if we're going to verify the nature of the Nail's interest in the Order, I suggest we further investigate the captain and his home, as well; both he and it are likely to be less well protected than their headquarters, and since he's the one all political graft seems to be flowing to, evidence of manipulation will likely lie with him...
she trails off, considering something, but does not continue, allowing the conversation to flow around her for now
"Perhaps we should each lay claim to one task so that our efforts are not duplicated. Obviously I will be mimicking the spells of the Druids. I am also able to investigate the Captain's home unless another believes they are more well suited to the task".
"It seems that our reticent colleague would be most suited to further reconaissance missions. I am quite pleased to offer this important work to one so perfectly suited to the task."
He slowly runs a dark finger along the brim of his farmer's hat.
"I still like the idea of maiming a druid."
After some deliberation, Nekare` speaks up again, perhaps we can put some of these questions to bed right now. Clearbourne, please ask your father :
she returns her attention to the party once Clearbourne answers these questions, do NOT discuss them yet. There will be opportunity to ask three more yes/no questions in follow-up, if any of you can think of any, you may ask them... carefully. There will be at most a minute to ask these questions at which point I will ask any follow-up questions I can think of
Edited
While Nekare's imp meditates upon it's unholy communion, Shadwell speaks.
"I was unaware that the Captain of the Nails maintains a separate residence. I personally would prefer to first make a study of what can be found within their base at the keep, as I have already scouted that location. This is not to say that someone else should not visit the Captain's residence if Nekare's inquiries indicate it would be favorable to do so, merely that my own methods are not suited to such an impromptu action. I could perform a search of the keep this evening if desired, and hope to establish a convenient and reliable method of returning undetected in the future,"
Clearbourne communes and relays the answers:
NO
YES
YES
Nekare`continues:
Myth listens as Nekare asks her questions, "Once we have our answers, I will scout the Captain's home within the next few days. First I would learn his movements to be there when he is not. That will of course require ascertaining who his minions are, an easy enough task".
NO
NO
YES
Myth, you are able to break in to the Captain's quarters, a nondescript building near the barracks. Inside you find orders for each soldier under his command, 32 in all, plus the Captain. There is other correspondence from the Nail's main branch. It mostly concerns legal policy and instructions to convert the savages of the land. You also find a granted request form for a squad of hell hound troops.
"I will find what I can at the keep; shall we arrange an informal meeting here every morning to share progress, assuming that we are not otherwise disposed?"
After the meeting, Shadwell slips away from Mythaniel's room to go about his day's business, heading to the keep to investigate the open market.
Shad, how do you plan to infiltrate the keep?
Everyone else, after some asking around, you are given rough directions to the most recent druid sightings. It's about an 8hr journey into the forest. Prepare what supplies you might need and head out.
If there is a policy for patrols Myth would read through that as well. Once he commits the most important things to memory Myth leaves.
Myth will scout the complex from a short distance away Invisibly for any servants that may come or go.
Then Myth will search for a local Inn to rent another room under another name wearing a cloak to hide my identity. Myth will use Charm Monster on that Innkeeper to ensure that he does not discuss Myth's coming and goings. The Inn will need to be within 800 feet of the Barracks if possible.
Once I know how all of that goes I will get back to the rest of the party.
"Will you require aid on your druidic prodding? Or shall I continue looking into more ... volatile approaches?"
Shadwell leaves the inn and makes his way to the market housed within the keep’s walls, mingling with the crowd there and observing the general goings-ons. Satisfied that his initial estimation of the situation was correct, after a few hours he leaves, spending the rest of the daylight hours walking about and familiarizing himself with the general layout of the town.
When the sun dips below the horizon he returns to the keep, this time in his common traveler’s garb, hair rearranged to cover his ears to make him indistinguishable from a human except under close scrutiny. Lurking within the rooms he knows the Nail soldier uses for his nightly trysts, he awaits the lovers’ arrival so that he may make use of their indiscretion to aid his planned infiltration.
once Myth makes his report about the Hellhound squad approval, If Shadwell can confirm the time of arrival for these beasts, I think that would be the best time to attack the Druids. I can summon a pair of them to harass any stragglers we find. What other evidence can we plant to point them in the direction of the Nail?
Myth smiles at Nekare, "A wonderfully wicked idea my dear.
I am working on trying to ascertain their schedules and plots but it will take a few days. I hope that I can lift one of their insignia's soon. We can certainly plant that near any incidents with the tree huggers".
The couple arrives and soon disrobes, allowing Shadwell the opportunity to remove the soldier’s badge and orders from amidst the pile of discarded clothing. Thus equipped, he slips out into the night, where he pulls an illusion of the soldier’s features over his own before opening his eyes to the unseen and walking to the keep. Approaching the single guard at the entrance to the interior, the wizard enacts a charm upon the man.
”Tell me, friend, where might I find the records room and the laundry?”
The man grins and opens the door. ”Records room? Y’know we ain’t got nothing like that – you can try the junior officers’ chambers I suppose. If you need laundry just check the barracks. Gonna be harder to keep things clean once those hellhounds get here, eh? If you step in their mess, betcha it’d eat right through your boot!”
Shadwell pauses, halfway through the door. ”Indeed…”
”Ah, I bet they’ll keep ‘em all up in those old kennels, we’ll hardly get to see ‘em anyways. Still, they’ll put a proper fright in all the right folks I reckon.”
Shadwell begins searching the keep, enchanting himself to seem even more unnoteworthy than usual. Though most of the doors he encounters are locked, the majority of the space seems decidedly unused.
This key of Temnar’s doesn’t seem to match any of these doors, Centurion; I should have prepared more knock charms. As it is, I shall just have to deduce the appropriate door to open. Seeing as how only these few here display nameplates and share a common hall, I venture the theory that they open to the junior officers’ chambers that fellow mentioned. Now to put it to the test.
Unlocking one of the named doors with his magic, Shadwell is proven correct, and begins to search through shelves and desks, sifting through reams of drill reports, performance reviews, expenditure reports and the like, taking note of a pending order of 24 goats due to arrive at the keep the same day as a patrol is due back, as well as several reports of a growing black market.
I think we’ve found the Terrapin’s troubles. This looks to be all I’ll find here without a notably more exhaustive search, and my time is limited; best make my way to the barracks to retrieve what artifacts I can as promised and leave before young Temnar returns.
Walking to the southern barracks, Shadwell gathers a set of three complete uniforms.
The armor is too valuable not to be missed – indeed, it’s absence will be noted upon the start of its owner's next shift. Perhaps tomorrow night I might acquire a duty roster, and calculate the best time to abscond with an unattended suit…
”Hey, Temnar, you thinking about doing some work tonight or what? If you get caught slouching around in here while you’re supposed to be walking the wall, it’s my ass on the line for letting you back in!”
Shadwell turns to see the door guard and nods his head. ”Of course, of course; we should both get back to our duties, friend. I’ll just be a moment longer - best you return to your station at the door, however, or else my dereliction may well be the least of your concerns.”
On his way out of the barracks, Shadwell keeps an eye out for any footlockers or such that his pilfered key might fit.
Disguise check of 38 (taking 10) to appear as Temnar, the smitten soldier.
in the barracks for likely locks for his key.
If you have prepared sufficiently, there is a road leading out of Palin's Cove near the logging and milling district. It runs up the river for a ways. There is a tavern outside one of the near logging camps that would be a discrete area to meet before heading into the woods. The road is fairly well traveled, mostly by loggers, and you could get a bit more current information about the Druids from there.
But feel free to plan more, make inquiries, break into homes, buy any supplies, or set up your own magic shop.
Shadwell returns to the lovers’ location, replacing Temnar’s badge and orders to the pile of clothes, then makes his way back to the Hang Nail Inn using his usual indirect methods. Once there he uses a discreet location to once again adopt the elven clerk disguise.
I will not sleep tonight; I have invested myself fully in carrying out this mission. Instead I will use the time to study what people I can in a more… penetrating... manner than I have before – the utter irrationality of most other creatures confounds me, but if I am to be forced to work in close contact with others, it is prudent to attempt to understand how they may think. Obviously, being wizards, they will bear only a passing resemblance to the ordinary folk here, but I shall start with the “basics” of this subject before attempting more advanced studies.
Innocuously blending in with the crowd in the Hang Nail’s common room, Shadwell uses detect thoughts to begin perusing the minds of the other patrons for several minutes, taking mental notes of their thought processes and reasoning methods. Once the spell has expired, he casts keep watch to keep himself awake through the remainder of the night, eavesdropping on nearby conversations, and in the morning heads to Mythaniel’s room to report on his findings from the keep.
, with +2 if actively being searched for, +4 if he's also in a crowd (if the common room is crowded enough.)
.
Whether alone or with company, Nekare` sets out to locate the druid camp strictly for the purpose of recon.
Incidentally, she's put on her most rugged outfit and has had Clearbourne transform into a boar.
From his new room, Mythaniel continues to spy upon the Order's barracks. His main goal is to learn the schedules of the Captain and his 32 men. When they eat, where they eat, who they spend time with within ranks and with townsfolk and most importantly the patrol schedules for the group.
Myth will accomplish the goals by utilizing his magical repertoire. Each day he will be out, each evening he will be back in Room 217 to conduct meetings as the others see fit.
The second day he will cast Clairaudience/Clairvoyance at 8 am, 1 pm, and 5 pm to listen in on any meeting between the Captain and his men.
Assuming he is satisfied with what he learns, he will spend the third day he will utilize Improved Invisibility, Dimension Door and Fly in conjunction to spy upon the Order from within their barracks to ensure that he has matched faces, names and voices.
The fourth day he will report back to the others what he has learned and utilize their advice to make preparations for his "Druid" strike.
Shadwell waits as long as necessary at the Hang Nail Inn to report on his findings.
"The keep's interior is mostly unused, and the Nails' security seems quite lax. At night, there is but one guard patrolling the wall, and one guarding the entrance; of course, the entrance is within view of the bazaar, which is open all day and all night.
"One of the evening guards, a man by the name of Temnar, abandons his duties for at least an hour every night to meet with his lover. Conveniently, they use the same location for their meets, and his lover is employed as a barmaid at this very inn; this makes observing and confirming that their dalliance is occurring on any given night quite simple. I have successfully infiltrated the keep disguised as Temnar, and likely can do so again with little effort.
"The door guard mentioned that they will soon be receiving a pack of hellhounds to bolster their forces, and while I could not find any direct mention of the hounds' expected arrival date, I did find a document detailing the expected arrival of two dozen goats; it may that these are intended as food for the hounds, and hence that the hounds arrival will coincide with that of the goats at the earliest. The hounds are to be housed within kennels in the north wing of the keep.
"I also found several reports on a growing black market in Palin's Cove; I believe this to be the interference which the Terrapin has sent us to stop. It would seem their investigations are still in a preliminary stage, but ready to expand quite soon if left unchecked.
"Finally, I acquired three full sets of uniforms, minus armor. Each man is issued but a single set of armor, and given its relative value, a missing suit would be noticed quite quickly. I was unable to find a duty roster or the like, but if I can do so on a subsequent trip, we will be able to steal armor from those individuals whose break in duties is greatest, thus allowing for a larger window of time before their absence is discovered. Alternatively, we could simply purchase similar suits, either here in Palin's Cove or, preferably, back in Korvosa, if time allows.
"If we wish to conduct a strike against the Nails within the keep, my suggestion would be for me to disguise myself as Temnar and have the guard open the entrance, then briefly distract him while any others entered under the effects of invisibility. An offensive could then be undertaken, with our escape made good through the use of teleportation magic.
"To maximize the effect of such a strike, we might also eliminate Temnar and dispose of his corpse in a highly discreet manner; during the strike I could then, as Temnar, claim to be a double agent for the Druids, strengthening our deception. In this instance, the door guard would serve as a useful witness, and would best be left alive.
"Given more time, I can determine likely targets within the keep, or attempt to acquire more tokens of the order's agents and documentation on the their efforts."
After the second meeting Alexis retires back to his room. Hmm - let's see if we can get the ball rolling, shall we? With great joy he unpacked his alchemical tools and set up a makeshift lab on the room's drawer, table and uhh pretty much everywhere. Ahh, even a few days have been too long! After one last check that the door and windows where reasonably intrusion proof he started to enhance his tools for tonight.
Then, later in the evening, he exited the inn in his dark cloths and lugging his heavy coffer. After wandering sufficiently far from the inn, he simply entered a poorly lit alley and disappeared, as if the had turned Invisible.
Myth smiles at Shadwell's progress, "Much of what I have learned in my infiltration confirms what you say is true. I wonder if we were there at the same time. I have set myself up to spy upon them give me a few more days to see if I can deduce any more information before we make our move.
The uniforms should be use by the team which will infiltrate the forest and attack the Druids, well done Shadwell.
I dislike the idea of you being there disguised as one of them. What if you are recognized as a traitor and slain? We do not wish to leave any evidence behind that would not connect to the Druids. In fact, I think we should attack a patrol and not the barracks, I do not get the sense the Druids would be so bold as to attack i the heart of the city in such a manner, at least not until we rile them up some".
"In that case, perhaps I should assist you, Nekare, with your venture into the wilderness. While I am certainly no outdoorsman, I can keep quiet and provide a second set of eyes. If you'll give me time to prepare myself and change into more appropriate attire, I can meet you outside the inn two hours from now."
The plan seems to be taking shape. Myth, you are able to deduce with great accuracy the schedule. You can use it for predicting shift changes, or know who is on duty when. Most of the men are still out on patrol. Only 9 remain in the keep. That leaves 24 out on patrol, due back any day now. You might be able to intercept them on their way back, if you leave soon. If you wait much longer they will eventually return to base.
Nekare` meets Izithrael and Shadwell (and anyone else) on the outskirts of town. alright gentlemen, we're just trying to locate their camp, and with this many of us, we're more likely yo be spotted. If we are, I suggest we tell them as much of the truth as we can, since, quite frankly, I've no head for lies and no talent for telling them. Based on that criteria, what's a story we can agree on, if it becomes necessary?
"It's true, the druids have a knack for seeing through lies. As you say, there may not be much need to. We are academics, are we not? Aren't we all interested in the flora and fauna of the region? We've also heard of the existence of a dragon. Perhaps we are merely collecting information for an upcoming treatise. This may very well be the case, as my tenure review is coming up next year, and I have to give those sniveling bureaucrats at the University something."
As the others gather to explore the Druids Forest Myth meets with them , "I have a very good idea of the rhythm and timing of the Order's Patrols. Soon they will return. Upon their return I can prepare an appropriate Druidic ambush unless you prefer for me to await your recon and return".
Nekare`, Izithrael, (and Myth?) head out toward the woods. Feel free to continue talking about your plan. Also roll a perception check.
Looks like Alexis will be busy with the sidethingy.
Shadwell accompanies his associates on their investigation of the druids, an elven clerk dressed in traveler's clothes. As they walk, he turns their situation over in his mind.
We're spending a lot of effort to frame the druids for an attack on the Order of the Nail, and vice versa. The more deceptions we manufacture, the more we risk exposure, Centurion.
"Has anyone considered the option of legitimately convincing the druids to attack the returning patrol?"
remarkably, I was just thinking something similar. We know the Nail is acquiring new resources, and that there's bad blood between the druids and the town. All we need to do is convince the druids that the Nail is likely to strike and that it's in the best interest of the druids to strike first
Myth considers the suggestion postulate by his comrades, "An interesting thought but are we not supposed to remain unknown in our purpose here? What is our rationale for assisting these Druids or at least, what should we tell them our rationale is?"
Myth accompanies them despite the fact that he has no real desire to go.
This is becoming quite the picnic. I still need perception checks.
I have been assuming that once our work here is done, the Terrapin will assign us to tasks elsewhere; presumption, Centurion, is the downfall of the otherwise intelligent person.
"A valid point, Mister Barronion; if we are tasked to continue operations in Palin's Cove once the Order of the Nail has been sufficiently dissuaded, a direct connection to the local druids could prove inconvenient, if not flat out dangerous. Perhaps if only one of us made direct contact with them, or if we anonymously provided the details of the Nails' patrols and their incoming Infernal hounds? The proposed introduction of such extraplanar creatures into the local ecosystem might prove enough to inspire them to act; surely they would realize that they are most likely the reason and the intended target for such an addition to the Nails' forces?"
Alexis returned to his room, satisfied with tonight's endeavours. And upon Nixx persistent insistence he quickly started brewing something capable of killing off bed-bugs.
Ich! I really hope that works! With a worried look Nixx watched his master work. Poor Nyxx.
Myth Perception
this seems a reasonable alternative, Shadwell. in fact I volunteer to speak on our behalf. I may not be an ideal diplomat, but I have legitimate interest in druidic magic, and can therefore speak most openly
As you are talking, walking down the winding trail in the overgrown woods, you have a feeling of being watched. you notice a large creature slink away in the bushes nearby.