Hearing Katrin's pronouncement and the sounds of the guards reacting, Taemon'dow rushes forward, into the room and attacks the nearest guard.
Two of the guards are easily brought down by intense blows, and one of them moves forward to attack Katrin. The fourth, however, chooses a more... unique approach. Still lying on his bed, he only looks up at the ceiling, yelling in a slightly slurred voice, "MURDER! MURDER! MURDER!" As the only living people in this building are the escapees and them, this is probably an ineffective tactic.
Guard Attack:
After the guard attempts to attack Katrin and badly fails, Taemon'dow is easily able to bring him down. The only guard left remaining is the one still bleating "MURDER!" on his bed.
Since Taemon'dow already moved, back to Group A.
With a look of pure disgust on his face, Lysander moves up and thrusts the mind blade into the guard's stomach.
Hrm, Mavro grunts as he enters the room, escorted by his blood god's avatar. That hysteria business was rather unsettling. Though I suppose it matters little now. We must be wary though in case any guards we might have missed come running.
With that done, Mavro searches the room for anything valuable that he might be able to pawn off later or perhaps even something actually useful.
"Well now, I suppose that's the extent of this building. The only way out is outside, unfortunately. There are two buildings we might look, but I suggest we first look into the room at the rear of this building. There might be another passage or another means of escape there. The other building looks like the gatehouse, and I don't suggest we try that way until we're ready."
"Looks like the wizards tower is to the south west there. The main gates look to be north. Did any of you see where the beach was on the way in? I think we've cleared all the rooms in this building. If we know which wall to go through we can try to use that magical window and see if it will make a passage through the wall."
With a massive gashing wound in his stomach, the guard continues to scream. "MURDER! MURDER! Muuuuurdeeer!!!"
Also in the room are four beds and twelve small chests, with locks that seem to match the small keys seen before, that seemed to have no locks that fit them. Each chest has a number on it.
"Shut up."
Taemon'dow swings his blade down, decapitating the bleating guard.
"So, the gates, the tower, or the wall. There's a decision to be made."
Darsis pulls out his picks and begins working upon the chests,
"I still think we would be fools to flee with the wizard left alive. Who knows what magics he has that we might take for ourselves instead of having them used in hunting us? He might also have magical means to communicate with the authorities."
"And judging by our experience this far, that communication may well be used," Lysander says with a frown as Taemon finally silences the guard. "Seems that every fight we've had has resulted in our enemies having the time to call out and warn others. Our luck is wearing thin, I'd wager." Much as these pigs deserve to die, you can kill them another day.
The chests easily open at Darsis's touch, though it does take a bit of time to get them all open. Various things are found in them, some useful, some not.
The Contents of the Various Chests:
First, a collection of books with titles such as "The Heiress's Secret Lover" and "The Murderer's Revenge." They seem of little literary quality, and are very crudely printed.
Then, a small bottle containing a whitish liquid, probably a potion of cure light wounds. A small note is attached, reading, "In case of trouble- Love, Mom!"
A bottle of foul-smelling alcohol without a label, as well as similar empty bottles.
A set of ugly but sturdy peasant clothes and a short sword.
Various peasant clothes in brown and blue, as well as two decks of cards, identical besides the fact that one is marked. In addition, 10 gold pieces and twenty silver pieces in a small leather bag.
A whetstone, cleaning supplies for a chain shirt or similar armor, an extra bowstring, and a small but quite dull book of military regulations.
A bottle of much better smelling alcohol.
A small pouch with two gold pieces, 10 silver pieces, and 40 copper pieces, neatly sorted.
A beautiful, well-tuned lute with floral imagery. It could be worth quite a bit on the market.
A silver holy symbol of Mitra, and a small book of Mitran prayers.
At least two dozen delicious-smelling cookies, carefully wrapped in wax paper. A dozen are vanilla, and the others are ginger snaps. They're labeled "From Lil."
And lastly, a large collection of quite boring letters from home. They detail things such as the local weather, the deaths and births of various farm animals, Mitran philosophy, and a detailed description of a wedding.
Mavro moves over and hoists up the lute, plucking out a small tune before gently putting it amongst his personal belongings, tying it to a piece of string and placing it about his chest.
Take the money and the weapons. Leave that smut literature for the rats.
Darsis pockets the whetstone and takes a cookie, munching it and throwing back a single swig of the better alcohol as he swiftly divides the coin equally.
When all the shouting began, the young oracle decided it would be best to wait until all noises settled down before he rejoined his fellow prisoners, waiting to see what they decide to do next.
"Ooh, cookies!" Katrin says, for once sounding like a little girl. She gobbles up a couple of them. "Well, I think we've killed everyone in this building. Who knows if the others heard us, or how long we have before they come check on something here. Lets disguise ourselves as guards, and go enter the tower. Once inside, we can take care of the mage and use it as a giant ladder to get to the height of the top of the wall. Then we can try the window thing, hopefully make an exterior exit, after we've had a better view of the island."
Inside the tower, it doesn't seem at first like a living space, more like a museum. On the wall is a old but beautiful brocade tapestry of Castle Branding being converted into the Branderscar prison of today, with the caption, "His Judgement Cometh and that Right Soon". On the walls are other various banners, the banners of both House Barca and House Darius, as well as flags. Various plaques talk about the battles that took place in this castle, as well as more recent events in the prison, such as various riots, all of which were quashed by the guards. In a corner stands an "Award for Excellent Lifetime Service" given some six years ago to a "Captain Callidan" on his retirement.
A few torches illuminate this room, and a large spiral staircase leads upwards.
Darsis scans the banners trying to discern if they appear to show there are more guards at hand than the fat Sergeant indicated. He moves forward and with his sword carefully cuts the words Judgement Cometh from the brocade tapestry smiling thinly as he says,
"I think I will have this sewn onto my cloak, it is both fitting and ominous. I trust you will all forgive me a touch of melodrama."
Then he moves for the stairs beginning to move stealthily as he climbs slowly upwards
Katrin waits for Taemon, and then follows behind him, polearm out.
Upstairs, the group ends up in a library, with a spiral stairwell going upstairs to a third floor. This room is bordered by bookshelves on all sides. Looking over the books, many of them are simple adventure novels of little worth, mostly involving beautiful maidens having to be rescued from distress, but some are of more worth. Tomes on magical theory, history, and astronomy are carefully categorized and shelved here. Out of the many books, three seem of greater value, but you would need to make an appraise check or a knowledge (arcana), knowledge (geography) or knowledge (nature) for each book (different knowledge checks for each vote) to discover their value.
Mavro's eyes open wide and his large-toothed mouth conforms to a kind of gleeful grin. He hurries about the room, checking much of the literature for the most valuable and well written books. Pawing over the pages, Mavro seems lost to the rest of the world.
"There'll be some very valuable books here," he says. "Just... give me a moment to look. It's been... too long."
Once the books have been explored, and the valuable ones stowed, Taemondow takes his position at the bottom of the third floor stairs. He holds his shield before him and his sword drawn, and in hand behind. When Katrin and Darsis are in position with him he advanced upwards.
The first book is recognizable as Astra Mysterii, a rare treatise on Astrology. It was written some hundred years ago by the mad monk, Clivarus. The book is known for being quite confusing, but enlightening for those who can understand it. It's worth around 75 gp.
The second book is a rare first edition copy of “The Travels of Titus the Mendicant” by Artus Vellor. As it was published before Artus's rise to fame, it doesn't seem as attractive as a book, but a first edition copy of any of his works, especially one in such pristine condition as this, is quite valuable. To a collector, it would be worth around 120 gp.
The last book is a small, beautifully illustrated book about flowers. Most of the flowers of Talingarde, and even some that are foreign to its borders are cataloged here. It's quite old, but the pictures still look fresh. It is the most valuable of the books, worth around 250 gp.
Of the other books, 52 of them are worth anything more than a few coppers. Each of them would be worth around 3 gp. As it is, they each weigh around a pound each, making taking them out a bit of an undertaking. The three special books also weigh about a pound.
Katrin keeps her ears open as they creep up the steps, listening hard for any possibly opposition ahead.
Upstairs, Katrin can hear nothing from the quiet rooms ahead.
The stairway ends at a small landing, lit by a single torch. There are two doors here, one to the north and one to the south. The one to the north has a plaque that reads, "Office". The other reads, "Private: Keep Out!"
Darsis moves stealthily forward and presses his ear to both doors in turn.
Lysander also moves forward softly, staying a little behind Darsis. He's good in a fight, I'll give him that, and not bad at stealth.
Taemon'dow stands ready, doing his best to remain quiet. He keeps an eye on Darsis for any sign of which door might conceal a threat.
Darsis hears nothing behind the first door. The second, private, room sounds quiet for a moment, then Darsis can hear the soft sound of loud, on and off breathing. It seems like someone is sleeping, but not very well. Any loud noise could probably disturb the inhabitant.
After Darsis conveys that information, Katrin looks at Lysander. Raising a finger to her lips, then nodding towards the door and raising one eyebrow in a questioning look.
Lysander also nods, calling his mind blade into being, preparing to move into the room and put the occupant to death--quietly.
Darsis nods and steps back quietly motioning fro Lysander to take the lead, the lither man presumably being stealthier than him. He readies himself to move in behind Lysander though ready in case charging in and slaughtering what he believes is the wizard is a viable option.
The door is not locked.
As it is opened, the door opens into a beautiful bedroom, with a four-poster bed, full-length mirror and beautiful wardrobe, as well as a large chest. The human occupant of the room is deep asleep, but he is not the only one in the room. A wide-eyed owl sits on the wardrobe, watching the door.
Gunter is surprised with the Owl, and finds it absolutely adorable. He cannot resist but to go forth and attempt to see if he can get the owl to become remain quiet. He honestly didn't want to waste more time in battle..
The owl is surprised at the young man being friendly to it, but is able to trust him enough to stay quiet. The bird gives Gunter a few friendly nips on the finger to show its affection. Unless anyone else bothers this owl, it will most likely stay quiet.
Pleased with his new found little friend, as he DOES adore animals, he shifts to make eye contact with his companions. If they wanted to attack, most certainly this would be the best time to do so. He then turns back to the owl, petting it gently and trying to keep it distracted.
Darsis charges what he assumes is the sleeping wizard, whipping his greatsword from its scabbard and bringing it down upon the figure in the bed. But somehow he manages to catch the post instead his blade cracking into the wood and sending chips flying.
The thunk of the blade hitting wood wakes up the mage. Eyes springing open, he yells, in a angry but not panicked tone, "Guards! To me!"
"You shall not kill me." says the mage, glaring at his failed murderer. "And I will not let you leave this place alive."
Lysander:
Mavro:
Katrin:
Gunter:
Taemon'dow:
Darsis:
Mathias (Wizard):
Aspros:
[ooc]Group A:
Katrin
Darsis
Mavro
Lysander
Mathias(Wizard)
Group B:
Gunter
Taemon'dow
Assuming Lysander also moves to attack as Lysander should be in frotn of Darsis.
Mavro moves at the back of the group, keeping watch behind with his light mace drawn.
Aspros is just ahead of him on the staircase, ready to pounce at the moment combat begins.
The wizard sputters as the arrow strikes him strongly in the chest, but it seems as if he's going to hold on. Blood shoots out of the wound, and then he finally gives up and dies. The owl gives out a very loud hoot before its own chest opens, and it falls over, equally dead.
"What an ugly sod. Let's pillage this place and then go take a look from the tower."
On the mage's cold, dead hand, there is a quite beautiful golden ring with diamonds. In celestial it reads, "Truth is the Highest Devotion", and there is some odd design of an eagle carrying a scroll. Next to him on the desk is a small glowing stone that floats when touched. Three scrolls can be found in the room as well.
In the chest of drawers there are five elegant silk robes, easily worn by anyone.
In the chest, there's an academical supply- rare oils, ingredients, bottles, flasks, and the like. It could be valuable if the group manages to get it out here.