Petronia watched and waited with her arms crossed. Many words were being spoken but none of which she understood and so she bided her time until someone asked her a question.
When it became clear that they had no easy way of opening the crates, a fifth guard was called out of the gatehouse, and he came holding a heavy iron crowbar.
There were two large crates left on the sled. The new guard levered the top off the first one, and revealed that it was filled with hay. Tossing the top layer into the snow beside them, he whistled between his teeth. Reaching in, he pulled out a beautifully crafted longsword, with a silver chased hilt and a ruby in the pommel. It was clearly worth a fortune, but it wasn't its value that had prompted the reaction. It was the sword-and-sunburst symbol etched into the blade. The symbol of Iomedae.
The captain's breath hissed out between her clenched teeth. "Is there more of that sun-b&*!*'s contraband?" The guard nodded, his face white. He pulled out an ornate helm, heavily detailed with Iomedae's sunburst pattern. "There's a whole set."
The captain drew her sword, and pointed it at the group in general. "On your face, hand behind your heads, you foreign filth, and you may live to explain yourself."
The musher, Dines, had paled to near-transparency, and threw himself prostrate on the snow at her feet. "I'm just the musher, Mistress, please, don't kill me!"
Looking over the group and trying to think fast Oksana steps forward with he hands out.
"Captain, captain..can you not see that this is plunder from some hideous Imodaeian temple brought here as spoils to offer to The Queen? Why else would we bring such contentious items into the heart of Irrisen? It's plunder to give to The Queen to do with as she will...as you can see it is valuable and would fetch much money for her coffers...or could be used in a ritual and perhaps turned to OUR usage. "
Ner had already been following the team's lead and watching their rections so that he could carefully follow suit, it was a survival tactic he used sometimes in new cities.
When he saw what was happening he moved carefully out in front of Oksana, brushed any of the straw tossed from the crate that might have landed on her cloak, gave her a quick bow, then moved behind and to her left. He kept his eyes downward facing the entire time. He hoped if he established himself as a servant as opposed to a team member she might look more the noble tribute bringer - lowering himself to elevate her and to explain their company. When he was done he whispered to himself, "defremental"
The captain visibly struggled for several seconds. Finally she visibly deflated; obviously this could potentially be above her station, and she didn't want to risk making a mistake. "Very well, mistress. But I cannot allow you to bring such contraband into the city. We will seize it, and present for inspection via the proper channels."
Motioning to the guards with the crossbows she said, "You will present yourselves to the Royal Palace at once, for debriefing. Corporals Steld and Anneke will accompany you, to ensure that you are not waylaid." her voice making it clear that they were not only there to protect you.
Retrieving her clipboard, she said, "Names and origin of everybody"
Retrieving her clipboard, she said, "Names and origin of everybody"
Despite the freezing air, Matheus had found himself sweating as things took a sudden turn for the worse, but somehow, Oksana’s words managed to defuse the situation before it quite blew on their faces. He’d have preferred anonymity, but this certainly beat the alternative.
”Matheus Winterglade, Sir,” the druid replied quickly to hide his agitation. ”From Andoran.” He shrugged his wide shoulders at the suspicious stares, knowing fully well he looked like a spitting image of an Ulfen shaman. But hard as the truth might be to believe, it might come out in the end anyway, and considering the present circumstances, he felt it better to save lying for when he really needed to.
Yes, the conversation is in Skald. We can assume that Matheus translates at least this last bit for those who don't speak it.
”The officer wants our names and countries of birth on record,” Matheus translated for Petronia and Ner. And just in case the guards knew the common trade tongue, as he suspected they did… ”There was a little confusion concerning Mistress Zhukov’s offerings to Her Majesty, but it seems to be sorted now,” he added, hoping the two would take the hint in case more private interviews were in their future.
Trying to remain calm despite the aggressive behaviour of the guards, it's only Matheus's translation that they are not in fact being arrested that finally allows Koyuki to realise she has been holding her breath for what seems like minutes.
Exhaling quickly she nodded at Oksana.
"That was... well clarified..."
She flickered a smile at Matheus
It's just 'Koyuki', I grew up around Varisia. Not sure if there's a record though, we moved around a lot.
Ner kept his eyes down and waited for Oksana's go ahead but really he was trying to remember the name of the country he was born in, the one his family left after the flooding. When Oksana cleared her throat he stepped forward and spat out, "Please, I'm Issur and Hode's son Ner from Nimrath ... ah, Nirmathas, but I grew up in the Kodar mountains." He was about to go on and on about greenies and how he didn't like baths when they use rough scrub brushes but stopped himself, so there was a little pause before he stepped back again.
His armour let out a soft 'fah' sound accompanied by an acrid apple smell.
Petronia had no idea what was being said but she could recognize anger and the tension that followed. She instinctively bristled in response to that tension but kept quiet, having enough sense to recognize that anything she did would most likely be viewed as aggressive.
The brawler forced herself to take a couple breaths and then crossed her arms to keep her hands from making fists. When Oksana's words seemed to calm the situation, Petronia also relaxed somewhat.
When Matheus translated the last request/demand, the brawler simply stated, "Petronia Fangborne. Biston, Varisia."
"Oksana, House Zhukov. Matron of Dalun in the province of Wintercrux"
Having noted everybody's names and information, the captain said, "Very well. Please go with the Corporals, straight to the Royal Palace."
The two Corporals, Steld and Anneke, motioned them through the gates. Steld, a tall, grizzled looking man, walked in front, while Anneke, a sturdy woman, brought up the rear.
You pass into the city, and what a city it is. Almost all the buildings are made of white stone, and with the sun overhead the affect is dazzling. Ice trolls and ogres walk freely with humans and snow goblins. A variety of languages, harsh and gutteral, overlap as people argue in the streets. Some of the Jadwiga sweep through without a glance to the lesser beings, trusting on their bloodline to keep them safe.
A block or so in, a patrol of Iron Guard pass your party, and one of the men says to Steld, "Fler utländska skräp som inte vet sin plats. Må deras ben frysa snabbt!"
Not willing to tolerate such disrespect by such commoners, Oksana calls out in Hallit.
"Titta på din tunghund, så fryser jag den ur din mun! Ber om ursäkt till mina kamrater."
Watch your tongue dog, or I will freeze it out of your mouth! Now apologize to my companions.
She stands defiantly staring at the guard...waiting for an apology to herself and her companions.
Ner made sure he was situated behind Oksana, cowering behind her status and making sure he didn't make eye contact. Except for a second with Petronia. He tried to catch her eye and shake his head slightly No. He was behind her and slightly to the left with his left hand grasping her frost covered cloak.
His eyes were big and he tried his best to look like the spit would have knocked him over ... but his right hand tipped his sword in case things went pear shaped.
The guard laughed, and bowed sarcastically to Oksana, "Min ursäkt, avskum." As they walked away, one said to the other, "En annan tikhäxa missade i den sista trången. Hon håller inte länge."
They continued their trek through the winter city. To their left was the Troll Quarter, and the houses here were larger, to reflect the size of their occupants. They witnessed a pair of Ice Trolls walking down a side street, kicking at a gnome in a threadbare cloak. They were laughing; it seemed the game was to see who could squash the gnome first. The small victim, however, slithered down through an open window into somebody's basement, much to the troll's disappointment.
As they walked through the city, several people, only a few of them human, whistled and made catcalls at the women. "See you in the stocks, princess," one called out in rough common, making a rude gesture with his hands. A dark-haired dwarf threw a snowball at Matheus, hitting him soundly in the back of the head. Rubbing his pate, the druid found that the snowball had contained a center of fresh dung.
This was not a good place for foreigners. As they rounded a corner, and the Royal Palace came in sight, the southerners all felt a shiver go down their spine. The harsh glare of the ice castle, the sharp edge and steep planes, spoke to the harsh attitude and cutting judgement of the queen who ruled there. A queen who didn't much care for any not of her country.
The druid rubbed his hair with a handful of snow he scooped up, contemplating. Accomplishing anything at all in this place was going to be an absolute pain. He only hoped this meeting in the Palace was a mere formality, quickly resolved, so they could try to find a little more accepting place for them to plan and prepare. The first thing, Matheus thought, would be a chance of clothes to help them blend in - if they were spotted as outsiders instantly, and would have to spend time in this government district to try and find the lair of their quarry, they'd only get reported within minutes... unless the crowd decided to carry out a little bit of the local equivalent of citizen justice.
Petronia had a permanent snarl on her face as they moved through the city. She bristled at every word even though she couldn't understand. It was getting harder and harder to control herself and the rude gesture was the last straw. With a growl she turned and took a couple steps towards him only to have someone grab her arm to pull her back. She whirled back around to meet Koyuki's gaze as she gave her head a shake. Petronia's eyes narrowed and she pulled her arm free but she abandoned her plan to punch out one of the locals.
She returned to her position of 'guarding' Oksana who was apparently in charge of their group and made sure that no harm came to her on their march. Annoyed at the mess they found themselves in, she felt absolutely no remorse at having tossed one of the brothers off the sled and having the other die by snowball. All she wanted to do now was find Skagni and leave. She looked over at Oksana and hoped that their white witch would be able to talk their way out of this predicament. As much as Petronia loved a good fight, she had her doubts of being able to fight all of Whitethrone and survive.
Oksana drops back a little to speak with her friends...quietly.
"We cannot go to the palace...I am sure I do not have to tell you that. I have been trying to make some sort of diversion so we can make a break for it, but nothing seems to be working. I can try and sleep our 'escort' but we need to break away...and soon!"
She looks over the other and hopes that her fear and anxiety are noted.
Well, that sure soured his hopes quickly, not that he had had much to begin with, Matheus mused.
"If that's how it is, best not to waste time. If we can get into the alleys with a bit of a lead, my spells can help us lose them," the druid murmured.
"My, what lovely people," Matheus said aloud, nudging Petronia in the ribs. "Reminds me of the welcome we got in the Horned Helm. You remember, after we found our friend... or his lookalike, at any rate. There was this wonderful thing you did with your fingers there - left a lasting impression to that first fellow. Think you could remember how it went? Might not need to go all that far, but I'd love to see if again, sometime really soon."
Ner bolted down the nearest alley trying to avoid the stout arms of Anneke. His eyes darting around for opportunities. A little window like the one the gnome used? A gate to slide under? A bank of snow that a well placed throw might dislodge from an eave? It was a fool's hope but he knew at least one thing about surviving - necessary things were never stupid. If he was very lucky he might split them up.
Okay, we have Oksana possibly trying to slumber somebody, Petronia attacking the other guard, Ner taking off, Matheus ready with his mist...Koyuki? If this is the plan, write it up. Oksana, you can roll the save for the guard, they have a +4 Will save.
Guard Sleep VS DC 17:
If you want to try to cast slumber on a second NPC before they get to roll initiative, you need to at least do it in character. Give me a good write up, and I'll allow it.
"We cannot go to the palace...I am sure I do not have to tell you that. I have been trying to make some sort of diversion so we can make a break for it, but nothing seems to be working. I can try and sleep our 'escort' but we need to break away...and soon!"
"My, what lovely people," Matheus said aloud, nudging Petronia in the ribs. "Reminds me of the welcome we got in the Horned Helm. You remember, after we found our friend... or his lookalike, at any rate. There was this wonderful thing you did with your fingers there - left a lasting impression to that first fellow. Think you could remember how it went? Might not need to go all that far, but I'd love to see if again, sometime really soon."
Adrenaline began to course through Petronia's veins. She was getting the go-ahead from two different people in the group to fight their way free. It took a couple moments for the brawler to figure out what Matheus was hinting at. Of course he wanted her to punch something because that what she did but she finally realized he wanted her to try to knock out one of the guards. She gave the druid a feral grin and moved closer to one of the guards.
[ooc]Well maybe she will do so if your punch does not take him out right away...and I think we will need to roll of Initiative first?[/b]
As the group travels towards the palace, Oksana begins to panic. They cannot go there...once inside they will be taken and questioned...and few can resist a witch's questioning.
Looking at their two guards, she comes up with a hasty plan.
Muttering a curse under her breath, she releases a sleeping charm at the guard closest to her. As he falls under the spell she moves forward and gently lowers him to the ground.
"Woah...careful there it is slippery!"
Hoping the other man is taken off guard, she quickly repeats the spell in the hopes of catching him unaware and sleeping him along with his companion.
Despite having not much of a plan, the group moved quickly. Oksana released her hex on the front guard, and he fellimmediately asleep. The second guard was too far behind to notice what happened, and she failed to see Petronia's quick spin. The brawler's fist hit her in the head like a frost giant's, but the Irrisen Iron Guard's head was apparently made of solid iron. She shook off the punch, despite the blood pouring from her nose and mouth. Unfortunately, this left her particularly susceptible to Oksana's second hex, and she hit the ground like a bag of rocks.
Ner was already sprinting off down the nearest alley; fortunately the roads were mostly clear of loose snow and it was fairly easy walking/running. Petronia spotted the halfling, and led the others after him. They ran through the alley, around a corner, and into a small side street. Pausing for a moment, they heard no sounds of pursuit. They were safe, for the moment.
Ner looked back and saw his friends running to meet him. He slowed down and ducked into the second smaller alley and waited.
"I think we got to make some friends an' we need to keep moving. Oksana??? Do you have any friends?" Ner meant nothing by his cold questions and couldn't hear what he just asked. "Maybe I can find some if you don'."
"Friends would be good, if we can find any," the druid wheezed, trying to catch his breath. "But before that, clothes so we at least would look local at first glance. If you see any you can lay your hands on, go ahead - might leave a couple coins behind as compensation. We can worry about fashion later."
Koyuki frowned at the treatment the group was receiving, it was frustrating to be subject to such ungrounded prejudice.
"We are best to carry on our business here as quickly and as quietly as possible I think..."
Glancing around, she saw only alien territory.
"It will be impossible for us to hide here without even knowing the lay of the land."
She took Matheus's arm
"I'm about to go oblivious to the world for about a minute, please make sure I don't fall over..." she whispered.
As the group turned the corner to the palace, her hand reached out to scrape the stone of the nearest building. She cupped the tiny fragment in one hand and let her power flow through her.
As the spell wears off she squeezes Matheus's arm
"Ok back with you now, thank for not walking me in to a wall." she tried her usual humor, but the situation seemed too dire to raise much mirth.
Despite being completely unrepared for the group's sudden actions, Koyuki moved as quickly as she could, sprinting after Ner and making sure everyone had gotten away ok.
Koyuki feels somewhat shaken after coming out of her reverie. If there had ever been a place so hostile to "outsiders", she'd never heard of it. However, she was able to glean the location of their destination, and also knew which direction was the Merchant's Quarter. A small inn there was accepting of foreigners, though not above price gauging them. However, it was known to the Iron Guard, and occasionally raided.
Ner thought about heading back for the place that the gnome had vanished, but realized it was a few alleys behind them, and unlikely that the big folk among his friends would be able to follow.
Here's a map. The red X is where you escaped, and the smaller x is where you are now. The blue circle is Aunt Marny's Bitter Brew - the place where Runa said you'd find the Shadow Lodge. The yellow dot is the inn Koyuki found out about. I'm not sure why there are dotted red lines on the map, it's one I took from online, so probably from somebody else's campaign.
The Iron Guard will be on the hunt for you, so for every block that you travel, you'll need to everybody make a stealth roll. The blocks are marked by the pink lines. The lowest roll in the group will determine if you get noticed or not. A roll of 15 or better means nobody sees you. 10-14 means some locals see you, and you might get harassed. A roll of 9 or worse means that you're found by the Iron Guard. And that means either a chase or a fight.
Let's start with you guys deciding where to go, and what route to take. Everybody make your initial stealth roll. Koyuki's excellent diplomacy rolls mean she is pretty familiar with the map. I didn't include the north and south extremities only because I figured you're not going to increase your risk by taking extremely circuitous routes. The entire map is in the header, if you're curious.
If you're after clothes, that'll mean buying or stealing. No laundry lines out in Irrisen, so you'll need to decide how to steal. Market Square is #11 on the map. It'll be easier to steal there, but the DC of stealth rolls will increase. Otherwise you need to go into an actual home or shop. Cloaks/jackets similar to what the locals wear will cost 5gp for a local, or 10 gp for a foreigner.
Any questions? I'm sure I haven't covered every contingency....
"Not much positive to say, it's going to be hard draft getting us across town unnoticed unless we can think of something creative."
Koyuki turned the situation over, wishing there were more options.
"There's an inn that's friendly to foreigners, close by to Runa's, but more than likely it'll get raided as they'll know we escaped and will be looking for shelter. We should also grab local fur cloaks to blend in if we can."
She gestured at the others
"We could do with a distraction to draw the guards away from looking for us? Or if nothing else, if there's no other options, we should move now. The longer we wait the harder it will be to escape..."
"My, that was a very useful spell," Matheus murmured, properly impressed. "And I agree that an inn known of being raided for the outsiders it tends to shelter is not a good place for us to hide, now that we are actively sought by the guards. Oksana, you pass for local for the obvious reason - could you go and buy us some clothes? I think the whole lot of us showing up to shop for disguises might get the guards called in by the shopkeeper, considering how blasted suspicious the people here seem to be. At least, dressed like natives, we wouldn't be known as outsiders by anyone who lays eyes on us."
"I cou'get some disguise cloaks."
Ner started edging away from the group eager to be helpful.
"...or cause a distraction."
In situations such as these Ner often sought consent in silence. If no one said anything then no one minded. He would wonder off and start a ruckus as best he could ... or would look for clothes that didn't seem to be owned by anyone (for Ner that meant wasn't being warn).
Nodding in agreement, Oksana leaves the group briefly to enter a clothing store and purchases a variety of local garments and cloaks for the party.
She returns to the group...or where they had planned to meet, hoping nothing had happened to them in the short time she was away.
Petronia handed Oksana some money with a nod of thanks. With her dark hair, tanned skin, and amber eyes she looked nothing like the locals and needed all the help she could get to blend in.
Keeping her voice low she said, "Maybe we can find an abandoned building to hide out in, a warehouse or something? We also need to scope out Aunt Marny's Bitter Brew to see if they're holding Skagni there or somewhere else. The sooner we find him, the sooner we can leave this place."
"That'd be helpful, if we can find one. But it does seem like we d have to move quickly here - the longer we wait for the perfect opportunity, the more chances for the guards or someone else eager to play a game of "let's bash the foreigner" to find us."
As a professional traveller I do find it one of the most useful tools I have when entering new places
she smiled briefly at Matheus before the group moved off to meet with Oksana.
"And I agree, the quicker we move the more likely we'll have success as long as we're careful..."
Oksana is easily able to find outer clothes that help you all to blend in. Ner's are clearly made for a snow goblin, and he looks decidedly goblinish as he treks through the alleys.
Extreme need made the group super cautious of their surroundings, and they moved through the alley until they met up with Oksana. Freshly adorned with their new clothes, they blended in much better with the citizens of Irrisen. The Iron Guard were still looking for them, but at least they no longer stuck out like a sore thumb.
Moving through the streets, they soon came to a bridge. Across was a part of the city called The Floes. They were not far from the harbour, and even from here they could hear the distant sound of ice grinding together and crashing into the shore. The floes were small islands, permanently covered with sheets of ice, and then built upon. Koyuki knew this was the quickest way to their destination, but if there were Iron Guard on the other side, they would be more obvious crossing the bridge than if they went around.
Ner walked out in front, turned around and smiled at the team. The smile looked odd. Everything about him seemed comfortable in his goblin clothes. His smile, though, didn't have a goblin's malicious mischief to it. It was warm and simple minded.
He turned his back on the team and weaved between the denizens of the bridge. The larger they were the closer he got, his eyes watching the shadows of his moving cover more than the creatures themselves. His head always down.
He would wait in a lane and look for a roof to climb so that he could watch the others and wait patiently if they decided to go around. If not he would look to shoot something with his shortbow. Perhaps an oil lamp or a store widow. Anything to draw attention away from his friends.
The small goblin-lookalike moved easily across the bridge, and found a cobbler's rooftop from which he had a good view of the bridge. He waited patiently for his friends to cross.
Ner slipping ahead of the group made the decision for the rest of them, and perhaps it was good that it did – the halfling clearly knew more about hiding and avoiding attention than any of his bigger companions, and the suggestion to break up the group for the bridge crossing had been a good one.
”In that case, shall we, my Lady?” Matheus murmured, offering his arm to Koyuki leading the inquisitor to the bridge, while leaning towards her as if to whisper sweet nothings to his sweetheart. It wasn’t like a man of his girth could disappear from the guards’ sight, so the best he could do was to give them something other than a sought-after foreigner to see when they looked in his direction.
Nodding her thanks to Oksana, Koyuki said a silent prayer to the animals that had given their lives to clothe her now. She slung her bow under the cloak and adjusted her belt quiver so it didnt bang in to her leg with every step.
Watching Ner vanish across the bridge she felt relief that the choice was made. Though she knew it was the quickest route, hesitation was the enemy and she was glad they had lost no time debating.
Koyuki's eyes creased in mirth and she smiled in appreciation at Matheus.
"'My Lady' huh? It's been quite some time since anyone called me that, the very least I can do is take your kindly offered arm in thanks!"
Though she was keeping a brave face, with such dogged pursuers in this hostile place her heart was thumping in her chest so hard she feared it might give her away.
She focused on playing along with Matheus's ruse, dutifully bobbing her head and smiling at the druid, looking as lovelorn as she could muster.
Petronia muttered, "I guess we're doing this." She pulled her hood to better hide her face and looked at Oksana. "You seem like the type who would have a bodyguard, yes? Hopefully the locals are so used to seeing a witch with her bodyguard that they won't give us a second look even though they see us. What is your official title that locals would know? Just in case I need to yell at some of them to make way for you."
The brawler waited a moment until Matheus and Koyuki got a little ways and then she took up her position and ushered Oksana safely through the crowd.