Records of the Caia Outfit (Inactive)

Game Master NotEspi

"I expect that you are also not going to let us burn the building down to cover our tracks when we are done," Endoin says to Elban and Kullif. "Pity. That always makes things easier."

He looks over at the other two musicians. "Maybe putting together a band isn't such a crazy idea after all. That may keep people's attention for a while at least. I'm not sure what Fabian or my lovely companion would do though."

"Hey, hon - do you know any chemistry that would help with a band? Or for keeping people's attention in general?"

Both officers narrow their eyes at Endoin. "No ruckuss, no casualties. Best case scenario, nobody knows you are there."

"If we are team stall, I can invent some songs that hopefully will hold his interest. I can add lyrics that flatter him, and I can tell stories of oddities that may catch his attention if he's a collector of rarities. If we go that route, we should try to find out more about his specific interests."

Endoin narrows his eyes back at the officers. "For team sneak and swap, sure - no one knows they are there. But it's hard to keep anyone's attention if no one knows we are there. You kind of have to pick one."

Chuckling can be heard from the other end of the table, but Kullif offers a quick counter.

"Delaying someone doesn't mean they see or are aware of you. As some would say, there are many ways to skin..." he looks at Rem and pauses. "...a hare."

He then looks back to Endoin. "But I trust that you understand what I mean."

"You guys are thinking too simply," Fey pipes up, having been sitting quietly while trying to formulate her own thoughts. "Like Kullif said - You don't need to distract someone with lights and showmanship. Rumors, drama, that sort of thing serve just as well. We can see if he's pissed off the common folk in some way and rouse them. His cart can be sabotaged, his guards distracted, his horses spooked. Many things can disrupt and delay without drawing attention to ourselves."

"I had been leaning toward Team Stall, but now I'm thinking about stealth. I can't pick a lock or anything, but I have some practice at going unseen...and I can talk my way out of a lot of situations. And there's always magic and such."

"His cart can be sabotaged, his guards distracted, his horses spooked. Many things can disrupt and delay without drawing attention to ourselves."

"Or lighting the building on fire. Just a small fire as a distraction, of course."

"Yes, I suppose that's true. If we distracted with music, he would probably realize our involvement once he realized the book was replaced with a fake. I guess the Outfit doesn't want that, even though you all are ok with the Outfit being suspected whenever the replacement is discovered?" The last question is directed to Elban and Kullif.

Both od them chuckle. "Oh Ghaf will know the second he opens that book." Kullif follows up. "The way I see it, it's more about sending a message. We are making sure he understands that he is not out of reach. Maybe he is getting cocky?" he shrugs with an unsure expression

Elban ponders Kullif's words stands up, and adds "Or it's just a game or a wager between him and Gedwall. Who knows? Not that it matters. It's a living, right? I'll see you in the morning. Enjoy the night."

And with that, Elban turns around and walks into his tent. Kullif remains seated, but his eyebrow is raised as he looks at Elban leaving.

Rem takes note of Kullif's raised eyebrow and is tempted to ask about it, but restrains himself.

"So, we need to choose which team we are. Do any of us excel in thieving -- only when justified, of course. Can we succeed on team book retrieval if not?"

"I am not trained in any of the technical parts of skullduggery, but I am certainly able to be supportive from the shadows," Fey says with a quiet giggle. "I think with a tactical approach, we wouldn't have a hard time on book retrieval..." She shrugs. "Unless any of you have your heart set elsewhere?" She glances at the others, waggling her eyebrows.

Other than Fabian (skills aren't listed in profile/macros), I'm the only one untrained in thievery, but I am trained in stealth and such. Maybe the thievery team is a good one for us!

"I lack skill in either thievery or stealth, so I'm not particularly certain how I can aid you in this effort, since this doesn't seem like it'll call for any combat."

Fabian is only trained in Athletics, Acrobatics, Intimidation, Religion, Warfare Lore, and Medicine

Kullif turns back to you. "Well, he seems off. I'll go check on the man. Talk in the morning. You lot have a lot to talk about."

Honeslty just waiting for you guys here to make a choice. I apologise if that was not communicated well enough. I know some of you have some RL hurdles to deal with, so I did not push you into a decision before that is resolved. With that being said, I believe a gentle nudge would be nice. So here it is. Some details:

I will not have the other team jumping in this conversation for obvious reasons. You are the players here. If you have questions for them, sure, but this should be your decision. Not one made by NPCs.

I need to know which team you want to roll with. Not to worry. I will find something for everyone in both scenarios.

The speech is to be delivered approximately at sundown two days from now, so consider having some 45-ish hours of prep for whichever option you pick.

Rem watches Kullif walk away and then looks hesitantly at all the gathered new recruits.

"I probably shouldn't say anything, and I know part of being a mercenary is just taking the work we're given, but this mission doesn't quite sit right with me. Why can't the leader just go ask for her book back? I've had some experience with angering the rich and powerful, and it didn't go well for me. In fact, it resulted in my exile from my home. And what was with that comment that Elban made about this perhaps being a wager, and did you notice Kullif's raised eyebrow following that comment? I was led to understand that this is a serious outfit where we are to be treated with dignity. I'm not interested in being some pawn in a game of ego, and neither do I appreciate being put in the position of injurying innocent guards because someone can't be bothered to ask for return of a book. Especially since we were just lectured about unnecessary violence..." He looks at the other team sheepishly and then his tone becomes more conciliatory. "I'll go along with what my team decides. But I want to at least throw out the possibility that this is a test. Maybe we are meant to decline this unethical assignment..."

"Maybe he is just miffed about letting the ruse slip," Endoin says shrugging. "My thought is that this Gedwall and Nirraj Ghaf already know about this exercise. They just made this elaborate plan to give us a scenario where we aren't allowed to attack people."

"You know - considering how we handled the first training exercise."

Fey leans back in her chair a tad, mulling over Rem's qualms with the assignment. The sorceress didn't much care about ethics, especially when it came to the upper echelon of society, so she found herself having a hard time relating to the catfolk's hesitation.

"We are not being asked to hurt, murder, or otherwise do anything other than sneak in, replace a book with a prank, and sneak out. There's a bit of a moral gray area, but I rather think this is more of a test to figure out how we can handle delicate situations." She crosses one leg over the other, her chair now tipped back and only balancing on the back legs as she rocks slightly. "But truly, if you weren't interested in being a pawn for someone's ego, why did you sign up to be paid to be someone's pawn?" She turns to look the catfolk in the face, eyebrows raised. Her question is serious, without mocking. "I don't plan to overanalyze every aspect of these assignments. I plan to do what I do best for the good of our team and following these orders, and if my best isn't what they're looking for, then it isn't the end of the world."

She leans forward, the chair's four feet back on the ground together again with a bit of a thump. "That's not to say I won't question or even defy an order that is heinous, but this?" She waves it off dismissively. "I don't feel bad about pranking some uppity rich man. You can always work with the stall team, you know. But I think Endoin has the right of it. If the mark's not in on it, he'll certainly know who to blame...and unless we screw it up, it won't be us getting blamed."

Rem responds to Fey, "You misunderstand me. I have no basic ethical objection to stealing from the rich. But I have personally experienced the cost of incurring the wrath of the rich and powerful, and I do somewhat object to being exposed to that risk because someone doesn't want to ask for a book back. And, to answer your other question, I signed on to this outfit because I needed the work and thought it would help me develop my latent abilities. But maybe it's not right for me. Maybe I'm too much of a free thinker. We'll see."

To Endoin: "Maybe you're right that this whole thing is an elaborate ruse. But I doubt it, since then Ghaf would be expecting a stall. Anyhow, I'll go along with whatever you decide. As I mentioned before, I may be most helpful as lookout, since I can quietly raise the alarm from a distance. But I'll do whatever the team needs me to do. If it doesn't work out, I can always travel and play music. That is, if we're not in jail."

We're still in the same day as the challenge, yeah? Evening, at this point, I assume.

"I think the stealth bit would suit most of us well...and we can always mix the teams up a bit." She glances at the other groups, quirking an eyebrow. "I'm sure some of them are better suited to stealth than stalling. Either way, we can come up with ways to get around those of you who aren't as well-suited to it. Lookouts, like you said...perhaps one of us has a spell or a potion or knowledge of somesuch thing that could help with our need to be quiet and unobtrusive."

Fey stretches, fingers reaching toward the top of the tent, and then grins at the crew. "Unless they tell us we have a mountain of chores to do, tomorrow we should begin scouring the town. Scout Ghaf's place, observe the guards... figure out the kinds of questions we need to ask about his place, and perhaps who we should ask." She crosses her arms and looks at all of them quizzically. "I'm open to comments and criticism about methods, though. It just seems like a choice needs to be made, and we're dancing around it. In my mind, the decision-making process is part of our trial, too."

The conversation continues into the night. Eventually, you agree on infiltrating Nirraj Ghaf's estate and switching the book. Team Red will be on delay duty. Eventually, you all disperse and the night takes you.

"Good morning, everyone!" a loud shout wakes you from your sleep. As you focus your eyes, you see Kullif standing in your tent, holding a package wrapped in cloth. He flashes a mischievous smile and claps loudly a few times while holding the package between his elbow and torso. "Come on! Outside in five minutes. Chop chop!" he exits the tent and you can hear the man whistling a melody just outside the flap.

Slowly, you emerge from the tent, seeing Kullif sitting down at the table from last night. The mysterious package waiting on the table itself. The cool morning air is pleasant, although the surrounding walls seem to prevent winds from caressing your skin.

"Well, hello there! Come join me." he pours some fresh water from a jug that was not there last night.

Once you sit down, he slides the package to the center of the table. "This is the item we discussed last night. I am told the jacket is identical to the item in Ghaf's possession. He should be none the wiser until he opens it. If you did not formulate a plan yet, I suggest you get to it. The speech happens tomorrow at sundown. You have resources, you have the element of surprise and anonymity, you have the item and you can see what it looks like."

He leans over the table, takes a sip of his cup. "I have other duties today, but I trust that you are independent enough. Still - I can help if you need my advice. But make it quick. Places to be, things to do..."

You can ask Kullif questions if you wish, then we will move on to the preparing phase

The minigame rules will be as follows:

-You all have 3 attempts to something as preparation. The DC of the first check will be 15, follow up 16, finishing roll 17. Each of you can use one hero point throughout these preparations. One per player.

-If someone fails, they can use their remaining attempts to follow up with another player's prep. For example, if player X fails and player Y succeeds on their first roll, player X can still use their unused rolls on whatever player Y is doing (aid rules, but multiple people can aid simultaneously). Meaning you can compound rolls on one thread of preparation.

-You can get creative in this, and use any skills you wish and deem appropriate for the action you are performing. Meaning you can use Medicine, Craft Alchemy, or Nature (but not Occultism) to prepare a sleeping agent for guards, or whatever. As long as you can justify it within reason. You can use different skills for these activities.

-You can operate under the assumption that the mansion is not very old (let's say 15 years), and Ghaf hired the local craftsmen to build it.

-The mansion itself has 3 floors. Two above the ground, and a cellar.

-Ghaf's hired staff also live and/or have families living in town of Dalain.

-The estate is roughly 2 hrs of walking away from town.

-'Victory conditions' will be hidden to you, but Let's say that you can gain points depending on your success in individual phases. Phase 1 success 1 point, phase 2 success 3 points, phase 3 success 5 points. Depending on what you were planning to do, I will simplify conditions (related to your activities) within the manor based on the number of points you get. Do mind, you can also crit fail and crit succeed. A crit success would lend you 2 extra points in the individual phase. A crit fail will DEDUCT 2 points from your result.

If you think you can suggest any other rules I may have missed, feel free to do so. If anything is unclear, please ask me while I am here.

I have made this in a way so that players do not just sit around after they fail their first roll. I hope it makes sense. It allows you to play along while I am not here.

Speaking of failing your first roll, if that happens, you CAN try a different approach, but you will not be able to get as many points, since you would only be able to reach phase 2 due to losing one roll (essentially wasting time on your first attempt).

"Good morning, everyone!" a loud shout wakes you from your sleep.

Endoin grumbles a bit as he gets up and gets ready for the morning.

Once you sit down, he slides the package to the center of the table. "This is the item we discussed last night. I am told the jacket is identical to the item in Ghaf's possession. He should be none the wiser until he opens it. If you did not formulate a plan yet, I suggest you get to it. The speech happens tomorrow at sundown."

Endoin picks up the wrapped book and hefts it while thinking. He sets the book back on the table.

"A plan would be good. We are new to the area. Maybe we can go in disguised as their normal house staff or party caterers. A detailed floor plan would be helpful. Importantly, we need to know where the actual book is kept."

"Hmmm..... I think I'll start with checking into who does the cooking and cleaning. No one pays much attention to servants. If we can blend in with them, that may keep the casual observers from raising alarms."

Diplomacy (gather information): 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (2) + 7 = 9 Off to a good start, lol.

Fey is equally as grumbly as she gets up in the morning as well, but she shakes off the morning groggies rather quickly. Especially as they're actually working on a plan now.

"Good idea. A man like Ghaf probably has party caterers or entertainers he prefers. I will put out some feelers and see if I can find out some names."

Diplomacy (gather information): 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (15) + 7 = 22

Asked a Q about what to do next in Discord.

After spending a significant time asking around, Fey returns to the fort knowing that Ghaf is a hunting enthusiast. He collects trophies of exotic animals, paintings of famous hunting scenes, and even various rare weapons used in the act.

Endoin's attempts, however, were less fruitful. The kobold either met a dismissive crowd or heard contradicting rumours.

Tamhar gets up and rubs her eyes. It feels like mornings are getting here earlier and earlier

Tamhar decides that she is going to see if she can pick up some info on what would be appropriate attire to blend in at this event.

Society: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (7) + 6 = 13

Rem wakes up cheerful, apparently unaffected by the drink and late night and invigorated by the company.

"Good morning everyone! I guess we're doing this, huh?"

Is the book wrapped shut such that we can't see it? Presumably we need to unwrap it when putting it on the shelf, can we take a peek now? Unless we were specifically told not to look, in which case Rem will restrain himself (although curiosity did kill the cat...).

Rem nods at Fey and Endoin when they announce their ideas. "Those are good ideas. While you are looking into those matters, I will try to find out how many guards we can expect, and anything we can about them, such as their level of skill and especially the wheres and rhythms of how they guard and patrol."

diplomacy to gather info: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (6) + 7 = 13

dang!

Fey's going to go for her round 2, DC 16

With finding out a little morsel about Ghaf, Fey decides to hunt down who the man commissions his trophies from, especially if that business might have one that needs delivering to Ghaf.

Diplomacy (gather info): 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (7) + 7 = 14

Feel free to send aid my way D:

"Hmph," Endoin grumbles as he gets back to their encampment. "Apparently the guy is paranoid about who is in his house on a regular basis. They use specific people for household staff. Not a service group that we could impersonate being part of."

"Anyone get any better ideas? Anything I could help with?"

Endoin tags along with Fey to go check into trophies, using his knowledge of crafting to figure out who is just faking their wares.

Crafting: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (17) + 7 = 24

Rem returns to the tent disappointed in not discovering the information he sought about the guards. He still wants to pursue more information on that matter at the next opportunity, but he spends some time in the quiet of the night working on a strategy to distract the guards and draw them away from their posts so that his teammates may access the house and find the book. In essence, he wants to experiment using his abilities with his different instruments and his whisper on the wind kineticist ability to mess with the guards and temporarily draw them out into the night and away from their posts.

Performance: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (14) + 7 = 21

Success!

When his companions awake, Rem proudly shows them the tricks he came up with.

Tamar will assist Fey using society to try and figure out more about the people in the area.

Society: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (15) + 6 = 21

With his strategy for distracting the guards in hand, Rem spends his final time returning to trying to seek information about the guards -- again, how many guards we can expect, and anything we can about them, such as their level of skill and especially the wheres and rhythms of how they guard and patrol.

diplomacy to gather info: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (11) + 7 = 18

success!

Rem returns to the group and shares the information he gathered about the guards, and how he can distract him so that the others can get in and get the book without confronting the guards.

Fey gladly takes the help of the Kobold couple and their search turns up fruitful: the business that handles the artwork, taxidermy, and trophies for Ghaf.

When they meet up again, the musical sorceress is pleased to hear about Rem's progress. "That's perfect. I'm thinking of talking to the business about snagging something to deliver to our mark...make it easier to get in."

Fey will head to the business in question to speak to someone with authority and see about talking them into letting her handle a delivery out to Ghaf, if there is one available.

Diplomacy (i think this is make a request?): 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (14) + 7 = 21

No deterred by the initial failure, Rem returns after a nigh out near the Ghaf estate with knowledge of the patrol paths, shift changes, and a few options to distract the guards from their posts. All in all, some solid information.

At the same time, Fey returns after convincing one of the local artisans. With some clever usage of words, the taxidermist actually "convinced" Fey to deliver his most recent work - a lifelike piece of a glistening, freshly hatched egg with a small drake stretching its wings and letting out its first "roar" with the legs still inside the egg itself.

Fabian? Anything to add?

"As dishonorable as it is, I can attempt to make a concoction. Something that will put the guards to sleep so that you all can do your job without having to worry about them."

Medicine: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (8) + 5 = 13

Endoin notices Fabian working on something. "What do we have here?" He takes a sniff of the stuff. "Nice. Some sort of sleeping potion. Hey, hon. This looks like something you might be able to help with too."

Crafting aid: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (4) + 7 = 11

That is not smelling right for a sleeping potion. I am not sure what you two have concocted there, but I do not think it is going to do what you want.

Let me see if I can whip us up some dark clothing and we can try hiding in shadows.

craft: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (6) + 6 = 12

With the potion gambit unsuccessful, Fabian attempts to dig a tunnel to help his stealthier teammates sneak in. Can't hurt, right?

Athletics: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (5) + 7 = 12

The second day rolls over. With most of you being busy, you barely register the passage of time as your deadline draws to an end. You make your final preparations, grab a small late lunch, and head out to the estate. The path takes you through the new wall of Dalain proper and winds southwards through several fields full of animal herds first, then various crops. Eventually, the farmland recedes into small groups of trees, and ultimately into a forest path. A welcome respite from the sun's heated touch. Reaching a crossroads that continues further south and branches towards the west. You stop your mounts - a couple of horses, an ox, and one chunky but reliable goat - and look at the crossroads. You know the westward path leads to the villa. Some of you have already been there this week doing reconnaissance. The other path leads further into the woods, eventually reaching plains and even beyond, after a few days of travel, the sands of Qadira.

Well you took two approaches here. Some were trying to figure out how to bypass the guards, some opted for a delivery of goods. I'm not completely sure how would you wish to approach this. Please, feel free to put down your input, since it was not discussed and decided.

You wait a while, having only the chirping of birds and buzzing of insects for your company. SLowly, the light turns from a bright blue to a red hue indicating the imminent dusk. If your information is correct, Ghaf should be leaving his mansion any moment now, passing the crossroads and disappearing on the way to Dalain. If there ever were a time for last minute planning and possible adjustments, this is it.

Endoin strips blades of grass into shrapnel while he watches and waits. "This is the part of such missions that I hate the most. Waiting around for nothing to happen."

Party - Which of us has the book? If nobody lays claim, Fey can be holding on to it.

"Ugh, I agree. I tend to be more of a do-the-thing person rather than a stand-around person, but such is life." Fey fingers the package containing the drake statue idly, eyes on the road.

"We'll head on in when we see the mark pass. We're making a delivery. If the delivery stops us at the door rather than letting us inside, we can go with Rem's plan to lure away any guards. I plan to insist that I come in and display the item correctly as per the taxidermist's instructions."

I have heard that so long as you do something acting as though you know exactly what you are doing and have a bunch of confidence in yourself that people are less suspicious of you. So I am with Fey, just pretend we have every right to be here and anyone trying to stop us is the one in the wrong.

Fey points at Tamhar and grins, nodding vigorously. "That's exactly what I was going for. We have every right to be there!" She pats the parcel affectionately for emphasis.

You don't wait long until you hear the sound of hooves stomping rhythmically and wheels turning. Poking from the tree line, you see a green stagecoach decorated by silver filigree pulled by four horses, escorted by four additional horse-riders in the same attire. They ride in silence, enter the intersection and turn north towards Dalain. Long before you realise they're there, the coach and the entourage disappear behind a bend and are nowhere to be seen.

Not a minute later, you can hear branches snapping and wood cracking, as you see a tree fall across the road. It's not a particularly large specimen, but the trunk is wide enough to cause some trouble for the coach itself.

Peaburney Weaver walks out of the treeline a moment later, unties a few ropes from the trunk, packs them up and runs after the convoy.

Rem plays some soft music on his accordion while the group waits, seemingly unperturbed by the waiting. He listens to Fey and Tamhar’s planning, and nods subtly, but doesn’t offer any comment. When he sees Peaburney’s maneuver, he comments, ”Well, the other team isn’t wasting any time. I’m guessing this is only the first of their planned delays. I suppose it’s time for us to be off.”

"Good call. Let's play delivery folk to the servant's entrance, and let me be pompous about it." Fey waits, briefly, for any protest before walking toward the manor home with confidence.

Under the shrowd of twilight and With a confident stride, you walk to the estate. The path winds through a dense forest but eventually opens into a clearing containing what seems like a small city of its own. In the middle, you see a series of buildings, at least some of them two stories high, surrounded by a wall overgrown with ivy. Around the wall, there are several small fields and small houses with hay roofs and smoke coming out of the chimneys. Dogs bark and farm animals make their own noises, most prominently cows and pigs.

You move along the road, but Rem steers the group away from the main road and gate. Instead, he takes a side path and you end up near a building just outside the estate's eastern walls.

The house is not a farmer's home, but it is not exactly lavish either. At least when talking about the exterior. The walls of this wall are bleached with lime, and the roof is made of dark wood tiling. There is no light in the interior, but you can hear sounds from the south. Chirping, hooting, and mumbling of a man. Following the noise, you find a man standing near three cages, each containing a different creature. An owl, a hawk, and a bird with a coat of gold and blue feathers.

The man is dressed in layered linen but has fingerless gloves made of hardened leather. Those are scratched to bits. He's talking to the gold-blue bird in a soft voice. "Come on, buddy. I have some great seeds over here. Why don't you just stop?"

The bird looks at the man's hand in silence, it bops its head repeatedly and waits.

"Good boy!" The man offers some seeds to the bird, and they are promptly snatched. Then the bird jumps on the cage, grabs the bars with its claws, and spreads its wings. "What are you doing here?" it lets out in a deep voice, squawks in a higher pitch, and follows up with a "Get out!" in a deep voice again.

The man clicks his tongue, promptly removing the seeds from the vicinity of the cage. "No, Saiqe! Stop!"

"Cute bird," Endoin says with a grin. "Maybe a bit high strung though."

"Cute bird," Endoin says with a grin. "Maybe a bit high strung though."

"Yeah, I am pretty sure I have seen those types of birds before.

Can we tell if the bird is reacting to us, or is it just fussing?

Fey pauses before fully rounding the corner, raising her eyebrows at the noisy bird and their clumsy caretaker. "Should we sneak by or engage with this one? He seems stressed."

Good question. Are you being sneaky or did you walk out into the open?

My intention was to be sneaky until we ran into people to interact with who may assist on getting in.