A Push of the Fates.... Zakhara... You Jewel!

Game Master Insnare

Sorry I missed that question. I have moved house over the course of this week.

Happy with the move?

"Mayhaps infiltrate his tent while he sleeps?" - Aggrammar offered.

I am still stuck in a hotel until I get my job assignment and then I should get my own place.

Pickpocket during a service or sneak into his tent at night? Sorry, I finally got my own apartment, took 13 days. sheeessshhhh

We can certainly try either. Is that safer than confrontation? Perhaps. Depend on how much the public appearance of being good would matter to him, but maybe he wouldn't care anyway.

Zairiah asks the Zin

Can you keep him asleep for a little while? If so, Aggrammar's idea might work. Not sure how many guards he has out though, since they know someone broke into his tent previously.

The Zin says, "Well, we do not have any sleep spells but we can try to mind control him if he does wake. It should be easier since he will be sleeping but werefoxes are pretty mentally tough to being charmed."

Pickpocket during a service or sneak into his tent at night? Sorry, I finally got my own apartment, took 13 days. sheeessshhhh

Congrats!

"I meant to infiltrate the tent only ta get the key" - Aggrammar pointed out - "Then release da zin, and confront him in the open"

I will move this forward.

You wait until after midnight and you show up to get a gander at what if any extra guards Uday may have hired in the interim or past two days since you freed Iyda and the four zin. Whereas before he seemed to have had a skeleton staff of guards he has doubled them to now there is about 8 guards versus the four you spotted from two nights prior.

Each of you have a zin wrapped around your armor or dishdashes or whichever garb you have deemed appropriate for this heist.

One of the zin says, "Should we cast massss sssssuggestion and how would you like ussss to word it to maximize the effect?"

Zairiah tries to think what would work best.

How about "These people are supposed to be here. They are good friends of Uday."

She looks at the others

Does that sound alright, or is there a better idea? Something like "There is an emergency at home; I need to leave" or "I'm really, really tired. No harm in taking a short nap." or something else? What do you guys think?

Anyone agree on one of those approaches or have any other ideas.

"I'mma say we go with tellin' dem there is an emergency - but not at home because they may not be livin' around these parts" - the dwarf ponders - "Mebbe an emergency somewhere close, and the prophet wants them to go and investigate, or somethin' like dat?"

Oh, that's good. Maybe an emergency at your brother's camp?

Is the idea about your brother's camp ok for you Agrammar?

I figure to move it forward, Agrammar if you don't want me to do it, I am willing to retcon.

Agrammar says, "Ye seemeth to have a good idea."

The zin on the characters slither outside of their bags and they start to weave magical music from their tongues humming, moaning hissing, these creatures get into a lather and say to the 8 guards, "Master Uday requires you to go after the thieves at Sehzade Marwan bin Kamal al-Asad's tent. They need to be dealt with." in a sing song manner.

Saving Throws vs Spell 8d20 ⇒ (12, 19, 12, 8, 3, 17, 15, 7) = 93

Your group sees 7 out of the 8 guards make their way towards Agrammar's brother's tent. From outside of Uday's three still awake servent girl's also leave the tent and walk with the guards toward Marwan's tent as well.

What do you do?

Zairiah, with only one guard to worry about, quietly circles around to the other side of the tent and slips under the canvas of the tent, making a slit for herself if necessary.

Nura follows Zairiah, intent on guarding the thief against harm

Aggrammar stands guard outside, not having much taste for stealthy business.

Ok, Fadi, are you going into the tent or standing guard outside?

Fadilah will wait outside because she doesn't have the kinds of skills to help inside!

Zairiah, please give me a move silently check.

Move Silently (20%): 1d100 ⇒ 6

Zairiah moves to the area where she cut her way in two days prior and her slit has not only been noticed but patched over with a heavier and most likely louder sounding canvas but she cuts a slit in the regular canvas and rolls in.

The wooden desk has been put on its four legs and a new chair has replaced the shattered one from your last entrance. You sneak your into Uday's bed partition and you see a bed, called a mattrah,
consisting of a feather mattress on a wooden frame, feather
pillows, and white linen sheets. The sheets hang over the
side of the frame and touch the floor. In the bed, Uday with sheets
pulled to his chin but obviously having a nightmare, tossing and turning, repeatedly moans, "Help! Please help!" intermittently he turns foxlike. Around his neck you see the key that the Zin has told you about that can save the remaining Zin still in the hole.

Nura slips in afterwards but stays out of the partition in order not to give away Zairiah's attempt.

Zariah goes up to get the key. If she can just cut the cord it is on, she does, but if she has to pull it over his head, she will still try for it.

rolling pick pockets, but let me know if something else seems more appropriate to you.

Pick Pockets (40%): 1d100 ⇒ 32

Zairiah is able to time it just right between tossing and turning and is able to get the key from his head without waking Uday.

Zairiah goes to find the rest of the Zin.

Zairiah moves her way into the room where the hole is in the floor and she goes through it. The hole which has been made by some sort of animal goes down for about 6 feet and then levels off. The hole then levels off into a chamber that is about 6 feet high and 20 feet across. Inside the room is a chest similar to the one from which you had freed half of the Zin clan. There is a lock on the chest.

Zairiah looks the chest over carefully before attempting to open it, to make sure there isn't a trap.

If there is a trap, she attempts to remove it.

Then, after either ensuring there was no trap or removing it, she unlocks and opens the chest.

Find/Remove Traps (75%): 1d100 ⇒ 40
Find/Remove Traps (75%): 1d100 ⇒ 20 (if needed)
Open Locks (95%): 1d100 ⇒ 6

To set the stage, Nura is standing next to the entrance to the bedroom of Uday waiting while Fadilah and Agrammar are near the slit in the tent. Zairiah checks the chest for traps, twice just to be sure but does not seem to find any physical traps. She then takes out the key and opens the lock to the chest revealing the 4 sleeping zin wearing the collars.

As she does so an orange mouth appears and screams in such a loud voice, "Intruder" the voice is loud enough for Nura and the rest to hear throughout the tent and just outside.

Surprise round, Nura and Zairiah can take actions where they are and Fadi and Agrammar can choose to try and subdue the remaining guard or come into the tent to help or something else.

Oh, I thought the key was to the collars, not the chest. That's how I interpreted your response on August 9th. So, we *don't* have a way to get them out of the collars after all? Ugh. Shouldn't even have opened it then. ... or tried this with Uday around.

She says mentally to Sham

>Can you keep them asleep until we can free them? Or keep Uday asleep?<

Zairiah doesn't have to worry about stealth anymore at least. She relatches the chest and picks it up to carry it out.

The key might work for both

The big zin on you says, "The key works for the chest and the collars."

Sham says, "I can try. Maybe mistress Nura can keep Uday busy while we free them, as long as he is busy, he cannot give them orders."

Okay, got it. Different plan then...

Annoyed that there was a trap she couldn't find, Zairiah unlocks the collar from the biggest Zin, planning on freeing them all as fast as she can.

Does Aggrammar hear any of the commotion? :)

You heard the Magic MOuth scream of Intruder

And do I see any reaction on the outside, while keeping watch? Any guards rushing, or anything of the kind? If so, Aggrammar's plan is to step forth, and 'pretend' he is the intruder, or something like that. But first things first - are any guards coming?

You do see the one remaining guard start running towards the main entrance. So you can definitely go through the slit and beat him to Uday's partition or to the main room of the tent, if you want and be face to face with him by the next round. On the map, Agrammar and Fadilah are just outside written as A+F, Nura is N. Zairiah is down the hole at 4e and Uday is stirring from 4d. The guard is listed as G. Each square is 5ft.

Big Top

Nura moves into the partition of the tent with Uday. "Uday! Awaken! We are under attack! Hurry! Come with me!"

Aggrammar runs to interpose himself between the guard and the interior reaches of the pavilion tent.

LOVE that old school map!

"Where ye goin' lad?! The intruder went that way!" - he points away from the interior.

Fadilah

Fadilah makes a desperate attempt...

Fetch spell: Improved phantasmal force (<= 60): 1d100 ⇒ 58
Fetch time in rounds: 1d6 + 2 ⇒ (6) + 2 = 8

Zairiah unlocks the first zin.

Fadilah's Gen poofs away saying "Yes, mistress!"

Agrammar runs into the partition with the main area waiting on the guard to come.

The zin on Agrammar, Fadilah and Nura drop down to the floor ready for action.

Round 1 Initiative

Party 1d10 ⇒ 4, Enemies 1d10 ⇒ 4, tie P 1d10 ⇒ 7, Enemy 1d10 ⇒ 1

Party But actions happen simultaneously.

"Where ye goin' lad?! The intruder went that way!" - Aggrammar points to the outside - "Go after him!"

Give me a Charisma check.

Charisma hah! (15): 1d20 ⇒ 11

Zairiah starts unlocking the second Zin, asking Sham to explain to it what is going on (if it wakes up).

I guess Nura is waiting on what Uday chooses to do. Fadilah, what would you like to do? You do have your new staff.

Nura is, in fact, waiting on Uday. She plans to hold to the ruse for as long as possible.

Fadilah slips into the tent following after Agrammar to get better idea what is going on, readying her staff.

Uday transforms into a giant silver fox with a strange belt around its torso as it darts into the whole in the ground towards Zairiah's location.

The guard looks at Agrammar and shrugs his shoulders, looks at him and says, "How I did miss him?" and runs back out of the tent.

NUra's, Fadilah and Agrammar's zins all make their way to the whole where foxy Uday has just darted off to.

Nura

I forgot about the staff, and I can't find it on a search of the forums. What was it again?

It is the Staff of the Sea. the Padisha said , "Your Staff of the Sea allows any sorcerer or mage to use the
following powers, at the cost of one charge per use: cool
strength, depth warning, converse with sea creatures, water
blast, waterbane.
The following powers expend two charges (sea mages
expend only one charge): conjure water elemental, ice
storm, command water spirits.
Only a sea mage can use the following power, which
consumes four charges of the staff: maelstrom.
The individual holding the staff is in addition
considered to be under the effect of a water breathing
spell as long as he or she holds the staff. The water
breathing effect disappears when all charges of the staff
are expended. The staff has 89 charges."

GM rolls

Spoiler:
1d20 + 80 ⇒ (9) + 80 = 89

With an annoyed sigh, Nura follows Uday.