Sara lets her maid outfit disappear and then she rushes into the room. "Lotheed, today you'll answer for your crimes!"
Seeing others jump into action, Thalasou takes a few hasty steps forward then stops. He doesn't want to get too close.
"He is a mage, don't bunch up." Aerith called out as she moved in, hoping that saying so wouldn't make her his target...
Servant-Hargus rushes forward, closing the gap between himself and the other guard before seeing an opening and moving into the most dangerous position - next to the count, with the two guards flanking him. He says nothing, drawing his falcata on the move.
Capricia wounds one of the guards as everyone charges in.
The count looks surprised, and angry. He tries to casts a spell, defensively, but it fails. So he pulls a sword from his cane, and prepares to defend himself.
"The people have judged you, and your magic has failed you, little lord. Surrender or die." Sara announces to the count and his guards, in a minor attempt to inspire her comrades.
She also slides to flank the good count so Eregos can give a good and proper stabbing to help encourage that surrender.
Aerith whispered a spell in elven, calling upon the man to fall into a deep slumber.
The Count quickly tires of this conversation, yawns, and lays down on the floor, sound asleep.
Thalasou quickly loads a bolt into the relic crossbow and aims at the guard straight in front of him.
With the count down, Eregos turned his attention to the guard battling Capricia and struck out with falcata and buckler.
Eregos kills the guard he is attacking (he is now a very bloody mess), and Thalasou draws a small line of blood across the cheek of his target. The remaining guard looks at the Count, considers trying to help him, and then backs up five feet, dropping his weapon. "Please! I have a family."
He seems more than willing to surrender.
”Right, don’t kill him.” Aerith said, rather quickly. She didn’t know how bloodthirsty her companions were, but the idea of murdering the guard in cold blood made her feel nauseous. As for the Count? That she didn’t quite care as much about…she had come ready to kill him if need be. But unlike the Count, the guard felt like a real person.
"If you are carrying any other weapons, drop them on the ground, then go about 10 feet towards my companions over there and sit down. We may need to tie you up, but we won't hurt you if you don't cause trouble." Hargus points towards where Aerith stood.
Aerith breathed a sigh of relief. Once the man complied she said ”I’d prefer not to have to tie you up. And knocking you out would be both painful and dangerous. So I’m going to have you fall asleep, just like the Count. I’d recommend lying down comfortably and not resist. This was we can leave you here safe and unharmed.”
At Aerith's latest words, Capricia approaches the elf, lightly grabs one of her arms, and leads her out of hearing range of the guard.
"How long does your spell keep people asleep?" she asks in a whisper. "We still have to find and dismantle the teleportation device."
The guard complies.
"About six minutes." Aerith said. "Is that enough? I...think we should get moving." She finished, her heart starting to pound. Up until this moment everything she had done had been in the safety of her family's estate. All of the crafting, casting, practice...it had all been in a controlled environment and in complete safety. The realization that she could be stabbed at any moment was starting to feel all too real.
Sara grins as the count flops to the ground and the other man surrenders. And looks at Hargus in wonder at his amazing swordplay. "Six minutes? probably not. Find some rope and something to stuff in their mouths." Sara looks for the count's spell component pouch, taking it off him in case. "Normally I'd say hide the bodies, but..." she looks at the plethora of blood "... I don't think that matters."
"Here. I can help." Thalasou fetches a coil of rope from his backpack and starts to tie up the sleeping guard. "That should keep him secure until we are ready to go. But I do want to come back and get my rope."
Sara laughs with genuine delight "Let it not be said about us that we would Dare to leave a rope behind. But..." she holds up her dagger "We have more than one person to tie up and only one rope. Can you bare your rope to become Two?" she asks hopefully.
"I assume we should bring the count with us? Or leave someone to guard him?"
"Well, so long as I keep saying a spell, I can make the slumber last forever." Aerith offered. "Well, so long as I focus on it and never stop chanting, that is. So either moving them into a position where sleeping seems natural and I can sit there chanting, or we can carry them with us."
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Thalasou looks a little shocked at Sara's suggestion. "You want to cut my rope up into pieces. But... but. Then it wouldn't be fifty feet long anymore. What if we need something that long?" His objections peter out as he realizes that it doesn't really matter. He can always buy another rope.
Sara will switch back into her maid outfit, and scout toward the west, looking quietly into every room they pass for anything that might looks like a teleportation circle.
Once tied up, Hargus makes sure to remove anything that the count might be able to use to escape. "Bimble, could you help me remove any magic items from the count?"
The count has quite a bit of magical equipment. Two potions, two wands, a belt, his clothes, and a circlet on his forehead. In addition, he seems to carry keys to the palace, the Lotheed signet ring, a spell component pouch, and a spellbook.
An ornate, furnished hallway and small library create a simple space for residents of the palace to gather informally. Portraits of the various Lotheeds of the current generation line the walls, including a scowling
Duke Panivar Lotheed VI.
Four soldiers remain on guard in this area as personal protection for the count and his family. They look at Sara, a little confused by her presence, a maid who is armed with weapons.
While the others search the rest of the room and Sara moves through the far door, Thalasou takes a moment to try to figure out the magic in the count's items.
"Hi" she smiles at them with a touch of a flirt "I was asked to come to fetch this." she slides her hip up to show the rapier on it to better effect, or maybe just the hip. "I admit, wearing it was not part of the task, but I thought, why not." she winced at her own words a bit, thinking this was by far not her best work.
With the Count disarmed of his magic, Hargus set about tying him up so they could carry him with the group. Once done, he hefted the count and moved with the others in the direction Sara had gone.
Hearing Sara possibly in trouble, Capricia moves closer and hides at the top of a nearby stairwell, ready to ambush whomever her friend has crossed paths with.
Sara's bluff seems to work, but barely. They just nod and act dismissively, but they don't seem inclined to make way for her to pass.
Sara slips back out of sight through the door she came in, pressing her back to the door to steady her heart. Then softly she makes her way back to her companions and explains quietly "[smaller]Four guards in that hallway. No way around them if we want to explore that area. So options?[/smaler]"
"If there is no way around, then we have to go through." Aerith said. "There doesn't seem to be any other way."
"Anyone got a nice magical area effect that can put a whammy on all four guards while they're clumped together?" Capricia asks the group's casters in a whisper. "Or should Eregos and I charge them and start swinging our falcatas?"
Hargus set the count down and whispered, "The frontal assault will be quick, but noisy. If we can put them all to sleep at once, it would be preferable."
Thalasou shakes his head. "I'm afraid that I don't know any magic of that sort."
"The hallway is narrow, two abreast at best, with no knowledge if there is another way down over there. Even worst they are near windows so if we can't take them down quickly, a massive yell might bring the guards down from in front of the entrance." the bard doesn't have a much better plan than assault or delay.
The brown-eyed baker looks back and forth between her companions, noting the silence. "So Charge and Hope. A plan straight from the storybooks. Okay. Capricia and Hargus, would you lead the way. Thalasou, please be in charge of the bound and sleeping count. Aerith, try and make the one in most in the back start having a pleasant and contented sleep, and I'll guard our back. As well as provide suitable inspiration." the main in disguise offers up a plan with a grin and hopes they all don't die horribly in the next few minutes.
Thalasou glances at the slumbering count then back to Sara. "I can do that. But I think I can also be of help with this thing," he replies quietly while taking Dignity's Barb and loading a bolt in it.
Hargus takes up a position, ready to charge in with Capricia once Thalasou fires off the bolt at a guard.
Yep. Capricia is, anyhow.