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"The source is rather beyond question. This information is the result of magical scrying.
I had the same thought as you earlier. What if she simply decided to kidnap herself?
However, the scrying revealed that she was restrained, though as of yet unharmed.
At the moment, I suspect Tercio himself most of all. Still, open eyes and an open mind...
Tell us of this location, please."
-Posted with Wayfinder
The captain cocks an eyebrow. "Magical scrying, eh? That's an impressive amount of preparation, I can tell you guys are professionals. Maybe when I retire from the Guard one day I should try to join your society.
As for the location - well, there was this family once - Sauer was their name. They were the original owners of the land on which the town and the vineyards are situated, dating back centuries. And they did not take kindly to their birthright being denied to them by the People's Revolt. All of the local nobles got a choice - renounce their titles and live like the common folk, like Andares did, or leave the country.
Lady Moxana Sauer, by then a venerable widow and the last scion of the family, chose exile, but on the night before the state commissioners were due to requisition their property - a beautiful villa on the town outskirts, surrounded by rich vineyards and orchards - all of it has caught fire, the blaze illuminating half of the town and the smoke seen from the nearby towns. Nobody has seen or heard of the Sauers ever since.
In the following years, some enterprising folks tried to squat the lands but nobody was able to grow anything on there and the site has stood abandoned for decades now. It is widely rumored that the spirits of the bitter nobles still haunt the charred ruin and their former land.
I have seen a lot of local bandits and ruffians over the years - all of them are superstitious folk and even the most ruthless cutthroats hush their voices when mentioning it. If Thalia is indeed held there - I can assure you she did not come willingly and was not taken there by a local person - if it was a person at all.
I'll give you the directions to the place, but please do exercise caution! I suggest you go there as soon as you can - both to stay ahead of any possible conspirators and to not linger at that place after dark."
Following the Captain's lead, you leave the tavern and head away from the town centre into the surrounding vineyards. After a considerable trek amid the fields of well-tended grapevines, you reach a barren stretch of land, a sharp contrast to the surrounding areas. At the center of the waste, at the end of an ill-kept path, sits a large stone villa in the old Chelish style that has partially collapsed as the result of fires long-since extinguished. Rotted timbers and soot flank scorched bone-white walls, and collapsed piles of blackened wood are all that remain of additions to the north and south ends of the main hall. Rain-slicked bare earth extends approximately three hundred feet away from the house in all directions.
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Quietly, to the team, Jacques exclaims, "Well, there it is. Hard to believe anyone would go into that building willingly even without the superstitions.
Let's do a quick perimeter sweep before we approach the building."
Keeping to the treeline, Jacques will lead the party around the building. Bow is out, with an arrow nocked. He will scan the trees as he moves and check out any available approaches to the house, noting if any have more cover from people inside the house than any other.
The path leads west to the main entrance porch. The front door is closed. Jacques sees that the ruins of the north and south wings provide ample opportunities for cover from all sides.
You circle around the structure across the wasteland, your feet slurping in the mud created by the relentless rain. You see no obvious signs of inhabitance; if anyone has approached the structure recently, the rain muddied the tracks.
As you approach within 60 feet of the structure, Zorahas begins to concentrate on the magical auras surrounding the structure - but feels nothing.
You cautiously resume your approach when suddenly Zorahas notices a shadow shifting slightly in the north wing ruins, hinting at somebody hiding behind a pile of rubble!
Zorahas' firebolt leaves a scorch mark on a nearby stone, and a hooded head momentarily appears over the pile, shouting: "Stooges of the cleptocracy! Turn back or die!", before letting loose an arrow and diving back for cover.
The arrow pierces Zorahas' scales, leaving a painful but otherwise not too dangerous wound.
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"Kleptocracy? You dare accuse others of stealing when you have stolen an innocent girl out of her home?!?
As for you initial assumption that we are tools of the ruling class, I assure you that we are not. We support the Common Rule and the rights of Andorans to select their own leadership.
We do not respect the rights of kidnappers, regardless of their "higher motivation".
Throw down your arms and allow us into the house or get a feather in your eye."
Jacques moves forward, pulls back his bowstring and awaits a response. Ready an attack if he attempts to shoot another arrow.
Another hooded figure pops out from the southern part of the ruins, shooting an arrow at Elemenar:
But the magical barrier deflects it.
The second man cries out from behind his cover:
"Fools! A noble is never innocent for she feeds on the sweat and blood of countless victims oppressed by her kin! And your Common Rule is but a ruse for the sheeple like you!"
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"We are not adherents of the Common Rule! We are not affiliated with the Andoran government. We have come to find the missing girl and we don't care for your politics beyond that. If you can help us find her, we will deal with you peacefully."
He maintains a threatening pose but is willing to back off if the enemies do.
The top ruffian trains his bow at the rapidly approaching Criscius, and both Zorahas and Jacques fire at him - and hit, despite the cover.
The man shoots at Criscius but then retreats, clutching his wounded and burned side, and hides behind the door into the surviving section of the building.
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"Fools! A noble is never innocent for she feeds on the sweat and blood of countless victims oppressed by her kin! And your Common Rule is but a ruse for the sheeple like you!"
"Let me understand. You hate the Andares because they are former nobles, yet you also hate the Common Rule which eliminated the nobility.
What are you? Anarchists?
Well, let us show you the natural end to Anarchy."
Jacques moves to get in line with the other figure and fires his bow.
Jacques' shot misses, eliciting a cackle from the hooded man.
The man shoots at Criscius but then retreats
Inside the house, Criscius finds the wounded man who has torn off a piece of his clothing and tries to use it as a makeshift bandage to stop the bleeding, and another man with a bow at the front door. The man turns to face him, surprised, and shoots point-blank:
But he is too quick to fire and misses, then drops his bow and draws a sword, readying himself for close-quarters action.
The man in the southern wing shoots at Jacques:
His arrow misses and he retreats inside the house too, but not before quipping: "I don't care who is Andares, I hate all the nobles equally! Common Rule is a sham, the people can only be freed through revolution!"
The wounded man steps away from Criscius and gulps down a potion, then draws his longsword.
Even after the healing he is still in great pain and doesn't look particularly eager to fight.
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"I think you are right Elemenar. After all, they seem to not even know the identity of the girl they kidnapped."
Jacques is not keen to enter the fray physically, so he steps up to the broken window and looses an arrow at the Thug standing directly in front of him.
(partial cover will apply, I think)
Jacques expertly sends an arrow right into the thug's collarbone, getting most of the fight out of him.
Criscius' sword pierces a vital organ and the thug collapses with a terrible gurgling cry, a crimson puddle slowly forming under him.
At this moment, a voice from above shouts in a thick Galtan accent:
"Enough with the cold-blooded murder! Tell me, why did you come here, attacking us?"
As Criscius turns around and looks up, attempting to trace the voice, he sees an olive-skinned young man in a long red woolen coat standing on top of the stairs. He is holding an end of the rope in one hand, and a large and sharp sword in the other hand. The two surviving thugs pause in hesitation.
"Then you are here for the same reason as we. Unfortunately for you we have found her first and we are detaining her for attempted escape from the Revolutionary Tribunal. The justice of the working class has long arms!"
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Jacuqes has carefully picked his way through the rubble on the outside of the house and is attempting to sneak into position at the open doorway.
...but the rubble shift under his feet.
Hearing the words "Revolutionary Tribunal", Jacques is confident that this conversation is only going to end in bloodshed, but is worried about the health of the Andares girl. Taking out the boss on the steps is going to be important.
"We have tracked and detained her as an escaped fugitive from the Red Revolution at the behest of our employer, who has insisted on remaining uninvolved for security reasons. We do not know the details of her charge, but there is little variance when it comes to Revolutionary Tribunals - exploitation of workers, counterrevolution, sabotaging the expropriation of property - I've yet to see a noble who hasn't admitted to at least one of these capital crimes after a few days in the care of the Grey Gardeners."
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Enough talk. You can't reason with Galtans, their logic is a self-procreating loop.
Take the shot
"You would confess to being your own father after a few days with the Grey Gardners. Let's just get this over with, and leave the zealotry at the door, shall we?"
Step back 5-feet and ready the above shot miss for when any enemy comes in range.