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Janiven looks worried, as does everyone in the safehouse. Janiven says, "Citadel Rivad. That place is escape proof and impregnable, but it's outside the city. That's where the Order of the Rack take prisoners for torture and interrogation. If they're taking Ariel there, he probably has kept quiet for now, as I suspect he would. If they get him there, the torture they would do might be enough for him to talk, and that would be the end of this group, and all of us. Ariel knows all of us, including you new folks. We need to get him before he reaches the citadel, or it's all over."
She continues, "Yes, we'll need a plan. Taking someone from the Hellknights without a plan would be very dangerous indeed."
Jimmy smiles at Amaya and Yakopulio. "Jimmy thinks we should all drink orange juice and sing more songs!"
When Moshley enters Jimmy sits quietly while listening. All of a sudden the look in his usually dull eyes sharpens.
"I surely do agree with Moshley," Jimmy says with a very formal voice, as if he drinks tea on a regular basis. His entire demeanor has shifted, and he gracefully stands up and moves over to Moshley. "Listen, chaps. We should save Ariel, and give those bloody Hellknights what they deserve. An ambush seems like a favorable idea."
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Citadel Rivad lies northwest of the city of Westcrown—a fortress and training ground for the Order of the Rack, the oldest (and most zealous) of the Hellknight orders. It is essentially impregnable. The road to the citadel is an offshoot from the main road that winds off to the southwest—the land along the route to the citadel is mostly open plain, with a few scattered groves of trees (some of which are cut back every few years to make it harder for bandits to hide) and one stone bridge crossing a stream. With rare exceptions, the only people who use the road are Hellknights or those providing services for them (food, messages, and so on), and on a typical day only three or four groups travel the road in either direction. Because of the low traffic and the proximity to the Hellknights, banditry is unheard of on this minor road, and while the forces of Citadel Rivad aren’t careless about the possibility of being attacked in this area, they certainly don’t expect it. This all makes the road the best point to attempt a rescue of the imprisoned half-elf.
Still with his formal voice, Jimmy continues to speak. "Citadel Rivad lies northwest of Westcrown. Like Janiven said, it's essentially impregnable."
"However, the road to the citadel is an offshoot from the main road. It has a few scattered groves of trees and one stone bridge crossing a stream. With rare exceptions, the only people who use the road are Hellknights or those providing services for them."
"On a typical day only three or four groups travel the road in either direction. This road is our best point to attempt a rescue of Ariel. The Hellknights certainly won’t expect us to attack them there."
Just as suden as Jimmy changed, he changes back to his regular self. "Jimmy thinks we should smash them!"
Voice: I surely do agree, chap.
Totally taken back by the new demeanor of Jimmy. "Well...... ah ...... thanks Jimmy that is good information."
Ezren mulls over the information in his head for a few moments then begins to to talk again. "The bridge sound like a good place to bottleneck them. If we can get both ends of the bridge blocked somehow we could prevent escape of the Hellknights as we free Ariel."
Tristain stands silent...thinking if he has the will to kill to protect Westcrown.
Dude. Killing Hellknights. You man enough to make a change?
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Janiven thinks about the ambush. "Well, there are some benefits to your plan. First, it's unlikely to be witnesses and unlikely for anyone else to get hurt. Second, you'll be outside the city, so you're not technically breaking any laws. Third, and probably most importantly, since he's now in the custody of the Hellknights, the city won't be interested in tracking him anymore. If you were to take him from the Hellknights, it's not like they are going to report it to the city that some bandits defeated them and took their prisoner. That would be a huge embarrassment to them."
She continues, "I like your idea of an ambush, but I think it needs to be thought through carefully. However, we don't have much time, it's nearly sunset and you'll have to leave at first light tomorrow morning and find a way to beat the Hellknights to the ambush location. Not only that, but how do you plan on beating a full squad of Hellknights anyway?"
"Jimmy wonders, how much Hellknights are in a squad? Is it like a dozen?"
Jimmy tries to focus, but he can't remember. He decides to simply ask. "Jimmy forgot, how much is a dozen?"
Tristain looks around at everyone, so many unknowns.
"I'll help. I can fight some...but I doubt I can go up against a Hellknight, let alone 10 or a dozen. I'm better with a bow and I'll help. But I ain't sure what can be done."
Thinking out loud to himself pacing back and forth. "So we need to get horses .... travel an unknown distance to the bridge ... set up an ambush that will split the Hellknight squad from the cart/wagon carrying Ariel ... then get back to town without getting killed ... sounds nearly impossible. "
Ezren suddenly stops. "Can anyone one of you get us horses and know how to make a bridge collapse? I might have a plan."
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Gorvio says, "Horses? Well, I work at my uncle's stable up in the Rego Crua. His name is Javoco, we can probably use his horses. Just don't get them killed, since we don't own them, we'll have to make sure they all come back in one piece. I'm sure we could take all ten horses if needed. I even think one is a pony, which would be about right for you Moshley." .
Janiven says, "It's only a small stone bridge and it crosses a small but swift stream. It would take forever to dismantle the stone bridge. But, it would probably still be a good choke point. The real question is, how can we handle 10 Hellknights. That's too many at one time. We'd have to somehow find a way to split them up."
"I think we need an ambush, so much is clear already. If there is a dozen Hellknights with one leader we can assume there are ranged and melee fighters in the group. If we pick off ranged with ranged with a surprise attack, then our melee group could run in to take the brunt of the attack. After ranged has been dealt with we could kill the leader and then sweep up the rest of the melee knights. I do think we need to take them on though, they would hunt us down till the end of days if we leave them alone."
Jimmy nods in agreement. "Jimmy agrees, everyone first shoot their archers. Jimmy only knows how to smash and slash, so Jimmy will get ready to slash boss Hellknight."
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Scalvo shakes his head is disagreement. "I hate to question your strategy, but if you start shooting, what's to stop the prison carriage from just running on towards the citadel while the the other 9 Hellknights charge you? Seems like you'd need a plan that both attacks the prison carriage while splitting up the hellknights at the same time."
Tristain stands up, momentarily energized by the quick planning.
"I can shoot a bit. I just need to keep the 'knights off me," Tristain says, picking up a darkwood bow and testing the give and pull. He tries an arrow in the string, trying to get a feel for the bow.
You ready to kill, Tristain?
Uh...maybe. I'll have to.
Are you sure?
Yes, it's me or them. If Ariel breaks, we'll all be broken.
We'll see, won't we? We'll see if you freeze up when targeting another man.
Tristain lowers the bow, thinking deeply.
"Let me know what you need me to do. I'll fire first shots...they'll be good ones," Tristain offers.
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Mathalan stops meditating and stands up. "I have purged the poison from my mind. Now I can offer a suggestion? Why not have some people draw off the Hellknights while some others attack the prison carriage? I mean, you have lots of horses, so can't you just get them to chase, leaving the carriage relatively unguarded?"
Scalvo volunteers to help, as does Grovio, Triva and Amaya.
Tristain nods as others volunteer to help; a small group banding together on a plan of action.
He nods at Mathalan's plan, hoping the quirky woman knows what she talks about. "That is a good idea, I think, Mathalan."
Tristain listens for more thoughts on what the plan might be.
"I don't think it's really that easy to pull people away from their post. They are to guard the prisoner, and if they as much as suspect a trap they will not follow. We could give it a go, but if they do not budge we need to fall back on a full attack. And if it fails then we also lose our chance at a surprise attack."
Moshley seems to be thinking for a bit and then adds.
"Do we have any information on the carriage or the crew? How do they normally transport their prisoners?"
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Janiven responds. "Our friend that we met in the street, when he delivered this letter, did you talk with him? He usually knows those kinds of details about the inner workings of the Order of the Rack. If not, we might just have to go and find out."
Gorvio says, "My uncle, who owns the stable, his brother was in the Order of the Rack for a few years, maybe he'll know more when we get to the stable in the morning."
"With such short notice I guess that is the best plan we can come up with. Let's just hope the Hellknights are dumb enough to give chase to our decoy's and leave a very small force guarding the cart. Prepare yourselves, we leave early in the morning."
Zilch agrees with Ezren and gets to work preparing for tomorrow.
"I'll be ready first thing in the morning, Ezren. We can hope the Hellknights are dumb enough. We can hope," Tristain says, getting ready for bed.
* * *
Tristain will be up, packed, and ready to go at first light.
Leaving his horse far away, Tristain surveys the potential ambush site.
"If this is it, this is it then," Tristain says, wishing there was more cover and better places to hide. Tristain examines the trees and bushes, thinking about how to hide the group.
Perception
Survival
"Be quick now. Hide well, I'll try to make sure you're hidden."
Tristain takes special care to make sure Tarvi is well hidden. "Tarvi, I'm glad that you're here, but try to stay safe. We don't want you injured...if you have to flee, go and don't look back."
When others are hidden, he will see to his own hiding. He wants to be in a place wherein he can easily step out and get clean shots. "When I'm shooting, stay out of my line of fire! I don't want to hit any of you," Tristain will remind all that he hasn't shot a bow in a while.
Take 10 Stealth = 17 Stealth
Tristain will hide last when he is sure people are set.
* * *
Tristain will listen for the carriage.
Perception
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Janiven is a bit annoyed, taking Moshley's lack of a response that he indeed did not talk with the person who delivered the message. She says, "I do hope Gorvio that your uncle has at least some more information. I wish you all well. Me and the rest of the crew here will keep a low profile and work on getting a name for the group. Ariel says we need a name that will inspire the citizens with from our deeds. Once we have a name, we'll then discuss our disguises. One choice for a name is 'Lions of Liberation'. That should be an interesting disguise to wear."
The night passes and as per custom, you awake pre-dawn and get ready. As soon as the sun rises and the shadow threat passes, the eight of you quickly emerge from the safehouse. It's a cold day, colder than it should be. Because it is so early, no transports are available, so you must run to the Rego Crua sector to reach the stable. It is a long run.
When you reach Pegasi's Bridge, the four dottari guards have only just arrived prior to you. They stop you. "Halt! What is going on that you are running and carrying weapons. Hold for inspection."
They think you must be thieves or crooks running this early in the morning, probably leaving the scene of a crime where you had to stay the night.
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YOU ARE AT ORANGE STAR ON MAP -- NEW PLAYER MAP OF WESTCROWN
The description of Pegasi's Bridge:
Besides the 4 guards, there are walls along the Canaroden canal . All of you know the Canaroden canal is twice as deep as any other canal in Westcrown. Furthermore, the bridge is more than 30' above the water to allow the boats along the canal to pass easily.
Furthermore, along the canal are walls on either side. On the Southern side (where you're coming from) has about 20 statues on the wall about 15' high. On the Northern wall (where you're going), there are 12 statues about 15' high. All the statues face the canal.
Its walls on both sides of the channel retain the great 15-foot-tall friezes of Ulatir, the priest of Aroden who carved them between 4291 and 4324. A line of Aroden’s founders walks on the southern walls, 20 figures facing the canal, their holy deeds shown behind them; the northern wall holds the 12 guises of Aroden in which he walked the mortal worlds unrecognized, as beggar, thief, fisherman, hunter, shepherd, farmer, soldier, merchant, tailor, craftsman, artist, and scholar. In the past century, individuals or mobs defaced or marred the carvings at times, especially during the Battle of a Thousand Kings and after the rise of House Thrune, but much of the damage has mysteriously vanished over time.
Ezren steps up to the front putting on his best smile."Hey Dahnzal, how is it going?" Turning back to the group and yelling."Hey did I say to stop running, SLUGGS!!! Running place until I get done talking to my friends here!!!" Turning back to the guards. "I got a new job for a noble training his house guard." nodding back to the group and shaking his head. "This noble even has women in his guard. I told him it was a waste of time but he insisted. Well some of the women have talent if you know what I mean." giving the guards a wink. "The sluggs wanted to run without armor and weapons on but I told them; "Do you think you will not be wearing armor when your on duty protecting your lord? Of Course Not!!!"; So we run in our gear! So can we get through? We are just circling the sector."
Tristain runs in place, wondering why he didn't sign up to be a house guard long ago.
Would have been a nice cushy job, except for the yelling and running in place.
Edit: By request: Bluff to aid
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Dahnzal looks confused. "You got a job with a noble? Is he too poor to hire a Hellknight squad, or are you forming a new Hellknight squad? Sounds interesting."
The other guards look over the group. Dahnzal says, "Put in a good word for me. I didn't get into the last Hellknight squad, but I'm still worthy. " He begins to wave you forward. "Move it! You're blocking the bridge. Move it!"
You run to Jacovo's stable, and by now you are very tired. You meet Gorvio's uncle, Jacovo, who is brushing his horses. Gorvio speaks up and says "Hello dear uncle! May you continue to burn inside!"
Jacovo turns to his nephew and spits. "Ahh, greetings spawn of Hell. Found some new friends huh despite your disfigurement? Interesting. What do you want? You always want something, since you have nothing and are nothing. Let me guess, you come for my horses?" He looks over the lot of you. "I need a deposit for the horses. Ten gold to rent the horses, and they have to be back by the end of the day. You'll also need to give me a deposit of ten gold, in case some of them don't come back. Looks like you're probably doing something dangerous by the look of you. I don't trust anyone associating with the likes of you Gorvio."
Gorvio looks at the group in despair, noting that they need to pay him. "Oh, they also might have a couple of questions about Hellknights."
"Hellknights? Make that deposit 20 gold. I knew you were bad news Gorvio, it's in your tainted blood. But I'll answer what I can, I don't keep up with their doings as much as I used to since I started renting horses to performers instead of soldiers."
Tristrain shrugs and 'ponies' up the money for the horse, all that he has (50gp).
"Yeah, sure, we just need the horses. Don't worry, we'll bring them back," Tristain replies, trying not to take offense from the jackal Jacovo.
"Lessee, we have 8 of us and at 20 gp each...that's about 300 gold, right?" He looks to his friends to cover the rest.
Walking over to Gorvio and whispering in her ear. "Can we trust your uncle with any information? The less people that know the better."
Tristain picks out what he hopes will be a suitable horse, having no questions for Jacovo.
"We should hurry."
Moshley looks up at the horses and says.
"Well that's gonna be a problem, they are almost twice my height! Mind if I ride behind someone?"
He looks up to Gorvio's uncle and asks.
"Do you know perhaps how a Hellknights squad is formed up. I'm really curious, I've never seen one of them before."
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Quoted from a post above:
Gorvio says.... "I'm sure we could take all ten horses if needed. I even think one is a pony, which would be about right for you Moshley."
Jacovo looks at Moshley. "Eh? You mean, the pony won't fit you either? What do you want to ride, a dog? I don't have a dog. As far as a Hellknight squad, they have nine and one more in command. That all you need to know?"
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Gorvio speaks up. "Thanks uncle Jacovo. We'll take 8 horses and one pony. We'll have them back well before dark or my soul will burn in Hell."
"Stop fantasizing about it lad. You and your close relatives will be there soon enough. These horses aren't combat trained. They're used by the local performers. They're coming by before sunset to pick them up, so don't be late. I don't want to know any more about what you are up to. Especially since you only have eight of you, and you're taking eight horses plus the pony. I'll just assume your last rider is invisible."
Your group takes off. You ride North through the Orbigan Gate into Rego Cader, where the guards stare at you in strange silence. A couple of thugs try to slow you down to rob you or steal the horse without a rider, but the horses are a bit too fast, and once the thugs see your armor and weapons, they back off. Eventually you reach Sunset Gate and leave the city. You ask the guards if they have seen a Hellknight squad ride by yet, and they say they haven't.
You ride for another twenty minutes towards the citadel. While this road is known for bandits, because of the frequent patrols of the Hellknights, they usually are smart enough to stay away during the daytime. You're hoping they Hellknights are thinking the same thing.
You set up your ambush site. The four of you ditch your horses far enough away that they can't be seen, while your comrades are on the other side of the bridge, waiting.
"If this is it, this is it then," Tristain says, wishing there was more cover and better places to hide. Tristain examines the trees and bushes, thinking about how to hide the group.
He goes on and says, "Be quick now. Hide well, I'll try to make sure you're hidden." Tristain helps the others hide.
Tristain takes special care to make sure Tarvi is well hidden. "Tarvi, I'm glad that you're here, but try to stay safe. We don't want you injured...if you have to flee, go and don't look back."
Tavari responds, "Do know that I value my life, and I intend to ride quickly. We need Ariel, as he needs us in his time of need."
Tristain then returns to his hiding spot. "When I'm shooting, stay out of my line of fire! I don't want to hit any of you," Tristain will remind all that he hasn't shot a bow in a while. While listening by putting his ear to the ground, he can hear some kind of distant rumble noise.
Ezren turns toward the group on horses."Wait to fire a volley until I have blocked the cart on the bridge. Then flee and hopefully some of the Hellknights will be drawn away. WE will take care of the rest meet us bak at the stables."
Tristain crouches, waiting and listening.
He imagines all the times he's seen the Hellknights in the past...their armor, their weapons. Never once has he ever stood up to them. Never once has he said a word to them. Never once has he ever seen a good and noble deed from them.
He hands grip his bow tightly in anger, his knuckles growing white.
His mind goes to what he knows about the weakness of the Hellknights, how the armor overlaps together, spots where their armor doesn't join well or leaves gaps as they move. He hopes he will able to exploit their weakness. He hopes.
Jimmy casts resistance and guidance on everyone hiding in the same place. He then casts several spells on himself just before the ambush starts. First, he casts resistance on himself, then guidance. The last two spells he casts on himself are entropic shield and shield of faith, in that order.
Round Surprise
Tristain waits, he wants to part of the full patrol. He hopes the summoned horse plan and split works.
Tarvi also delays.
Round Surprise
Ezren waits reading his spell. Scalvo comes out from hiding a fires a bolt off at the Hellknights.