Timo nods as Daidalos explains his plan. "Surprise would be excellent."
As Timo disembarks the ship in full armor, he gives a nod to the captain before stretching and readying himself. "I was not meant to be on a boat..." he mutters to himself loud enough for the crew to hear.
Kargeld finds nothing suspicious in Daidalos's behavior but nor is he particularly moved to gather additional men. "Bah. They're minding the ship. Let's be done with this. What? A letter. Paper does me no good. Fine, fine..." He takes it and begins reading.
When the explosion goes off, Kargeld and the nearest sailor are both singed by it, yet the damp air and clothing quickly smothers the worst of it.
Daidalos's icy blast devastates the ranks of the sailors who came ashore, while Kargeld seems wily enough to avoid the worst of it. Behind him, sailors drop, overwhelmed by the cold, while Kargeld roars in rage.
-------------------
As the explosion goes off, Timo comes to life with lightning fast reflexes. He quickly draws forth his blade and lunges at their old captain.
Ineluki curses silently that Timo threatened the man before he could scream at him...
Asturu chugs back a vile liquid and instantly grows in size.
Daidalos: Snowball
Timo: HACK! - hit
Luke: SCREAM! - hit
Asturu: Quaff
Affyria: Ready
Timo lunges in to attack the battered Kargeld, cutting a nasty slice across the man's arms. Immediately following is one of Luke's sonic blasts, ringing the northman's bell. Sturdy as an ox, however, the man is still up. And he looks angry!
One of the sailors, near the front of the ship, looks like he's ready to jump off the ship and run to the captain's rescue, while the other two look ready to sail off. Affyria fires off a spell at one of them...
-
... and he thinks better of it. Though still gripping an oar, it seems likely he will begin walking towards her.
[/ooc]However... you have taken them by such surprise, you now get full round actions.[/ooc]
Daidalos begins an incantation targeting Timo, intending to turn him into a giant to finish off the (surprisingly resilient) captain.
"It's nothing personal, captain, I'll have you know. But you really shouldn't be so greedy when dealing with people more powerful than you."
Timo glances at the captain and then glaces at the boat. Feeling his compatriots can handle the wounded captain and fearful that the boat might get away, Timo breaks out into a sprint towards the boat. He then leaps into the air and lands on the bow of the ship in a "super hero (TM)" landing. He looks up at the crew with a murderous gleam in his eyes and his blade held in front at the ready.
"I'm sorry boys, but I can't allow you to leave."
INeluki aims another scream this time at the captain...
Asturu runs at the captain and dives on him in an almost feral manner. Hands like hammers start pounding down on the man as Asturu envelops him in a world of violence.
Timo: Jump onto the ship.
Luke: SCREAM! - hit!? Yes... wow, that is a terrible touch AC.
Asturu: Grapple
Affyria:
Daidalos:
Timo charges the ship and vaults onto the deck, brandishing a weapon as he says, "I'm sorry boys, but I can't allow you to leave."
Back on the shore, Ineluki blasts the captain with another sonic hammer as Asturu runs at the man and dives on him in an almost feral manner. Hands like hammers start pounding down on the man as Asturu envelops him in a world of violence.
Assuming Timo has matters well in hand, Affyria will attempt to hit the captain over the head with her mace.
Daidalos begins casting a spell on Asturu while the latter is grappling with Kargeld. Affyria tries to finish the captain off with a swipe of her mace, but the two men locked in a wrestling match roll out of her strike and it lands ineffectively in the cold soil of the shore.
Kargeld summons a well of rage and fury and struggles to break free of Asturu's grip. However, the pummeling he has taken in the party's ambush leaves him disoriented and bewildered, flailing madly but without effect.
On the boat, the three remaining sailors drop whatever sailing gear they may be holding and draw short swords. The one closest to Timo backs up while another moves closer to support him. Despite the display, it seems they are not eager to engage in combat, their eyes darting between their captain's struggle and any attack that might be directed against them.
Cursing under her breath, Affyria tries to bash the captain's head in again.
Daidalos finishes his incantation and has Asturu double in size, hopefully aiding in crushing the unfortunate captain. Just to be certain, though, he also casts a spell on Kargeld's sword, making it nearly impossible to wield effectively.
Sensing the fear and indecision on the three crewmen's face, Timo calls out to them. "Drop your weapons to the deck and throw yourselves overboard. If you don't ... I'm going to make you." he finishes in a menacing tone while adopting an offensive stance with his blade.
Asturu uses his bulk and amplified strength to twist Kargeld's arms behind him with one hand then wraps his other around the captain's neck in a vice-like grip. "Give up... you've lost," the alchemist hisses.
Kargeld struggles for a moment more, but eventually the fight seeps out of him and he goes limp in Asturu's grip. Watching from the Frosthamar, his sailors drop their weapons and raise the arms in surrender. They seem disinclined to jump overboard, though it may have more to do with the chill of the water than the depth... it's only about waist deep this close to the shore.
"What do you want? The ship? What's this about?" Kargeld seethes.
Daidalos leans in close to the captain, lowering his voice to keep his crew from overhearing, "Oh, we don't want your ship. In fact, we're going to burn it once we're done with you. No, this is a lesson for you: don't get greedy. You could have gone on to continuing in your service, but you just had to demand more money, didn't you? Well, you're about to pay for your sins, my friend."
Daidalos gives Asturu a nod, which could be taken to mean "kill him" or simply, "do with him as you wish."
Regardless, once the deed is done, Daidalos shapes a bit of quintessence into a cacodaemon and attempts to steal the captain's soul. With that well in hand, Diadalos goes to the ship and searches it throughly for anything of value before they set it on fire and let it drift.
With captain subdued and the crew disarmed, Timo shakes his head. "A pity, I had hoped at least one of you had a spine. Perhaps we shall see what you have instead?
With that Timo said swings his blade in a wide arc and in the blink of an eye the three crewmember's heads are severed from their bodies.
"Hmm... I guess they did have spines"
He then flicks his wrist, removing the blood from his blade before sheathing it and searching the ship for anything of value.
In this act hides no cruelty. One could muse that it happened in the shadow of mercy, but one would have to carry a rather sizable amount of hope within to come to that conclusion. For a moment, the briefest of moments in which one could barely fit a coherent thought or sigh, Asturu eases up his grip on Kargeld only to, as the man either relaxes or starts to move, snap his neck with inhuman strength.
If eyes could tell a story, Asturu's are screaming that he's done with this place and the blasted boat.
Ineluki shrugs... his own capabilities, meager though they are in light of his companions' strengths, having been apparently unnecessary in this fight. "Let's light this thing on fire and push it out to sea to burn and sink... I'll be glad to be on solid ground for a while."
As Asturu's grip loosens just slightly, Kargeld seems to start to reach for a dagger concealed at his waist before his neck is snapped like a carrot.
On Kargeld's body, you find a suit of hide armor, a masterwork greataxe, and a key. On the ship, Daedalos finds a battered old sea chest. It is locked, but opens with the key found on Kargeld. Inside, hidden beneath the captain's foul, flea-infested wardrobe, is another smaller, wooden box containing 6,000 gold in neatly stacked coins. Additionally, you find a silver statuette of a nude mermaid, another 115 gold in loose coinage, and another wooden crate labeled "emergency rations"; it contains six bottles of fine whiskey.
Somewhere deep inside Asturu knows he should feel a thing or two about taking Kargeld's life. Yet the man, his neck now bend in a gruesome manner, leaves him feeling .. nothing. The writer shrugs and, like he did with Kargeld's life, discards the thought without any hesitation.
"An odd keepsake, that statue. I wonder where he got it from. Would any of you be so kind as to subjugate our newfound possessions to a detect magic incantation?"
Daidalos scans their loot for magic, and catalogues it mentally along with everything else they'd found. "Well? We ready to keep going?" Daidalos asks, shifting his appearance to that of a traveling adventurer.
You are close now. Just a few miles from here sits the small market town of Aldencross and less than a mile from there is the watchtower of Balentyne – your goal. Already Sakkarot’s horde gathers and prepares to move. Within two weeks, they will be in a small valley north of the lake awaiting your signal. Fire the rocket into the air at just the right moment and you will take the first step towards claiming vengeance against Talingarde.
Destiny has taken you here. Destiny has given you a mission. There is no doubt that the future of this green and pleasant land lies in your hands. You could go to that town right now and warn them of the plots of the sinister Cardinal Thorn. You could give yourself up and face the justice you deserve. You could turn back from the horror and the slaughter that you are going to inflict upon these Mitran sheep. This is that moment. This is the turning point. After this, there is no going back.
You travel eastward for about an hour, first heading slightly inland until you find some fields in which you could take cover if necessary. Eventually, you crest a small hill and see before you the town of Aldencross and, beyond that and to the north, a large fortification: The Watchtower of Balentyne. You appreciate perhaps for the first time that this "watchtower" is more of a fortress than any simple tower or watchpost.
Aldencross appears to be a modestly successful market town. It has grown up in the shadow and protection of Balentyne, existing partly to serve the watchtower but also as a center of commerce for the surrounding farms.
You've arrived at about 9 in the morning. The town is awake and people are beginning to go about their business. Smoke rises from chimneys and a few horse-drawn carts pull into the town with their wares.
All is at peace.
Daidalos breathes in, smelling the smoke and general smell of the town. "What a nice place," he remarks to himself, then pulls aside someone nearby- "Excuse me, friend. Where might the inn be for this fine town?"
As he walks through the village, he makes note of where all the important places are- blacksmith's shop, baker, alchemist/physician, butcher, general store, tavern, and similar noteworthy locations. Upon arriving at the inn, Daidalos inquires with the innkeeper, "Greetings, friend. How much might a room be at your fine establishment? I'm not entirely sure how long I and my companions will be staying, but I suspect at least a week or two."
Once rooms are situated and their belongings are secure, Daidalos makes good use of the long day ahead and spends about 6 hours trying to glean information about Aldencross and Balentyre, switching faces rather regularly to avoid suspicion.
hours
hours
hours
The sight of Aldencross brought Asturu a sudden rush of inspiration.With so many thoughts racing through his head he didn't just want to, but he needed to sit down at some point and write. Lest the pressure in his head build up.
The first step towards change is pushing over that big square that is the establishment. With no soft corners, consisting only of rough edges, that moment of initial displacement tends to be an act of violence. So be it. The possible destruction of Aldencross will be worth the outcome.
"Such a lovely, quaint little town," Affyria remarks as they stroll into town. "Almost reminds me of home," she adds in a bitter tone.
"So do we want to devise a cover story for us being here? I guess with the magical disguises we possess, we can pretty much tackle this any way we will. And it's not like this town has the slightest suspicion of what's about to happen."
Like Daidalos, Affyria spends some time asking around town about the fortress, specifically trying to find out how hard it is to gain entry.
"I don't know if any of you are blessed with botanical skills, but I could pose as a healer slash alchemist who is looking for specific herbs and flowers for his research. Something common that also explains any odd behavior would make for a good cover, I'd say."
He then eyes Affyria, wondering what common profession she could embrace for her cover. Nothing decent came to mind at that moment, causing Asturu to grimace. You ought to read more, Asturu, and sharpen that mind of yours which is obviously starting to grow dull.
"I could serve as one of your bodyguards, or perhaps look to join up with the military. That would perhaps give us an idea of their defenses.
Daidalos stops a woman in her 30s, with straw-colored hair loosely kept pulled back from a ruddy face that's already had a hard life. Still, a smile lights up and she replies, "Ah, that'd be the Lord's Dalliance, m'lord. Strong drink an' good food; ye can't go wrong. An', t'is the only inn!" She laughs at her own joke, then points Daidalos and the others in the proper direction before going back to her business with a wish for Mitra's blessings upon you all.
Daidalos winds up chatting with some of the locals who've come to the Inn for an early lunch. When talk turns to the topic of the Lord of Balentyne, an older fellow clucks his tongue and looks to either side before quietly saying, "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!" Unfortunately, the rest of Daidalos's efforts to gather information are thwarted by an overly pushy serving wench who keeps trying to force him to try the red potato hash.
Affyria's endeavor is fairly straightforward and actually quite productive. On this side of the river, there are two entrances into Balentyne. On the lower level is a pair of lightly fortified doors serving as a servants entrance into the castle. It is lightly guarded but promptly leads into a more heavily guarded corridor that is part of the passage to the drawbridge that crosses the river. The larger entrance is through the "Aldencross Gate", equipped with a portcullis and reinforced door. It is through this gate that patrols ride through and official visitors use. It is always guarded. Of course, she hears, there are also rumors of hidden entrances and secret passages, but nobody seems to actually know of one. "My cousin who knew a guard before he left for Mathryn..."
Once they are alone in their rooms, Affyria will discuss her thoughts, and share what she's learned.
"We could pose as servants to gain entry. Of course, I could always send Kiffex to scout the place out, he can take care of himself to stay hidden pretty well. I believe our first course of action should be to find out how well they are in contact with the rest of the kingdom, and sever any lines of communication they have as best we can, so as to assure they don't receive any significant reinforcements once we begin our actual work."
"What comes to mind here are messengers with fast horses, possibly any magic users or court wizards they have on staff, those should be our first priority. We should gather some information before we start, find out these things, and find out if any of them have residencies in town here. This place seems pretty quiet and remote, so chances are a lot of the people working in the castle have families living in town here."
A handful of thoughts cross Asturu's mind, each one vile enough to guarantee a person a one-way ticket to the Everburning Below. Perhaps his more radical ideas weren't necessary and if so, that would probably be for the best. "A quick dive into the geography and demographics would, indeed, most likely tell us that the castle itself is a major source of work and thus the cornerstone of the Aldencross' society. They come to town to eat, drink and make merry and where people drink, tongues loosen up. Then there's the fact the castle is most likely their pride and honor so if we were to brag about a castle or tower from wherever we pretend to be from, they might be willing to enter a bragging contest and spill the beans on specifics that we might be able to use. A single lulling tongue might not be a source worth pinning your life to, but if we get enough cross-references we can sketch out what details are likely to be true."
It's obvious that something else is burning on the man's mind, however. "If they use birds for communication, there's always the option of poisoning them when the time is right. But that's clearly an issue for later."
Daidalos closes his eyes in thought, imagining their task and the different ways that they might approach their task, "I think Kiffex will be invaluable in this endeavor. With his invisibility, he could infiltrate the fortress and possibly draw us a highly accurate map. He could also slip poison into food, loosen important ropes, and generally scout out the garrison. His intel could prove pivotal. Personally, I think our best chance is to find a secret passage if any actually exist. Beyond that, infiltration seems our next best option. I personally doubt that there is any magical communication in the fortress, as otherwise they wouldn't need the rookery. So, we take out the rookery, we cut off reinforcements."
He closes his eyes for another moment, "I also recall Timeon mentioning that one of the captains- Eddarly, if I recall correctly- is having an affair with another captain- Mott's- wife. I'm fairly certain we could leverage that to our advantage, particularly if Mott is hot-headed."
"I envision three main phases to our assault: Assess, atrophy, and attack. If we allow one week for gathering intel, we can spend two weeks weakening the fortress and still have a week to actually deliver the final blow. So, can we all agree to take no offensive actions until one week has passed? There's no need to risk detection this early on in our stratagem. We have not come this far to fail in an ill-planned assault. Patience, for now, at least, is our greatest ally."
Listening to each of his companions speak, Timo adds his consent at the end. "I find I agree with Daidalos. I can find no fault in his plan. We use this next several days to find whatever information we can any weak points. Then we apply pressure to those weak points, before we bring the whole thing down."
Timo then thinks for a moment. "However, spending a month in this town. People may start to wonder who the newcomers are and why they are here. If they ask, what should we tell them?"
Timeon did, in fact, sketch out something of a map for you.
The lowest level contains the barracks, mess hall and storage. There is also the clerics' vestiary and the captains' quarters, which Timeon never had cause to visit. The leader of Mitra's faithful at Balentyne is Father Donnagin. The captains' names are Ryan Varning, Zacharias Eddarly, and Jacob Mott (married to Kaitlyn).
The second level contains the courtyard and main gate into the castle (#22). There is also the chapel, stables and great hall of the keep.
Level 2 of the keep contains the prison and torture chamber, which hasn't been used in a while but, Timeon told you, was converted to that purpose under Markadian the IV, the Zealous, during the height of the Asmodean Purges.
Level 3 is the magister's quarters and off limits to most of the castle's staff and defenders. Level 4 is Lord Havelyn's quarters. The magister's name is Tacitus of Morimun.
At the top of the southeast tower is the rookery.
Daidalos raises an eyebrow at Timo's question, "Well, beyond the fact that it's not too uncommon for travelers to stay for a month or more at a place like here- we could be messengers for the fortress, potential recruits, or simple traders, and besides, who says we need to stay the entire time?" he asks, shifting his appearance between several different faces, before returning to his current guise, "But for now, let's say we're... travelers, simply interested in seeing the area and learning more about the fortress. If anyone questions us too much, we change faces and try again. No problem. For now, we should try to focus on finding our pressure points- a secret door, a weakness in the wall, how to take down the rookery, the failings of their commanders. If Luke and Kiffex scout out the fortress itself, perhaps filling in the blank spaces on our map, Asturu can perhaps scour the town for rumors of the castle itself, Affyria can perhaps try to learn about the captains and mages, Timo can try and ask about the guard, their habits and personalities. Meanwhile, I'll look into how we could gain access to the fortress, be it a weak point in the wall, infiltrating as servants, or discovering a secret door. Thinking of which, I should probably add a few more divinations to my spellbook....." he trails off for a moment, before snapping back to attention, "Anyway, anything else? It's still early, shall we resume our search?"