"Mmm, looks tasty." Mi'Dre comments as he emerges from the bedroom carrying the relocked lockbox-now with the canteen of whiskey added-to find Albina rummaging through the storage, examining some rather disgusting looking food. "Could you hand me some of that rope." he asks her, setting the box down long enough to sling the coil over his shoulder much like Albina had. "If you want some food I left some in the mess." he calls back to her before he heads into the hallway, and finds Grumblejack squeezing out into the hall.
"I'll tell ya what Grumblejack. If you hold onto this, and carry it out for me, then I'll let you have some of what's inside once we get away from this place." he tells the Ogre, holding out the lockbox to Grumblejack with a grin.
The lockbox is heavy TM.
"If we go, we leave the Warden alive. He can marshal the remaining guards and hound us quite quickly. It might make sense to at least assassinate him so that the remaining guards are left to stand around with no leadership," Albrecht says thoughtfully.
"Or rally at the death of their commander and hunt us down like dogs." Shendalyn muses. "I think we'd be better off sabotaging the ways off this island once we've secured a boat." Then Shendalyn glances at grumblejack and shrugs. "Or two. It keeps them from chasing us for quite a while. Still I'm not against the idea of revenge."
"Well, we've got plenty of fuel for some fires." Mi'Dre suggests with a grin. He was always happy to cause some mayhem and destruction. "I'm gunna go sneak around out there and see if there's anything else we can use first though."
Grumblejack looks at the chest before shrugging and acceding to Mi'Dre's request "What so important in there?" Hefting the chest with a pained grunt. While he is an ogre, it is plain that he is still sickened by poison and wounded from the guard's ministrations and Blackerly's cut earlier.
"Whiskey! So don't go dropping it." Mi'Dre admits with a grin, before cracking open the door and slipping outside to take a proper look around.
Black Jack retrieves the greatsword from the armory, 50ft of rope, a lantern that he fills with oil, the canteen with whiskey, 3 rations that he tries to select among the more edible ones and the adventure's outfit Mi'dri found. Civilian cloths, nice! Not finding a backpack he improvise a sack with one of the blankets from the barracks and picks an extra one just in case.. While in the kitchen he looks for drinkable water, if there is any Jack will empty the whiskey, after drinking some, and fill the canteen with it.
After getting ready he rejoins the rest of them in mid conversation.
While I would love to split that bastard's skull I am not sure how wise it would be for us to linger around hunting for him. It has been an eventful day. Jack says scratching one of his bruises.
Did shorty saw any horses or wagon?
"Short-sighted," Albrecht says with a sigh as the others dismiss the Warden out of hand, "These men are nothing more than hired thugs, without leadership they will flounder and do nothing. However, if you wish to cross the moors with these dogs yapping at our heels, let us be off."
As Mi'Dre attempts to slip through the door unseen... he picks a time when a pair of guards are circling the top of the fort wall to the North East past the dog cage. One of them reacts as the dogs back and sees Mi'Dre as he exits the door, his hand going to the signal horn at his side as he yells "Feck, they got past the Sergeant"
The pair are on top of a wall, so you wouldn't be able to get at them in melee. They have longbows with them, though if you desired to move quickly you could surge forward to the fountain to take cover.
Mi'Dre curses loudly at the poor timing, and does indeed rush forwards to take cover, before mentally calling back to Albina "<expletive> guards were waitin' when I came out!"
Damn Black Jack thinks while following Albina
The guard that spotted Mi'Dre puts the signal horn to his lips and blows a clear sound into the night. The second squints his eyes into the gloom and says "Where? I don't see a thing"
Black Jack follows Albina outside, after crossing the exit door he surge forward to the fountain to take cover while drawing a longbow.
Black Jack surges forward to the fountain, stringing his bow enroute and crouches next to Mi'Dre.
Shendalyn makes a break for the fountain keeping himself low and from getting shot.
Mi'Dre winces as the signal horn sounds; it seemed they'd been lucky the first time, the exterior guards assuming the internal ones would deal with them, but he doubted they'd have such luck this time. As the others burst through the door behind him he crouches, waiting for his opportunity, before barreling forwards again, heading straight for the guard house door about as fast as his small legs can carry him, not looking like he's going to stop unless something changes.
As the group lunges for the cover of the fountain, Grumblejack emerges from the prison and triggers another wave of epithets from the wall.
Signalman looses another blast of the horn before dropping it and stringing his longbow. The other guard now has visual proof of hostiles as well and gets to readying his own ranged weapon.
Mi'Dre rushes forwards and throws open the double doors to the main gatehouse revealing a room 80ft x 50ft and with a set of double doors on the other side of the room.
The dogs continue yapping within their cage, but cannot free themselves.
Mi'Dre once again curses under his breath, spinning around and leaning out of the door ever so slightly, trying to catch sight of some other method of gaining the wall. They could just try and flee, but he'd feel better not having Archers shooting arrows into their butts, even if the prison staff had been fairly mediocre so far for something with as fierce a reputation as Branderscar.
To the left of the doubledoors by 40 odd feet (within the prison grounds) is a second single door that enters the gatehouse. Mi'Dre wagers it would get you inside the gatehouse to the West of the Western arrow slits.
Damn
Lets get out of the open then, I will take out those at the wall
Jack moves to the single door, opening it and entering the room .
As Mi'Dre sees Jack head for the same door he just spotted he starts to move after the man, as quickly and quietly as possible.
"Well this should be fun," Albrecht says deadpan. If they were to stick together, then he'd have to drum tactics into the lot of them. He readies himself to run through doors when Jack opens them.
Perception
Perception Gurthock
The little devil nods in agreement with Albina and Shendalyn shakes his head. "Stuck in the middle of a courtyard with pointy death awaiting on all sides. Any ideas for a daring escape?"
The two guards have now strung their longbows and each take a shot at the approaching ogre, forsaking the smaller targets for the larger...
Longbow: for
Longbow: for
...the arrows thunking into his flesh solidly, but despite all his wounds he still lives on - though barely.
Grumblejack roars in pain and rumbles up next to the wall, using the chest Mi'Dre gave him to hold as a makeshift morningstar...
Big heavy Chest: for
...though his desperate flail does not meet flesh.
The western door is flung open and you are greeted with an empty room that bears a ladder in the centre leading upwards.
Albrecht follows Albina, smirking at the ogre as they abandon him to the guards.
Mi'Dre glances back with a frown as Grumblejack roars in pain. He would have liked to keep the infernal brute, sure that some use could be made of him, but he couldn't do anything from down here anyway. He turns away, moving into the room and heading for the ladder with as much speed as he can manage.
Black Jack enters the small room stashing the bow and reading his shield.
As you rush for the relative safety provided by the side room in the guardtower you see the guards dodge to the side and return fire on Grumblejack...
Longbow: for
Longbow: for
...one shot going wide, but the other lodging in the ogre's belly and sending him to the ground clutching at the almost disappeared shaft. He twitches on the ground showing he lives yet, but Grumblejack is out of the fight for now.
Within the room that you have taken refuge, the only exit is the central ladder - which you wager would get you to the same level within the guard house as the top of the perimeter wall that the two guards stand upon.
Part of me wanted to save Grumblejack. Oh well.
"If we get up top we cna overtake the guards and reverse our current predicament."
"Assuming we can get out of the gatehouse up there..." Mi'Dre agrees with Shendalyn, and if nobody beats him to it he starts to climb the ladder, peering onto the next floor.
Moving through the room and up the ladder you find yourself in a large chamber that spans the width of the gatehouse. A door is on the Western wall, and there is a ladder against the North wall that leads to the roof of the gatehouse.
In the central area you see the murderhole that looks down upon the central chamber.
The East bears a single door that you wager leads to where the guards from outside on the wall will soon be entering. You also see a trapdoor that would gain access to the ground level in the eastern side of the tower. There is also another ladder leading upwards.
The Northern wall is lined with arrow slits.
Mi'Dre can hear noises coming from the East - sounds of chairs falling over and indistinct voices of men.
Jack goes upstairs. While waiting for everybody to climb up he position himself in front of the eastern door reading his blade to strike the first foe that enters the room.
Mi'Dre steps away from the ladder, looking around the room at their options. It seems they could exit onto the wall from here which had been his goal, so the demon preceeds Jack to the Eastern door and presses his ear to it, readying himself should it open suddenly.
Albrecht also climbs up and readies himself for the guards to storm through the eastern door.
Shendalyn follows with sword close at hand.
Black Jack and Mi'Dre rush to the East to face the guards expected to emerge from the wall and Shendalyn and Albrecht follow close behind. However after Jack and the devil get close you are interrupted by the trapdoor in the floor clattering open. A waft of cheap whiskey flows from the trapdoor and the head of a guard pops up between you.
Black Jack:
Mi'Dre:
Albrecht:
Shendalyn + Gurthock:
Guards:
Round 1: Shendalyn and Gurthock, Albrecht, Albina, Black Jack, Mi'Dre, Guards
Albrecht is momentarily taken aback by the sudden arrival of the guard but he brings his longsword down on the man's head with as much aplomb as he can muster, with an overhead two-handed cut.
"Evening sir!" Shendalyn says manically as he brins his own sword down on the man. "Might you point out the way to the midden heap?"
Move: Move next to guard.
Swift: Arcane Strike
Standard:
Gurthock will mutter and move next to shendalyn but otherwise not act.
The twin strikes of Albrecht and Shendalyn cut down the man at the top of the ladder. As he falls you hear curses from below.
Round 1: Shendalyn and Gurthock, Albrecht, Albina, Black Jack, Mi'Dre, Guards
Mi'Dre pauses momentarily as the hatch opens behind him, not terribly surprised that there were guards somewhere within the gatehouse. He was slightly confused as to how to get into that room from below, but they hadn't exactly had a lot of time to explore...
Regardless with the others quickly dispatching the guard who poked his head up, Mi'Dre continues with his original goal, moving quietly to the door and listening for how far away the guards on the wall are, ready for the door to open.