of this fine establishment made too much of a noise and was nipped and pruned for it."
Setting the city, we want to protect, on fire seems a bit counter productive. If we use fire as a distraction it will need to be VERY controlled.
Do any of you know anything about Erdan Menash... I don't know much about him but I have heard that he's sympathetic to causes like ours... Maybe he would be able to give us a writ to get out of the city...
I'm not one for stealth. My talents are more... brutal in nature, but the guard will be drunk by now with the festivities going on. They might take a bribe more easily if we move soon. Worst case scenario we kill them and breach the gate.
Whatever we decide we need to do it before the morning light. I don't know this Menash guy, at least I don't think I do, but he might be the quickest way out of here if he is agreeable enough. Lets get what we need and get going.
You hear footsteps padding overhead and creaking floorboards.
Barrack looks up at the ceiling... And cocks his head as if listening to someone whispering in his ear.
It would seem we have visitors. Guess we better get ready for them.
Move action ===> finishes his drink as he stands up
Move action ===> straps on his shield
I am the last hero in initiative and go right before the enemies.
Its about time some excitement showed up. I was beginning to think we would be running.
So, what's going on, exactly?
Frowning intensely, Cael pulls his bow free. "Damnable fools... Ashyra, to me!"
So, what's going on, exactly?
Xaivan will attempt to conceal himself under the table, hoping to gain the advantage of surprise on whoever might be approaching.