Xynen's Hell's Rebels (Inactive)

Game Master Xynen

I think having the armor for if/when things go south is a better plan.

Myradil will head up and over the wall as well.

Femi, using his rope and a little bit of luck, manages to fasten the rope to a small section of the wrought iron fencing lining the top of the wall, and the Ravens scamper over it in little time.

Once in the courtyard, they find an uncomfortable openness inviting them, but thankfully there are no guards present. The tall windows of the first floor are all barred, making further ascent easier if need be, but there is nothing but ivy leading to the second floor window that you can easily mark from you map as belonging to Marquel. To get to your goal, you're going to have to climb again. Unfortunately the smooth walls of the tower will make using the rope near impossible.

perception: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (7) + 10 = 17

Myradil whispers "Something growling this way comes, without much cover we may just need to fight it."

Perception: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (18) + 8 = 26

Kalem nods in agreement, moves to the front of the group and readies an attack for the first thing to come snapping at them.

To be clear, you have about 2 minutes to do whatever you're going to do.

Myradil hurridly notes "Brask, get Kalem a leg up, lets see if we can get this done."

"Got it."

Brask will help get Kalem into position, using his strength to lift the tiefling where needed.

Femi rushes with the others to the house and gets into position with them.

"Our best climber should ascend, open a window, and attach the rope." he hisses quietly, though it seems the others are already on that very task.

He uses the wand of illusions one more time to hide the group as they clamber over each other at the base of the house and up the wall.

He'll take-10 on the climb for a 10 if he can, otherwise...

Climb: 1d20 + 0 ⇒ (18) + 0 = 18

Kalem nods, signaling he's on the task, and uses Brask get up. He will attempt to scale the wall and secure a holing point to put a rope so the others can scale easier.

Climb!: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (18) + 8 = 26

Kalem finds the wall easily scaled. The barred windows on the first floor make for decent hand holds, and when he reaches the ivy, he finds it surprisingly strong, clinging to the wall so tightly he can hardly feel it move beneath his weight.

As the Tiefling climbs the ivy, those on the ground wait patiently, wondering if the Aulorians new pet is going to find them in the courtyard, but Kalem is swift and when he reaches the second floor window he finds it wide enough to stand in comfortably while looking for a place to attach the rope.

A problem soon presents itself however, as there will not be enough room for all the Ravens and the window is locked. Peering in, Kalem can seethat there is a desk just next to the window, and seated at it is a wide-eyed young man staring back, shock written all over his face.

"Wh- who are you!" He can just barely hear the man say through the closed window. "What do you want?"

"Marquel?"

Kalem ruffles into his pocket and pulls out the letter. He holds it out for him to accept.

"From a friend..."

Sense Motive, make sure its the right person: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (12) + 7 = 19

If its the intended recipient, Kalem will hand over the letter willingly, and wait for him to give a reply to take back.

As Marquel looms back at Kalem and tries to hear him through the window, he raises an eyebrow and reaches for the latch, he opens it just wide enough for him to reach for the letter. As he does, Kalem notices that one of his arms is withered and small, it hangs uselessly at his side.

"From who?" Kalem hears even as Marquels eyes land on the seal and widen again. Pulling the window totally open Marquels gestures the tiefling inside frantically, when he notices the rope and sees more of you standing below he looks surprised.

"Tell your friends to hurry up the rope before Gorefang sees them. Quickly, get inside and tell me how you got this letter!"

Femi quickly scales the rope and into the chamber. See prior roll, and use of wand of illusions to help cover the party.

When he sees Marquel, and his arm, he wonders why the captain didn't mention his infirmity. He shrugs and offers his hand to shake the other arm by way of welcome. "I'm Femi." he whispers as he gets out of the way of the others climbing in.

"Brask." he says brusquely.

Myradil hurries up and helps hoist the rope up and closes the window once everybody is in.

Kalem, satisfied that his companions were able to scale the wall quickly and silently, turns his attention back to Marquel.

"We have met with our mutual friend. He asked us a favor, and here we are."

Kalem wasn't built for the art of subtlety, but even he knew the importance of letting the truth fill in for itself.

Marquel raises an eyebrow at Kalem and shrugs. "Alright, I suppose I didn't ask you not to be vague."

He rips the letter open as quickly as he can and as he reads it, his eyes widen and a breathe of relief escapes his lips. "Oh Cassius." He whispers as he places the letter down on his desk and looks to the group.

"Brask, Femi...others, I have no idea who you are, but if Cassius trusts you then so do I. Give me a moment to collect my things and, if you don't mind, keep an eye out for the cerberus guarding the grounds, if we move quickly we can leave before he sees us!"

As he dresses, Marquel begins to look every bit like a noble. He grabs a small satchel containing writing equipment and his coat then looks to the Ravens and nods that he's ready.

"I'm afraid I'm not very good at climbing, but we'll have to leave the same way we came in, my door is locked from the outside and even if it weren't, there are too many guards in the halls to reliably sneak past. Are you ready?"

"You're coming with us?" Femi says somewhat incredulously. He hadn't expected that. Yet he seemed earnest in his desire, so why not?

He suspects the poor man is something of a prisoner here, confirmed by his comments on the locked door.

"Don't forget Cassius' note. Bring it with you." he suggests.

He'll then climb back down, again using a charge from the wand to help cover their silhouettes against the building.

He'll again take-10 on the climb, but if needed...

climb: 1d20 + 0 ⇒ (16) + 0 = 16

Myradil puts his hand on Femi's shoulder before he climbs down "Wait a moment and listen..."

Myradil takes a moment to listen, to make sure they aren't going to climb right down into the cerberus

perception: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (11) + 10 = 21

As one of the better climbers, Kalem will do his best to help Marquel down.

Climb: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (11) + 8 = 19

"Am I...? Yes of course, the letter says you can escort me to Cassius, is that not the case?" Marquel asks, clutching the note in his good arm. He seems to relax as the Ravens quickly accept their new charge.

Myradil peers outside and sees the hulking form of the Cerberus just disappearing around the corner. From what he can tell the Ravens have just a few moments to climb down before it returns. No time to take 10

Femi climbs first, providing cover with another use of their wand, and Kalem offers some assistance to Marquel. Unfortunately it's not quite enough, and near the top of the first floor the young man slips and plummets into the courtyard.

He lands harshly, just a foot from Femi. To his credit, Marquel hardly grunts as he hits the ground, but it's easy to see what the fall took quite a toll on him and he holds his sides as he tries to follow toward the next climb.

Femi approaches the young noble, "May I, I believe I can help." If permitted, he casts Infernal Healing to slowly knit up the injuries as they make their escape.

As they approach the next wall, Femi again throws up an illusion with the wand before climbing as quickly as he can.

climb: 1d20 + 0 ⇒ (12) + 0 = 12

I took off two charges.

climb: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (19) + 2 = 21

Myradil also makes the climb out of the tower and keeps watch while Marquel is helped up and over the wall.

"Th-thank you...I think." Marquel says, as the infernal healing begins to work its magic. He stands a little straighter, and after a few moments most of his pain seems to have been forgotten, or ignorable.

He struggles up and over the wall, but with the Raven's help, they get the young lord to the other side just as Gorefang moves into the yard.

With the cover of Femi's illusion protecting them, and the bushes to hide in, the Ravens manage to avoid detection as the flensed beast nearly brushes past them.

He does, briefly, seem to catch a scent he's familiar with, and his heads turn upward, looking toward the window where Marquel's room is, it's shortsighted eye's seem content that the candles are still lit and it moves on.

Once you are a few blocks from the estate, Marquel turns to you with eyebrows raised. "How long will it take to get to Cassius? It won't be long before my father discovers that I'm missing. I'm not even sure how we made it out of there to be honest, I was sure gorefang would bear down on us and alert the guards!"

"We made some preparations, deodorant to hide our scent. Costly, but I think it paid off." Kalem answers.

He looks to the group.

"We need to keep moving. Let's get moving."

"Yes, lets go." brask says, keeping an eye out for danger.

Once you are a few blocks from the estate, Marquel turns to you with eyebrows raised. "How long will it take to get to Cassius? It won't be long before my father discovers that I'm missing. I'm not even sure how we made it out of there to be honest, I was sure gorefang would bear down on us and alert the guards!"

Not sure where we are, so not sure how close we are to the ship.

"It's a little ways Marquel, and you are right, they'll be on our heels in no time. Let's make haste!" he rushes as fast as he can toward the docks. He wonders if that's the best place to hide the noble, but they've trusted Cassius this far, so he'll trust him a little farther.

You are in the greens, the upper right hand of the map with the numbers G1-14.

Myradil takes a moment to visualize the map in his head.

"We've got quite a trek, we've got to go west to get out of The Greens, then south across the bridge, across town, out the gate by the docks. Basically we couldn't be further from where we want to go and still be in town. The only safe place we have on this side of town is a certain coffee housue associated with wasps. We might be better going to hole up there for the night rather than trying to traverse the whole town at night."

"You're right Myradil, the bridge is likely guarded, and we're not going to want to mess with that. Let's get to cover, and see what tomorrow brings. There may be a man-hunt, so we may need to lie low a couple days until the worst blows over and we can cross the bridge safely."

Femi agrees.

The Ravens agree to bring young Marquel to the Wasp's Nest. He protests a little, wanting to get to Cassius right away but he sees the logic in heading where his escort suggests.

The streets back home are familiar to you all by now, easy to navigate and you make it back to the Wasp's Nest with relative ease. Most of the members are either asleep or out on their own missions when you get there. The Fushi sisters are up, playing guards and keeping guard and they odd the newcomer suspiciously, a look Marquel returns easily.

"A secret lair beneath a coffee shop?" He questions. "Are you...the Bellflower network? No, that doesn't make sense, Cassius keeps slaves, would he risk that for me?"

He looks back at your group shaking his head.

"How soon until you can bring me to him by the way. Not that I don't appreciate your help, but I don't intend to be kept in a basement for very long, if I can help it."

Myradil responds "Hopefully tomorrow, we'll see how much of an alarm your disappearance is and might have to rest a few days, but the fewer the better."

"Just long enough to cool down. Then to him." Brask comments. "It's but a night."

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"Though to be honest, I feel we should have pushed our luck tonight. From tomorrow onwards, everyone will be on the lookout for the missing man. Searches might increase, and things might get....drastic."

"I'm hardly the first noble to go missing under Barzillai's watch." Marquel answers Kalem. "There will be search parties, that's true, but you have proven yourselves resourceful, and I'm sure you'll come up with something. At the very least, if you can find me some more mundane clothes to wear, I can hide my arm beneath a cloak and pose as a member of the regular citizenry. Cassius would not have sent you to retrieve me if he didn't have a way to protect me, you need only to worry about consequences the longer you keep me here. The sooner I'm gone, the safer you'll be."

"Tonight let us rest. Tomorrow, early, a few of us will go shopping and get a feel for what sort of search is going on and plan our move. Hopefully we'll have you aboard the ship before lunch!" he suggests.

He'll sleep lightly that night, constantly concerned about the Dotarri pounding on the door in the wee hours...

The next morning, he'll rise early and prepare his spells. He switches out a spell and wonders if it will come in handy...

He heads out early, just after breakfast, to obtain some common clothes for the uncommon noble. While shopping, he'll subtly ask around about increased Dottari activity. He'll also walk past the bridge and take a look at the guard contingent there - are they stopping people? Are they checking for Marquel?

Gather Information: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (10) + 10 = 20

Before they disperse, Kalem offers an idea.

"Should we have our new guest send a message with a silver raven? If he's expecting the "answer" tonight, then this might assuage any fears of our failure."

=======Next Morning========

Kalem stays close to the hideout for most of the day, the presence of their hidden guest weighing on his mind.

Brask will go out and acquire a set of civilian clothes Marquel's size, including a cloak, but he makes sure the sleeves of the shirt are extra long. They can cut the excess off the other sleeve if needed.

"Excellent idea Kalem!! I keep forgetting we have these. Yes, definitely send a message. More communication is better communication. Also, he may have an idea on how to get us to him if we have troubles on the bridge."

Myradil spends the morning going over some speaking mannerisms with our guest that'll help make him seem less royal in case we get questioned while out.

Anxiously awaiting Femi's return from the reconnoiter.

Brask and Femi head out to do some recon and collect some clothes for Marquel, who spends his time learning about other members of the gang that waits at the Wasp's nest. He writes his letter to Cassius and, when the bird takes flight he looks at Kalem knowingly.

"Any suspicions I had that you're the Silver Ravens are confirmed! I can't believe Cassius was concerned enough to hire you, Barzzalai would be furious if he knew!"

Marquel picks up quickly on the techniques Myradil teaches him, in fact the investigator finds Marquel to be a quick study. The young noble even manages a passable Old Kintargan accent before Femi and Brask return with their information.

As Marquel changes, Femi informs the Ravens that, yes the dottari have been sent out in force, and are clearly looking for someone, but they have not named Marquel directly. The bridge is always patrolled and guarded, but those maintaining their post there seem focused mostly on collecting their toll and rushing people through to avoid congestion of the area. Heading out during a busy hour, like noon or just before evening should cover most of your tracks.

The silver raven returns with a note from Cassius too.

"An actual silver Raven? A bit on the nose, no?" It reads. "My heart rejoices that you have been successful. Unable to enter the city, I am not able to assist you directly, but if you inform me before you leave, I can send my lieutenant and some men to keep an eye out for you. Having a Chelish Naval Officer should brush off any suspicion. I wish you well in the final leg of this task, thank you Ravens. Thank you."

Femi smiles, "Let's try noon, but if we catch a whiff of something off, we can leave and return at supper. Sound OK?"

He makes ready to go, bringing his full kit just in case they are trapped across the bridge for any reason.

Just before they leave, he writes another note to Cassius, "We're leaving now..." and sends it with his raven (or someone else's if he already used his for the first message).

Myradil nods to Femi's plan and looks to Marquel "Well, introduce yourself, just like we practiced."

Hoping that the other Raverns will be impressed by his Work Myradil nervously waits for Marquel's voice and the other Raven's responses.

"Communication. Always separates a good team from a dead team."

Kalem still has his apprehensions of leaving so quickly, but with Cassius's aid, he feels less nervous.

"Think we should cross as a group or separately? Not sure if word of our "grouping" has gone around yet."

If unaddressed, Kalem has enough trust to move forward with his team anyway.

"Good idea Kalem. We should cross separately, but it should be crowded enough that we can be just several feet from each other and still be considered separate. So we'll be close enough to each other if something goes wrong." ...he hopes.

Femi offers to lead, hoping he can talk his way out of whatever might happen.

"Good idea. I'll be in the middle of the 'string' of us, in case something goes wrong at either end." he offers.

As Femi sends his Raven, Brask and Marquel put some finishing touches on his clothing to conceal his weak arm, and the noble proves to Myradil that his accent will go mostly unnoticed.

Kalem and Femi put their plan in to place and the party moves separately through the streets of Kintargo. The streets are busy as everyone attempts to finish their errands before curfew, and the bridge is narrow enough that it's crowded, but not stuffed.

The bored guard hardly give you a second glance as everyone hands over their toll money. Marquel fumbles nervously for a second but regains his composure and makes it through unscathed.

Not far from the other end of the bridge, Lieutenant Nones makes herself known to you and escorts all of you quickly back to The Scourge of Belial.

The sailors all part way as you arrive on board and enter the captains cabin. Inside Cassius is sipping tea while one of his halfling slaves plays a sorrowful tune on the violin.

"Cassius!" Marquel shouts, throwing off his cloak as he runs toward the older man. Captain Sargaeta's eyes widen and tears well up as he embraces Marquel and the two enjoy a brief, but impassioned kiss.

"Ravens, you have earned a true friend this day!" The captain proclaims as he lets go of Marquel and grabs the porcelain tea cup he'd been drinking out of. Swallowing what's left of the tea, he holds the cup out to the Ravens.

"Take this! Drop it on the floor! The number of shards will be the number of favors I owe you!"

One raven may take the cup and drop it onto the floor, rolling a 1d10 to see how many shards you get. In addition to promising a number of favors, the captain uses his crew to watch and observe patrol patterns. As a result, as long as Cassius remains an ally, the rebellion is immune to the effects of the “Increased Patrols” event—if this event is rolled, treat it as no event and instead grant the rebellion +3d6 supporters.

broken cup: 1d10 ⇒ 5

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Did not see that coming, but alright. Congrats to them.

I did not see that coming, but alright. Congrats to them. Perhaps I'll find someone someday.

Kalem puts a hand in front of him, to stay any flying shards from Brask's brash bash of the porcelain glass.