"Gonna need reasons for us all to be travelin' t'gether." Grumble rumbled. His forehead wrinkled up in frustrated thought. He could think ahead well enough to see problems, but not well enough to come up with solutions.
Soren stands farther away from the others, a sour look on her face. Still, as Alice begins to come to and their new discussion begins, she approaches the others. "Safety in numbers," she replies, her circlet once again disguising her as a Mitran priestess. "Traveling together ensures our own safety, and given our common destination it doesn't seem unlikely we would stick together on the road. I would say, though, that we should have started already in groups of two or three; that seems more believable."
Still a bit unsteady, Alice does see the merit in the idea.
"Good point, but we would need to time our arrivals. But a great knight and a priestess traveling together is a logical combination."
As he listens to the conversation Lothyrin slowly shifts into the robes of a mitral cleric. One kit ran cleric at your service
Still a bit unsteady, Alice does see the merit in the idea.
"Good point, but we would need to time our arrivals. But a great knight and a priestess traveling together is a logical combination."
"What if we tell 'em we're trackin' some bad folks? Balin's a Witch Hunter, right? Could be that we make 'em think there's some kinda cult operating in Ballentyne and we're there to ferret 'em out. Then when we make trouble, they come to us to help fix it. We could do the mission right under everyone's noses."
"Assuming they buy it." he added, looking down at his disguise.
Moving closer, I have one suggestion my fine Mitran knight, Sir Ballin if I recall spoke with a little more elegance than your common diction. You might want to take some lessons from the more silver tongue members of the group as to better imitate him, says Lothyrin as he listens to Jack speak.
Jack nodded and moved his mouth around like he was chewing exaggeratedly, stretching his lips and face. "Might as well practice." he cleared his throat and changed the pitch of his voice from his usual gravely rumble to a smoother sounding, pleasantly articulate baritone.
"I had little else to do while being carted off to Branderscar than listen to Sir Balin and his squire speak. They spoke of religion a great deal, as well as the proper behavior of a Knight, how to treat women, rules of tournament fighting and how it differed from the battlefield, care of horses and hounds, and other such knightly ende... enderv..." he faltered. "Uh..."
He huffed. "...b!$!*&#~."
He lapsed back into his usual voice. "I can mimic him all day, but I can't do nothin' 'bout not knowing' those big, stupid human words."
"Oh, a squire, that is a good idea for a disguise. A noble knight like Sir Balin needs one. Maybe you can present yourself as being a bit older? We can pass off your... un-eloquence off as older age. Not that you're going senile, but more as, not giving a damn."
Nate slides up to the group. "Perhaps...I can be of some help? I did spend a few years in their army after all."
"Does 'eloquence' mean gettin the dammenfolk to threaten yer dick?" Grumble said without a trace of humor. "I ain't good with words, and I don't know much 'bout human ways, but that don't seem like it fits with all that stuff Balin was talkin' about courtly love. 'S more like what my sisters 'd say to my brothers when they were gettin' too handsy."
Soren lets out a chuckle when Grumblejack comments on Vandour's 'eloquence', shaking her head as she does so. "His lack of charm notwithstanding, he does have a point; no matter how much you resemble Sir Balin, no one will believe the act if you can't act like a proper knight. You'll need to at least have a modicum of courtly manners if we're going to keep this disguise going... that said, I have an idea." Soren concentrates again, and her disguise shifts; she remains in her normal armor, now simply the brown of cured leather, with the holy symbol of Mitra emblazoned across the cuirass. Her cloak, normally a long and tattered red, is now a finely crafted white with golden trim, and her face is replaced with that of a battle-hardened woman, her nose broken at an odd angle. "Balin was a witch hunter, correct? I will be his new partner, an Inquisitor of Mitra." She wrinkles her face as she says it, turning her nose up at the words even as they leave her mouth. "Vandour, you'll be a nobleman sponsor. Not someone particularly important, but rich enough it seems viable... maybe a Count, or something similar."
Oh wow this could turn bad really quickly. "Grumble I am certain someone like Balin would never say anything about... dicks. I am sure Vaundour can be eloquent in a way that does not make anyone want to harm it." Glancing over at Vaundour, "At this point our lives will depend on it."
Looking over at Soren, I doubt I would wear even illusionary armor and make it seem normal. I suppose I could be a penitent."
Ah my dear Morana, I would be glad to be the Mitran cleric overseeing you. I mean it only makes sense, the Mitran church would never let someone like you out of their sight. Lothyrins clothes slowly shift as he assumes the fine trimmed garb a cleric of the Mitran faith would wear. His long cloak now possessing the symbol of Mitra. Looking at his charred hands as they slowly turn from blackened husks into their original state. Lothyrin also slowly calms the flames swirling through them. Alas, Mitran clerics are not exactly known for burning things to cinders so I will have to suppress my fiery nature for now
Smiling at Lothryin, "Thank you.I was never the religious sort growing up and Mitra never had a place in my parents home. How should I dress myself?"
Moonlight burns as you begin to set your various roles for the deception. Slowly a plan begins to formulate as you walk towards the sleepy town of Aldencross.
The gates to the city are closed and with the exception of a few guards along the walls holding lanterns no light emanates from within. You are able to get within 100' of the city and still none of the guards have spotted you so dark is the night or so clever is your approach...
"Grumble I am certain someone like Balin would never say anything about... dicks. I am sure Vaundour can be eloquent in a way that does not make anyone want to harm it." Glancing over at Vaundour, "At this point our lives will depend on it."
Grumble seemed pensive. "Yah. Yer right, Balin didn't ever talk 'bout anything that would have made someone threaten his junk. Knights are always goin' on 'bout honor, an' duty, an' helpin' folks. He was a Witch Hunter too though, so there was an edge to him. Suspicious of everything, and ruthless when he had to be."
"I ain't a bad mimic, but this isn't going to be about playing' fer laughs. I gotta be Balin. Gotta.. Have to think like him."
Grumble took a deep breath and focused. "I believe I can do this."
"What names will the rest of you be using?" he looked to Alice and Morana. "You two could use your own, but the rest of us are wanted. We will need new identities."
"Nicholas Terren." Nate said with a smile.
"Pythios."
...
"Fine. Patrick."
Call me Laurence Hail, hmm yes that has a nice ring to it. Looking to Morana he quickly scans her outfit, I think it would be more fitting to adorn some white clothing trim with gold fabric, it is a common outfit for a follower of Mitra.
Alice changes her clothes to the simple garb of a service wizard.
"I'll stick with alice. I'm not a great lier, and the less I have to lie, the better. Anyone scrying my past will get a lot of dull boat voyages, and its not unusual for wizards to serve on a boat, providing good winds."
Alice critically looks at everyone changing. "Eh... Everyone is looking fine. *Too* fine I would say. To reach this place we would have been traveling for weeks, months even depending on how we got here. Everyone is *clean*. Your clothes are *clean*. We dont have spare clothes like this. Or even the pack space to pretend we have more spare clothes with us. If we want this deception to succeed, these are the kind of details we need to pay attention to."
Grumble looked down at himself. "Smart."
A few illusory adjustments later and he was travel-battered with mud on his boots and the hem of his cloak and road dust on his clothing. He even added a few rivulets where it looked like they'd been caught in the rain and some of the grime had been rinsed free.
"Can you not cast Prestidigitation?" Soren asks. "I see no reason why a nobleman with a court wizard would deign to be dirty if she had the means to cleanse him of the dirt and grime of traveling on the road. If no one else, at least Vandour should have no reason to be dirty. Whether you do so for the rest of us would be your choice unless ordered, but it's not as if it prevents you from casting more potent spells if needed." Soren shrugs, and with a thought dirties her own outfit slightly. "Still, if one of us appears dirty, all of us should besides our resident noble. Otherwise it would look suspicious."
"What's a prestidigeration?"
Sighing before tugging the new circlet off of her head and putting the one the Cardinal gave her back on. Focusing for a moment before her skin lightens a bit. Her clothing shift to travel stained white robe with golden trim. "Mirna Suero."
"My cover is a bodyguard for Sir Balin, yes? That should be easy enough, it's just another kind of soldier."
Aurex folds his arms. "And what exactly am I going to be? I can't fight with your little steel weapons, I can't do magic, and I'm not big on talking either."
Alice folds her arms. Prestidigitation, or presto for short, is a simple spell that performs some very basic task. It can be used to clean something, but its not a magical 'fix it all', although it has gotten the reputation for it. It can clean up some of the dirt, but its just like brushing off your clothes. It helps with staying clean, but sooner or later you'll need to wash your clothe for them to be actually clean. Having presto at our disposal is a good reason why we are currently reasonably looking, instead of caked in grime."
Sir Jack seemed like he didn't know what to think. "Wizards have a magic for being wash maids?" he shook his head. "Id rather learn the fireball one."
When Aurex spoke up, Jack grinned at him. "Speaking of wash maids..."
Aurex raises a brow, then they furrow angrily. "I will storm the castle alone before playing the part of a servant."
"Sounds good. Less work for us, and then we have a butler."
Nate puts a calming hand on Aurex's shoulder. "How about another bodyguard? We'll keep you out of armor and give you a weapon just for show."
Aurex grumbles in a slightly less unsatisied manner. "I suppose."
Oh he is funny. A horrible knight of the realm. Do you think we could get him to have to deliver a sermon? Giggling to herself Please shut up.
Tugging at the pale fabric of her sleeve self-consciously, "I suppose we should get going."
"Wait, I know we're all eager to get on with our mission, but have we decided on a general story? No lie falls apart quicker if we dont tell the same tale. How did we get here? Where did we come from? Did we get our fake mission from someone? That's the kind of thing people will ask about."
"Any large city from Talingarde would do, but I wouldn't suggest the capital; too many connections there that could possibly out Vandour as a fraud. A smaller city, but big enough that Vandour could reasonably take up residence." She pauses, before nodding slightly. "We passed by Daveryn on the way here, did we not? That would work, I think. As for our mission... there was once a cult here, the Sons of the Apocalypse. They've been defunct for quite some time, but bringing up such a group would give rise to old fears; hearing them from a renowned witch hunter like Balin would only make it worse. If we blame our actions on this defunct cult, we can use that as an excuse to be at the scene of the crimes. They would never suspect us of being the people we're searching for."
Alice nods. "Sounds good. Its also severe enough that we would not want to share details about our mission. Making it less likely to be caught in a lie. I would assume we went most of our journey by horse, but we left them for the last leg of the journey because they were not hardened against the cold?"
"Horses are good for moving fast in short bursts and for hauling. If you want to cover distance, horses are actually slower than moving with light packs on foot over long hours."
"That sounds good to me."
One of the nightwatchmen drops his lantern he is so startled when "Kristos" calls out to him. You hear the sound of breaking glass and him cursing Asmodeus for his ill fortune.
The other opens the hood to shine it in your direction his voice booming out, "Who goes there in the dead of night in this inhospitable land?!"
"Sir Balin of Karfeld and company, escorting Count Von Struker on business of the church. May we approach?" Jack boomed.
More quietly he whispered to the others at the fore of the group "How'zzat sound? Knightly?"
"Moreso than I expected, actually." Soren pulls her hood back from her face, revealing the hard-faced guise of a Mitran inquisitor. Before doing so, she gives herself a pair of wicked scars from her jaw to the bridge of her nose. "My name is Lydia Kallin, an inquisitor in service to the Mitran church. Our business is urgent and cannot wait until morning. Open the gates that we might find lodging before we must begin our tasks."
Nate nods as Sir Jack Balin vaguely introduces him, but stays silent. Soldiers should be seen but not heard. They talked when talked to.
Alice remains silent, standing next to Nathanial. Hired help is not important enough to warrant a special introduction.
"The Sir Balin?" onw of the guards asks. "I shall call the Mayor out of bed!" The man rushes presumably towards the stairs as he does so his light fades from view behind the walls of the city.
The guard still on the wall asks, "How many are with you Sir Balin? It is hard to see you out in the darkness".
Jack froze. A muscle in his face twitched. "How many..."
He looked down at Soren and shrugged slightly.