Erebus bundled up the traveler's outfit and the tobacco while he munched a cookie.
Then he went back to the kitchen and tossed the tin to Grumblejack. He set the clothing on a counter for later and then opened the door to the prison courtyard to take a look outside.
Grumblejack pours the contents of the tin into his mouth but immediately spits it out. "Bloody little'uns, don't know food if it ran up and smashed them in the face."
The cool night air rushes in with a puff as you open the door. Just outside is a small garden, beyond which are the walls of the prison, rising two stories out of the ground. Just ahead is a guard tower with a door in its base, the tower rises up into the darkness past the wall.
Shining down into the garden is a a cone of light coming from someone carrying a hooded lantern patrolling across the wall. The patrol is moving northeast, towards the guard tower.
Erebus' form shifted. A black and grey cat walked out into the night air.
Winding around the back, you come to a much larger, wider tower set into the wall. You can see light coming from under the door up ahead.
Another unearthly shifting and Blackerly was standing before the door.
This entire room is dedicated to the history of the Castle Branding and the subsequent history that led the castle to become Branderscar Prison. It consists of a series of mostly uninteresting plaques that tell of nobles and deeds hardly anyone remembers anymore. There are a number of banners and flags.
One of the wall hangings is an old brocade tapestry that depicts Castle Branding being turned into a prison with the motto “His Judgment Cometh and that Right Soon”. It looks like it'd fetch a pretty penny but could be fairly heavy and unwieldy
There is a spiral stairway leading up to the second level. This room is lit by four sconces holding torches.
Erebus ignored the tapestry and padded up the stairs.
On the next floor is a rather large collection of books and scrolls across a wide range of subjects.
The most common items in the library are the “penny dreadfuls”. These poorly printed compilations of lurid tales range across the whole gamut of adventure genres.
However, the one genre over-represented is bawdy tales featuring amply endowed young maidens in grave peril.
In the more scholarly section, there are over fifty books on subjects ranging from magical theory, history and astronomy.
Erebus ignored the prison library. He could come back later if he felt inclined. He continued up the stairs.
At the top of the stairs you reach a small landing, with doors leading to the north an the south. A guard is stationed here as well.
The guard opens the south door for you with a bow.
Erebus acknowledged the bow with a small nod and quietly said "Shut the door." as he passed through.
Seeing the floor change from simple stone to wood, he shifted, becoming a cat again as soon as the door closed.
This finely panelled room is a far cry from the starkness of the rest of the prison. Inside are niceties such as four poster bed, a full length mirror, and even an oak wardrobe that must have been built inside the room given how much bigger it is than the doorway.
At a desk in front of you is an exquisitely dressed man, hunched over a book so that his long silvery hair falls almost touches the pages. Without bothering to turn to look at you he speaks, "Now what could Seargent Blackerly be doing in my chambers at this ungodly hour? I believe it's past his bedtime. What is it?"
Surprised, Erebus quietly shifted back into Blackerly and walked out of the darkness to the edge of the old man's reading light. "The ogre got uppity. Reached right through the bars and killed two of the boys. We got him contained, but I thought you should know."
The warden turns around to stare calculatingly at you through his monocle. A silk eyepatch embroidered with the Branderscar insignia covers his other eye. "Unfortunate." He looks back to his book and closes it carefully, marking the page. With a gesture and some arcane words, he casts some type of spell, and then stands up to look at you. A tall and thin man, Warden Richter towers nearly a head over Blackerly's form.
"What of the other prisoner? Have you finished his execution papers yet?"
Erebus knew a test when he saw one. He also knew that the longer you gave a wizard to think the worse it was for everyone involved.
"No," he said simply. Then an arm snapped out to grab the old man by the throat.
Warden Richter may be old, but he's lost none of his wits and wiles. As your form shifts he's already sprinting towards the door, which he opens and steps through. "SOUND THE ALARM!"
Blackerly stepped into the doorway with a truncheon in his hand.
"Belay that," he said to the guard.
The warden begins to cast a spell but botches the process, giving you the opportunity to clock him with the truncheon. "Stop him, he's gone mad!" You get in a second swing as he flees down the stairs, but miss.
The guard at the door draws his sword and the the signal horn, eyeing you wearily. "Sir, what's going on?"
"We're relieving the Warden of duty. I'll explain when we're done." Erebus said as he followed the old man downstairs.
As soon as you cut the warden off, he freezes. With a gesture and a word he casts another spell, careful not to leave himself exposed to attack. Success is his this time. "You'll pay for this."
For some reason, perhaps the way the wizard spoke those words, you find this incredibly funny. So funny, in fact, that you're incapable of containing your laughter. Physically incapable, in fact. Your laugh seems to take on a life of it's own, filling not only your body, but your mind. Unable to contain yourself, you fall prone onto the stairs. Warden Richter flees once again, with the guard in hot pursuit.
The door to the outside stands open and the guard's club and signal horn lie on the ground in front of it.
"Good work." Erebus said to the guard.
"That's a funny trick." Erebus said with Blackerly's sneer. "Lemme show you what I think's funny."
Blackerly closed the distance and grabbed the warden by his shirt.
The guard gives up Warden Richter to your custody - you now have the warden firmly in your grasp.
Unfortunately, Richter has far from given up. Mustering all his reserves of concentration, the wizard once more casts a spell, waving his hand in the direction of the guard this time. "Sound the alarm. THAT is an order."
The guard's eyes glaze over as he walks over towards the door where he dropped his equipment. "Yes sir." He picks up the signal horn (leaving his club on the floor) but won't be able to blow it before you act.
Erebus slamed the warden against the wall.
The warden's frail frame is rocked by the blow. Luckily, you manage to conceal your tentacle well enough that you don't think the guard saw.
The warden tries feebly to escape, but fails. You sense that he's on the very brink of unconsciousness.
A long loud note reverberates around the room as the guard blows the horn. The men on the walls have undoubtedly heard. After that the guard grabs his club from the ground and takes a step back. "I don't know what's going on, but you're out line, sir. The warden is in charge, not you."
"You are so very wrong." Erebus said with a grin.
Fleshy tendrils exploded from Blackerly's arms.
The warden drops like a sack of potatoes, falling limply to the floor. The guard is a little more ready, but not ready enough to avoid a whack from your tentacle.
The guard's club clatters to the floor. "Whatever you are, you're not Blackerly!" he shouts as he draws his sword and steps up for a swing. This is no booze-addled replacement guards you've faced before, but a tried and true prison guard.
His blade weaves through a wall of tentacles and pulls away slick with blood. The pain comes shortly after.
Outside, just a little ways off, a cry rings out in the night. "DOGS TO THE TOWER!"
With a tentacle still wrapped around the warden's neck, the thing wearing Blackerly's body fled up the stairs and into the dark.
Squeezed between the bookshelves, you notice the light from stairwell get a little brighter. The guard must have grabbed a torch on his way up.
Erebus' rubbery arm snaked around the warden's neck and squeezed until something popped.
POP!
The guard finally makes it to this floor, but other than a quick look around, doesn't linger as he sprints up to the next floor.
The guard crashes to the floor - his helmet clangs against the edge of a stair. Dazed yet unfazed he clambers to his feet, leaving his torch on the ground but maintaining a firm grip on his longsword. "Think you can hide from me? I've got you now you bastard."
"What is it that you think you've got?" Erebus asked as his arms snapped out.
Both tentacles strike home, the guard's grip instantly loosens on his sword as he staggers back from the force of the blow. He attempts to stumble back down the stairs.
The garrison at Branderscar shrinks by a guard.
A second guard comes rushing up the staircase to survey the carnage. "Mm' too drunk for this. Better get shome reinforcements," he says as retreats back down the stairs.
Erebus shifted into a cat and went toward the nearest window.
The window is little more than an arrow slit - good for holding the tower from invaders, but not so much as an escape route. Unless of course, one happens to be a cat operating under non-euclidean physics.
Once more in the cool air, the top of the wall is only a short and painless drop down. Although you can see very far beyond the wall, you can certainly hear the waves crashing against the rocks down below. Smells like seawater - and freedom.
On the prison side of the wall, a lone guard stands at the entrance to the warden's tower, sweeping the grounds with a hooded lantern. However, he's quickly brought inside the tower at the beckoning of the drunkard who declined to face you.
To the north, you spy the gleam of another lantern coming from atop the gatehouse. Whoever's up there has a clear shot at almost the entirety of the prison.
Suddenly, the barking of dogs comes from the northeast, in the same direction as the door leading into the kitchen. The gleam of another lantern accompanies them.
<--
The cat quickly made its way down the wall and near to the tower doors, keeping out of sight
<--
As you make your way towards the tower door, your keen senses allow you to realize that the dogs, although still barking, have stopped moving. You hear something else - the sound of a door being kicked at.
The first floor of the tower is empty.