Elijah, seeing his newfound comrades attack, he likewise moves up and attacks the guard.
Wanting to make sure the guards can't escape, Luaksz steps into the room and incants "Con grasa ibn snare!" as he points in the direction of the two guards, suddenly, the ground becomes slick as a thick layer of grease covers the floor at their feet.
Zed, not being one who idles easily, had a hard time waiting alone in the cell block. Perhaps half an hour into the wait, he crept to the cell in which the group had stashed the unconscious guard, and peered in. He imagined tormenting the guard, ultimately cutting his throat... and envisioned the man's hot blood spraying through the air, beautifully spattering the wall with its vivid crimson...
Zed shook out of his reverie after but a moment and returned to his vigil by the door, the prisoner unmolested... for now.
...
That's it! We're on! Zed throws open the door at the sound of action, and rushes in, with sword drawn. He attacks the guard by the hearth.
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Lukasz
The first guard slips and falls, the second being still at the top of the stairs slips and falls down the stairs for
Grumblejack
The Ogre waits to see what you all do first (i.e. he'll delay until after all your turns
Elijah
Elijah stabs the guard as he falls, easily wounding the tumbling guard.
Rei
Rei clips the mantlepiece and as the guard falls prone her blow is wild.
Angelica
?
Zed
Rushes in and strikes the guard
Jericho
slams his fist into the guard with incredible power, and smashes him into the wall.
Grumblejack-delayed
Seeing you all spring into effective action, Grumblejack, crashes into the room , crushing the other prone guard easily.
Guard1 (taken 17dmg)- downed
Guard2 (taken 15dmg + 2 nonlethal) - downed
Both down before they even got a chance to react.
These guards are equipped much as the previous ones, though one has evidently brought cards and dice, you're not sure how long you have now before someone begins to wonder when the previous guards are going to arrive back from their shift?
Elijah will smile at the handy work done by him and his fellow escapees.
I saw we take what we can or need. Destroy what we don't. And dispose of these guards so they don't come back to cause us trouble. In term of where to go next, perhaps the kitchen. Perhaps the cooks can help us to escape? Elijah ponders, waiting for the greased floor to become more stable to walk upon.
"Aye, we'll dispose of these, but from I get, they're not dead...yet. can we quickly bring them back to consciousness to question them or no?"
"In the meantime, let's change two more of us to guards clothes also. I'll take this." - Jericho adds almost as an afterthought, grabbing one of the clubs from the downed guards.
Checking the situation, Lukasz says, "I am unsure what these guards will know that will be of use to us that the other didn't already tell us. If you wish, question one, but don't take too much time, we won't have long before others wonder where the last set of guards went." Lukasz will help get the guards' bodies into the prison cells before meeting up in the guard room once more, ready to advance down the stairs.
"Wow. We managed to take them out quickly!"
Feeling for a pulse on the fallen guards, and finding one, he adds, "I know it's distasteful, but can we afford to leave them behind alive?"
"I don't believe we should. Leaving one alive is already risk. The chance that three of them won't wake up before we're clear is to much to take. Even waking one carries the risk of them calling out."
After pondering the situation for a moment, she adds "The workers in the kitchen may be a good choice. The one expressing some sympathy, I believe her name was Myrtle, should be more easily manipulated with the right words and magic."
"If need be I can scout ahead down the stairs before we head out. We should definitely move quickly at this point."
Looking at Rei, Jericho just simply nods before approaching the fallen guards. With his immense strength it is simple a matter of moments before he is able to crush the neck of one and then another, and few short seconds later both of them are knocking at heaven's door. Jericho picks up the dice and a set of cards from a dead guard before addressing Rei:
"You are right. Go and see what is there."
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The grease spell fades as you talk, clearing the stairs.
Rei slips downstairs and finding nothing of interest in the stairwell room (a single sconce mounted torch lights it), she cracks open the door a little and notes two guards down the other end of the corridor.
(Map updated, I've blocked off some areas that you're not supposed to know the layout of yet, the maps still editable so if you really wanted to there's nothing stopping you peeking, but whatever).
Anyone taking the additional armour/uniforms?
"If no one objects, I'll take one of our dearly departed friend's armor and uniform. I'm not much of an archer, but we should probably take those longbows and arrows, too. I'd also be happy to hand this shield over to someone else, so I have my hands free. Also, we should take, or at least hide, our prison uniforms. Once they realize we're not in our cells, they probably won't expect us to be wearing regular clothing."
Veil: Angelica
Travelers Outfits (6): 1 each, except Grumblejack
Thieves Tools (masterwork): Rei
Daggers (2): Rei, Lukasz
Longswords (4): Zed, Elijah, ?, ?
Clubs (4): Angelica, Grumblejack, Jericho, ?
Chain Shirts (4): Elijah, Jericho, Zed, ?
Uniforms (4): Elijah, Jericho, Zed, ?
Heavy Steel Shields (2): Zed, ?
Longbows (2): ?, ?
Quiver w/ 20 arrows (2): ?, ? (presumably with someone who takes a bow)
Signal Horn: Zed
Cell Keys: Rei
Small Keys: Rei
6' length of chain: Zed
Manacles (6): Zed, ?
Empty Sack: ?
Dice: ?
Playing cards: ?
Items remaining in the veil of useful items:
A lantern
A coil of rope
a Window
A potion
A pile of coins
A symbol of Asmodeus
Returning quickly back up the stairs, Rei looks slightly annoyed. "Well, there appears to only be one hall down there with two guards directly at the end of it. There's a door to the left and right, but my guess is the right door goes through some other room before coming to the kitchen."
"Essentially, if we want to get through the kitchen, we'll need to eliminate the guards in the hall silently, as I'm not sure how to sneak our little troupe by them otherwise. Especially since it's not possible to fit 10lbs of potatoes into a 5lb sack." As she finishes, she glances briefly at the fireplace.
Angelica, who has been oddly quiet for a while, chimes in. "If we can spare it, I could make use of some armor and a shield."
Veil: Angelica
Unholy symbol of Asmodeus: Angelica
Travelers Outfits (6): 1 each, except Grumblejack
Thieves Tools (masterwork): Rei
Daggers (2): Rei, Lukasz
Longswords (4): Zed, Elijah, ?, ?
Clubs (4): Angelica, Grumblejack, Jericho, ?
Chain Shirts (4): Elijah, Jericho, Zed, Angelica
Uniforms (4): Elijah, Jericho, Zed, ?
Heavy Steel Shields (2): Elijah, Angelica
Longbows (2): Elijah, ?
Quiver w/ 20 arrows (2): Elijah, ? (presumably with someone who takes a bow)
Signal Horn: Zed
Cell Keys: Rei
Small Keys: Rei
6' length of chain: Zed
Manacles (6): Zed, Jericho (2)
Empty Sack: Jericho
Dice: Jericho
Playing cards: Jericho
Items remaining in the veil of useful items:
A lantern
A coil of rope
a Window
A potion
A pile of coins
Catching Rei's meaning, Zed glances at the ogre, looks back at Rei, and shrugs his shoulders.
"Hmm. With two more guards to take out... Do you think we could lure them back here to dispose of them? I'd rather the alarm not be raised so early in our escape..."
"You're right Rei, some things can not fit. However, that does not mean that he could not leave through the front door once we take care of the rest. Let's see...these seem well trained. I'm off the opinion that we might lure one, but not both of them. Do any of you have any more sorcery available?"
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The armour has a helm and coif, which might obscure with some distance.
There's virtually no natural light in the corridor and only a couple of torches burning, so the light is if anything poorer in the corridor than it was upstairs (where there some small windows). (I've added rough light radius' to the map). Torch light is actually pretty poor (only gives dim light) so you could possibly get a little closer, depending on how far you want to push your luck.
The squares are 10', so the corridor is actually pretty long, though two of you could probably step into the light and then charge the remaining 60ft or so.
Also while the doors are quite sturdy and will probably block some sound, you know there are others on this floor, who may well hear a proper fight.
"Actually, now might be a good time for Angelica to show off her disguise illusion. With her leading, two of you may be able to get far enough to peek into the adjoining rooms and see how many others are around."
"I have a glamour that will change we to appear as one of these unfortunates," Angelica remarks, gesturing at the murdered guards. "I won't have their voice, but it should be easy enough to make them come up here if they aren't expecting it."
Zed chimes in to Jericho's question, "I can conjure up distracting noises, but I can't quite control it enough to make intelligible speech. If you want voices, the best I could do is make genreal moaning, whispering, or murmuring sounds. I have another trick that can make someone 'zone out' for a moment and not quite notice what's going on about him. I also have a trick I can use to convince someone that I'm an old and dear friend that they just haven't seen in a while. And, for my final trick, I can infuse someone with abject fear, such that they feel compelled to run away from me." He pauses with a grin. "I once used that last one to win a duel, albeit on a technicality."
He continues, seemingly enjoying being the center of attention while he talks about himself, "You've seem me conjure up a passable fiddle. When I actually play music, I can infuse some magic into the tune. I can make people stop what they're doing and focus on my song; and I can play a rousing tune that could help all of you feel more confident about what you were already doing... be it fighting, or building something, or whatever."
"I believe I have some sorcery still available to me, some of which you have already seen. I can charm someone and lay out a sheet of grease that can hamper movement or coat an item. However, I must get closer before I can use it effectively on those guards." Having listened to the options proposed, Lukasz continues with, "I feel our best bet is to try to draw them from their posts. With a bit of acting, the lovely Angelica here should be able to draw one of them close enough to let Zed or I ensnare him with our magic. Otherwise, with a bit of acting, Angelica might convince them to rush up here, where we will be waiting."
Scratching his chin, Jericho weights in on their options. "I do not think that we can lure both of them in. One might come, but if they had any proper training, the other will remain on his post, and probably raise an alarm the second he sees something happening. Even if he does not raise an alarm, can we dispose of them quickly and silently enough so the others do not hear?"
Not really waiting for an answer to his hypothetical question, the big man continues: "We can either release the ogre to charge them, and use that as a diversion, while we try to escape through the chimney/kitchen, or...or we might try the following. Two of us try to approach them, masquerading as guards, with our hoods on and everything. We play drunk, humming some dirty tunes or something. Humming, not shouting as to alert anyone. One of us actually carries another, a bit before we hit the light area we slip or something showing them to come and get us from the floor. Maybe act some vomiting or something - one stops to vomit, the other one holding his head while a few coins dangle on the floor. We're so drunk/busy/preoccupied we do not see the coins. Hopefully, one or two of them reach for coins. Than we hit them - hard and fast. If someone's good with bow and arrows, he hides in ambush on the other side. Anything goes wrong, put an arrow through guards throat. Things go real bad - release ogre. Maybe Rei and one more person go down the chimney - if things start to look bad, either hit them from behind, or try to escape. Whatever you choose."
Elijah, listens to the big man's thoughts, and weighs them carefully.
Well, if we go the guards route, I could be a guard. I am not the best actor, but can possibly remember something from my childhood. Either than, or we try and use the Ogre. but I think the ogre could be more valuable to use towards the later stages when near the exit causing a disturbance...thoughts all
Zed smiles at Jericho's plan. "I think it's brilliant! I knew a pirate would appreciate high drama!"
He then glances at Grumblejack to see how he reacts to being discussed as if he weren't standing right there, hoping that the ogre is still too drugged-up to notice.
Leaning closer, and whispering so that only Jericho and Elijah can hear, "I agree on using our large friend as a weapon at the end. Once we're out of this prison, I'm afraid that he might might become more of a liability than an asset..."
"That sounds like as good a plan as any. If you can get them to come at least half-way down the hall, it'll probably be close enough for Lukasz to use magic on them. In the meantime Zed and I can drop down into the kitchen and attempt to gain control of or disable the cooks"
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So the plan is?
Jericho and Elijah play drunk to lure guards away from the door.
Rei and Zed drop down the fireplace, and deal with the occupants.
Lukasz, Angelica and Grumblejack lurk in the room at the bottom of the stairs to sort the guards when they're close enough?
If that's all correct, you can make Bluff or Disguise checks to play drunk.
If your trying to drop down the fireplace and don't have a pair of the guards boots on I'll need an Acrobatics check to avoid burning your feet on the hot coals.
Making sure that his helm is on, and coif pulled as low as possible, Jericho makes minor adjustments to his guards uniform to further accentuate his drunkenness. Weaving unsteadily on his feet, holding his arm over Elijah's shoulder, Jericho hums very quietly a typical drunken ditty. Stepping slowly and groggily, they proceed down the corridor hugging it's right side (opposite of the torch on the left wall). When they reach a point of some 20-30 feet from the guards, Jericho will stoop in order to simulate vomiting, at the same time managing to "accidentally" spill few coins on the ground.
Elijah, will double check himself to make sure everything is in order. Although he may have been a proud member of the guard, that was in a past life. He looks at Jericho and gives a sly smile, and a look of determination in his eyes.
When Jericho starts in on he drunken routine, Elijah follows suit, and plays the drunkard's help, concealing his face as much as possible.
Rei looks at Zed and asks "Ready?"
Climbing into the fireplace, she lowers herself down until she can hear if the cooks are still in the kitchen.
Not hearing anything, she drops and pushes off, attempting to quietly tumble over the hot coals to avoid burning herself.
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Elijah and Jericho stagger down the corridor, making a reasonable impression of being drunk, as he retches against the wall, one of the guards rushes over to him, while the other smirks and approaches more slowly.
Meanwhile, Rei slips out of the fireplace, unfortunately the servants are pottering around the kitchen still and she's unable to drop immediately into cover.
They are still surprised so you get an action before they can react. Zed will presumably be a moment behind you, the male servant is sweeping the floor while the female servant appears to be sewing one of the guards uniforms. Neither have any weapons or armour (unless you count a broom and a sewing needle) though there are kitchen knives, rolling pins and brooms around.
Rei takes only a moment to size up the situation after tumbling into the room.
Not good, need to convince them to stay calm and quiet long enough for the others to help the guards in the hall.
Without missing a beat, Rei begins to put on an act. Speaking with a quiet urgency, she addresses the two kitchen servants. "Please, stay quiet, the guards upstairs... they're monsters. The things they were doing..." Rei winces at the thought of the imaginary acts. "For the love of Mitra, don't make me go back up there! If there's even an ounce of compassion in your hearts hold still your tongues!" As she finishes she drops to her knees and holds her hands out in supplication before looking over her shoulder with a look of terror.
Still wobbling on his feet, Jericho continues his ruse for a few more moments, before making his move. Judging it is time to act, he springs into action closing the distance to the other (slower) guard. He raises his hand for a terrible punch...
...but misses awfully.
Sweat beginning to form on Pavo's brow as he expels more of his arcane might, muttering, "May the magic of my unknown gift coat the world in grease," as he pointed to the area where the guards stood. The ground beneath their feet suddenly turns slick as grease springs from nonexistence.
Taking Rei's lead, and realizing that he's wearing a guard uniform, Zed stays in the chimney, waiting for the reaction of the kitchen staff to Rei's bluff.
Elijah, seeing the rouse work, lashes out with his blade hoping to draw blood.
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Jericho lunges, though his swing is wide while Elijah lunges forwards with his blade, slashing a guard.
The nearest guard slips down onto the ground prone, while the other unsteadily keeps his feet.
Initiative Order:
Jericho (19)
Elijah (15)
Rei (13)
Lukasz (6)
Angelica (5)
Zed (4)
Guards (3)
Elijah, seeing one of the guards prone, lashes out at the prone guard. He hopes to end their miserable life.
He times the slashing of the blade, with the moment she stands to her feet. She is up, for mere seconds, before Elijah's blade crosses from one side of her throat sliding effortlessly across to the other side. He blood spills out onto the floor, covering Eliah's feet. She doesn't have enough time to gasp for her last breath, as the cut was clean, precise, and perfect.
Elijah, looks at her lifeless body, and her leg twitches occasionally from a firing neuron. Otherwise, her body is still, and Elijah grins from ear to ear. Happy with his work, he looks to capitalize on the shear terror, hoping his comrades can finish off the other guard before they get privy to their plan.
Angry at himself that he missed the first time, Jericho steps forward hoping to use the advantage of surprise, hoping to crush the guard beforehe could raise an alert.
So focused on his swing, Jericho does not even notice small drops of blood from the guard Elijah just killed falling on his boots unceremoniously.
Turning back to the two servants, she continues talking to them as she closes the distance between them slowly "Mitra bless you! Bless you! Please help us, all I ever did was steal to feed my family. I... No one deserves what those guards did to us."
Rei turns around and says "It's safe Zed, come down, we're saved!"