After a brief, quiet exchange with the 'paravicar', Kiddrik nods and moves off into the courtyard below. He finds a place out of the way and watches, paying attention to the back-and-forth of the discrete hand-speak ... and even trying to follow Kage's eyes at the mention of the Sewers.
Interesting, he thinks, the sewers may, indeed, be the quickest escape.
The Blackstone, from over his shoulder, reverberates a dark, ominous laugh into Kiddrik's mind as it projects images of filth and flotsam.
Yah, not much fun, he thinks back to the blade, but that may be as much a deterrent for pursuers as it is to us.
Shaking his head at the mental jab from his blade, Kidd leans back against the stage, watching those around him to gauge their reaction to what is playing out above.
One of the Hellknights yanks off the hood of the man strapped to the chair, revealing a round face with pronounced jowls, blinking against the light. Sweat beads on his bald pate as he focuses on Eris, her entourage, then at the figure on the balcony. He wets his lips as he shifts futilely to find a more comfortable position on the rigid chair. He makes a quick glance to the Hellknights standing on either side of him.
Looking again at Eris, he sags. I've told you... He draws in a breath and says louder, directed toward Haelcant, I told you, he looks straight at Myra with sorrow and sympathy. I will not betray my little ones.
Those looking at Haelcant see him steeple his fingers together, watching intently.
Myra's eye twitches. Of course he has to be a halfling lover... she thinks as a cold rage begins to boil in her stomach. Keep it cool, Myra. You swore an oath to He Who Walks in Blood. You don't get to choose who dies. The halfling 'slave' grasps her hands tightly together in front of her waist, keeping her eyes low.
The expression on the face of Eris turns from a stern one, into an expression of extreme boredom. "If you think I'm going to waste my time repeating the same questions over and over, then you have another thing coming. I'm a busy women, and one way or another, you WILL tell me what I wish to know"
With a gesture, Eris indicates the prisoner and motions for someone with the skilled bladework necessary to input a little bit of pain into the prisoner in the hope of being more co-operative.
Silently Kage uncoils some silken rope he's been carrying, one end of which is tied into a hangman's knot. Casually he slips the noose over the prisoner's neck and tightens it before looping it under the legs of the seat. While undoubtedly frightening for the prisoner, the rope's true purpose is to provide an escape route. If that escape route breaks his neck, well so much the better. Kage studies the man under his unblinking bloodshot eyes, thinking 'I despise these theatrics, my corpse deserves a clean death as demanded by holy Achaekek. Still my brothers and sisters deserve a clean escape even more. I must play the part if only for a few moments longer...'
Slowly at first Kage pulls the rope taught, forcing the man's neck back into the seat and compressing it uncomfortably. Satisfied that the man is rendered truly helpless, Kage looks at Eris as if to say, shall we end this farce?
As the "show" begins, Haelcant touches a crystal on a small pedestal next to his seat. Suddenly, there is a shimmer in the air that fades almost instantly.
Portuni simply sets his jaw and looks defiant at Eris, though he occasionally flicks pleading glances to Myra. The beads of sweat swiftly turn into rivulets when Kage affixes the rope around his neck.
Before much else can occur, the elder Hellknight clears his throat. Excuse me, Paravicar. I hate to interrupt just as you're getting started, but I want to ask you something. What was the last opera we attended together?
The two Hellknights standing upon the Confessional turn their helmeted heads toward you.
Ghiv watches, waiting for the moment his allies in Blood need him.
Mama's expression gets grim as she sees the zone of truth getting activated. She moves with practices casualness, surreptitiously signing a warning in the red hand while pulling out her whip (using every bit of inspiration she can to keep it concealed under a fold of her cloak).
Her message-- :: Zone of Truth. Will get bad fast. Time to kill and run ::
_______________
Hard to know if guessing is allowed or not.
Kage catches Mama Bess's message, and thinks 'Oh hells! I didn't feel a thing, what's going on down there?'
He glances but it's all a blur and he has eyes only for the prize Portuni... 'It is my holy mission to kill this man. The guild has asked and I shall deliver.' Kage leans in to whisper to the man, "Fear not, for your little ones. We're not here for them, no we're here to free your soul." And with that, he draws a sword and gives the man the quickest and cleanest death he is able to deliver.
Kage will check to see if he's dead - if not he'll do it again.
Knowing that that s**t just hit the proverbial fan, Kage vanishes and uses the rope to climb down. Hopefully Eris and Myra can get down that way too.
Yamyra is caught unawares as Kage stabs Portuni in the throat, but she knows the game is up. Not seeing any reason to stick around with their target apparently dead, she heads for the underbelly of the Confessional as quickly as possible. What the f*#~!? Why did he do that? I really need to learn that Red Hand thingy. I feel like I'm walking around deaf.
Eris opens her mouth to hazard a guess to the Hellknight's question, but nothing comes out. There's a long moment of silence as everyone paying attention to the stage waits for a response. That silence is interrupted by Kage drawing his serrated blade across Portuni's neck.
Blood spills freely and the life in the portly man's eyes fades. With that, everyone erupts into motion.
Haelcant shouts, standing to lean against the balcony's railing. His voice travels across the courtyard, setting the armigers scrambling in action.
Bess has her whip out and readied to assist any of her fellow assassins on the ground.
Myra slides down the rope effortlessly, rather than trying to climb it.
The two Hellknight guards upon the Confessional brandish their halberds, then swing at the assassin who slew their prisoner.
Kage is unable to twist away from the two Hellknights, and their halberds deal heavy blows. He falls back and slides down the rope easily, reaching the ground along with splatters of his own blood.
>> Kage's AC is +4 for both attacks against him
Mama looks up as Kage murders the man who had helped countless halfling slaves escape. Portuni was a good man. Thank Achaekek that Kage was at least able to grant him a clean death.
Mama forces herself to exhale as things spring into action. She stands by the machinery, ready to jump down below...but waiting first to see if her family members need any aid from her.
Eris blasts any guards close to her with a quickfire Color Spray (DC 17), before retreating backwards to meet up with allies, casually blowing Haelcant a kiss as she does so.
The savage cut's from the Hellknight's burn like acid, but this doesn't stop Kage from feeling a certain sense of satisfaction. The guild asked and Kage delivered, with a little help from his friends. It was particularly gratifying that none of the Asmodean theatrics where allowed to interfere with the sacred rite of murder. Portuni's secrets died with him.
Still the harder part was now to come, escape. Kage vanishes and starts moving towards the lower levels.
Ghiv leaps into action moving swiftly towards the entrance to the sewers/mechanism. He attempts to look unobtrusive.
As these things often do, the actual Act went down quickly. Not what I would have done, thinks Kiddrik as he scrambles for the best next step, but the deed was done cleanly. Focus on the next tasks … survival and extraction.
Kiddrik gives Haelcant a dubious look as he springs into action. The man is quick, Kiddrik thinks as he draws out the Blackstone, have to be careful of that.
The young assassin slides to a halt next to Bess, helping her hold the sewer portal as the others try to make their escape.
”This is certainly one way of doing it,” he says with a cold half-grin, his strange blade at the ready. His voice has a challenging tone, ”Now to see how good we really are.”
Ghiv will throw the lever as soon as his brothers in blood are clear.
One of the guards reels from the riot of colors as Eris grabs the rope and slides down awkwardly, but avoids landing too hard.
The Hellknights scattered about in the courtyard move to interpose themselves between the assassins and the gates. They form a line, drawing weapons and slowly advancing.
However, by blocking off the obvious escape route, they give the assassins ample time to drop into the gearworks below the stage. By the time Haelcant realizes they aren't trying for the gates and shouts for the guards to advance, Ghiv has thrown a lever reversing the stage mechanism. With a quick slap on the rump of a draft animal, the stage begins descending.
The light of day is shut out as the heavy stage lowers. The Hellknight guards pull up as the Confessional slams down with a heavy thud.
It is completely dark beneath the stage, but you appear to have a few minutes before the Hellknights raise the stage again.
Yamyra dons her Mask of the Mantis and activates its ability to see in the darkness. "Is everyone okay?"
A moment after Yamyra’s question, a small stone winks alight, orbiting Kiddrik’s head and lighting up the dark gear-works around them.
As he begins pulling out his own red mask, he watches Eris and Kage, waiting to see if there is anything he can do to expedite their recovery.
In the light from Kidd's stone, Mama looks around to make sure that all of her ducklings are here and accounted for. She smiles at the newcomer, saying "We didn't know we'd have help from within. Surprises are rarely good on a mission like this....but that one was most welcome!
"Time for introductions later. In the meantime, what do you know about how to escape from here?"
While they talk, she looks and listens to get a sense of her surroundings, searching for inspiration for a plan.
"No details, just information that a secret exit exists. There should be another exit around here, instead of the moat or the entrance we came in that I discovered, but its going to be difficult to find, and id rather not waste time searching for it unless we get cut off from our other escape attempts."
Battle instincts fading, Kage tries to slow his breathing. He checks the wounds he picked up and is rewarded with a fresh flash of pain. He winces and has a sharp intake of breath but manages to avoid crying out. Shaking his head he puts his mask on and tries to explain, "That wasn't exactly plan A, but the truth spell meant we were moments from disaster. I believe I had to act."
Wincing again he pauses before adding, "Eris is right need to get going. I'm hopeful we can find the tunnel to the redoubt. Leaving via the city feels too risky, the Hellknights will lock it down hard."
He totters up and starts searching for an exit.
Trying not to keep it obvious, Kage keeps a cautious eye on the newcomer, thinking 'Does he have a mask too? Why weren't we told about him?'
Mama looks over at Kage and sees how badly injured he is. "Hold on, dear," she says as she pulls out a blackwood wand with a blood red groove running from tip to base. She taps it to him once without effect and then tries again, causing a burgundy pulse to briefly wash over him.
"This wand is great but I still haven't quite got the hang of using it. Anyway, that should start the process of mending you up."
Kage flexes his wounded shoulder and nods his thanks to Mana Bess, "That's a very handy wand, thanks!"
Ghiv nods in greeting to his Brothers in Blood. The Masters sent me here many months ago as a forward scout...I only just learned of your imminent arrival. Forgive my lapse of planning. I have a stash of supplies nearby, the sewers were one of my escape routes.
Ghiv leads the party to his nearby stash, which includes food and water in case anyone needs. He places his mask on and also uses a charge to activate Darkvision.
We are going into the Citadel?
"Target is dead now. We need to get out of here as quickly as possible. Do you know the way..?" Ymayra asks Ghiv.
This way. What is our next target? Ghiv says as he leads his allies towards the Citadel.
With Kiddrik's ioun torch alight, the gearworks are illuminated while toothy shadows dance. The muffled shouts of Hellknights outside spur you down, deeper into the mighty clockworks. About halfway, Ghiv stops at a pile of spare gears and pushes one aside, revealing his stash. When the bottom is reached, you see grates in the floor where you get the sense that any rainwater that would sneak in gets carried off. There is also a heavy door along the north wall that would lead out into the dungeons beneath the Citadel.
The western wall of this lower chamber is made of bricked stone with crumbling masonry, and appears like the chamber used to extend further. There is an especially weak section on the far south side of the wall that could be broken open, although it would leave a fairly obvious hole. (Eris, you are able to orient yourself with the old map -- the western wall is not in your map)
Before the others open the door, Kage says "Wait up, there's something odd about the wall over there to the south."
He starts tapping the brickwork and finds it to be hollow. Inspecting the brickwork he says, "Shoddy brickwork here, hardly any mortar used. Look how loose these bricks are. I bet we could make a hole easily if we wanted... Eris you've seen the maps, will we have an easier escape from the otherside?"
Mama says, "It seems we have imperfect information here: Ghiv has explored some of the tunnels but not all the way to the exit, and going into the dungeon could be a dangerous route. Eris has seen maps of the older tunnels here...but it sounds like they don't quite map yet to what we see so we won't be sure of what we'll find.
"Either way is a gamble. I don't really like going into the dungeons, following the route Ghiv knows. I dislike the thought of leaving an obvious hole behind us too...but that may be a price worth paying.
"Here are my ideas: Option A, we go down these walled off paths--on the thought that they will lead to less populous and more fruitful exits. If we do so I'd suggest that one of us open the North door anyway, leave it ajar, and in fact leave some clear "tracks" heading that way a bit. Kage, do you think you could do that? That might at least create uncertainty about which way we've gone. With luck, it'll slow or divide our pursuers.
"Option B, we still open a hole here...but then we abandon it, taking Ghiv's path North through the dungeons...and hope that by opening this hole we've thrown off our pursuers completely."
Pausing a moment, she concludes, "I lean toward plan A here...but will go with the majority of my nephews and nieces. Or does someone see another option to explore?"
Weighing up the options Kage replies, "Good summary. I think I prefer plan A too."
"You always know what's best, Mama," Myra says.
Ghiv gives the halfling a nod As you wish Mistress.
With a practiced urgency, the assassins carefully remove enough bricks to allow them passage and make enough of a trail to hopefully mislead their pursuers into thinking they've left through the main door.
Once into the walled-off section, they work their way through a series of cobweb-infested, rubble-strewn passageways. Sections appear to have collapsed, and old timbers have braced weak ceilings. When the old citadel was razed to the ground, this area obviously suffered enough damage that when the reconstruction began, this area was reinforced and then abandoned.
The six figures steal silently through the ruined corridors, crawling under collapsed beams or stepping lightly over mounds of rubble. The map provides the barest guidance through this ominous place, but enough so they do not get disoriented.
After encountering a wholly collapsed corridor, they are forced to detour through an adjacent chamber. Its heavy iron-bound door was braced from the outside, but the map showed no other possible way except to go back.
Opening the door on its protesting hinges, the assassins see into the chamber beyond grates set into the floor -- an oubliette. An ominous pall hangs over the entire chamber.