Grengar will heal himself before packaging the supplies and whatever else he can carry.
"So the warden is down, and some of us have magics back- what now?"
Tawg throws the bow back over his shoulder, silently cursing it, and joins over with the now unconscious and stable Warden before eyeing the ring on his finger. He wasn't with his tribe long, but there are some innate Goblin desires that are too strong to let go. He kneels down and slides the ring off, muttering "He won't be needing this," and puts it on his left middle finger, admiring its shininess. He then follows Araton downstairs.
Tawg slightly cowers as Araton reaches his hand out, but does accept the magical healing. Tawg's countless scars tell the tale of injuries healed over time. The pain that comes with the healing is nothing compared to having laid in pools of his own blood for days on end, and he sheepishly thanks Araton.
Now downstairs with Ceres, he will take a spot at the door, waiting for the signal and direction of where to next.
Araton goes downstairs to Ceres. The first time he tries to heal her, the spell seems to be absorbed into her body but does not heal her.
The spell energy from Araton flows into your body but instead of healing you it does nothing. But then you begin to feel the spark of your own magic again.
Tawg takes a key from the Warden and open the Warden’s office. Tastefully adorned in hard wood, the office is dominated by a massive oak desk. Inside the Warden’s desk is a neatly folded map of the surrounding area. The map shows the quickest route through the moors. It also shows the Old Moor Road.
In a locked drawer is the confiscated magical and religions items as well as the Warden's spell and formula book.
Warden's Spellbook
Map of Branderscar surrounds, showing the way through the moors
Component Pouches for all
Alchemist's Lab (worth 200 gp; weighing 40 lbs.)
Fine silk outfit (75 gp) x6
unknown potion x2
unknown scroll x4
tanglefoot bag
dagger
wizard’s college class ring (gold with diamonds, 250 gp)
ioun torch (75 gp)
inert extract
Hilda, still untouched by sword or fire, moves to the warden's belongings at some speed. She grabs a spell component pouch and one of the man's silk gowns. Sure, it didn't look like much but there were plenty of seamstresses who could use the great fabric to make a thing of beauty. She never had a silk gown before.
Gildevar greedily digs into the locked draw and rummages about until he finds his very own symbol of Asmodeus. He almost brings the symbol to his chest to hug and cherish it, almost, but it's clear to see that the young man experiences a massive sense of relief upon retrieving the item.
He also picks up some spell components, although a priest doesn't need them in a quantity a wizard or sorcerer might.
"Even though this victory brings us one step closer to freedom, we haven't won yet. Grab what you need, and let's keep on moving. We cannot dally."
The stairs look like they once went to the roof. Currently the stairs end at the landing on the level you are on and roof access has been closed off.
After healing his comrades and watching Ceres's magic return, Araton would return back upstairs where the others were. Grabbing the Warden's sheet and slinging it over his should as a makeshift sack, he would stuff the remaining robes into as well as the scrolls and potions. The extra supplies could be incredibly useful for them. The ioun stone was stored away in a pocket and before he left, he caught sight of the glimmering ring upon the warden's finger. Prying it off of the finger it was attached to, Araton would smile softly.
"If we are to be mercenaries, a bit of an advance would certainly be useful." The calculating noble thought to himself before returning downstairs to where the others had all gathered. Kneeling down, he would again whisper in dark tones before the knowledge of countless ghosts filtered through his mind. The sconces in the room flickered for a moment.
"The plan remains the same. We take the warden and the servants, if they are still there, hostage. We then parley with the sergeant, blackmail him and offer him the chance to save the warden's life. If he agrees, we make out way out of the prison with our lives and goods intact. I know where we are to go and will lead us to safety. A manor house up the moors with a red lantern outside. That...is our safety. If the sergeant decides not to play nicely..." Araton gives a shrug and a menacing smirk. "We cut our way through him and the guards and leave this place a tomb."
Standing up and moving beside the door, Araton waited just a moment and gave everyone a nod to ensure they were ready. Opening the doors, he would try to quickly make it back through the window they had left if at all possible.
Araton discovers scrolls of magic missile, sleep, hideous laughter and invisibility.
You aren't sure what the first potion is but it smells and looks just like the previous 2 CLW potions that Tawg drank. The second potion you are sure is a potion of heightened awareness.
Ceres finds no crabs.
Ceres places the spellbook in her sack for perusing later, and holds her hand. "Wait, Araton - before we go, perhaps my patron has returned as well?"
A sense of panic rises in Ceres, and she frowns, looking about, sure the creature would squatting atop a shelf or crawling from a drawer. What if the crab has left? Would it do that? Just leave? Surely it had bigger designs in mind...
There was only one way to know for sure. "Give me a few moments to get my armor off, and I'll cast a spell."
Ceres' hair twitches, one curl brushing a bit of viscera from her shoulder, and a wide, wicked grin crosses the woman's face. "Okay then. Let's go negotiate our freedom. I can carry the warden."
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Araton comes to heal some of your wounds. The first time you feel the energy being absorbed into you, then you feel a weight lifted off your mind, expanding all your senses.
The second try closes some of your wounds.
"It sounds like you got it all figured out, Araton. Fine, let's give it a go." Unlike Araton, Gildevar has considerably less faith in the notion of using hostages to negotiate a way out. They're enemies of the state, and any situation that sees them getting out of prison will be seen as a complete and abject failure.
Still, cowardice is a common trait amongst men, so who knows. Overcomplicating things and overthinking them is a bad habit.
"I wish. The only way is forward though. Through conflict, we grow. Doesn't the dark book say that?" Araton murmurs, looking back at the others for a moment to make sure they were ready to move forward. With a captive and ill-gotten gains in their hands, he would open the door into the dark night.
Tawg stands next to Araton, ready to continue on with the group's plan of escape. As Araton opened the door, Tawg hoped their cook friends remained where they had left them, and that the window was still there...
Back downstairs, Grumblejack watches the door with Ceres. Araton and Tawg are ready with the others close on their way.
When Araton open the door, a guard is inspecting the window placed in the wall where there shouldn't be one. A guard dog accompanies him and starts growling when it notices you, alerting the guard who whirls around with his longsword out.
Tawg hears the growl and gets the irresistible urge to put the dog down and quickly moves in to position to do just that, ducking and dodging through his allies.
Once in position, he snarls back at the dog and steps up to deliver a quick death to the mutt.
Araton rushes out swiftly and violently, drawing his blade out over his shoulder as he closes the distance between himself and the surprised guard. With his longsword ready, he aims to drive it down through the man's whole being.
Ceres lingers for a bit in the library. She wasn't much of a reader, but even she knew the warden's collection was impressive.
The door opens and almost immediately Araton and Tawg rush forward, weapon drawn (in Araton's case). Ceres skirts along the wall, and then moves along the grassline trying to circle around the guard, and ending up next to her. Ceres' hair whips about her, as if blowing in many different-facing gusts of wind, and then snakes out
Grengar lumbers out and to the left and then tries to swing at the guard.
Seeing the guard and the dog Hilda sighs. When will they learn? They didn't need to die, if only they stayed out of the way. But no, they all insisted to throw themselves on their blades. It was wasteful. Oh well, at least one of her fellow gravediggers would have work he'd be paid for.
She rushed out, first aiming at the dog, using one of her two beloved gauntlets.
Once she arrived at the scene she drew her new toy and swung again, aiming at the dog once more.
The guard and guard dog are quickly overwhelmed and both fall within seconds.
"There they are! Fire!" Guards from the wall above and to your left have seen you exit and fire their bows, revealing their presence.
Their aim is off due to the suddenness of your attack.
Araton quickly moves, sheathing his weapon and grabbing the unconscious body of the warden and throwing him over his shoulder.
Araton will then quickly move to make his way through the window into the prison properly once more.
Like Araton, Hilda quickly moves through the window. Inside she moves towards the closest light source there, waiting for the rest to move in so she can douse it. After all, they could see in the darkness while the guards could not.
Ceres ducks her head as an arrow richotes off the wall behind her, and crouched, she shambles towards the open window, disappearing inside. Surrounded by darkness, Ceres snaps her fingers and tries to conjure a sphere of light. Unused to the chain shirt she wears, the gesture is imperfect, the spell fizzles.
Upset at himself for being caught off guard by the archers, Tawg scrambles into the room through the window.
Grengar puts his head down and hurries through the window out of the line of archer's fire.
With everyone else getting the hell out of here, Gildevar does the one sensible thing and follows suit. "Oh come on!", he whispers forcefully under his breath, feeling more than a little frustrated. No bow, no spells, what am I to do?!
You've all made it back inside the Sergeant's quarters before the guards could fire more arrows at you.
The servants are not where you left them.
The Warden's unconscious body slumps where you rest him.
"We should barricade the Sergeant's room, they know we can come in and out of it now. Then we should check the prison floor once more; make sure there are no ambushes awaiting us inside." With the servants gone, some of their leverage was removed. The warden and the blackmail knowledge that they had on the officer in charge would still be in their benefit though, as he lifted the warden onto his shoulder once more.
Gildevar agrees with Araton and softly nods his head. "Sure, that sounds like a plan. I suggest we do it as quickly as we can, and then push on and take the fight to them. They might not be aware some of us have regained our powers, and we can overwhelm them with a swift and sudden strike."
While the other talked Hilda peered outside into the darkness, carefully avoiding any light that might shine through the window. She checks out both the walls the guards fired from and the lighting illuminating the area.
She talks, though mostly to herself "Need to get rid of the lights. If they can't see us, they can't hit us. Not very well at least."
Tawg frowns when the group discovers the chefs missing. Sure, they were forced into a friendship, but they didn't kill them, so why couldn't they be grateful? He shakes that off and quickly moves through the building towards the northern doors, knowing that's the fastest way out of the prison.
Retreating into the main hall, Ceres casts light. Again the spell fizzles, and for a second Ceres worries that her benefactor has once again abandoned her. Finally, a bauble of light springs to life, shining from the end of one curl of hair. Her hair stands up on end, lifting the light above her, and she peers into the shadows of the hall, looking to see if anyone hides there.
Grengar finds some furniture to shove in front of the new window before going back and retrieves the previously gathered supplies and the barrel of ale.
"Soon, Tawg, soon you shall know the joy of getting uproariously drunk on far too much ale!"
Grengar blocks the window with a couple of the tables in the Sergeant's Quarters.
Carefully checking the building you find everything the same. The main door is still closed and hallway and rooms empty. When you get to the Kitchen you find out where the servants must have gone. The kitchen exit is wide open, they must have fled. Only you, Grumblejack and the Warden are here.
Hilda peers outside carefully through the blocked window. The guards have not decided to chase, keeping to the security of their walls. They've learned their lesson about backing desperate criminals into a corner and are happy to wait for you to come to them. It is the same while peeking out the kitchen door. The guards are watching both doors and now the new window. They have lanterns to light up the night as they keep watch.
Ceres opens the door to the kitchen a couple of inches, peering up at the archers on the battlements. "Oi! Want to see yer families again? Want to enjoy another game of poker, or the affections of another? We've got a proposal, gets everyone out of this mess with no more dead! Cause if we come out, trust me, a lot more of you are going to die. Get Blackerly - long as we've got the Warden, figure he's in charge now."
The guards do not respond though their bows are trained, waiting for a shot. One lets go of the bowstring and an arrow embeds in the door inches away.
"That was a good try Ceres, let me try in the front." Araton offered, moving towards the front door of the prison. He would carefully open it just a crack, first to see outside what awaited them before grabbing the unconscious warden and holding him tightly to him. His dagger danced close to the man's vulnerable neck as he stepped out just enough for himself and the warden to be seen.
"Blackerly! How many more young men and women are you going to send to their deaths for your ineptitude and greed? Your dear warden hangs onto life by a thread, his death serving as the ultimate expression your failure." Araton's voice shouted out into the prison yard, the dagger's blade steady against the old man's neck. "No more need to die! You may be able to secure yourself from further failure. We wish to parley. Bring your two most trusted guards to the front door and we will negotiate inside. Fail to do so and we will bleed this place dry! You have one hour!"
Araton would then move back inside the hallway, closing the main prison door and looking back at the others with a nod.
"Gather up all the supplies we have. In an hour, we parley for our freedom or we shall sally forth and cut them down."
Ceres begins hauling furniture, arrows, and anything else wooden from the second floor of the prison into the kitchen, creating a pile near the door. When the pile is sizeable enough, she fetches the lamp oil, and douses the pile, and then anything wooden in the kitchen, leaving trails of oil from the pile to places further away, like the barracks and Blackerly's bedroom. Ceres hums a jaunty shanty as she works; it was good to have direction again.
Grengar assists on moving the stuff.
Tawg will rummage through the stuff in the barracks, pulling out the doggy treats and cookies, taking them as a snack for a later. He picks up the masterwork lute, accidentally plucking a string and loving the sound. He swings the lute around, testing its balance as a weapon. While it doesn't seem to make a good weapon, he quite liked the sound it makes, and straps it around him.
Once he's gathered that, he joins in piling the debris into the kitchen. Fire and food are two of a Goblin's favorite things, so he's had a great last hour.
Gildevar feels the urge to discuss with Araton whether he thinks Blackerly will come to parley or not, but he knows it is pointless. Blackerly might see their desire to parley as a sign of weakness, and as Gildevar stumbles down that thought path, he realizes that even if Blacklerly doesn't, he should.
He wraps his fingers around the jagged unforgiving edges of Asmodeus's unholy symbol and clutches it. In silence, he prays and asks for nothing, instead promising to not falter, to not give in to weakness, and to make the Mitrans look like fools, for their God is weak, and all should come to see this in the days and weeks to come.
After an hour of waiting a shout outside breaks the silence. Sergeant Blackerly seems to be the one talking. "Listen up criminals. Release the Warden to me now. You are surrounded. You no longer have the element of surprise. My men are watching every exit. If you surrender peacefully, I will make sure that are not mistreated until such time as your sentence is carried out."
If you look outside you can see him in the courtyard with two of his men by his side. There are still archers on the roof and walls.
Araton heard the call from outside in the courtyard, a frown spreading across his face. It seemed that the good sergeant either was incompetent at following instructions or believed himself to be in a superior position. It was time to dissuade him of that.
"Sergeant Blackerly, as I live and breathe." Araton shouted out from the door, exposing enough of himself to show that he was still holding the warden at knifepoint. "It seems you are poor at following instructions. No wonder we escaped and killed so many of your men already." Araton's words dripped with malice as he looked about the way, quietly whispering back to whoever was closest where the archers were located.
"A pyre does not appeal to my senses. I was hoping you would be willing to talk more in private but, alas, that seems unlikely. We will not surrender. We offer the warden's life in return for letting us leave freely." An exchange of prisoners. The commoners would've been nice to have but time had no respect for well-made plans. "Now, this may seem disadvantageous to you but I assure you, it is not. In our time here at Brandenscar, we discovered a number of discrepancies. It seems that we should have never been able to escape if the budget had been followed properly. I am certain that your superior officers will be interested in knowing why we were able to escape. In fact..." The devilish grin began to spread across Araton's face. He spoke sweetly then, his charming smile fully on display. "Do you know who helped us? In fact, it would almost seem like we needed a co-conspirator. Yet I am certain that you know no one who would fall to vice of sin, right?"
The warden's face goes red in outrage at hearing your words. Was it embarrassment? Anger? A mixture?
"You speak lies like the foul spawn that you are. The Warden has allowed this to happen. It is well known he cared more about his experiments than running this place. Whatever you think you know that he has told you is to save his own skin. Release him and he will face punishment for his failure."
He is trying to shift the blame you placed on him to the Warden, though most of what he said is true about the Warden not running the prison properly, leaving everything to him.
"Oh Blackerly, we both know the truth of this don't we. A few misplaced papers here and there. We have the food, we'll last until your reinforcements arrive. We may die...but we'll make sure that everyone else burns with us. The warden will be dead and thus, responsibility goes down the chain of command." The threat was there; they'd sell him out if they were still here. "Your warden's experiment failed as well; our magic has returned. Soon enough, all of us will have our power. We'll hold this place easily against you. So what...will...it...be? Will you be the hero and save more lives or shall you join this hell spawn in the flames, sergeant? Life or death? Your choice."
Listening to the back and forth, Tawg's simple mind can't keep up and fails to understand the nuances in Blackerly's answer. Knowing he can't contribute to the conversation, and not wanting to screw anything up, Tawg keeps quiet and ready to go when the time is right.
Hilda peeks outside over Araton's shoulders, spotting the guards on the walls. She then heads back to where they had blockades the "window" and peeks outside once more before then rushing to the kitchen to check the garden door. If the guards wanted to use this moment for an ambush she'd ruin it for them.