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Domitius manages to take in the news of Jessibel's capture and punishment without breaking anything. Quite the show of restraint.
He even chuckles at the song. "I can't get mad at Dymka for writing seditious verses. Everyone has to play to their strengths. But now it is time for mine. No one puts Jessi in the doghouse. Unless she trips and falls into it."
He starts assembling his gear; weapons, armor, the mask, some additional clothing and cloaks to conceal his identity. "Most of you, I have told that I was born Dukkan of Belkzen. Some of you even call me that on occasion," a memory of Zea from one of their recent encounters flashes through his mind, but he brushes it aside; its time is gone.
"I ask that you no longer call your friend by that name; know him as Domitius. Dukkan lives only to show these duraki the cost of their cruelty."
Dukkan turns to the girls. His demeanor is calm, as if he is going over paperwork with Davina's barrister. "Kathie, Jane. The Queensman that thinks he is clever enough to count to eight. You saw him? I want you to describe him to me. Spare no detail..."
"J-Jenni. My name's Jenni," the brunette tells Dom before giving a description of the Queensman who initiated the attack on Jessibel. "I'd say he was about 6 feet tall, ragged brown hair, three days' worth of whiskers, creepy leering smile.... Oh--he also has a nasty spitting habit. He spat on the floor of the OHS when his men busted in and I think he spat on Jessi while she was down and knocked senseless."
Leora laughs at the song. "Oh that's great!" But she grows serious and then mad once Jenni and Kathie finish the story.
"Well $&!#. We gotta get Jessi out of there quick."
"So, doghousing." Leora thinks back to the protest at the same Aria Park just a few months ago where she first learned about the horrible punishment. "It's where they put the prisoner inside a tiny wood dog house with at bunch of nails in it so they can't really stand or lie down. And a couple dogs are tied outside and the prisoner has to fight with them for food scraps. No wonder his Infantile Lord Mayor Thrune wants us to turn in dogs that we find.
"Just tossing out some ideas here... We could have some kind of distraction to lure any Queensmen or Dottari away from where Jessi is being held. We have lots of alchemists fire, could set something on fire nearby if its not too rainy. I could wear my Queensmen armor and try to do some bluffing and lure them away. Ummm... I have a scroll of obscure mist, a wand of silence, and a potion of invisibility, we could fog the place up and try to sneak in."
"And how do we deal with the dogs? "
"A whip? Now that's cool." Leora takes Falina around Kintargo, pointing out most of the major sites on the north side of the river day, and eventually making their way to the War Cage and other shops to get the whip and other supplies Falina mentioned.
If there's time before curfew, Leora takes Falina to the south side of town to show her the Temple Hill area (probably very different than what she remembers), Aria Park, and the edge of the Devil's Nursery.
Not knowing much about history, Leora asks Falina "Was Kintargo this big the way you remember it?"
"Mmm. A druid or ranger would be a great help with the dogs. Barring that, if they are leashed and starved, may be as simple as cutting the leashes and tossing a large haunch of meat in the other direction," says T'chazzar.
"But the doghouse is in the middle of the guard patrol. We have to either pull the guards off, defeat all of them, or somehow get them to believe that nothing is wrong while we pull of the heist."
Falina spent the couple of days after following the lead relearning what she could of the city and figuring out what she still could do with her magic. To say she was disappointed was an understatement as much of what she once could do was beyond her for now. When they had the two young woman from the OHS arrive Falina had been getting a tad bored and saw the two young women her first thought was Hello there, followed by, Yum.
Falina did her best to hid it but bluffing wasn't really her strong suite. Whether they realized her interest or not was of rather less importance than what the two had to say. As they related their story Falina began moving to the tune in a way that implied she had the beginnings of a dance in mind but she managed to keep herself from doing so and laughed saying, "That's funny." As the story continued and Jessi's punishment was revealed she knew the problem that was now before them was severe, not to mention appalling, surely the boorish bastard could come up with something better to do as punishment, or at least more enjoyable. "It seems Thrune's imagination has been lost. I remember far worse punishments but this is just humiliating. I agree that we need to save her."
Falina looked at the gathered group and asked, "Do you wear disguises when you do this?" After a pause for a response she said, "I can try and make the dogs weak, I have magic for that, and I can try and break her chains as well." Her face became gloomy as she thought of something and said, "Used to be I could've dealt with them all in seconds and got her free, not anymore..." She sighed morosely, "Thrice damned Lich."
"A whip? Now that's cool." Leora takes Falina around Kintargo, pointing out most of the major sites on the north side of the river day, and eventually making their way to the War Cage and other shops to get the whip and other supplies Falina mentioned.
Falina nodded and said, Yes, I was very good with a whip. Mine was special too, it hit better and harder, dealt lethal wounds, and could ignore such paltry things like armor and shields. It was useless against non-living things but I could flay a man in full plate with it and never worry about their armor." She smiled naughtily, "Granted I found far better things to do with them than kill them, women too, sadly all of that is beyond me...for now."
Falina went to the War Cage first and looked for a good whip, one she could get enchanted like her old one, and ignored such things as armor since she had never had a use for it. She then went to a dress shop and bought a few to get buy as well as ordered several more that would be more to her taste. The last place she headed was a supply shop to purchase the kit she might need for everyday things like a pack and pouches.
If there's time before curfew, Leora takes Falina to the south side of town to show her the Temple Hill area (probably very different than what she remembers), Aria Park, and the edge of the Devil's Nursery.
Not knowing much about history, Leora asks Falina "Was Kintargo this big the way you remember it?"
Falina nodded and said, "Yes, it was," she frowned slightly, "though I don't know by how much. I grew up poor in what is now the Devil's nursery I believe you called it? Even when I began to perform some I saw little knew, just more of the area around this park. Many of those temples were different too." She went on for some time, reminiscing about what things were like in her day. Some of the anecdotes, especially about the temples, and their clergy were more than a bit naughty including, "So here was the High Priest of Cayden Cailean, Jeramiah Solis, having gone on a month long 'Holy Celebration' at every tavern in the city. He'd been eying the High Priestess of Shelyn, Sarah, and decided 'he'd pay her a visit and celebrate with her'. He stumbles into the temple, makes his way to her room somehow, and falls through the doorway as the liquor finally catches up to him." Falina grinned mischeviously, "So he looks up and here's Sarah in bed with Kimberly, the local Calistrian priestess, and myself, and he says," she deepened her voice, "Hey ladies, can I join the party?" Falina's voice cackled as she said, "The mortified Sarah screeched, a most pretty screech, and yelled at us all to get out before we'd even gotten started and Kimi and I quickly make our exit and grab the drunken Jaramiah to haul him out too." Her laughter begins again, "The next thing Jaramiah knows is he wakes up, in the knave of his temple, naked, [i[sober[/i] and unable to get drunk for a year." Falina was tearingup from laughter by now, "Kimi told me later that she managed to curse him with sobriety for a month. He tried to get drunk, I saw him go for a full keg of dwarven ale one night in a local tavern and he never felt it. He wasn't sure if that left him blessed or truly cursed, at least until he tried it again the next month and woke up with the mother of all hang overs and decided he really had been cursed and nearly gave up drinking."
Davina listens with interest as Dom heads into the study her father has claimed as his own. I wonder what that was all about.
In the basement she studies the windows, and thinks. "That would help. Though when the windows go the blast pressure is released. Where will it go if it can't get out that way?" She pulls out a notebook and starts to make notes.
Davina looks amused with Jess antics, and even laughs at the song. Then she realizes that Jess is in real trouble, and they have to get her out of it. She questions the girls, and shakes her head. "What would Jess want with something in a lumpy sack."
"What if we fed the dogs. They would be distracted and maybe we can get Jess out of the back of the doghouse. I like the idea of distracting the guards and trying to do this quietly."
Kathie shrugs in reply to Davina's question regarding the contents of Jessibel's lumpy sack and glares at Jenni, apparently having been kept out of the loop on this particular series of late-night shenanigans. Jenni shrugs back and says, "Jessi never showed me what she brought back either night, but whatever it was is probably still hidden somewhere inside our headquarters."
"Falina's right, first off we wear disguises. Second, we do something to distract the guards. Think we could convince some of the students or OHS to do something nearby and cause some chaos to get the guards away from the pavillion? Or do you guys have something else in mind? And as soon as the guards are gone, I'll cast obscuring mist to fog the place up, we'll feed some meat to the dogs to distract them and get Jessi out of there. Anything else we're missing?"
Falina considered a disguise and then said, "I won't need a mask. Leora, come with me so I can prepare." Gesturing towards somewhere private Falina headed in that direction.
Leora follows Falina so they can prepare for the rescue.
Davina takes some time to disguise herself. "Do you think it's time to use the Queensmen uniforms that we have? Might make things easier."
For a moment T'chazzar's unrecognizable. It's the same gear that gives it away; but the sight of the surface elf with a lopsided grin makes quite a contrast from his usual violet complexion.
"So how do we want to do this? Dom and I pretend to be in a drunken brawl, then we mash the Queensmen while the rest of the team distracts the dogs with some haunches of meat and frees Jessi? Or do we use my magical darkness to confuse them and try to get in and out quick? Or maybe something else? Set off fireworks? What's the plan?"
"Okay, you got it My lips are sealed ." Leora stands close by, alert and trying to hide that she's a little nervous.
Falina looked entirely different now, her hair was just as long but now a deep blue-black color, here eyes were no longer red but a deep violet, and her facial structure was different with the cheekbones altered but otherwise still as she was before. She still radiated that same sensual, otherworldly, beauty as before but looked different enough that it would be hard to guess she was the same person if you didn't already know. "Think this will work as a disguise?"
Jenni and Kathie balk a bit when Leora asks if the Opera House Society can pull off some sort of distraction.
"Well...maybe," Kathie says, sounding awfully uncertain. "But if the Queensmen guarding Jessibel are the same ones who arrested her, they might recognize us and smell a rat. Did you have a particular distraction in mind?"
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It doesn't take long for Queensman #5 to hawk up a loogie and spit it on the pavement. He also fits Jenni & Kathie's physical description of the creep.
Leora turns around while Falina does her thing. She's really tempted to turn around and see what's happening but doesn't. "You alright? Wow um, yeah, that's a great disguise. I wouldn't even recognize you if I hadn't been standing here. "
"You girls are right, the guards would probably recognize you two. My vote's for Dukkan and T'chazzar to disguise themselves."
Leora shares any Queensmen gear the two need to complete their disguises.
A blond young woman stands where Davina stood. "If possible, Let's have the brawl just outside where the mastiffs are. Then we can do our magic thing, and drag Jess out of the doghouse as quickly as possible."
"The blonde looks good on you," says T'chazzar.
"Thanks. She giggles and twirls a piece of hair around her finger. "Are we like going to do this or what?
"Thanks. She giggles and twirls a piece of hair around her finger. "Are we like going to do this or what?
The change in Davina's appearance and behavior is remarkable enough to make Domitius briefly drop out of his Dukkan persona. "Sudarynya, I know people often mistake you for Kelyana's older sister, are you trying to get them to think she is the elder?" He reaches for his orcish battle mask and conceals it under his cloak. "Let's go get Dymka."
Dom and T'chazzar set the rescue into motion, the disguised elf jostling the disguised half-orc while staggering drunkenly. Dom the Queensman tells the drunk to get lost or he'll arrest him. The two nearest Queensman guards call out "Halt! Who goes there?" before recognizing Dom's red-and-black armor and other Queensman gear. "That sod givin' ya troubles, brother? Give the word an' Harris an' me'll put a good beatin' on the fool!"
Before Leaving:
When falina and Leora exited the room the tiefling woman looked nearly indistinguishable from a human. She had her same body type but her face looked vastly different and her long blonde hair was now a deep blue-black and her red eyes now violet. She looked almost entirely different than when she had entered the room. Looking at the group she asked, "What do you think?"
The Rescue:
Falina stayed in the trees and bushes on the opposite side from Dom and T'chazzar and moved closer using the shrubbery for cover in the hopes it would keep the guards from noticing her.
"What do you think?"
Domitius nodded in appreciation. "Nice trick. How long can you keep that form? Minutes? Hours? Indefinitely? Just the one new face, or can you assume others?"
From her hiding spot in the bushes, Leora holds up one finger to Davina and Falina. She drinks the potion vial she'd been carrying around for awhile and vanishes from sight.
Domitius nodded in appreciation. "Nice trick. How long can you keep that form? Minutes? Hours? Indefinitely? Just the one new face, or can you assume others?"
Dalina shrugged and said, "I've never found a limit on how long, only how many times I can change in a day. Far as I can tell it's like a spell that does the same basic thing but it doesn't have all the extras. It's very painful to do so I don't use it much. Right now it's worth it since I don't think we want Thrune to know I'm back, if they even remember me."
"I've never found a limit on how long, only how many times I can change in a day. Far as I can tell it's like a spell that does the same basic thing but it doesn't have all the extras. It's very painful to do so I don't use it much. Right now it's worth it since I don't think we want Thrune to know I'm back, if they even remember me."
Domitius nodded in agreement. "We don't want Thrune to know any of us. The more unrecognizable we are, the better. Your face is changed, that's great. If I have to call you by name out there, what name shall I use...?"
"Call me Nina. I always wanted to be a Nina."
Davina nods as Leora goes invisible. I've got to learn to do that. She tries to sneak toward the pagoda.
T'chazzar says simply, "Caladrel. First surface elf name to come to mind. Or just Cal for short."
Domitius nodded in agreement. "We don't want Thrune to know any of us. The more unrecognizable we are, the better. Your face is changed, that's great. If I have to call you by name out there, what name shall I use...?"
Considering Dom's question she finally said, "Call me...Faschiena."
Paired up with his elf buddy, Dukkan staggers toward the site of their friend's torture. His voice is alost unrecognizable, not a trace of the Orcish accent he often gets when agitated. "Nuh-uh, you lissen. You knock it off with that crap, or Imma pop you one. Y'know what we do to folks we don' like? Huh?" The last bit is punctuated by bumping "Cal" in the chest with the pommel of Dukkan's sword.
"That sod givin' ya troubles, brother? Give the word an' Harris an' me'll put a good beatin' on the fool!"
As the two Queensmen are lured within reach, Dukkan's demeanor changes. He stops staggering, and his speech both no longer slurs, and regains his Orcish accent. "Nyet, my ignorant friend. You can serve in other ways." Unfortunately, the angle at which Dom had been holding his sword to poke Cal made for an awkward transition to an attack stance, and his aim was off. "Chert voz'mi!"
"Cal" is weaving like a drunkard when the Queensmen approach, and he smells like a distillery. (Some well-placed wine on a spare rag worn about his neck manages that.) As Dom pokes him with the pommel he says, "Is this because I'm an elf? Just what I should expect from you humans-only lot."
As soon as the gig is up, he suddenly bursts into action, drawing his backsword and lashing out at one of the Queensmen.
The ambush by Dom and T'chazzar doesn't quite go as planned (maybe more or less as expected, but not as planned): Their surprise attacks fail to connect with the off-guard Queensmen, who quickly recover their wits and counter-attack, T'chazzar's foe clipping the drow's forearm with his mace . The Queensmen to the south don't seem to notice the lady Ravens sneaking through the bushes and instead move to join the fight to the north .
As the rescue attempt gets into full gear, the two mastiffs in the pagoda-like building bark ferociously; Jessibel's feet, sticking out of the doghouse, do not move the least bit.
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T'chazzar simply grunts and thrusts again with his sword at the Queensman.
The Rescue:
Falina stayed in the trees and bushes on the opposite side from Dom and T'chazzar and moved closer using the shrubbery for cover in the hopes it would keep the guards from noticing her.
With the thugs out of position Falina saw her chance and moved up. She began to chant and gesture then sent a ray of black energy out at the nearest of the Mastiffs.
Glad that their plot is working so far, Leora runs as fast as she can towards the dog house and Jessi. Although she's still invisible, she doesn't like standing next to the dog. She hopes it can't hear her or smell her over all the other stuff going on. She risks a quick glance towards Jessi as she runs to see how her friend is doing, and if she can tell how Jessi is attached to the dog house.
.
"Jaclynne!" Leora tries whispering to her friend, but it comes out much more loudly. She's proud of herself for remembering Jessi's pen name. "Hey Jacki, are you okay?!"
Nina moves up as far as she can in order to distract the dogs.
She sort of knows where Jess is by the voice.
"Ogon' i stal' dlya Belktsena!"
Dukkan attacks the Queensman in front of him with a furious swipe of his sword. (If I drop CCG 1, I'd like to dismissively swat him aside into the pool.) In a thick orcish accent, he sneers at the men. "You and Harris may be quite proud of how you handle little girls, but now you face Dukkan, the Black Blade of Belkzen. My people felled Koldukar. You are nothing."
Dom's savage hack doesn't quite drop the Queensman, but his words turn the man's spine to jelly: The fellow gasps in pain and fear and withdraws from the battle, heading south, passing his closing comrades and getting an earful about his cowardice. T'chazzar scores a decent hit as well, but his foe is made of slightly sterner stuff, especially with reinforcements coming.
Meanwhile, on the eastern side of the pagoda and bridge, the Lady Ravens jump into action. The feral hounds are leashed to posts that allow them to reach most of the pagoda's interior, but not quite the doghouse where Jessi sits/lies. Despite Leora's rather loud whispering to get her attention, 'Jaclynne' doesn't move an inch. A set of fetters is attached to her ankles.
Both large dogs bark viciously as Leora, Falina, and the invisible Leora approach. The nearest beast seems to detect Leora's presence through scent but can't process the concept of invisibility and barks and lunges at Davina, accidentally bumping hard into Leora. This both confuses and pisses off the creature, but it's still not quite wise enough to chomp at the seeming empty space where Leora is. The western dog moves a bit further east, straining against its leash.
T'chazzar's opponent again swings his light mace like a pro: The blow caroms off the drow's shoulder hard and grazes the side of his head, badly wounding him .
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T'chazzar grunts as the blow caroms off his pauldron and his light helm, then counterattacks with his own blade.
Davina moves past Leora and the first dog causing an AOO from the dog. She kneels and tries to get Jess' manacles open.
Slipping on his mask, Dukkan points his sword at the Queensmen who are swearing at their fleeing friend. "You will all soon wish you had his common sense," he sneers. "Prikhodite."
Falina zaps the far mastiff with her black ray before allowing the invisible Leora to move past her and into the pagoda. Davina slips past both Leora and the dog (slightly jostling the former to avoid the teeth of the latter), kneels, and begins working on the lock to the noblewoman's fetters .
Meanwhile, a reeling T'chazzar tries to strike back against his foe but misses by a wide margin. The other Queensmen rush to join the battle with the masked orc and alleged elf, but one peels off and hops into the lily pond when he hears the dogs start barking and Falina cast her spell.
You feel that you should be able to pop the lock on Jessi's fetters quickly. Now that you're close to her, you can see the bard's in rough shape: Her face is swollen and her clothes are bloodstained. Apparently she was unconscious when doghoused, meaning her captors forced her inside the house as best they could, in the process impaling her on several of the large nails driven into the tiny shelter to make imprisonment therein excruciating. Jessi's breathing is ragged and shallow, but she's still alive...barely.
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