As the group watches the activity level increase in the distance, they hurriedly - and somewhat quietly (at least in their own minds) - make their way to the closest of the smaller towers built into the south-east end of the wall. Sure enough, there's a small worn-looking wooden door by the base of the tower.
Opening the door, the group cautiously peers in. The tower appears to be unmanned at first glance - no lights or torches around . A spiral staircase in the center of the tower leads upwards towards the battlements.
NOW where we going pointy-ears? grumbles the ogre following behind Giltharon. Another wizard live here? 'jack already found door way over there... the ogre points north in the direction of the double doors by the front of the prison.
"No Jack, no Wizard here, or at least it doesn't look like it. You are right, there is a door over there, but we think all the bad little ones are over there, and we would rather get out of here than stick around and play with them. So we are going over the wall instead. Ok?"
Felrin takes a careful look at the stairs and the threshold, recalling the little incident that happened at the entrance to Mathias’ tower. No reason to think those things are at every doorstep, but it doesn’t hurt to look.
He holds a finger in front of his mouth for a moment, in the vain hope that Malum and Jack can move somewhat quietly, then turns and leads the way up the stairs.
Malum will follow along behind Felrin.
Well at least he got rid of the tin cans around his feet... :)
Twigs will lope around the back of the carriage, slamming the doors before jumping into the front, crossbow in hand.
Izabelle shoots a wild grin at Twigs.
"Hold on tight. It's gonna be a rough ride." With that she cracks the reigns and starts the horses off, mad laughter echoing through the night.
3:15 am
The horses jump, a bit startled at the sudden cracking of reins. Nevertheless, they start in on their accustomed pace, passing under the portcullis arch as Izabelle and Twigs gleefully watch the prison fall behind them. Indistinct shouts can be heard as the guards bearing torches in their hands are seen running up to the far end of the bridge.
..op the.. not... em escape!!
The carriage rocks slightly bouncing Numair's unconscious body laying on the floor when the rough path leading away from Branderscar joins up with the King's Highway. The horses instinctively go to turn left towards Varyston. The moors are visible to the right of the road - a wasteland of semi-rotting vegetation hiding amongst stinking fetid pools of water.
3:20 am
Still a bit distrustful of unguarded towers after their incident at the wizard's tower, the group approaches the interior of the smaller tower very, very carefully. After satisfying themselves that it is in fact devoid of any tricksy traps and spooky inhabitants - living or otherwise - the group slowly ascends the stairs. The central stairs lead up to a rickety landing under a trapdoor - which in turn leads to an opening leading to the roof of the tower - linked to the adjacent wall and the towers further up ahead.
The view from this high up would be spectacular if it weren't the dead of night. However, groups of torches are still visible off in the distance - a few in the courtyard and masses of them around the main gate of Branderscar.
Waiting for Felrin to tie off the rope, Gil quickly clambered down it at the first opportunity.
Malum will wait until Gil is down the rope before climbing down.
Doh! I really hope there is a bonus for using a rope.
Felrin takes a careful look at the ground below where he stands, searching for any hazards in the terrain, and any guards that might be patrolling outside the wall. He then loops the rope over one of the crenelations on the tower top and drops the end into the darkness. He steps aside to let Gil and Malum descend, and then gives a nod to Jack to go next. Once the ogre is off the rope, Fel grips the rope, hoists himself over the wall and descends to the ground.
Oh, taking a 10 would be most lovely. :)
Then I'll just have to worry about drowning... :)
"You might be right..." the druid says, "But I think we can risk it, at least before dawn. We'll definitely not want to be on the roads during the day."
She thinks for a moment, her silence filled by the thundering of hooves.
"What do you think the chances are of an alert reaching Varyston before we do?"
The group carefully makes their way over the outside wall with Giltharon and Malum leading the way, followed by a grumbling ogre and then finally Felrin.
The castle was built fairly close to the edge of the island not leaving much room for the group on the other side between the stone wall and the sheer drop down to the waters below. Peering over the edge Felrin notices the waves crashing against some rather sharp and pointy rocks at the base of the island. The water's faint luminescence provides the dimmest of lights but not enough to see by any means. Even then, the tiefling is fairly certain that this likely would not make for a good point of entry into the water.
Towards the north the rocky path between the castle wall and the cliff slopes downhill slightly before curving in towards the front of the castle. Looking behind them to the south on the other hand, the castle walls curve out toward the sea with the path widening out to about 25 feet between the castle wall and the cliff face.
The horses trot along their memorized path along the King's Highway in the desolate night. The torches soon fade out of view as Branderscar falls behind you. The shouts of the guards and the signal horns are next to disappear. The moors are visible to the right with fog patches sitting heavily on the ground, misting up around shallow pools. The road itself is fairly desolate, dark and isolated.
Felrin reaches the bottom of the wall and collects the rope, glad not to leave behind any evidence of where they escaped. He takes a quick look around, and peers over the cliff to gauge the distance to the water. " Okay, looks like we head north," he says quietly, "and try to find a lower spot to get into the water. With the rope, we should be able to climb down quietly instead of jumping in, and if we can avoid getting smashed on the rocks, we can swim to the mainland."
Throwing the coil of rope over his shoulders, he sets off. As he does so, he turns to their ogre companion and asks, "Jack, you can swim, right?"
"The water is bound to be freezing." Gil protested, not keen on getting into the murky depths. "Once we find a place to get in, lets wait a while and see if an opportunity to use the bridge presents itself. I don't want to escape this place only to die from the after effects of the swim."
"I think I would rather take my chances with the water than the bridge. The guards at the bridge will definitely be on high alert at this time."
I do not think we were recaptured; my hands are free and not manacled. Yet, I am alone inside this carriage, so I am with at most one or two others who must be driving the horses. So either most of the others did not make it, or the group has split up. Or I am with someone else entirely; but why would that be?
Numair slowly pulls himself off of the floor of the carriage and peeks out of the window to see what he can. He'll try to look out all of the windows, without letting anyone know he's awake (if possible).
stealth
The ogre squints at Felrin and gives his shaggy head a non-committal half-nod, half-shake. 'jack not like water but... He shrugs. 'jack go in water after you funny little 'un. You clevererer than 'jack I think so if you think that good idea, 'jack think that too!
He peers over the edge and then to the north where Twigs had mentioned going. I think we should go dat way funny little 'un he says pointing in the northern direction. less swim to land there.
"I'm with you, funny big one," Felrin says to Grumblejack, "let's head north where we're closer to the mainland." Turning to address the whole group, he goes on, "If there's trouble, I say we get in the water quick, and Malum covers us with darkness. Most of us will still be able to see, and we can swim away from the prison to where they won't be able to see us at all, then we make for land. But until then, let's move on land and get out of here."
He leads the group along the base of the wall towards the mainland, eyes and ears keenly tuned to the night.
"Good idea, lets get out of this place!"
The group ventures north along the narrow path between the outside castle wall and the cliff edge. About 60 feet before the wall turns a corner to the west (i.e. the northern face of the wall), Felrin spies a fairly navigable descent down the cliff face to the water. There appears to be a break in the rocks at the bottom of the island. The waves don't appears to be crashing quite as fiercely in this area.
Off in the distance to the north are a multitude of twinkling lights that appear to be moving in random directions - some receding, some moving perpendicular to your approach - likely the torches and lanterns carried by the Branderscar personnel looking for escapees.
Numair weakly knocks on the front window. "Oh, mommy, daddy, are we there yet?"
Gil simply followed along, readying himself mentally for the cold swim ahead.
"You're alive." Izabelle speaks loudly over the sounds of the carriage, staring straight ahead. "That's something. We're a half-hour out, heading Varyston by the King's Highway. Know anything about patrols or checkpoints?"
Felrin spots a reasonably safe point to access the water and says, ”I think this is as good as we’re going to get. Let’s get into the water and stay close together. I think we should swim away from the island first, so it’s harder for the guards to see us and we can avoid any surprise waves crashing us into the rocks. “
Turning to the ogre, Fel continues, ”Jack, you stay close to the guy with the tail, okay? If you can keep him from sinking, he can keep the guards from seeing us and we can all get to shore safely, okay? Just stay close to us, and keep Malum from drowning, okay?”
Felrin scrambles down the rocks and, as the party joins him by the water, he says, ”If things really look bad, I can change into a creature that can swim and probably keep any of us safe. But I’d like to only use that in an emergency. Let’s go. Mal, stay by me and Jack and I can both help you in the rougher water near shore.”
"Hmm, maybe I should have learned how to swim... oh well nothing like going into the deep end firs right? The water is probably cold... fortunately since it probably isn't colder than my mothers frozen heart I think I should be okay. Lets do this before I lose my nerve!"
Malum flounders into the water with Felrin and 'Jack.
Woot!
Glub, glub, sounds like a plan... :)
In this post, you said the water would be calmer 75-100 feet away from the island. So I'd say we want to swim straight away from the island until we're in easier swimming territory. Then we'd probably do best to head kind of diagonally away to the northeast, so we reach the shore some distance from the prison. So yeah, some distance east of where the bridge reaches the mainland. But we won't swim where the sharks are.
4:50'ish
The carriage rolls on uneventfully which seems a bit anticlimactic after the night's events. The rolling moors to the right seem to thin out eventually leaving brush and sparse foliage on either side of the King's Highway. The night seems rather quiet, interrupted only by the sound of the hooves clattering along on the path and the occasional hoot of a disturbed owl off in the distance. It seems unnatural to break the silence and the trio find their conversation dying off naturally as their thoughts turn inward to reflect on their new path in life.
The horses eventually slow down on their own accord as the road branches off in two directions. A rickety wooden signpost at the side of the road points to the smaller branch that leads in a northern direction - "Varyston". The main branch of the road appears to continue on in a westerly direction.
The horses slow to almost walking pace and slowly turn themselves and the carriage towards the road leading to Varyston. They continue walking slowly along the new path for about 50 yards before coming to a halt. One of them lets out a snort and shakes his head side to side - almost as if stretching.
3:45 am
You're all eaten by bears that think you're delicious salmon swimming upstream. The end.
It's 4:45 am. Gil/Felrin/Malum and Jack all made it safely to shore about 500 yards east of Branderscar. You're cold, wet, waterlogged, cold, miserable, tired, cold and a little cranky from the cold. Jack is ecstatic with the funny looking little 'un called Felrin because he is free. The map of the surrounding area is waterlogged and illegible so I hope you have good memories.
The shoreline on the mainland is rocky. 60 feet to the north is the King's Highway, the moors lie beyond that. Guard activity is along the top of the towers of Branderscar, bridge and more prevalent to your west than the east. (You noticed all that while swimming in the post that disappeared. :P)
Stamping along sullenly, he made for the direction he believed to lead to Varyston, clothes squishing as he went.
"Heh, money is useful... freedom is much better!" Malum stretches out after the cold swim and breathes deep of the early morning air. "Freedom, does anything smell as sweet?"
Shaking and twisting out as much water as he can, Malum starts up towards the road and looks into the moors. "Damn, we have to trek thru swamp now? I think we may need to find a place to hide before daylight exposes us."
Felrin pulls the soggy ruin of the map from his belt pouch and hangs his head for a moment in frustration. Hearing Malum's words, however, he takes heart, saying, "It is a sweet smell indeed, though it reeks a bit of swamp at the moment. If I recall the map correctly, Varyston lies north and west of here, and the swamp blocks any passage straight north. I think our best chance may be to hit the King's Highway right away and head west, while the guards are still hunting us on the island. We make for Varyston as quickly as we can, and Malum covers us if we hear or see anything. After the night we've had, I'm not eager to try to get through the swamp - it would be embarassing indeed to swim as far as we just did and then drown in a boggy mess in the dark."
Fel begins to walk toward the road, keeping an eye out for torches anywhere near it. As he does so, he looks over his shoulder and says to Malum, "Funny to hear a slaver talk about the sweet smell of freedom. But I suppose you know more about it than most, eh?"
"While the road would definitely be quicker, I think the risk of meeting patrols is too high. We should risk the swamp and get rid of pursuit. And if possible find a spot to hole up during the day."
Malum looks at Felrin, "Why do you think it is funny for me to talk about freedom? Its not like I'm a Halfling." Glancing back at the torches of Branderscar. "That they would go thru so much trouble over a bunch of halflings, this Talingarde place is sure messed up. If I was in charge I know I could make it better."
4:45 am
"Whatever gets us there fastest." Gil said, having regained some of his composure "Who is to say those two imbeciles wont take whatever job is waiting for us for themselves? They don't exactly have reason to think we got away. They may even have been counting on us getting caught!"