Geborah gazes into the waves that swallowed the corpses, raising her hands in formal solemnity.
"Long after funeral bells ring for the bodies we leave behind, the families and friends of these we commit to the sea will search for their lost ones. Their forlorn hopes will dwindle, day by day, as they are haunted by their fears of all the things that might have befallen them. Were they tortured? Corrupted? Sacrificed? Eaten? Their imaginations will conjure worse fates than we could have arranged. A devil's trick; Alichino knows how to leave an impression."
"We'll go that way, the same way the patrol was going. If these two were the ones who were supposed to check on the cell guards, then the mess we left there might not be discovered until the morning meal."
Balam nods grimly, staying alert as the others clean the area. Clearing the rooftop may be the wisest course. Too many prying eyes increases the chance to be spotted on our way to the gatehouse.
Geborah, the guards on the roof could spot us. It would be wise to find some means of taking them down, or find some way to avoid their sight altogether. Has anyone spotted a door? There must be something on this level.
"The guards on the roof might notice the ones around the torches, but I doubt they would see the rest of us too well if we stay in shadow. Distance aids us in hiding. Or at least that's my opinion on the matter." At this Wraith takes a few steps away from the dropped torch
"I expect them to notice us. When they do, you pretend to be one of them, call out the password, say that you're bringing a couple of prisoners--Skorn and Wraith--to Blackerly. Because they claim to have information about an assassination."
"If the guards don't notice us, things will be even easier."
"Let's start circling around. Tatienne and Balam in front; then Wraith and FireSkorn, arms behind them as if tied up, then Jezabel and I, pretending to guard them. Grumble, you sneak a fair ways behind us for now. We'll see if we can get all the way into the gatehouse from the wall. If not, we'll find a route to the ground, perhaps through the last tower, and approach the gate from the courtyard."
With a slow, clumsy shrug, Jezabel begins to follow the others, making very little noise despite her protests from a few minutes ago.
Balam nods. That could work. He stands and does his best to look like a guard. Alright, shall we go?
Grumblejack nods and says, "Grumblejack be very sneaky."
Unfortunately, there's only so much an Ogre standing on a wall without cover can do to hide himself. He does, however, let you get about 50 feet ahead of him before following.
The wall leads through each of the towers on it, and as you go through the last one between you and the gate house, you can clearly see that the wall ends without a door into the gate house. You will have to descend to the courtyard in order to get into the gate house.
The good news is that you can see two ways into the gate house - the main door, and another side door on the western side of the gatehouse. Against the eastern side is a wooden structure that looks like it's designed to house animals of some kind.
Taking her dagger, Tatienne quickly hacks her hair off at the neckline. All the guards they'd encountered so far were men - it would be best to not draw attention to herself. Nodding to the others, she starts walking the wall.
----------------------
"Probably the kennel," Tatienne states, pointing to the wooden structure leaning against the eastern side of the gatehouse. "Let's avoid it if possible. Once we're in the courtyard, should we go through the main door or the side?"
Wraith plans to follow along with the plan, hiding the club and dagger behind him, regretting it only when the club wacks the back of his knee causing him to stumble. Hands behind him he holds onto the sleep scroll so that it's ready to go at a moments notice.
"So "guards" am I allowed to speak or am I go on a earn another smack?" Wraiths comment drips heavily of sarcasm but he seems to enjoy this new prisoner roll.
"So are we just gonna assume the guards won't notice were not in our prison rags?" He mumbles just loud enough to be heard.
"We'll go in the side door, it's closer." Geborah ducks back into the tower, and directs the others to go down its stairs. As Wraith passes by, she gives him a smack. "Silence, scum! Just practicing. Strip to the waist; your fiendish features will distract the guards from what you're wearing, as will Fireskorn's fur. We don't have to be very convincing, just enough to get by at a distance in the dark."
"So, same plan, but we take our little parade across the courtyard. Give Grumblejack the invisibility potion. Grumble, once we get the door to the gatehouse open, drink that potion, run across and get inside. Then look for guards to squash."
Begrudgingly listens to the guard in stripping his shirt off.
"Geb dear if you wanted my clothes off you just had to ask earlier. I'm sure I saw you sneaking a peek at me in the cells." Winking at Geborah to try and lighten the mood.
Geborah fixes her red eye on Wraith. "'Make of those who think they are funny a source of true amusement.' So sayth Alichino. Keep moving."
Jezabel lets out a laugh. "Auww, the little girl's too young to be interested in men, Wraith," Jezabel teases. "Your chest is wasted on her."
With a smile she adds in a sing-song voice, "I think you look deliiiiiciouuuuus..."
You descend the tower and emerge into the courtyard. Crossing the grass, you can see a fountain of St. Dothan the Just, Mitran patron saint of law and order. In his outstretched hand is a sword that points towards the Great Hall. A stone path surrounds the fountain connecting the gatehouse to the Great Hall. There is no path to the side door or the tower - you have to walk on the grass for that.
As you approach the gatehouse, one of the guards up top notices you and says, "Oy, what brings you here with these prisoners?"
Grumblejack drinks the tiny little vial and fades from sight, turning invisible.
The guards on top of the gate house don't seem to notice the invisible Ogre behind you, who is actually being somewhat sneaky for once.
Balam straightens himself, looking as best he can like a guard. His voice is gruff, hard like a common soldier or rough guard. "Takin' these pathetic stains to the Sergeant for questioning before they die. He thinks they might know something special."
Geborah gives Wraith a rough thrust in the shoulder with her truncheon. It's pretty convincing--the practice must have paid off.
”Well, normally he’d just go to them, but I guess he doesn’t want to leave the card game. Must be doing well.”
The other guard chimes in, ”I wish we were in there instead of up here. Ain’t nothing happening.”
The other shakes his head and says, ”Go on through, the door’s unlocked.”
Opening the side door, you come into a stone room. In the center is a ladder leading up to a trap door in the ceiling, and the wall to your left has three murder holes in it to strike at foes moving through the main gate house.
Once Grumblejack squeezes his way through the door, still invisible (you can hear him grunt a bit), you close it behind you and he says, ”That good sneak. What we do now?”
"We climb up to those guards and kill them. You're first, Grumble--go quickly, before your potion wears off. Balam, Tatienne, Jezabel, everyone, follow him closely. Move!"
Knowing that this foul armour restricts her movement horribly, Jezabel goes up the ladder only after Balam, TAtienne and Grumblejack do.
Balam shrugs and follows up after Grumblejack.
Wraith shrugs to FireSkorn making sure the other guards are not around before putting the sleep scroll between his teeth and climbing up the ladder when the rest have gone.
Grumblejack smiles a smile you can't see and says, "Okay. We beat roof guards to pulp."
The second floor of the gatehouse is a large, open room with two ladders that lead to trapdoors, likely to the roof. There are also two trap doors down - one that leads to the room you came through, and another on the opposite side of the gatehouse. That trap door is open, and laughter can be heard coming from it, as well as bright lantern light. In the center of the floor is a covered murder hole leading down to the main passage through the gate house.
Adorning the walls are 20 arrow slits which provide full view of the bridge, walls, and courtyard while the archers themselves would have nearly perfect cover. A single well-supplied archer could likely control the entire prison from this room.
From the open trapdoor you hear, "Damn, Blackerly, how'd you win again?"
"Go up that one," Geborah whispers to Balam and Tatienne, pointing at the left ladder. "Grumble, go up that other one there. The rest of you follow them up. Take them out as quietly as you can. I'll wait here to slam the trap door if Blackerly's bunch hears anything."
"Well with some help, I could drop the sleep spell into the room. I would just need someone to lift the hatch up enough for me to see and target." Wraith suggests waving the scroll he just spit out.
"Roof guards first. Less of them. No time to debate, Grumble's invisibility is wearing off."
Jezabel follows Grumblejack, Balam and Tatienne up the ladder without complaint.
Both trap doors open simultaneously, and the two guards look. They don't see anyone coming through one, as Grumblejack is very sneaky. Seeing Balam and Tatienne coming out of the other, they say, "Oh, did Blackerly want to talk to that prisoner alone and send you up here? Well, nice to have the company."
They turn back to their watches, barely noticing Jezabel out of the corner of their eye - but seeing only a guardsman, they aren't worried.
Wraith keeps an eye on the hatch to were Blackerly is holed up. "I'll keep an eye down here if anyone starts coming up I'll drop sleep int the room." he whispers to the group.
Jezabel nods her head and wanders over to the guards.
Geborah keeps an eye on the hatch down to the poker game alongside Wraith and Fireskorn, sharing whispered strategies. "Powerful as the scroll is, I think if the others manage to silence the guards above, Fireskorn can break up the poker game with his fire-bombs. If this hatch is their only exit, we can roast them like pigs in an oven, and skewer them as they try to climb the ladder one at a time. You're a sneaky little thing, Skorn...can you peek over the edge of the hatch and see if there are any other ways out of that room below?"
Neither of the guards appears to question your motives as you approach them, nor notices Balam and Grumblejack sneak up. They are completely unaware.
With a smile well-hidden by her helmet, Jezabel drives her fist into the guard's throat, she laughs as her hand comes away bloody.
"Mmmmm..." she moans happily, licking her fingers.
Geborah slithers to the edge of the hatch over the poker game and takes a stealthy look at the room below, looking especially for other exits.
Taty draws her sword and then draws it again, this time along the guard's neck. The blade slides along the guard's armor, a gurgle escapes his throat - the relic hunter hopes it is enough.
[/dice]
Jezabel and Tatienne quickly kill their respective targets, who fall to the ground with naught but a gurgle.
[spoiler=Loot]
2 x longswords
2 x heavy steel shields
2 x longbows
40 arrows
2 x chain shirts
2 x leather wrapped clubs
2 x foot locker keys
Looking over the edge of the trap door, from what you can see, there is a table and chairs with four guards sitting about it, as well as Blackerly. Next to each is a mug, likely containing some sort of liquor, and there are coins and cards on the table. From where you are, you can't see any other exits.
Jezabel and Tatienne quickly kill their respective targets, who fall to the ground with naught but a gurgle.
2 x longswords
2 x heavy steel shields
2 x longbows
40 arrows
2 x chain shirts
2 x leather wrapped clubs
2 x foot locker keys