The Shining Hosts - Way of the Wicked Gameplay (Inactive)

Game Master Dennis Harry

Raaven chuckled. "My master would not be my first choice, it's true. Nor even my hundredth. I know better than to question the will of Asmodeus, though. Grumblejack, for whatever reason, is quite favored."

"Frankly, I think it possible that ruling hell must get rather boring at times and Grumblejack is simply an amusement."

"Still, the task at hand is nearly complete. Begin your preparations. The gate will be down within two hours."

"Oh, and should you come across the Lord Commander of Ballentyne out here, do not kill him. He has sworn himself to our cause."

Aurex can't help but to grin. Although there had been some curious and fun moments in this body, overall he was sick of the tiny fragile frame. And no doubt that serving wench was still disturbed after hearing him curse and say "This form is limiting".

"It has been so long since I have tasted the flesh of man. Where and how should I arrive?"

Nate gets a sick grin that looks eerily similar to Aurex's. "And I picked up a new trick, I can summon Aurex to my side, from any distance. We can have him drop in somewhere as a surprise, or have him wreak havoc in one area only to teleport him over somewhere else, making them think we have two dragons."

"Sounds like a good way to make them scramble." Sir Jack said, paying careful attention to his pronunciation and diction as he settled back into his human guise. "Aurex cuts loose somewhere on this end of town. They'll muster the troops, an' he can just string them along back and forth in long sweeps, setting everything on fire. Then, when they finally get their act together and start readying archers and stuff, poof, no more dragon. He ends up near us, where all the soldiers arent. By the time they figure it out, they'll be rushing headlong toward the north gate into a bugbear rampage."

It wasn't a complicated plan. Jack wasn't smart enough for that. All he really had going for him was an instinctual grasp of how to create chaos and fear, and a knack for ambushes. Against a prepared opponent, that wouldn't be anywhere near enough. In this case, it probably was.

"Think we got enough time during the mess to do a smash and grab on the magic shop?"

"If all goes well than we will have control over the area and just need to get there before the bugbear looters do. Or just kill them and take it from their corpses." Nate says as his grin grows further.

Staying next to Alice and watching the guards leave. Helping serve those that linger and waiting until all of them are gone.

The Camp of Sakkarot

The Bugbear Chieftain seems a bit taken aback by the pronouncement about the Lord Commander but states nothing further.

"Then it begins", he states softly and exits his tents. Almost immediately, the sounds of the camp come alive. No war drums, no shouts, it seems that the Chieftain is wiser than he looks.

The Tower Kitchens

Aldencross - Week 3 Day 21

James scowls once more, "Very well. We shall withdraw to Mama Giuseppe's house. From there, once the solders pass us and attack the Inn, we shall march on the rear of the Tower.

I hope those in your group already there, will be able to let us in through the rear entrance".

They take their leave quickly.

The Black Ice Inn (not on the map originally, I'll add it) is located at the south end of town.
The Magic Shop (10) is between the Inn and the town center. It's 50/50 where the soldiers would march on their way here through center and then south or just right don the southwestern road or perhaps split into both.
It's light out now and it's only a matter of time before the townsfolk smell the smoke and step out of their homes to see what is happening. I will place a copy of Aldencross in the thread at the top.

Place Aurex on the map as you see fit and he can grow an wreak havoc as you like!

Raaven, get back here, Sir Jack said telepathically to his servant while the group headed toward the fortress.

Using my once a day summon to call Raaven to my side.

A few moments later an invisible Daemon materialized next to Sir Jack with a faint whiff of brimstone.

I am here, oh favored one. Raaven's voice came to teh minds of the whole group, dripping with derision. What task would you have me undertake?

"The magic shop. Go swipe everything that you can carry and bring it to us." Jack said.

I am lacking in the appendages department. My creators opted to gift me with a functioning mind instead. Raaven said dryly.

"Get creative. I don't care how you do it, just get it done." Jack glared at the empty space in front of him.

Perhaps there is hope for you yet. Raaven said with just the faintest touch of respect. I will need a bag. Also, the store is likely to be warded against intrusion.

Ogres had a fondness for sacks. The one Jack pulled out of his pack could have held a few small children. He held it out. It vanished.

"Not yet it ain't. The place is still doin' business. Go in before the screaming starts. When the party starts the shopkeep will either hunker down inside, or he'll lock up and leave. Either way, you'll be inside."

A telepathic chuckle faded away as the Daemon left.

Raaven is going to take care of the heist. It will save time. Raaven can drag about 32 pounds and still fly.

It looks like nr. 10 on the map is the kitchen? It looks like 26 is some sort of library/archive? If that is a place Alice or Morana would know about, it looks like an excelent place to start a good fire. If possible, Alice would like to get some oil from the kitchen, then sneak up to 26 to start a fire. Alice would use magic to start a good blaze. Burning hands + oil = fun. Alice would use Invisibility on herself and Morana to get out of the library undetected after starting the fire.

We should light up the kitchen too. I support being a pyro. What is room 9? Stupid building is mostly stone. Also we could light up the trees outside if there is enough oil. Is it safe to assume there are tapestries on the walls and rugs on the ground? cause those will burn and smoke way better than the stone. Also doors.

Probably best to set something else on fire, then return to the kitchen to set that on fire too. Does Marana have some fire magic? That will help I think. Stone wont burn, but I havent met a carpet yet that could resist burning hands ;)

I apparently only have one Burning hands and two alchemists fire. And that was my thought. If there are rugs and tapestries then those should go up. But if we catch one thing one fire and have some oil then we are good and can save spells in the event we squishy caster get into a fight.

Ooooh alchemists fire. We can get creative with those

Got two of them and also an acid.

Soren, back in her disguise as Lydia, heads toward the tower to wreak havoc from the inside. "Where are we sending Aurex?" she asks the group on the way there. "Wherever he's going, we'll send more soldiers in the opposite direction. They'll be spread even thinner, and it'll make it easier for Nate and Aurex to sweep back toward the fight once it begins."

"What's the easiest entrance point for the soldiers? The main gate, right? Then we should start out Aurex on the opposite side as that."

It's a walled town. On the north is the fortress and it's gate. On the south is the town wall and south gate where we first came in. How about we turn the whole south side of town into a bonfire?

"Think you could light up the gate we first came in at? And everything else around it?" Jack asked Aurex. "It would be pretty funny if the horde shows up and there's nowhere for the Mitrans to run but into a fire."

"That's not a bad idea. It'll draw them away from where the bugbears will be entering the town, and it means they have nowhere to run. It'll also draw them away from the fort, which isn't a bad idea on its own. While you two do that, Jack and I can try to sow some more chaos in the fort."

The Tower Kitchens

Aldencross - Week 3 Day 21

OK, so Soren and Grumble are going to don their "disguises" once more and head towards the incoming soldiers and then to the Tower or try to avoid them and get to the Tower?

I can have Lothrian start that fire as fire IS his thing anyway in the area near building 17? The Black Ice is already on fire and the residents are going to react to that fairly soon as the town is about to become much more lively.

Maybe Nate and Aurex head towards the exact opposite gate where the soldiers will enter, Aurex transforms and with Nate riding him you can decide where to go Nate?

Raaven, give me a Stealth check just in case you roll a 1 as you sneak into the Ye Olde' Magic Shope.

Stealth: 1d20 + 14 ⇒ (14) + 14 = 28

Indeed, we're going to head there on foot and go into the woods where people won't see the transformation. I'll get a long write up of our actions in about 2 hours or so.

Nate gives Aurex's human form a firm handshake before splitting up. "No dying today, hear me?" He casts mage armor on Aurex, then goes the other direction.

Nate goes outside the city limits, settling down in the woods to meet up with the bugbears before they arrive. And now...we wait.

Outside the town, in the opposite direction of the main gate, smoke begins to rise from the trees. It starts as a brush fire, but quickly develops into a roaring inferno that begins engulfing the trees, maliciously crackling and licking on the heels of the fleeing wildlife. Then a shape emerges slowly from the center, stepping through the flames as if they were air.

The shape doesn't move for several moments...then a bone-chilling sound erupts from the edge of the woods. A guttural piercing cry, crackling like coals but louder than cannon fire. Trees protest and snap as the shape fully emerges, a red scaled dragon with flames flickering from its teeth. Another piercing cry, then the dragon rips violently off the ground and begins speeding towards the town, quickly gaining altitude.

Balentyne's time has come.

Aurex will begin approaching, gaining high altitude. probably about 300 feet above the gates to make any potential archers have issues shooting him. He's going to see how they react before diving in.

I'm not sure what Jack was thinking, but I figured there was little reason to try and avoid them. We can just say we're headed to the tower to help take command.

Back in her disguise as Lydia, Soren strides confidently toward the the keep with her pistol out, doing her best to look the part as someone on the lookout for danger. Unless they stop her, she tells any soldiers she encounters that she's headed to the tower in order to help organize their defenses and take control. "Well, what's the plan?" She looks over at their fake Sir Balin, and runs her tongue along her teeth while in thought. "Should we sent them away from Aurex for the time being? It'll draw out the time until the potion takes effect, and it'll give Nate more breathing room before he runs into trouble. We can reconnect with Morana and Alice from there. We should find the magister and deal with him somehow as well. Perhaps send him and more men to the inn and see if he and the Lamashtans will wipe each other out?"

im not much of a bluffer. Does Morana have ideas how to loose the people in the kitchen? Attacking them would give us away too soon

That was basically my plan, yeah.

"Plan?" Jack said, confused that he was being asked. He must have accidentally had a good idea at some point. "Well, we don't want them to get organized. So we spread 'em out. Have 'em tackle more than one problem at a time. Split them between the dragon and the fires and hunting for cultists."

"The Magister's the big problem. Maybe we can get him alone for a strategy meeting or something?"

The Tower Kitchens

Soren and Grumble

As you both head away from the Inn to circle back to the gate, the townsfolk begin to mill about, many head to the Inn where smoke starts to rise as the fire will soon rage out of control no doubt. They go there mostly out of curiosity you assume as none are prepared to fight a fire. Others are merely going about their day not realizing that their freedom from Mitran enslavement is at hand. They nod and wave now, used to the presence of both of you in town for weeks now.

In your two forms, you both walk to the gate and encounter the squad of soldiers, 25 in number entering the gates. The leader, not a Captain you both notice, smiles at you both.

"Inquisitor, Sir Jack. We were informed that there was trouble at the Black Ice Inn, did you encounter any? We could certainly use your help!"

Nate

Note that Nate cannot sit in the woods where the Bugbears would arrive as that is the other side of the river and you would need to cross that or go through the Tower to do so. Let's assume you head through the south gate and await there for Aurex instead.

I'll introduce Aurex after Soren and Grumble move past the guards.

"That's why we're here." Jack said briskly. "This is bigger than we anticipated. By the time the two of us got there to support Father Donnegan and the Magister, the cultists had scattered. We found Donnegan's body there, along with about a dozen Ballenyne soldiers. No sign of the Magister though. Is he here?"

Soren and Grumble

"No Sir Jack, he is at the Tower seeking Lord Havelyn. Unfortunately, Lord Havelyn and Captain Barhold are out ranging seeking out Captain Varning's rangers. I am Tynen and for now the leader of this group. The Magister is in charge of the Tower for now so I doubt he would lave as the highest ranking member left within its walls.

The trouble is here... wait, is that smoke coming from the town, the woods, or both?"

As you both look in his direction you can see that the Black Ice Inn is now burning as the smoke begins to rise. Smoke also comes from the woods and you both know why... Aurex will no doubt soon make his appearance.

"Good." Balin said approvingly. Then he looked over his shoulder. "The inn was on fire when we left it. The townsfolk are rallying to put it out, but it could be spreading. With the cultists tak8ng action the fire cannot be our priority. It is a distraction. Aldencross will have to handle it themselves."

"What are your current orders, Tynan?"

Soren and Grumble

Tynan sighs, "Well, I suspect we should split our forces in three, leave one group here to guard the gate and send the other two in two separate columns to attack the Black Ice Inn from opposite sides.

Perhaps you and the Inquisitor can investigate the fires on the other side of the walls?"

"Good lad. Once the Inn is secure, sweep for looters and signs of the cultists. Don't get bogged down fighting fires. While you're putting one out two more are going to pop up. Don't lose focus. That's what they want." Sir Balin said. "Make it happen."

He turned on his heel and headed into the fortress with Lydia.

My tooth ache is gone and I had a good nights sleep! Hooray!

Alice will help the kitchen crew with cleaning up, making small talk. She will try to convince them one by one to have a lie down if they dont feel so good, stating that she and Morana can take over some of the tasks.
Hopefully this will either make them all leave eventually, or leave few enough of them left to more easily overpower them.

Soren and Grumble

You both reach the forest, the opposite side of course of where you wanted to be but it will be easy enough to circumnavigate the outside gate and move back in the direction of the Tower. As you start to move around to the north, a shadow passes overhead...

AUREX & Nate

Nate watches from his current hiding spot (the southern woods) as Aurex launches into the air. The morning sunlight dully reflects off of his magnificent scales.

After being stuck for so long in that skinsuit prison, it felt quite good to have Soren finally cast the spell to reveal his true form. The Cardinal's spell even allowed Aurex to delay the onset long enough to reach the woods with his human, quite clever this evil Cleric.

The townsfolk, finally awake and moving about for what they did not realize would be their last day of enslavement to life, look up at your presence. Many look slack jawed, others panic and begin to scatter about.

Aurex can see that Soren and Grumble are now making their way around the town walls to the north, obviously they were re-routed for some reason from their initial path.

The Lamashtans are nowhere to be seen, perhaps they have used magic to hide their presence?

His current targets, the soldiers, stand within the gate and have split into three squads. One near the gate, 5 in number, and two squads of 10 using alternate routes to get to the Black Ice Inn. They look up at you so high in the sky and unlike the townsfolk, reach for their ranged weapons...

The Tower Kitchens - Alice and Morana

Mama too seems concerned about what is taking place, "I can help the girls as well. So strange..."

Each of you give me a Bluff check.

"Maybe its nerves? I dont know how long its been peaceful here. But without the proper training I have received I would be weak in the knees as well."

bluff: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (9) + 3 = 12

Bluff: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (10) + 8 = 18

"It's perfectly reasonable. Just sit and rest a moment."