Welcome to your cell. Make yourself as comfortable as you can because in three days time your life will be over.
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Dot.
Welcome to your cell. Make yourself as comfortable as you can because in three days time your life will be over.
In the kingdom of Talingarde, many crimes may send you to Branderscar Prison, but the sentence has but one meaning. You are wicked and irredeemable. Each of you received the same greeting when you arrived. You were hooded while being escorted through the prison. After the hood was pulled off, you were held down by rough hands and branded upon the arm with a runic F by Sergeant Blackerly. The mark signifies ‘forsaken’ and the painful scar is indelible proof that each of you has betrayed the great and eternal love of Mitra and his chosen mortal vassals.
Condemned, you face at best a life of shackles and servitude in the nearby salt mines. Others might await the “gentle” ministrations of the inquisitors so that co-conspirators may be revealed and confessions extracted. Perhaps, some of you will be spared this ordeal. Perhaps instead you have come to Branderscar to face the final judgment. In three days, the executioner arrives and the axe falls or the pyre will be lit. Through fire or steel, your crimes will be answered.
You have all been chained together in the same communal cell dressed in nothing but filthy, tattered rags. Manhandled and mistreated, any finery you once possessed is either ruined or long lost. No special treatment has been given any prisoner – male or female, commoner or noble – all of the forsaken are bound and imprisoned together. Your feet are secured by iron cuffs tethered by one long chain. Your arms are secured to the wall above by manacles. A guard is posted right outside the cell day and night. Little thought is given to long term accommodations. At Branderscar, justice comes swift and sure.
Escape seems hopeless. You have all been well searched and every attempt to conceal anything on your person has failed. And if you could somehow slip your bonds and fly out of this prison, where would you go? Who from your former life would want anything to do with the forsaken? Despised, alone and shackled – all that you can do now is await your doom.
You are in the back of a wagon inside a cage, with a hood over your head and your mouth gagged. Your hands and feet are bound in iron shackles and attached to the wagon. You know there are others with you but know nothing of them save there are other criminals and some guards. A chill winds whips around your body and you note you must be near a body of water.
The wagon stops for a moment, and you hear one of the men guarding you speak to another, though the words themselves escape you. The sound of an opening gate can be heard, then the wagon moves forward, taking you to what can only be your home for the next three days, Branderscar Prison.
The wagon stops for a moment, and you hear one of the men guarding you speak to another, though the words themselves escape you. The sound of an opening gate can be heard, then the wagon moves forward, taking you to what can only be your home for the next three days, Branderscar Prison.
The wagon stops just a short distance in, the cage heard to be unlocked. The guards can be heard speaking under their breath, "Bunch of bloody criminals", "They'll get what's coming to 'em", "Keep an eye on 'em". You also hear dogs growling. The cage unlocked, rough hands come in and drag the four of you out, sharp tips that can only be swords prodding you onwards.
The six march single file, blind and shackled, the only guide the taunts of the guards, as you are lead into what must be a building. Rounding a corner, you feel an oppressive heat wash over you as a rough voice calls out, "It would seem we have some new guests. The first thing we do here is your initiation." Several of the guards start to chuckle at his statement.
Your hoods come off and you see 3 other gagged prisoners lined up in a row with you, a guard standing behind each of you with a sword at the ready and a hood in their other hand. Another pair of guards stand in front of you as well as a fat well-dressed sergeant. The warden stands by the door, with a iron brand in his hand.
The older man speaks with little passion and maybe annoyance, "Welcome to Branderscar prison, your home for the next couple of days. I am Warden Richter. You are now Forsaken, forever known to be enemies of Talingarde. Sergeant Blackerly you may do the honors." With that the warden lets go of the brand and he floats it over to the sergeant.
As the warden steps out of the room, the sergeant places it into a small cauldron filled with coals. A sneer comes over his face as he paces back and forth in front of you. He then pulls out a scroll and scans it then hands it to one of the guards and pulls out the brand, now red-hot.
He walks over to the first prison while a guard grabs his left hand. The short man is very tan with no hair, "Garret Hunt. Tsk tsk. Murdered one of the Everwinter boys and threw another out of a second story window. Ooh and looky here an Asmodeus tattoo on his back. Good thing one of the boys lived to put him away!" With that he plunges the brand onto Garrett's left forearm leaving a nasty brand.
He and the guard steps to the left to a blond man, "Hugh of Karfeld, cousin of Sir Balin. I can see the resemblance for sure. Well you couldn't be less like our good Sir Balin. You know I could still see the love in his eyes for you when he dropped you off, despite you being a dirty Asmodeus lover. Well the best you can hope from me are beatings that don't kill you outright!" And with that he brands Hugh's forearm leaving it on for a few extra seconds.
Next his steps over to a small halfling that almost looks like a kid. "And here is Lueck, another murderer! Ah but here is thing with this one, he isn't like baldy over there and committed an act of passion, he is a nasty little thing. He pretends to be a boy and then kills his target when they let their guard down! Well his days of pretending to be an innocent is over!" With that the brand comes down on his arm forever marking him.
Last he steps over to a dwarf, "And last we have Steinki. Never knew a beer mug had a lock on it, must be a weird dwarf thing." The guard chuckle at the slight, "Anyways this here dwarf with some other foolishly thought they could take out the Cathedral of the Sun! Talk about over-reaching. Bah, why bother with this anymore he doesn't understand a single word any of us say." He quickly brings down the brand, staring into the dwarf's eyes, soaking in the dwarf's pain.
"Take this lot away." The four of you are re-hooded and taken away, then led up a flight of stairs. You can hear the sound of a cell opening, where the four of you are led inside and locked up. Your hands are attached to the wall behind you, and a chain on one wall is looped through your ankles, binding the four of you together. You are able to sit. When all are secured, your masks and gags are removed. As your eyes adjust, you see the four of you are in a cell, though there is a strange, very large doorway off to the right.
Several guards stand outside the cell, one of them the man who performed the branding. "My name is Seargent Tomas Blackerly. I'm in charge of these soldiers here, and I plan to make your next three days miserable." With that he turns and leaves the cell, only two guards left by the far doorway.
After the warden finished branding him but before he walked away, the bald monk held in the pain and looked at him and said roughly and loud enough for all to hear, "By the way, warden, Garrett Hunt is no more....it's Ash now. Remember it." Then he steeled himself for the back fist he was sure was coming.
Ash flexes his muscles testing the sturdiness of the manacles holding his hands. Quite sturdy...they weren't going to make it that easy. He looks over at the dwarf to his left. He whispers in Infernal to him.
The handsome blonde man looks over at Ash and hisses, "Do not call me by that name! Balin is my wretched weakling of a cousin. I am Hugh. Don't forget it, Ash."
He looks around the cell, glancing past the guards with hate-filled eyes before returning to his cellmates. In a more relaxed tone of voices, he continues, "The Cathedral? I didn't hear about that--setting his sights high for one so short."
A lot can happen in three days… Lueck thinks, consoling himself. As the brand comes down on his arm, Lueck grimaces but doesn’t cry out.
When the wagons stop and the guard comments about them being criminals, Lueck speaks up. ”Criminal? I’m no mere criminal. I’ve probably killed more people than you’ve met during your sorry life. I am a genius, and you, your prison and the whole lot of you are just a setback, nothing more.”
In the cell, Lueck evaluates their chains. ”If one of you is willing to spare a bone or two, I could splinter it and use it to try and pick the locks. Any takers? A finger bone would be just fine. No?” Lueck falls silent again as he considers options, clearly having not resigned himself to the fate the prison has in store for him.
"My apologies, Hugh. The names were flying and I must have confused them. Won't happen again." So easy to rile this one up, good to know.
Sergeant Blackerly turns to look back at Ash as he is walking out, "Sure thing, I will remember that....Garrett". He and the guards laugh as they continue their walk out.
"Accepted. You haven't had to live in that sanctimonious prat's shadow all your life." He unconsciously flexes his hands. "Lueck, is it? A little hard to do the door with the Goody Twins over there ready to sound the alarm."
Ash peers over at Lueck, "A cherubic looking assassin, huh? Quite creative! Unfortunately, I need all my finger bones. Otherwise I gladly would have offered it."
Lueck replies to Ash "It is a natural gift, and one that has certainly served me well. At least, so far it has."
Lueck shrugs when no one volunteers a finger bone. "Perhaps if we don't come up with something else by the third day, we can revisit the plan." The halfling scowls suddenly as a thought occurs to him. "You all do want to get out of here, right? I don't know about you, but I plan on continuing to wreak some havoc, despite this setback."
Maybe an hour after you were left in your cell, the door to the cells open, and in strides Seargent Blackerly. He looks perturbed as he walks up to the cell door, 6 guards in tow.
“You there! That’s the scum! Get ‘em unshackled. If any of you makes trouble, they’ll earn a thrashing! Or worse." He turns back to Hugh. "Today’s your lucky day, scum. You’ve got a visitor. How you ever warranted such a fine lady is beyond me. Seems she wants to say good-bye. Now step lively. We wouldn’t want to keep her waiting.” The door to the cell is opened and the guards enter, two retrieving Hugh while the other four watch the rest of you for trouble.
A sunken look in his eyes, a slight jerk in his motions. It's clear that Blackerly is under the influence of some kind of enchantment.
As Hugh is led away, Ash yells, "Hey Blackerly, tell your mom thanks from me for offering herself for conjugal visits...awfully nice of her. Go nail her, Hugh!"
The other guards suck their breath in waiting for Blackerly to react badly to what Ash says, but surprisingly there is no reaction at all from him, not even a flinch. The remaining guardsman seem confused, "I'd watch what you say or you are likely to get a beating or even gagged until your execution".
At Ash's comment, Hugh straightens up and, if he can reach his head with his chained hands, runs his fingers through his hair to neaten it.
You are escorted to a room just down the hall from the prison cells, a meeting room. In the room is a hauntingly beautiful woman with platinum blond hair and vibrant and unearthly green eyes. “Oh, dearest,” proclaims the unfamiliar woman. “I’m so relieved you’re alive!” She quickly turns to Tomas Blackerly. “Could we please have a moment alone, good sir? For pity’s sake?”
Tomas goes blank for a bit and then quickly agrees. “Of course, my lady. For you,’ tis no problem.”
As soon as the guards leave, the woman's demeanor immediately changes. She drops all pretense of grief or concern. She is immediately all business. “Have you forgotten me, dearest?” the unexpected visitor says with a smirk, dropping her pretense of grief. “Call me Tiadora. We possess a mutual friend who would like to meet you and your fellow cell-mates. Unfortunately, our friend is unwilling to visit you in your present rather shabby accommodations so it seems you must escape. Don’t be so dour. Just because it’s never been done before is no reason you can’t be the first."
“If you manage that, cross the moors on the outskirts of town. On the old Moor Road you’ll see a manor house with a single lantern burning in the second story. There our mutual friend waits. That is all I know. He did want me to give you this.”
She takes off her silken veil and wipes away a few fake tears with it.
“Something to remember me by, dearest.”
This woman has some form of power over Sergeant Blackerly.
Also you get to see what is outside the cell block:
As the doors open out of the cell block, you see a small guard room and a landing for stairs leading to the first floor. It is lit by a sconce holding a torch. There are two doors – one leading the cellblock and the other connecting to the interrogation room (Where Tiadora meets you) Otherwise, this chamber is plain with little furnishings save for a small table and two chairs. There is also a large fireplace to the south that looks unused, but as you pass to meet Tiadora you feel some warmth coming from that direction as well as the smell of bread.
The room with Tiadora has some blood stains on it as well as the faint smell of burning flesh but other than a table and chairs is featureless
Relieved to be out of the cell for even a short time, Hugh nevertheless pays close attention to the interactions between Tiadora and the sergeant and tries not to betray his lack of recognition. "I'll skip the witty remarks, since he doesn't seem to be paying attention. We'll do our best. I hope to meet our mutual friend soon." He looks over in the direction Blackerly left. "I don't suppose you could have him cut back the number of guards in the cell block with us?"
She looks at you coyly and says, "He'll do what he thinks is best and no more."
Tiadora only smiles as she rises and the guards return. Immediately, her demeanor once more changes and she is again a perfect picture of grief. “No, I can’t bear to leave you!” She gives the PC a kiss on the cheek. The kiss is ice-cold and feels somehow alien and inhuman.
Tomas shakes his head. “I’m afraid it’s time, miss.”
She looks deep in Tomas’ eyes and says, “Thank you for letting me say good-bye. There’s no need to search my dearest. You are such a good friend for letting me see my dearest one more time.” She kisses him and the cheek and whisper something in his ear.
“Such a good friend,” Tomas repeats his voice almost mechanical. Then the watch sergeant seems to snap out of it and bows politely. “A pleasure, madam,” She leaves unveiled. Her eyes meet you one last time and she briefly gives you a wicked smile.
“Three days,” telepathically echoes in Hugh's mind. “Don’t disappoint me, dearest”. It takes but a moment to realize the words appeared in your mind in the Infernal tongue. The visitation concluded, they take you back to your cell by a cadre of guards and shackled once more.
The veil has a variety of patches on it.
2 Daggers
A lantern
A coil of rope
A small sack with an arcane rune on it
A set of thieves tools
A window
A stack of gold
A vials marked with a draconic rune for life
A symbol of Asmodeus
An Ear Trumpet
Hugh is brought back to the cells and chained back to the wall, Blackerly in the lead, "Now you all don't be thinking nothing. I don't think the rest of you will get the fortune of such a visitor. Not that it'll matter in three days." The guards all laugh as they begin to leave the room, discussion of tonight's poker game ensuing. "Don't worry, I happened to acquire a new bottle of brandy for tonight. And your money will help pay for it." Blackerly says to one of the guards.
As Blackerly gets to the two guards by the door, he says
Hugh slumps in the guards' grasp as he's brought back in and chained to the wall. He murmurs to Ash, "A last pleasant moment to carry with me for the rest of my days. Or for the next few days, which will likely be the same thing."
yes you are right next to each other and could pass items to each other
"I hope none of you snore." The Talingarder tries to get comfortable and waits for the guards to leave.
The guards seem like the command to guard in the other is not normal, but it is less work for them. The door closes, you still can't make too loud of noises, but you have some privacy
Ash smiles at Hugh, "Good to know you got some! Does she have a sister?"
Black eyes glower like the pits of hell from another prisoner chained next to you. From a set of mossy teeth, spit chases the guard from the cell, hitting the door with a soft wet hiss. For a moment silence returns, until broken by one of them men. Next to him a surprisingly deep laugh sends a vibration from the chains with a rumble that rattles through your limbs. "Oh, I'll snore loud enough to send their souls to hell if I can. I'm not going quietly."
"A sister? Why don't you ask her about that yourself?" He lowers his voice and continues. "She's got a friend who wants to meet all of us. So you'd better learn how to go quietly, dwarf, if you hope to see him. There's a manor house on Old Moor Road outside of the city. It'll have just one lantern burning in a second story window. And I think it's time we got ourselves out of here. Lueck, can you use these?"
From the ragged end of his sleeve, Hugh produces what looks for all the world like a crumpled veil, of the sort that might be worn by a woman of the upper classes (now somewhat the worse for wear). He mutters to himself as he turns it over in his hands, obviously searching for something--"Which one is it? Ah!"--before tearing a bit of it away. In his hand the shred of cloth transforms into a handful of tools--a pry bar, a lockpick, and others. He passes them over to the halfling.
"While he's working on the locks, here's the layout outside the block. There's a guard post right outside, with stairs down to the first floor and a door to the interrogation room. The interrogation room has a fireplace in it; it wasn't lit, but it was throwing heat, and I could smell baking bread. I'm guessing there's a kitchen on the other side."
"As for what we have to work with, this veil has some other useful items in it." He spreads it out to show the others. "We need a plan. That design in the middle is an Asmodean holy symbol for those of us with a more clerical bent, and I have some magic I can use without it as well." He looks around with a predatory smile. "Well? Let's get going!"
I added the extra room you saw to the map linked at the top. The fireplace is on the lower wall of the map, and you thinking the kitchen is below as the fireplace isn't used so it is more of chimney now.
With a whisper of reply, Jawn says "If I thought I could do it with shards of your finger bones, yes, I am reasonably certain these would do." Jawn accepts the tools and takes his time working on each lock, allowing the others time to continue planning. While he works, he does ask "I don't suppose you have a blade in there, too?"
Ash anxiously waits for the halfling to work his magic, while he clenches his fists, cracking his knuckles in anticipation.
"Two daggers is all."
Disable Device to undo the shackles lock.
Lueck whispers back "If we get past that door, I could do a lot of harm with one of those daggers."
Hugh stows the veil back in his sleeve and watches the cell block door intently, alert for any sign of the guards' return.
Disable Device
That should free himself...
Disable Device
Disable Device
Disable Device
Disable Device
Lueck fails the first time making some noise but doesn't draw the attention of the guards. He quickly understands what he did wrong freeing his hand, then pick the lock securing the chain for their foot locks. He then successfully picks everyone else's locks.
Just then from the odd cell on your right a deep yet quiet voice says to you, "Freeing yourself is all well and good, but you should know they will patrol through here every couple hours. You should also have a good escape plan before doing anything to crazy or it will just end you back in here or worse.
At the other jail cell you see this creature. He looks like an Ogre although he has two small horns on his head. He appears to be injured by repeated severe beatings and maybe is drugged. He also has the Forsaken brand on his forearm.
"Thank you for the helpful advice. I have a couple of thoughts. You'll excuse me if I don't talk about them in front of you--having a mole turn my cult cell has made me a little suspicious of strangers. Who are you?"
The ogre chuckles a bit under his breath, "Well if I wanted to turn you in I could just yell out for the guards at any minute and have them take that useful scarf of yours. But at this moment you are my only chance of getting out of here before they execute me."
"Anyways, my name is Grumblejack, former bandit of the moors surrounding this place. The little ones who caught be stupidly kept me alive. The warden said it was until a grand occasion to publicly execute me arrives. I have a feeling the four of you could be that occasion."
"Help me get out of here and I'll help you fight in our escape and can even help you cross the moor to that house you talked about."
Looking at the patch on the veil you ponder over the ear trumpet. On a whim you pull it off and stick it in your ear, and you understand the mumbling dwarf even though you do not speak his language. You study it and determine that it allows you to understand any language, as long as you are actively using it. (Must be in your hands and ear, non combat) Might be useful for that dwarf who cannot speak your language.
Out of sight of the ogre, Lueck looks to the others, raises his eyebrows, shrugs and gives a nod of his head, indicating he's inclined to work with the ogre.
"It's not as though you'd get much for turning us in. But if you're telling the truth, we have some common interests. Lueck, I think Grumblejack, here, has earned time off for good behavior. Why don't you have a go at his cell door?"
"Unless it is escape time already, might as well wait until it is closer to go, you never know if they could notice it was unlocked. You should practice making it look like you are still chained for when they come through here next or they may find your pretty scarf"
Ash makes for an Asmodean holy symbol once Lueck frees him, if he sees one, in order to be able to cast his spells. "I got no problems with the ogre. If he wants to join the escape attempt, I welcome the assistance. Now, how long to the next shift or patrol? We have to time this so we give ourselves the maximum chance of success."
The black dwarf rubs his hands and ankles with thick, knobby fingers once he is freed, seeking to return the circulation to his limbs. He looks around warily at his fellow prisoners, especially when Hugh raises the ear trumpet and seems to understand him. When the discussion turns to the ogre, he turns his gaze toward the other prisoner.
"What's he in for?"