As Jesk rounds the entrance to the stairway, he cries out in surprise seeing the collection of forsaken clutching clubs, chains and daggers. Immediately realizing his lethal mistake, Jesk wheels around and attempts to throw himself out of the ever closing circle of felons. As he does so, Barnabas steps up from behind, and muttering a half-hearted apology, plunges a dagger into Jesk’s back. As Jesk cries out in pain, his blood dripping down from behind his chain hauberk, Ariana dashes forward, her claws extending as her arm rips down. As he claws connect with Jesk’s chainmail, it rips a long furrow down the shirt, chains shredding like butter to a hot knife. Deeply wounded and his vision fading, Jesk summons what little strength he has left and tries to flee. Raising his shield Jask throws himself forward and yelling . Trying to push his way out of the ever-tightening ring of prisoners the luckless guard leaves himself terribly open and Barnabas, Mikhail and Ariana all strike out at the guard with a combination of daggers, swords and claws, bringing the man down in a spray of blood.
As Jesk falls, Chet is rocked back in shock. Off kilter the man turns to Kaynen. Wha.. wha.. why did your friends attack Jesk?! Oh god.. Oh holy Mitra. We gotta tell the Warden. I.. I’m sure you had a good reason, right? Kneeling down at the Jesk’s side, Chet tries to stanch the blood from Jesk’s grievous wounds but in his frantic state fails.
I heard it too! Comes the sound of a second man’s voice. It sounded like Jesk yelling that the prisoners are free. Everyone get up!
Mikhail hisses a command to the others. "Kill him!" He brings his sword to bear down on the man, but the guard scrambles out of the way with a look of confusion on his face. Mikhail grimaces at his failure to kill an ensorceled enemy. 'This is why I leave the killing to others,' he thinksto himself.
Oswald makes an exasperated noise from deep in his throat as he pokes back the new guard friend of Kaynen with the end of his club before he crouches over the prone form of his drunk comrade. The doctor keeps an eye on the guard while he searches with his offhand in the blood-drenched uniform of the other. Oswald tears through pockets as he grows more and more frantic, "Not here! Not there! He doesn't have my poor, sweet Rosaline! Where is she?! Where is she?!" He starts to prod the living guard with his club while he hisses his last questions to him.
Ariana scurries over to the other standing guard, drawn by Mikal's words. She swings her claws out as she advances, spraying some blood onto the guard's face as she moves, then brings her claws down on him.
She misses both, having come down with the two claws pretty much in unison and the guard having backed away from both of them.
"Steel your nerves, Chet. These prisoners here possess valuable information as to the safety of Talingarde. One of the guards has betrayed us and we are on special orders to protect them at all costs from the betrayers. The warden may be in on it -- you can trust no one other than myself..."
Confident his exaggeration actually sounded like the truth to his own ears, Kaynen waves the others away from Chet, while he clucks his tongue and nods to the rightmost door at the end of the hall.
"We will be having company soon. Grumblejack, can you make sure they are properly welcomed?"
Heeding Kaynen's signal to move away from the remaining guard, Ethaniel turns his head towards the right most door at the end of the hall. "More are coming," he warns as he takes a pinch of wool from among his newly acquired spell components and brings to his mind the words to a simple cantrip meant to cloud the mind.
Stepping forward Mikhail draws his sword with a hiss and brings it slicing down towards Chet who is on his knees next to Jesk trying to staunch the blood. As the sword rebounds off his armor Chet jerks his head up only to watch in shock as a dirty, unkempt man rushes forward and begins pawing through Jesk possessions and howling in rage when he can’t find “his Rosaline”. Confused and uncertain, Chet grabs his sword and backs up towards the entrance while throwing up his shield to protect himself. Peering over the lip of his shield, Chet yells towards Kaynen. What in Mitra’s name is wrong with your friends? Keep them away from me!
As Chet is backpedaling away from the fallen body of his friend, Grumblejacks peers out from behind the unruly mop of black hair towards Kaynen with his red tinged eyes. Giving a wordless nod the hulking orge hefts his long sword the way a man might hold a dagger and moves towards the door on the far right ready to lash out at whoever comes out first. Meanwhile Kergh, misshapen and malformed hefts his club and moves forward towards the body of Jesk. Ignoring the dying man, Kergh kneels down next to him and rips the shield off of his arm and beings to straps it to his own overgrown forearm. As he does so, Kergh gives a crude rendering of a smile towards Mikhail while he prepairs for the additional guards to arrive.
Realizing that his spell has been broken, Kaynen shrugs at Chet while maintaining the smile on his face.
"My dear misguided Chet, you are mistaken. Nothing is wrong with my friends, and it seems our friendship has seemingly reached the conclusion of its usefulness..."
While keeping his eyes locked on Chet, the bard distracts the guard so that one of his "friends" can eliminate the inconvenience that the drunken man has become.
Mikhail realizes that he made a tactical mistake by attacking the guard instead of relying on Kaynen's magic, but it is one that he intends to rectify quickly. He darts forward, dropping the stolen blade as he sprints towards the addled guardsman. Taking advantage of the man's confusion and defensive posture, he lunges forward and presses down on the edge of the shield, driving it into his stomach. He circles around quickly, getting behind the guard before he can fully react. Mikhail's overpowering strength - unexpected because of his slender build - allows him to wrap his arms around Chet's and squeeze them tightly. He bears his fangs and bites down onto his exposed neck. Blood runs down Mikhail's mouth as he drinks the hot blood of the terrified guard.
Well so much for the element of surprise
Seeing Mikhail grab the frightened guard, Barnabas hurries after the pair, feeling the need to end this threat before reinforcements arrive. Unable to surpress a shudder of revulsion at the sight of the vampire feeding, he looks for an opening and darts in, plunging his dagger into a seam of the guard's armour.
As Jesk lies on the floor dying, his blood slowly seeps out from his body in a growing crimson pool. Meanwhile down the hall towards the barracks room Mikhail has latched himself onto Chet and is biting at the man’s jugular with intensity at odds with his refined manner. As Mikhail holds Chet down, Barnabas rushed up beside the pair and rams his dagger just below were the chain shirt ends, driving the blade into Chet’s kidney. Coughed up blood running down Chet’s mouth, the guard gives a weak grunt as everything begins to go dark around him. Resigning himself to his fate, Chet makes a single weak strike at Mikhail, but his loss of blood and diming vision cause the sword strike to go wide. As he does so, the sword slips from his fingers. The room going dark, Chet with his dying breath whispers a curse damming you all to hell.
From the door leading to the guard barracks you can make out the sound of several men. One is yelling for his shield while another is yelling for the other’s to wake up.
Init Mikhail Halancoun: 13
Init Ethaniel Tessarin: 5
Init Barnabas Wright:
Init Kergh the Dwarf: 4
Init Ariana Ddraig: 19
Init Oswald Turrill: 7
Init Kaynen Catesby: 14
Init Jesk: 16
Init Chet: 7
Init Grumblejack: 4
Wiping Chet's blood from his dagger, Barnabas tries to process the situation. With assurances from the others that the guards are mobilizing in the barracks, he tries to come up wit a plan.
"We can't just wait for them here. From the layout that our little bird gave us, there's a kitchen exit out that way. We can't let the guards get out of the barracks. If we pin them in, they can't use their numbers against us. A couple of us need to secure the kitchen as well, we can't have the servants giving us away anymore than the guards."
With a deep breath to steady himself, he opens the door to the next room and seeing it clear, he slips over to the door to barracks. If there is a lock on the door, we will try to jam it closed. In either case, he takes up a position to the side of the door a readies his blade to attack.
Mikhail grips the slumping guard even tighter and uses his sharp fangs to tear the vein in his neck completely open. Chet opens his eyes for one final moment, locked in a position of fear and terror, before he goes completely limp. Mikhail drops him to the ground in a heap and wipes the blood from his mouth with the the back of his hand.
He walks calmly over to the longsword and picks it back up, turning to face the door to the barracks. He didn't hear the others coming, but he believes the others who say that more guards are coming. He notes Barnabas trying to jam the lock to the door, approving of the man whose usefulness seems to be never-ending. "No one escapes. Kill them all."
His attention held for a few seconds by the sight of Mikhail feeding, Ethaniel manages to tear his eyes away from the gruesome sight. Taking note of Barnabas positioning himself next to the barracks' door, he quickly moves to stand opposite the man, so that the first guard that comes out will find himself between their knives. With a nod at the rogue, he readies himself for the fight.
Oswald stands from the body of Jesk with disgust as he wipes a blood stained hand across his prison garb, leaving another grisly mark upon his uniform. Do none of these scum have her? One must. Yes, one must. The mad doctor cocks his head to the side as he listens for something for a few moments. His brow scrunches up in deep concentration as he listens, dirt and blood making a grim mask upon his face. Call to me, my darling. Call and be heard. I shall save you. Yes, save you.
His focus is broken as current events strive to gain his attention. Oswald tightens his grip upon the borrowed club betwixt his hands as his raspy voice turns serious, "Yes. We kill them all. Then the dead shall not keep us from our goal."
Frowning at the corpse of Chet just for the briefest of moments, Kaynen returns his attention to the two doors in the long hall, where he spots Grumblejack and the others preparing to strike any additional company they will encounter.
Kaynen's eyes glance hungrily to the doors leading outside, and he wonders if standing and fighting the potential entirety of the prison is a necessary step in their escape.
Kaynen swings the longbow around his shoulder and prepares an arrow, although he finds it challenging as he has never fired a longbow before in his life.
for
Arianna spends her time searching the dead guards for weapons, desperately trying to find something that she can use, knowing her claws will only last her a few more moments of use. She drums her fingers impatiently against their armor as she becomes increasingly aware of her situation.
"I certainly hope this is not a prelude to our attempts to move through the streets."
Ropes of drool falling from Kerghs misshapen lips, the deformed man gives a stomach churning smile. As he does so, he reaches down and yanks the shield off of Jesk’s corpse and straps it to his own arm. Moving his arm he tries to get a feel for the shield, but the deformed hump on his back causes him to barely raise the shield up to his shoulder. Frustrated, the man-child frowns at the shield as if it were somehow at fault for his condition, before he lopes forward towards the door leading into the mess hall.
Ignoring Kerghs lead, the beautiful but capricious Ariana who is already crouched over the corpse of Jesk with her hands and arms spatters with his blood grabs a dagger from the his belt. Rising from the body, the woman calmly walks towards the door and prepares herself.
Meanwhile at the end of the hall nearest to the door, Grumblejack grips the pilfered sword in his bestial hands. Wrapping his dirt encrusted fingers around the sword; he taps his hairy foot as if he is inpatient for what is soon to happen next.
Wiping Chet’s blood from his dagger, Barnabas takes a moment to consider his options before suggesting they split up to prevent the servants from warning any more guards. Then, taking a deep breath, the quick witted man opens the door to the mess hall and moves through it towards the door to the barracks. Cursing under his breath he finds that the door doesn’t have a lock, and he realizes that us no way to jam the door in time.
As Barnabas suggests a plan Mikhail, gripping Chet, savagely rips the man’s jugular out causing arterial blood to spray in an arc against the stone of the hallway. Dropping the man with a thud, Mikhail calmly wipes the blood from his mouth and gives a nod of agreement to Barnabas’s plan before retrieving his longsword.
Shaken, but undeterred Ethaniel, perhaps the only true innocent of the party, wrenches his eyes away from the terrible death his just witnessed at the hands of Mikhail. Taking a deep calming breath, the swordsman moves up through the doorway and into the mess hall to take a flanking position near the doorway to the barracks.
Oswald rises from the body of Jesk, disdainfully wiping a blood stained hand across his prison garb and leaving another grisly mark upon his uniform. Doing so, the mad doctor cocks his head to the side as if he is listening for something. A feral gleam appearing in his eye and Oswald seems to nod to himself before hefting his borrowed club and rasping out that they must kill everyone.
Though the constant nausea and stabbing pain of the magical ward you focus. Mind straining against the pain, you push. For a moment you can make out the sound of your dear, sweet Rosaline. Like a man caught in a storm you hear her crying out for you, her voice barely audible through the constant headaches and sickness you have been subjected to ever since you were chained in this foul place. Help… my.. much pain.. a tower.. it hurts.
Frowning at the door leading outside, it seems as if Kaynen is considering some other option. Finding none the half-elf revolutionary instead removes the bow he had recovered from the guard above and nocks an arrow to it, preparing to fire at the next possible target.
Moving along at in his uneven gait, Kergh moves through the row of benches and tables set up in the mess hall towards the door at the end. Reaching the door, the massive brute pauses, preparing to throw open the door and block off the exit to the prison.
As the door opens you can see a large room with several tables and benches and on the east side of the room hanging in a place of honor is a large banner with the symbol of Branderscar in its center. To the north is a door that presumable leads to the guard barracks and to the south is a door to the kitchen.
As the door to the guard barracks is throw open, five men in small clothes, armed with only shields and long swords rush out their gleaming blades held high. No sooner than the first one is out of door then Grumblejack’s sword comes whistling down in a vicious arc, cleaving a bloody line down the man’s chest and leaving him open to a second, fatal strike from Barnabas who darts in with his dagger and sinks it between two of his ribs. As the man falls another guard runs forward into a hail of swings from Ethaniel and Grumblejack, Crying out in pain the man’s last effort is to throw himself at Grumblejack, using his body to shield his friends from another attack. As he does so, three final guards rush out from the barracks.
The first remaining guard moves through the deadly corridor of steel made by Barnabas and Ethaniel and dives around the quick witted rogue. Raising his sword, the guard brings it down in a powerful strike intent on preventing the prisoners from escaping. Cleaving downward the sword slices into Barnabas shoulder breaking bone and coating the sword in blood.
As Barnabas is screaming in pain, the second remaining guard slips through an opening in Ethaniel’s defense. Thrusting his sword forward, the tip pierces the side of the swordsman. Nearly fainting in pain, it is only the years of training that allow Ethaniel to remain standing and conscious despite the terrible wound.
The worse of the strikes however is the one that befalls Grumblejack. The orge having already played a part in the death of two of the guards is left critically open following the guard throwing himself onto the orge. Momentarily distracted, the orge never sees the final guard's blade rushing towards him until it is too late. In a spray of blood and a gurgled scream the sword falls from Grumblejack hands as the orge clutches at his throat. Sinking to his knees, Grumblejack falls to the floor unconscious from blood loss.
Init Mikhail Halancoun: 13
Init Ethaniel Tessarin: 5
Init Barnabas Wright: 17
Init Kergh the Dwarf: 4
Init Ariana Ddraig: 19
Init Oswald Turrill: 7
Init Kaynen Catesby: 14
Init Barracks Guards: 21 (refocused)
Init Grumblejack: 4
Kaynen watches with sheer fascination as the guards coming pouring through the doorway into the waiting weapons of his new companions.
As the blood begins to splatter and the grunts and screams echo, he begins to hum a catchy little tune to himself, punctuating each slice and slash with a nod of his head as his hands reach for another arrow from his newly acquired quiver.
Nocking another arrow, the half-elf hesitates, enraptured by the events and allowing himself to vocalize the words a rather rousing tune he picked up a few months earlier from a Varisian, The Battle of Fort Rannick.
"As the dusk's light did fade,
the soldiers readied both bow and blade.
Up, up the walls came the horde,
'An through the breach they poured!"
Barnabas cry of triumph at their successful ambush dies in his throat, as the guards continue to pour out of the room. With the felling of Grumblejack and Ethaniel's severe wound, he can't help but feel that their chance for escape was growing slimmer by the moment.
Suddenly finding himself in the uncomfortable position of being surrounded by steel, he thrusts his dagger into the soft unprotected side of a guard and then using the wound as a distraction, brushes past the guard and into the barracks doorway.
Oswald's face seems to light up as he raises his club overhead in jubilation, "She is here, yes she is! In a tower. Where is the tower?!" It is at that point that Oswald finally notices the guards flying into the room. Two bleeding dead in a pile at the door but three more slashing and chopping down prisoners like dry kindling. One guard is able to take down the big ogre with a single terrifying blow, which draws Oswald's attention to him. A blood and dirt-caked hand goes up as the mad doctor bites the tip of his thumb, drawing only a wee bit of blood before flinging his life essence at the guard while cursing him, "I steal your luck and make it my own, I give you instead the fate of the dead!"
As soon as Oswald's curse finishes echoing through the barracks, Mikhail makes good on it. He calmly strides forward and thrusts his blade deep into the guard's back as he turns to face Barnabas. The point of the sword sticks through the front of his chest, and the man collapses in a heap. Only two guards remain, unarmored and unready for their slaughter.
Ariana had placed the dagger at her side, having more confidence in her claws for as long as they would help her. She spent the next few seconds waiting by the door with her breath steady and her hands out and ready.
After the guards poured through, Ariana eagerly rushed toward the fight, her claws drawn by the time she reached the combat. She snarled and swiped her claws at the closest guard.
The attacks missed, doing nothing for her patience as yet another of her precious, scarce moment with her claws went to waste.
With his free hand pressed against his wound, Ethaniel holds his dagger in front of him as he follows Barnabas in the barracks, moving as far away from the two remaining guards as he can. His vision swims and his legs barely support him, but he manages to stay conscious, shaking his head to clear his mind and stay focused despite the pain.
Watching as five guards rush out of the barracks, Kergh is torn. On one hand he knows that there is a second exit out of the great hall, thanks to the cowardly guard Lorin Terrik, but on the other hand there are still three guards remaining and the other prisoners are hurt. Making a quick decision, Kergh throws open the door to the kitchen and rushes to the door leading out into the courtyard. Showing wisdom, the priest of Asmodeus knows that their escape would be for nothing if one of the cooks was to warn the remaining guards. Holding his club in front of him, Kergh bursts through the door into the kitchen beyond. As he does so, he startles a larger older man who was in the process of cutting vegetables and middle-aged woman with brown hair, who must be Irena that was tending a boiling pot. Moving around the table, Kergh throws himself against the door, blocking it with his body.
Meanwhile near the doorway to the barracks room, Grumblejack roars in pain, one hand clamping down around his throat to stanch the bleeding. Red beady eyes scanning the guards the terribly wounded orge points his sword at the two remaining guards. Yuh rember Grumblejack! The orge croaks. Ut took five uf yuh da stop me da furst time. Nuw der are only two. Wheezing in pain the orge throws himself forward, swinging the longsword without any fineness, relying on his brute strength to carry the blow past the guards defenses.
This room houses a well-stocked kitchen and pantry. Besides, the usual collection of plates, bowls and other cooking paraphernalia, there are several large knives and a meat cleaver lying on a butcher-block table in the center of the room. Suspended from ropes along the ceiling are drying herbs and vegetables and on the south wall is a massive fireplace that is in the same location as the one in the guard room on the prison level above. Inside of the fireplace is a crackling fire and a slowly cooking pig is that has been placed onto a spit.
This simple room consists of six bunk beds and a dozen chests. In the corner is a small table with three chairs. Along the wall are arming stands for chainmail shirts, helmets and shields, though only five chainshirts and helmets remain.
Meer seconds before, five guards charged out of their room swords held high and strong in the belief that their god, Mitra would protect them. Now, just a few heart beats later, three of the five lay on the ground slowly bleeding to death. As the rest of the forsaken begin to surround the guards the one that was previously Ethaniel takes five foot step and puts his back to the other remaining guard. Back to back the two remaining guards lash out with sword strikes at those that they can reach. One whips his blade down to strike at Ariana while another who had previously attacked Barnabas, lunges forward attempting to impale Mikhail. As the blade come whistling in, Ariana braces herself for the pain is sure to follow. Unarmored, the blade arcs towards woman, its sharp edge glinting in the flickering torch light.. and yet at the last moment the guard stumbles on the body of the first man who rushed out the door. Breathing a sigh of relief Ariana almost believes that for just a moment, something was watching over her. Nothing so dramatic was in store for Mikhail however, with a haughty sneer the dhampir watched as the guard lunged towards him. With an arrogance that only the rich and powerful can muster, Mikhail effortless batted the lunge out of the way.
Meanwhile in the kitchen the older couple reels in shock at the sudden appearance of Kergh armored, shielded and blocking their escape. Snatching up the knife that he was chopping with, Gregor moves to put himself between Irena as the woman cowers behind him. Yelling at Kergh to get back the man is clearly afraid but he does his best to shield the woman with his body while the knife that he holds shakes in his hand.
Init Mikhail Halancoun: 13
Init Ethaniel Tessarin: 5
Init Barnabas Wright: 17
Init Kergh the Dwarf: 4
Init Ariana Ddraig: 19
Init Oswald Turrill: 7
Init Kaynen Catesby: 14
Init Barracks Guards: 21 (refocused)
Init Grumblejack: 4
Init Irena and Gregor: 18
Seeing the tide of battle swing back in their favour, Barnabas' spirits rise, due in no small part to the rousing song accompanying the battle.
Who sings at a time like this?
Bobbing and weaving, he tries to get into a favourable position to strike at the wounded guard, hoping to take him out of the fight, permanently. When the man misses Ariana, an opening presents itself and Banabas fills it with steel. As the blade slams home, he can feel the guard stiffen.
Ariana laughs at the guard as he stumbles over a body and his blade misses her. She turns to face him properly, bringing both of her claws down on him and hoping for her string of luck to continue.
Her first swipe falls short, but a quick step forward brings her other claw right on target, slashing at his chest and sending another euphoric rush through her as blood starts to pour from the three diagonal marks on her captor's chest. "I believe it is clear whose god is truly with us," she adds mockingly.
One of the two remaining guards falls quickly to the combined attacks of Grumblejack (who - fortunately for them - seems to be surviving his grievous wound), Ariana, and Barnabas. Mikhail, having easily used the shield to avoid the man's clumsy strike, responds with a slash of his own. His blade slices into the man's chest, cleaning cutting through bones and driving him to his knees. The wound gapes open, staining his clothes and the floor with his dark red blood. Mikhail says nothing but waits for the injured man to try his final strike before being cut down like the rest.
As Kaynen continues to bob his head along with the lyrics to the Battle of Fort Rannick, he sidesteps away to see what the strange "little" dwarf is up to.
"A-ha! You must be Gregor and Irena! What's on today's fine menu?"
With a smile, Kaynen continues humming and glides up to the preparation area to examine the extent of roasted pig's preparations.
"Tsk, Gregor. Is this all the pepper you add? Does the warden have a sensitive palette?"
Spotting the knife in the man's hand, Kaynen shakes his head - his long hair brushing his shoulders. As he stops, his eyes glint with the reflection cast by the blade's surface from the crackling fire as he "experiments" with sheer force to achieve his will.
Yes! Pepper the pig AND the man, both!
for
"Now! Drop that knife and season that pig properly, lest it be you I pepper..."
Oswald starts to impatiently hop from one foot to the other as the guards slowly drop like flies. The mad doctor growls as he shuffles forward at the last guard standing with his club held high as Mikhail finishes delivering a devastating slice, "Not fast enough. You aren't dying fast enough! Die, die, die!" In the brief moment while the guard is reeling from the massive blood loss from the sword wound, Oswald comes up beside the man and cracks down with a vicious overhand smash of his purloined billy club. The sound of bone crunching fills Oswald's ears as his face broadens into a satisfied grin.
Drawing back his bow, the half-elf virtuoso lets fly with his arrow. Whistling, the arrow flies true striking the large elderly man. Groaning in pain, Gregor clutches his side, the knife he was wielding falling from his grasp. As the red stain of blood slowly spreads out around his abdomen, Irena rushes forward, her concern clearly apparent. Gregor, oh Mitra! Irean cries huddled over her husband. Ssshhh. Gregor whispers, one blood hand cupping the side of his wife’s face. Everything will be ok. Gritting his teeth in pain, the man looks past Irena towards the Kaynen. We surrender, we are no danger to you, please let us be.
Meanwhile in the barracks room and mess hall, the final two guards fall in a spectacular failure. As one rushes forward to strike at Ariana, he leaves himself an opening to the nimble and sure blade of Barnabas who drives his dagger forward. As the man stiffens in pain he turns away from the frail woman when, to his surprise she darts towards him and brings the claws of her eldritch heritage to bear on the hapless man. Raking downward with her claw she leaves three diagonal marks on the man’s chest. Looking at the woman in shock, the man already wounded from Barnabas takes a half step forward before he stumbles and then falls to his knees and then to the floor.
As the combined might of Ariana and Barnabas fell one guard the second who had previously attacked Mikhail begins to retreat. As the man begins to move, Mikhail slashes his blade into the man’s chest cutting through bone and driving him to his knees. Injured but still alive the man never sees Oswald’s club before it is too late. Growling, the mad doctor shuffles forward. Screaming at the man to die, Oswald swings the club down in a vicious overhand smash. With a sickening crunch the club breaks the guard’s skull like an overripe melon causing Oswald to smile in satisfaction.
Ariana leans against a wall to catch her breath, wiping the blood off her hands and onto whatever clothing of the dead guards wasn't already stained in scarlet. "If you're supposed to be the clever ones, would you mind explaining why the best plan you've come up with seems to be murdering the entire barracks handfuls at a time?"
She closes her eyes, drawing in some will and again attempting to cast a spell, unsure if they were still within range of the anti-magic ward. She beckons her lights, making note of how she feels even if the succeeds.
Dropping his club briefly, Kherg reaches down and rips the woman from her man. He stays near the other door but clears the wounded Gregor for Kaynen and his bow.
"You get shot down there. You surrender in my arms. Safe baby safe," spits the dwarf.
"Hey lady, I don't see you throwing out any helpful suggestions. I would say taking out half the garrison without the alarm being sounded is win for us. Keep a look out for trouble and let's take stock of the rest of this place."
Barnabas will take a minute to don a chain shirt, feeling a little more secure with a layer of steel between him and harm. Baring any disturbances, he'll search the barracks for anything useful in footlockers, or under beds. Unlocking anything that he finds, either with the keys acquired from the dead guards or with his lock picks.
Hands beating feebly against Kerghs armored chest, the deformed brute casually drags the elderly woman away from Gregor as if he was hauling nothing more than a bag of his father’s lawn fertilizer. Tearing Irena out of her husband’s embrace, the old woman wails as she watches the blood flowing through Gregors fingers and onto the kitchen floor.
Please! Please, I beg you. Gregor moans in hopeless agony as his wife is ripped away. I never wanted to hurt anyone. I was just protecting my wife. We are innocent, we haven’t done anything to you!
Looking of his shoulder, Barnabas watches as Kergh rips the elderly husband and wife apart. Shaking his head he moves towards into the guard barracks. Kneeling down the man began to examine the locks and chests, testing the hinges and eyeing the locks. Blocking out the elderly woman’s cries of leniency Barnabas continued to focus on his work. If he was being truthful, it was not that the action itself that bothered him. As a slaver he knew that occasionally a husband and wife had to be separated. No, what bothered him was the lack of profit or plan behind it. Put simply, it was wasteful. Sighing again the noble went back to the chests, testing each of the recovered keys. To his surprise he found that five of the chests were already unlocked and another two opened with keys leaving five for him to apply his picks to. After several minutes of finessing the tumblers and latches he had all twelve chests open and inspected.
Kherg grips her tight just like the drunken guard before, his hand gentlyover her mouth and his so close to the feeble lips. He tries to hush and drool less as best as he can.
"Mikhail said kill them all. I am sorry. I'll be gentle. Just be still, let it happen and it shouldn't hurt much. Bye bye...hush hush."
Kaynen watches as Kergh grapples with the woman, shrugging as he realizes the dwarf is actually simply trying to encourage her to take an early nap rather than do any serious, lasting harm.
Observing that Barnabas has a thorough search of the barracks underway, the half-elf begins to feel good about their odds in storming the entirety of the prison.
Quietly returning to the great hall, he tiptoes up to the southernmost door on the western side of the room, presses his ear against it and listens for sound beyond, a finger raised to indicate his intent to the others making themselves ready for whatever melee may next transpire.
Free hand pressing down on his wound, Ethaniel moves into the kitchen, leaving Barnabas to look through the chests in the barracks. There is sweat running down his face, his complexion a little paler due to loss of blood. Still, he remains on his feet and manages to speak through clenched teeth, his tone strained but firm as he addresses Kergh.
"No," he says simply before pausing for a moment and then continuing. "There is no point in killing them. They are no threat. They are not guards, just servants. Tie them up and gag them, like we did with that one guard." He stresses the last words as a reminder that they had shown mercy before. "Give them a chance to make it out of this alive, at least."
Kherg's watery eyes blink once at Ethaniel as he lets go of Irean, "hmm,", she thuds between his feet. Then he rips her skirt and begins to stuff and tie them both roughly, muttering to himself.
However he does take care not to worsen the arrow wound in the man or those bruised ribs.
Then and only then does the priest head out to see how everyone else is. He wanders along the wall down past the bodies being looted until he gets a quiet moment with Mikhail. Away from the others then the large dwarf mutters into his ear.
"Ethaniel is leaving two old people alive. You said to kill everyone. Can I do them now?"
"How's this for a suggestion? We take everything we can carry, including their weapons, get as far away as we can, fence the goods we don't have a good reason to keep, and find somewhere to set up before daybreak." She rifled through the accumulated possessions in search of something she personally had any use for, but found nothing except for the map. She lays it out on a desk and studies every detail of it, trying to form a good route from it while everyone else tends to their own tasks. She also keeps the journal close to her, hoping Chet had led an interesting enough life to make for a good story to read once they had found a hole to wait in.
"Interesting plan, but you missed the part where we have to make it through a guarded gate, across an exposed causeway and past another guarded gatehouse."
Digging through the pile of knick-knacks, Barnabas scoops up the pipe, tobacco and flint and steel, tucking them away in a pocket. He also nabs the loose coins.
Looking into kitchen, he does a quick survey of the situation and seeing it mostly under control, he leaves the fate of the help in the hands of the others. Bouncing his lockpicks in one hand, he heads towards the armoury.
Oswald spits on the body of the guard at his feet before giving the man one last, good kick in the ribs before he spins around quickly. He sights the struggling old couple that Kergh has tied up before scurrying over beside the gagged pair. Oswald's eyes drill into them with intensity as he leans down close to Gregor. His rancid breath wafts into old man's face, "Where is the tower? Yes, a tower. My poor, sweet baby is trapped in that wretched place. I must free her. WHERE IS THE TOWER?!" His voice snarls out each word of the last sentence, spittle and phlegm spraying into Gregor's face as the mad doctor taps the end of his club against the arrow wound in the man's ribs.
Mikhail listens calmly to the mishappen dwarf. While the life or death of one servant woman means little to him, his response bears importance to both Kergh and Ethaniel. He looks at the piteous woman with cold eyes, pleading with him to spare her life. He smiles at Kergh, though no joy reaches his eyes. "If Ethaniel wishes to spare them, it does not harm us to do so. Take them upstairs, friend, and bind them in the cells as they bound us once they have told Doctor Turrill that which he wants to know. If either resists you, kill the other first. Then take the rest of the bodies of the guards and place them in the cells as well." He gives Kergh a look, letting him know that he will brook no dissent on the matter.
With his orders given, he colects the map from the guards' chests and finds Barnabas outside the armory door. "I hope that I do not distract you. We must kill the guards on the wall, and the hounds as well. After that, we must kill the guards in the gatehouse. I will not leave this place with my name sitting in a file, so I plan on killing the Warden and burning the whole prison to the ground - unless there is a way to change the names of the prisoners in the files, so that I can reclaim the reputation taken from me."
Taking his time, Barnabas kneels next to the lock. Snorting at the shoddy materials the ex-noble eases his lock picks into the tumblers and within a few moments you hear the distinct click of a lock being released. Checking the door once more for traps and finding none, Barnabas eases the door the Armory open. Inside the room is as Lorin described it. Fifteen feet wide by twenty five feet long the walls have wooden racks that have been hammered into the stone for swords, bows and clubs. Along the north and south wall there are work tables and a small vice and anvil. In addition stowed underneath of the worktables are several chests. The only interesting thing to note is that in the Northwestern corner of the room there is an iron reinforced chest with a piece of paper affected to it that in blocky letters reads ‘Contraband’.
A quick glance at the empty spots on the walls and in the chests that still hold chain shirts tells you that there are quite a few sets of weapons and armor that are missing. Based on Lorin’s numbers he told you there were a total of 24 guards stationed at Branderscar. The walls hold enough slots for fifty long swords, clubs and bows. At least twenty sets of weapons and armor are unaccounted for.
Searching through the room, you find on the southwest corner underneath a chest, a wooden trapdoor that has been inset into the stone. The handle is old but seems oiled as if it had been tended to recently.
Walking into the Armory you feel waves of nausea begin overwhelm you. Whatever is causing the anti-magic ward is very nearby. Please make a DC15 concentration check or become sickened for 10 mins.
Closing her eyes Ariana summons up her inborn power and attempts to call forth the power of light. Immediately the draconic scion feels something resembling a cold ice-pick to her skull explode outward causing her to clutch at her hair and moan in pain. Trying to fight past the sudden migraine, Ariana shakes her head and seeths in frustration, the magic dampening quality’s of branderscar are still in effect.
As the wrathful woman is “testing the waters” Kergh continues to apply pressure to Irean’s throat. Gregor, weakly reaches out towards his wife but Kaynen’s arrow makes it difficult for the man to move. Get away from her. The man weakly coughs while he watches the massive brute choke her into submission. Frail and old Irean is simply too weak to fight off Kergh and as he arm presses down against her throat she lapse into unconsciousness.
Groaning in pain, Gregor recoils as Oswald taps the end of his club against the elderly mans wounds. Eyes suddenly sharpening from the pain, Gregor looks from Irena to Oswald and then back to Irena. There’s only one tower around here and it’s the warden’s. He lives on the third floor with his owl. I don’t know anything about your loved ones. Please.. I.. I’m sure you must love them as much as I love my wife. Don’t let them hurt us anymore, I’m begging you.
Quietly approaching the southernmost door of the entrance hall Kaynen presses his ear against the door listening for sounds of anything beyond. After thirty seconds or so of listening the keen half-elfs ears are unable to pick out anything from the room beyond.
Mikhail examines his own stolen uniform shirt for blood stains. While these is some splatter from the violent melee, the dark color blends the blood in quite well. Almost none of the blood from his bite of the guard's neck got onto the front, so he will not need the spare uniform. He calls out - still quietly - to the others. "There are ample weapons and uniforms in this room." Opening the box of contraband, a rare smile meets his lips. These weapons will be quite useful to them, though he will most likely stick with his longsword. Once he finds the trap door, he points Barnabas's attention to it.
Kergh gets distracted by the equipment found and takes his turn to examine the loot.
But it is clear that the dwarf will obey the will of Mikhail - to the letter. Once he is finished Kherg starts the laborious process of transporting the elderly pair and the bodies up to the cells. He asks Grumblejack to help.
He finds the staircase a chore for his bowed legs and the encumbrance of the bodies does not help.