Hmm, yes, I hate it when the cross is doubled--bad news. Well done, though--glad to see you're both walking out of there without being commnaded by a necromancer! Let's go report back.
.
Kenta just nods, before thumping Buta upon the flanks companionably and trotting to follow Vaughn.
When all of the Wee Bluets are safely back in the Revive for a better life, Kyren greets everyone, "Welcome home, my dear friends! I am so glad to see you all having arrived back here safely. Did you all have a successful adventure? Please tell me the tales."
Whadayamean?!?! I'm right here!!
Kenta shrugs "Not much say, two days we make with killing... Bobo likely tell story better than Kenta anyway."
Bobo beams at his cousin and the others and totally ignores the irony in Kenta's words
Hah! It was such a big adventure - picture this: I - great necromancer Bobo hah - led us right into the lion's den! We passed myriads of undead guards and at last reached the inner sanctum where we were greeted and treated like kings. Heh! Ilaktya didn't dare to make an attack plan without us, such a big reputation we have already.
"Hah! It was such a big adventure - picture this: I - great necromancer Bobo hah - led us right into the lion's den! We passed myriads of undead guards and at last reached the inner sanctum where we were greeted and treated like kings. Heh! Ilaktya didn't dare to make an attack plan without us, such a big reputation we have already."
Kyren gives his cousin a big embrace and says, "I am glad to see you safe, but I am not sure that it is a good idea to go around pretending to be a great necromancer. I would much prefer that you pretend to be a great chef! Wouldn't you prefer that?! I understand that the hats are much nicer when you are a chef."
"So what have we learned out of this little adventure? Are we all going to be attacking the Cult?"
From what Kenta told me on the way, the necros will be sending us some form of word 2 days from now. The expectation is that we're both going to attack at the same time. We should try to infiltrate so we're already inside when the corpses hit the fan, and we should just try to free as many little 'uns as we can before engagin in wholesale slaughter--agreed?
Hey wait - why PRETEND being a great chef? I AM a great chef, cousin. I will show how great a chef I am...pfff! grumbling Bobo leaves for the kitchen...
"Well, naturally you have a fine talent, but with time and practice, you will become a great chef . . . I'm sorry cousin!" After Bobo departs, Kyren sighs and says "Family!" as if that explained it all. "Well how are we to proceed? Do we have any plans yet? What needs to be done before the attack upon the temple? Oh, and when can we expect Alcheringa to return. We will need his cunning skill and wit!"
After two days during which the party found some rest and well-needed sleep, Alcheringa finally returns...
Kyren spends his time catching up on his rest and his harp practice and looks to see that things begin to return to normal around the Revive. When Alcheringa returns, he greets his friend with open arms. "Alchy! You are back! Am I ever excited to see you! Did you have a great trip? Did Albright find her way to a new home? Tell me how she's doing when you last saw her!"
"A great trip, such sights we saw. We arrived without incident and things went well in the human hive, although I must say it was more splendid than Kaer Maga, so less dirty and dank, they were much more the herbivores to Kaer Magas carnivores... omivores even"
Alheringa produces an apple, "So whats the plan?" he bites his apple and awaits the response.
Kenta is likely recumbent with spindly feet on table and clay mug of sake as Alcheringa returns. He gives the druid a raised mug upon sighting and then responds to his question "Some time tonight dead men make with stabbing... same time we make with shooting and stabbing too. Told the dead masters that if they go for little ones then perhaps make with shooting them. Apart from that... not much plan apart from Banzai!" chuckling.
"Kazam! I think Banzai sums it up. While they attack the main leadership of the cult, we will make an attempt to rescue the kids and get them to safety."
"I can live with that." Alcheringa makes a slight whistle, and Blaze comes running forwards.
And if we accidentally stab a couple dozen cultists, I certainly won't lose any sleep.
Vaughn clasps wrists with Al, (Welcome back, thanks for taking care of the little one!) and reaches out to pet Blaze--but not encroaching on her space unless she moves forward to accept it...
But we should come up with some sort of plan, shouldn't we? I mean, if we can actually be inside when the assault starts, we'll be that much better off to start freeing the children. Should we think about that cooking employee plan Kyren suggested before?
.
And, we should also have some sort of roles in mind. Kyren is probably the best to be the one to actually free the children--his magic can help overcome lots of pesky obstacles like locks. And he's a lot less, um, intimidating than any of us, so in the kerfuffle the kids will more likely follow him. The rest of us run interferance and keep the cultists and undead off them. And Kyren can still use his magic to aid us in battle, right?
"I am glad to see you return unscathed, Alcheringa. I take it my "Father" was well and took in young Albright without delay?" Tal'Zeneb says , looking up from where he was polishing silverware.
"But we should come up with some sort of plan, shouldn't we? I mean, if we can actually be inside when the assault starts, we'll be that much better off to start freeing the children. Should we think about that cooking employee plan Kyren suggested before? "
"A plan is always a good thing to start with. Then we can exercise lots of flexibility as we begin to execute it. I mean plans rarely follow through right to the end. However, going in as a cooking team will be a great starat and may get us some access to some areas that they would not suspect. I mean how suspicious are you of the help? Usually they can be quite invisible, even when they are quite apparent."
"Kyren is probably the best to be the one to actually free the children--his magic can help overcome lots of pesky obstacles like locks. And he's a lot less, um, intimidating than any of us, so in the kerfuffle the kids will more likely follow him. The rest of us run interferance and keep the cultists and undead off them. And Kyren can still use his magic to aid us in battle, right?"
"You know me, Daggers! I will use everything I have and some of what I don't have. As long as we don't have too many, I can take care of nearly any lock. As for battle, I always like to pull out my secret weapon. You know, the one I call haste. This will give you all a boost of speed, but then I will leave it up to all of you to finish off the bad guys."
Kenta chuckles "Kenta not be much help with little ones... Kenta best use to focus on spilling blood. Plan just get in way once hell break loose. You want try get Kenta in as chef and Buta as food? Could work I suppose? Maybe Alcheringa want go in as second course?" giggling a little too much at his half-joke.
"I too can take on the aspect of the boar, and then it would appear to be even more likely a tale, not sure how we explain Blaze though. Does anyone have a map or a drawing of what we are attacking? Perhaps we simply arrange another entrance and assault where they least expect. We still use trickery and guile, just by another means"
Alchy smiles at Vaughn and Tal, "Yes Albright made it safely, and who would not welcome a child with such tales of kissing the morning sun whilst flying aloft on the wings of a great Eagle? Tals' father mentor will provide a good home, all will be well... should you ever need we can go visit, it is a beautiful journey, looking down at the land sweeping below you as you soar so high and so quickly. Unless a Dragon happens by, there is very little to disturb one at that height, no bandits, no evil, no trouble...it may be the answer to getting into this new place too, I can drop you in by air perhaps"
With the arrival of Al even Bobo's bad temper has dissolved and he has some thoughts to add
Hey, I know one of the food suppliers of the cult, actually he also provides us here with meat and fish - maybe he could get Buta into the pyramid?
"Ok, my friends, let's talk about what I've learned and try to use it to put together a plan. Gather around and I will tell you what I know."
"The organisation of the cult is very strict. At the top is the Foster Mother...who has never been seen by any of the Inferiors, as far as I know...then there is the level of Superiors, there are eight of them, they form the Council that decides all important things. Then come the Inferiors - cult members like Laion. There are about one hundred of them. On occassion they hire additional mercenaries for special actions, but that sounds very rare."
"The pyramid itself is built like the cult organisation, there are several levels and the higher your rank is, the higher pyramid levels that are accessible to you. As a result, our friend Laion did know much more about the Foster Mother and the Superiors, except perhaps that the battle superior carries with him some kind of metallic rod that he uses to control the the iron golem. This would be a helpful trinket to get a hold of."
"As far as dress goes, the cultist do not wear hooded garments or anything unusual, but the superiors wear helmets that look like pyramids. From what Laion said, these helmets actually don't even have openings for mouth, eyes or nose - but they can still communicate and interact like they weren't hindered by these things."
"When I talked to Laion about sneaking in disguised, he thought that posing as Chefs was actually a good idea. He says the cult is quite lax when it comes to checking the minor serving staff. They don't expect any danger from them. We just need to bring the correct props. If we keep our weapons visible, they will certainly become quite suspicious. If you wish, we can bring Laion back to the Revive to talk to us. He says that he knows a cult member, who is an Inferior, who is responsible for hiring the kitchen personnel. If we were willing, he could put in a good word for us!"
"So my plan is to pose as kitchen help and become part of the serving staff at the pyramid. I could try my luck behind the line in the kitchen. I could put Daggers to work chopping vegetables. Kitchens always needs cats like Blaze to chase away the mice. Berry could be a waitress as she is so talented at that already. Tal, Alchy, and Kenta could possibly be sous chefs or possibly dishwashers. You see, this may give us a back door in that will help us move about with greater freedom before the actual assault begins. Tell me what you all think about my plan. Just remember, before you panic at the thought of wearing white chef hats and criticize the idea, please give me some warm feedback and let me know what you like about my plan."
I think it's a great idea!! Although I prefer to chop meat. Long pork is my specialty. Heh.
Muttering "Kenta not see what problem is with just making stab and shoot." but doesn't make waves too large in protest.
"Sneaking in is always our weakest option, we divide ourselves and rely on bluff and bluster whilst being left exposed to the prying eyes of our enemies. We have many options now where we no longer have to rely on such trickery, we have new tricks and skills we can use. I can use the gift of magic to give us the aspect of the spider, that our feet will hold us as we simply walk up an outer wall and into any high window of our choosing, I can sprout the wings of the great Eagle and carry any one of us aloft and deposit them into the highest tower, maybe making a few trips iff needed. I can transform into an Elemental of the Earth and make holes in walls with ease... I can call Elementals to similarly aid us in this fashion, even ones of fire to spread havoc within the walls of our enemies, by lighting fires and fuelling the flames, distracting our enemies and causing them chaos and alarm."
"We are no longer kittens, we are lions"
"We are no longer kittens, we are lions"
"Kazam! You've been busy these last few days! How did you manage to learn to do all of that?!"
"I have known all this for a long time now, it is just that we weren't in a position to use much of it and were stuck doing things not requiring any of it. Evading our enemies and ferrying Albright was simply a matter of taking her aloft above the heads of our foes and flying up and out of here, the old ways would have involved a lot of subterfuge and hairy moments trying to smuggle her out, but instead any such agents lying in wait would have had no clue of our departure..."
Alchy goes back to munching his apple.
"Kenta think easier go through wall than in air... not sure if Buta like flying..."
"I have known all this for a long time now, it is just that we weren't in a position to use much of it and were stuck doing things not requiring any of it."
"You are full of surprises my friend! You have become one astonishing cat! Ok, then how do you suggest we proceed? We could take the front door and work our way up, but if the Foster Mother is in the top of the pyramid maybe we could go straight to the heart of the cult. What can you do if there are no windows in the pyramid?"
"This is what we need to know. Are their entrances above the bottom layer? What is the place made out of? Can we summon a horde of creatures to assault the front as we creep in? We might need a map and a bit of investigation"
Finding a sudden interest in the conversation, Bobo comes whistling out of the kitchen
The pyramid stands in the centre of Ankar-Te's central square. No other buildings are adjacent to it. It is wholly made of brass and has no windows. There is a large front opening and a smaller one at the back.
As you look at him with a certain surprise, he just shrugs and says
I've been living here longer than any of you...shouldn't be too surprising that I know the area, eh?
Well, we've got a horde of creatures already going to assault. That's why we're waiting for the necromancers to strike. Al, you said you could get us through stone or earth; how about brass?
Yeah, how about brass?
Bobo echoes with an arched eyebrow.
"I can get in, but that would only be alone... not so good. Brass would be problematic. No other entrances but a front gate? I have a plan for that if that is all there is, although they should have some other point of entry, the rats can enter via a sewer, maybe discrete holes for channeling out smoke or air... unless it is some form of magic keeping it hermetically sealed there will be a wound in the pyramids skin."
Didn't you listen? I said there is a backdoor too! And yeah...they surely have some very small entrances to channel out smoke from the kitchen and such stuff. Bobo says slightly annoyed.
"Then we had best look closely at this back gate, for surely that presents our avenue of attack. I wonder what sort of attack it could withstand."
Alchy seems set on going to examine the place more closely, determined to find a point to kick in and attack.
"Now that we are no longer kittens, I'm going to trust to this plan of attack. Tell me, shall I invite Laion, the inferior that we spoke with, back to the Revive to discuss this plan? He may have other useful information we could use."
Kenta smiles, putting down his sake "Kenta will go with Alcheringa-san... see what we see at rear entry."
I'll stay here, help keep an eye on the place.
Bobo looks at Kyren and shrugs
They don't listen to us, do they?
Bobo looks at Kyren and shrugs
They don't listen to us, do they?
"Crazzleboks! You said it! It seems worse than trying to get a word in edgewise when cousin Gooblek shows up. I guess they don't want Laion's help after all. Well I suppose these kittens are growing up and are able to take their own counsel. Let's just hope the all know what they're doing and we don't live up to our name and really blow it! Well, even if the others do not want to talk with him, I think I will go back for a visit with Albright's friend Laion anyway. It cannot hurt to run the plan by him and try to figure out what unforeseen problems we can avert.
"Once we have seen what the options to enter are, we can let our 'allies' know where we need them to strike, and what distraction we need them to make for us and for how long. It might only be a short wave of intense attack, or we may need them to hound and heckle the guard for a while... best that they can sustain the activity to keep any guards distracted whilst we move to the heart of the place to rip it out. Very little point to turn the guards outward as we sneak into the place, only to have them turn their spears inward again once we are inside..."
Holding a serving fork out for inspection, Tal pipes up "It would also be advisable, should we gain access through subterfuge, that our "allies" have some means of identifying us from the cultists. Specifically if we are disguised as cooking staff. "
"Nothing says we can't be sneaky and pointlessly destructive as Alchy suggests. BErry says sweeping by with a pair of kittens chasing after dust bunnies.
This time Laion's home is not protected by any thugs and so Kyren (and whoever is with him) is able to reach the cultist's place unchallenged.
Shortly after knocking Laion opens and bids the halfling inside
I've expected you - did you talk to your friends?
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At the Revive Bobo shows Vaughn his first designs for a cook book - "Beyond the art of Mixitation"...
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Al and Kenta push and drag their way through the crowds in Ankar-Te's streets until they finally reach the gloomy brass pyramid once more. Throning over the district's central square it is always an imposing sight.
"So, we need to examine the front gate and see what guards and wards it has, then the same for the back. Are they open, how do people pass through, how many bodies guard them..."