Alejandro lets down a rope to aid the others in climbing up.
Quick, we don't have much time before the guards return."
"Nice work, Alejandro!"
Stowing his longspear, Agripos quickly climbs up!
Then he draws it once more and looks around from his new position for anything interesting.
Understood
Ran bless me
Bit of luck used
Due to ran, Sigrid just makes it up.
Gheorix looks up at the wall, and begins to attempt to climb the wall.
Reaching the top, he crouches down, and removes the shield from his back....
You can keep the docking tower between you and the two guard towers to avoid being being seen but you have at least one patrol to deal with. What do you do?
Agripos considers the party's next step. "Maybe we can climb down the other side of the wall and inside without being seen?"
Can we pull off an Ambush? Sigrid offers
"Do you mean ambush the patrol? Not sure where we could all take cover."
Looking at your position, about the only way to ambush the patrol would be to hop down among the birds and ambush from below. If you are standing on the wall it is just too exposed and you will easily be seen before they get close to you.
"We could follow the wall around, try to find somewhere with more cover - but we might run into some other guards before that. I think it might be best to try to get inside without being spotted."
Gheorix looks at the scene before them, and points, No space for a good ambush, let's go left and try to get under cover? I think that's how we get in unnoticed...
You notice that the top of the wall, regardless of direction is going to be visible to the two watch towers. You are currently concealed by the landing tower in the center of the western landing zone. If you hop over the wall, into the landing zone, you will be concealed from the watch towers and you will only need to to keep an eye out for any mobile patrols. There is a door on the east side of the landing zone leading into the adjoining building.
Agripos nods. "Let's move then--slip in, maybe find us some more rebel prisoners to release!" He realizes this statement might be wishful thinking--for all he knew, the rebels had fled or been slain.
The team drops down amongst the birds who shuffle a bit but stay relatively quiet. You move left as Gheorix recommended and begin to skirt along the wall. You get to the docking tower which has a set of spiral stairs running up the middle with two different platforms when you hear the two guards talking as they approach. Still in the distance but approaching. The door to the adjoining building faces you.
"Get inside fast," suggests the hoplite warrior. Agripos quickly checks the door for danger, then proceeds to open it if no danger is apparent.
Agripos steps to the door, he doesn't hear anything so he opens it. The main room of this building is open with a ceiling that rises about twenty feet at its peak. A soft light, radiating from bowl-like objects on the wall, fills the room. A door on the south wall leads deeper into the interior of the building. Most of the room is dominated by shelves. Across the room is a Marolingian soldier walking toward a cage full of crates.
Alejandro puts his finger to his lips and sneaks up behind the soldier, then slashes him across the back of his legs, attempting to reduce his movement.
Gheorix follows Alejandro quickly into the room, silently as an armored man can, and smashes into the soldier with his shield, trying to knock him to the ground.
Alejandro's blow is excellent, not only does he cut the hamstring but his blade takes the man's inner thigh opening his femoral artery. The soldier gives out a croak of shock, drops to his knees, and then pitches forward in a quickly forming puddle of blood.
Quick, hide the body, ah crap, should have prepped prestigitate. Lets save possible prisoners, and make use of our stab and sneak advantadge while we can!
You get the body stashed in the northwest corner and drop a sack of grain on it. There is also a bag of sawdust, likely for cleanup jobs which you are able to promptly dump on the blood. It turns mostly dark as the saw dust begins to absorb it but if someone were to look closely it will be clear what it is. You could sweep it up but you'd likely need a mop after that. Luckily, no one seems to have heard the minor sounds and so no one rushes in. Now what?
During the cleanup process, Agripos searches the body for any keys or the like.
"Best keep moving," he adds when the cleanup is complete. He then checks out the door to the south.
"Looks safe," he decides. Unless anyone stops him, he goes ahead and opens it.
Alejandro examines the crates inside the cage, before also checking the door for any signs of trouble.
Agripos does find a set of keys which it turns out Alejandro needs in order to get into the cage. Inside are what you assume to be higher cost and or desirably pilferable items. Included is a case of rifles, a crate of chocolate, and four kegs of beer. The rifles, are not like the metal and wood designs of Atlantis, but are instead the organic style of the pistols. Since sailing on the ships, dealing with Marolingian soldiers, and shopping in town, you had seen several pistols but no rifles thus far.
Neither Agripos nor Alejandro find anything untoward on the door. It opens on a small foyer with four other doors. There are two plain wooden chairs in the room. Alejandro thinks he may have heard some movement from the west.
Sigrid seeks to travel along, and promptly joinks a rifle. She is now trained with firearms having retired her throwing weapon ambitions.
the rifles will likely be loud
She makes sure that the safety is on, and keeps her more silent melee weapons for now.
She looks for a good place to ambush from.
It's a small room, only 10x15 so there is little in the way of a good ambush spot moving forward. In the warehouse, with numerous shelves, particularly on the north side, it should be relatively easy to find an out of the way location from which to spring an ambush.
"Some noise over that way." Alejandro murmurs. He creeps over to the doors to listen closer.
Sigrid silently indicates the possible Ambush location discovered by her.
Gheorix silently nods, and takes up the most hidden spot he can in the indicated ambush spot, drawing his gladius over the wooden doru he'd picked up and grinning at the others.
Nodding in agreement, Agripos withdraws with the others and closes the door so it looks as it did before. He then withdraws with the hope that someone will come by to walk into their ambush.
A few moments pass and no one comes out. It seems likely the noise you heard was just someone moving within the other room.
Agripos waits tensely as the party prepares the ambush. But no one seems to come. Anticipation gives way to anxiety as time passes in a hostile environment.
"Can't wait here forever, can we?" whispers Agripos.
I suppose not, Alejandro, you want to open the door, or should I just go on in? the Celt asks the others.
Eyes full of focus, Sigrid points to the stealthy and agily Alejandro and Agripos, makes a "go" sign, points to the less stealthy her and gheorix, motions "30", points at her feet, and then at her behind.
Agripos and Alejandro go first, Sigrid and Gheorix 30 feet behind.
Agripos nods and takes a leading position at the door. Once everyone's ready, he makes an exaggerated gesture as a signal and opens the door.
Gheorix shakes his head in the negative instead flashing '20' and heading out after Agripos clears 20 feet from him.
Sigrid flashes 20 in agreement with Gheorix and follows A&A at that distance.
Alejando grips his shortsword as Agripos opens the door.
Alejandro and Agripos move forward and pop open the door. A Marolingian officer sits behind a desk writing something. He drops his quill and looks up when the door opens.
Surprise Round
Alejandro
ROUND 1
Alejandro 36/36
Agripos 51/51
Sigrid 38/38
Gheorix 38/38
Officer
Alejandro darts into the room and looms over the officer, shortsword at the ready. "Hands and head on the table, now!" he barks. "Call out or make a wrong move and it'll be worse for you."
The officer seems to consider the offer, glancing to the side of the desk where his spear stands, before laying his forehead on the table with his hands flat on either side.
"Smart man," says Agripos as he confiscates the spear. He then searches the officer to fully disarm him.
Note, my divine code specifically forbids the mistreatment of captives. Sigrid speeks in Greek as she effectively binds him.
You find a couple ledgers on the table and a set keys plus a quill pistol on the officer along with 20 gp, a whetstone, and a vial of greenish-brown liquid.
Gheorix nods at Sigrid, and moves to use the man's belt to tie him up for the moment... continuing in Greek so the soldier understands him, Now don't squirm, and this will all be over quickly.
The ledgers are particularly interesting to Agripos, who wants to find any information about what's happening here and where the mysterious biological weapon might be stored.
Perusing the ledgers doesn't show anything about a biological weapon but it does mention a pickup in about three days time. Part of the pickup is the recovered item, not specified. You also learn looking at the food and gear reports that you are dealing with about a company of men (approximately 100 soldiers).
Agripos quietly shares what he learns from the ledgers with the party.
He then directs his attention to their captive for information. "Alright, officer. Says here there's some recovered item you found. What is it, and where is it?"
"I can honestly say I haven't seen it. Those in the know found it and immediately took it to the research center on the north side of the compound. You've got to know this is suicide. We have a whole company of men here. Save your skins and run out the way you came in." the officer says.
The Empire is researching a Bioweapon here, supposedly. So what would I do if I was researching a Bioweapon? Have a clear and easily communicated "nobody gets out" Signal, a "nobody gets in" signal and an "everyone run now" signal. All we need to know is how that signal is supposed to be done.
Sigrid specifically investigates any signalling equipment he may have.
Only a company? I would call this a medium level of target rich enviroment. Sigrid chuckles.
In terms of challenge, its a bit harder then the Erinye-incident, but only somewhat. Your company wont generally be fully assembled, or even armed at the same time, with parts of it likely searching for stuff? And you probably use some signalling equipment to recall them?