Perhaps we could make it look like a simple robbery. Kill all the guard, smash up the bodies and dump them inside the wagon. Then burn it all. The bodies should be too badly burned and mixed up for them to realize one is missing. We would probably need a look out or two to make sure there's no one else around if we want to go that route. Or else kill whoever is unfortunate enough to also be in the area. They'll probably be dead before long anyway.
Creating false leads is an excellent idea, Wesh. The more confusion we generate, the more difficult it will be to assess what happened or why. I would add that we should dismember the bodies for additional effect. Humanoid bodies can be surprisingly difficult to burn beyond recognition.
The expression on Hel's face is one of dubiousness, but she gives a slight nod. Let's keep that as a fall-back. One of the first things Willow taught me is that the best crime is one that is never detected, though she did say that the second best is the one that's mistaken for something else. Perhaps we'll keep an eye out for a lone traveler we might turn into the girl's bones.
Jack nodded "As you say my Lady, I'll pack a few provisions as you need."
[i]I'll stick with my studded leather, it will serve me better then my full plate on this venture if we do it right. If we can not extract her unnoticed then at least we can catch them off guard."
You know that the wagon will likely have some kind of escort beyond the two driving it.
Based on how long your trip to get here was by boat, the trip from Balentyne to Branderscar will likely take at least 2 weeks over land, assuming the roads are clear of snow or mud.
If you can find a spot where you know they'll camp, that would probably be the best place to ambush them, especially if you can get there first.
"Crime is not commonplace in these lands. Trying to disguise an ambush as such is a bad plan I think. The will use magic to find what has happened. The plans should be as foolproof as possible against speaking with the dead. Much like my plan with the Captain's wife. We can simply take the wagon and anything left to Grumblejack. Checking in wouldn't hurt anyways. We can sink the wagon along with the boat and Grumble jack may appreciate the fresh man meat. We should be done here before anyone takes notice that they should have already returned."
Lutor will ask around about the singing stone men.
*************
If we believe they have divination magic, then I don't think it will matter much what we do to cover up the crime. But I suppose subtlety might keep them from employing such arcane techniques.
Wesh is starting to get a knack for this rumor-gathering thing.
Lutor listens, though not so not as keenly as he might.
"If we find what direction they are going we can plot a logical stopping place for camp. We can then set an ambush.
Lutor learns nothing, but Wesh finds something that may or may not be of value.
"Lord Havelyn is a good soul but so grim and gloomy. For so great a lord to be unhappy, he must be guilty about something!"
Good point, following their trail should be possible shouldn't it? From there we deduct.
Noooope!!
Hel nods in general agreement with Cole's estimate of the criminality of the area, and suggests a plan. Today we'll head west, and Lutor can make contact with Nopsca, who can help us find a route between that and the southern road, a few miles away from town. Then on the day they leave, we head south before they depart, retrieve Grumblejack and Squire Timeon, and go down our between-path to a halfway point. Faila can flap around and be our spy above town, and see which road the prison wagon takes, and then come to us to let us know. We'll go to that road, be ahead of them, and figure out a good ambush spot.
Faila only has Survival +2, but both she and Hel will Aid Another on whomever is best for that -- I see Cole would be best with a +9, but Wesh has a +7.
So that'd be 0 from Hel, but +2 from Faila.
If it's Perception that's necessary, Faila has a +6; Hel has +12, which might be the best.
Yecch. A +4 from both, or Faila's 19 + Hel's +2 + anyone else's.
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Evening Meal
After the afternoon riding to and fro, Hel returns with whomever she'd gone riding, and during dinner talks with animation -- well, restrained animation, considering her nature -- about the woods near the town, sharing as well their other findings by way of their private communications.
Afterwards, as the town visits the inn for a drink or two, Hel will once more be magnanimous with the purchase of drinks, mildly offensive in her hauteur ... but not so much people won't accept the drinks and share a rumor.
A rumor, a rumor!!
Rumor #15, sir!!
It is likely but not certain they will take the same route back. Worth looking into at least.
[ooc]I Should be all back to normal on posting now.[ooc]
Sounds solid. Lets do our normal nightly routine then tonight.
At the Inn
Cole continues to be gregarious and interacting with the town folk, buying drinks as Hel suggests and finding out what he can.
Rumor 18, please.
Gallen overhears a couple farmers saying, "I've heard that Father Donnigan was sent here after the Church demoted him from bishop. He got into some kind of trouble - serious trouble to be banished to the Watch Wall!"
As Hel buys drinks, a couple of off-duty soldiers toast, "Lord Thomas Havelyn is the most honorable and capable commander Balentyne has ever had. If he can't keep the Watch Wall working, then no one can!"
Cole finds himself drinking with another group of off-duty soldiers who say, "I hear Captain Varning is leading another patrol out tomorrow. I wonder how long they'll be gone this time. The last time they were gone for five days! They're just an excuse for Varning to get out of the tower and go gallivanting around the countryside instead of doing his fair share of guard duty."
You find that the southern road only leads through farmlands before meeting up with the western road.
Hel, retiring early for the night, will open up her windows to enjoy the evening air, and will wait for her familiar to swoop into the room and settle on the bed. "Quork!" Faila says, in an utterly failed attempt at imitating a raven's call, then chuckles.
"Very funny," Hel drily replies, then switches languages to Azlanti -- something she expects nobody around here to speak, but she keeps her voice low all the same. "Get back to the apprentice and the big guy," she tells the disguised rhamphy. "Have them be ready to move out early. You need to be in the air early as well; you're our early warning for when the prison cart moves out. The rest of us will go for a ride, collect our lads, and get ahead of the cart to take them and their escort out. When the cart sets out, trail it for a mile or two before coming ahead to find us; we'll need to know how fast it's moving. Any questions?"
The 'raven' sniffs derisively. "Not right now," it replies in the same language. "See you tomorrow."
Faila allows Hel to 'chase' her out of the room, flapping off into the darkness; Hel stays by the open window for a while more, then closes it before getting ready for bed.
We should look into Father Donnigan... if what I've heard has any substance to it he previously held the position of Bishop before being demoted and bannished here. If true he has made a serious transgression we can leverage for our benefit.
Cole will share with the others as they set out about the rumor on Captain Varning.
"Seems the Captain likes to take his men out to avoid work. They tend to be out for days at a time. Perhaps we can look for them after we save the woman."
I approve of both investigating 'Father' Donnigan and of hunting down the Captain and his men. But let us secure our potential ally first.
Sowing a bit of strife amongst them subtly make sense to me.
The more seeds of strife and doubt we can sow, the better. Ideally, the city should be ready to fall at the drop of a pin when our allies attack.
Hel nods in agreement. I don't know about looking for them -- let's keep our focus on one thing at a time -- but we should definitely find out more about this captain's forays. If he's dodging work, then he's ripe to be snapped up when the time is right; if he isn't dodging work, then he's probably out scouting, and is someone we need to eliminate, probably in the third week. As someone who's actually out and about beyond the fortress, I think he'll likely be our first real target.
She considers Sir Gallen's information, and nods. Father Donnigan's background is definitely worth investigating for leverage, whether that's to come to our side, to stand aside, or to be easy to manipulate in some way. The commons seem impressed with Lord Havelyn, however. The most honorable, capable ... She suddenly frowns, her brows creasing deeply.
You awaken early the next morning in order to leave with sufficient time to meet Grumblejack, Timeon, and your familiars. Bellam is surprised to see you up so early, but serves a light breakfast and has your horses saddled. You ride out, heading west, trying to get ahead of the wagon and any possible escort. You meet Timeon and Grumblejack a few miles outside of town. Timeon looks a little pale, and it becomes apparent why when you see Grumblejack toss down a bone that had some kind of meat on it. The meat looks like it was...well, raw.
Having met up with them, you journey forth, until you reach a point that you estimate is where the wagon will stop for the night, and look for a place to prepare your ambush...
For not really knowing much about camoflage, Hel puts together a pretty good hide. It helps, probably, that she selects a thicket somewhat more distant than the others have to be, a bit further down the road in the direction the prison wagon will be headed in the morning; even further down than that are where the group has left their own horses, at least half a mile away so as to prevent scent and whinneys and the like.
Done with arranging a few extra branches here and there, she stands where she'll be, looking into the clearing and mentally picturing how it ... will ... hmm. Frowning, she realizes that it's difficult to image if she doesn't have any sort of foreknowledge of how the foe will be set up.
I'd like to figure out how they're likely to set up their camp -- if there's already a firepit, a jacks, a stream for water, that'll suggest one thing; if there isn't, perhaps we can do a bit of digging and such?
Going out for a ride and not expecting trouble Jack wears his less cumbersome studded leather rather than the full plate he had arrived to town in.
As they wait in ambush he has an arrow knocked in his shortbow.
Hel spots a patch of dirt that looks like someone had previously dug and then filled in a firepit. Most travelers made the firepit the center of their campsite, and she remembered from her own experience in a prison wagon that the wagon was usually placed near the center of the camp so that the prisoner couldn't easily escape if they got out.
Cole plans on making him and Grumblejack invisible as the wagons approach. That will give him and Gumbel a +20 to the stealth roll. I will do what I can for 2 others. I won't need camouflage with my invisibility. He will also buff with shield of faith and then Divin Favor before rushing in.
With Cole taking care of Grumblejack, Wesh does his best to camouflage himself before the wagon approaches.
Timeon does his best...
Lutor chooses his hiding place carefully, trying to work out likely angles at which he might be seen.
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Wesh tries to help Lutor with his hiding place.
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Cole takes the time to assist Lutor with his cover before working on his own.
After a couple of hours, as dusk sets in, Faila flies to your hiding spot to report that the wagon is pulling into the prospective campsite. A scant few minutes afterwards, Nopsca flies in and informs you that a group of seven soldiers wearing Talirean livery is also heading for the campsite, and will pass fairly close to where you're hiding.
Within moments, you hear the clip-clop of horses moving at a walk, and see them crest a nearby hill, only 50 feet away.
Several of the riders look over in your direction, and the group turns their horses towards you.
Lutor takes aim from his hiding place with its improvements suggested by Wesh.
He launches a tiny bolt of animated spider web, which flits between the approaching guards.
It then erupts to ensnare all that it can.
Cole cast invisibility on the Ogre and continues hiding.
Seeing as it looked like their quarry was spooked and the others were moving to begin the assault Gadren and Timeon focused fire on a rider... singling out any that might have a signal horn.
Hel swears under her breath as the second set of foes bracket the group. Looking first one way, then the other, and with another low-voiced curse turns towards the scouting group, trying to identify Varning before loosing the arrow already on her string. Her target is not the captain, but his horse -- and if she can't identify him, /any/ still-standing horse will do.