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Garret moves in and around the corner, casting a spell into Ketra's blade (Searing Light, 9d6+9 vs undead). "That should give you a bit more punch on your next hit, he says encouragingly. He listens from the base of the stairs, considering what voices and/or spellcasting he might hear from up the stairs.
With no great view of the happenings inside the gate tower, Garret repeats his attack on the visible orc archer, hoping to give Rosalind time to heal the rescued prisoner.
He then moves over behind cover from the gatehouse entry and asks, "How is it going over here? I thought I heard something."
Garret moves south to join Rosalind from below, but he stops long enough to cast a spell on the fleeing orc archer, hoping to eliminate or delay the threat. (sonic damage and daze 1 round). He looks worriedly up at the barely alive prisoner, hoping he and Rosalind can save the lone remaining survivor.
Burst of Radiance is 10 foot radius, so hitting both would be pretty dicey. Just learned fireball might incinerate the still-living person being hanged, so avoiding that too.
says, ”I can’t cast on both archers without risking hitting the hanging person. Can you fly up to engage them?”
”We’ve got the archers, but we’ll need help getting the hanged person down without injuring him,” responds Garret, preparing a spell to target the two remaining orcish archers. At the last second, Garret decided to cast Fly on Rosalind and
No Toll20 access right now—are the two remaining orc archers within 20 feet of each other?
”If you are relatively sure they are foes, I can drop a Burst of Radiance on them. It will only hurt them if they are evil,” offers Garret.
"Let's move up and see what we can do...perhaps there is more to be found closer," suggests Garret. As they approach, Garret will cast Shield on himself in case there are enemies still about.
Updated character sheet is at home with my computer, but I am traveling until Sunday. I’ll wing it a bit if needed in combat now that we have our gear…
"Understood," says Garret, "We should save the two other targets if possible, then take the fight to Gildais. If we can stop the crows before they gather in numbers, perhaps we can hold them to no more than an attempted murder."
Having successfully distracted the man from his concern about the shield fragments being a bomb, Garret falls silent as well, ready to move on and find this Gildias chap.
Relieved that the replica does not seem to be a necrotic bomb, Garret asks, ”In your time working on the shield auras, did you consider any ways to make the original while once more? Certainly there must be a reason it was taken other than to merely pull one over on the city.”
His fears coming true, Garret asks a clarifying question, ”This counterfeit shield, does it have any other properties than mimicking the real shield? Any nasty traps or spell effects?”
”I expect arson with a person trapped inside the building counts as attempted murder, so I don’t like your chances,” says Garret, who has been quiet up until now. ”Of course, if we learn just why the streets are about to get so dangerous—and anything else relevant about your employer—there is a chance that summary execution may be taken off the table,” he adds.
Garret watches the prisoner carefully, sorting through any of the arcane items that may have been stripped from him for clues.
To Rosalind, he adds, ”He made mention of it being safer to be imprisoned than out on the streets with the coming events, so he definitely knows something of what is planned against us.”
Smiling at the praise, Garret rushes over to the grappled enemy spellcaster and finds a strip of cloth to gag him so he can’t speak any verbal spell components. He calls out to the guard, ”Any of you fine officers want to be the first to clap manacles on the caster behind the arson?”
Garret takes another careful step back and sends a quintet of magic missiles at the elemental!
Struggling against the smoke, he says, ”Where is everyone? Can anyone see anybody trapped in the fire?”
Taking a careful step back (5 foot step west), Garret releases another cone of cold dragon breath.
Racing forward, Garret tries to douse the flames with his only option, calling forward, ”Shield your eyes!” Pyrotechnics to extinguish the flames, converting them to fireworks (long range, so hopefully while the party is still more than 120 feet away). ”I can resist the fire, but I need to get there quickly so we can find Rolf and get him out before the fire reasserts itself,” he adds.
”I don’t know what form the focus can take, but disguising a bomb as a piece of the shield would make it possible to detonate with little or no warning. Surely there is some investigation you can do to make sure the shield has not been tampered with or a piece replaced with the bomb and disguised,” Garret emphasizes, wanting to make sure that threat is addressed.
”The necrotic cataclysm that destroyed Roslar’s Coffer emanates from a leather satchel that radiated powerful negative energy as we approached,” adds Garret, ”But we arrived far too late to observe any ritual or, indeed, to stop its explosion.”
”We need to speak to someone in authority here,” suggests Garret to his friends but loud enough to be overheard should the guards choose to take notice, ”Let us move on and make contact with those who can directly help us,” he adds, looking for a likely official-looking place to make their request known.
”An excellent plan, Captain,” agrees Garret, his mind spinning with all the new and different people with interest in their situation. More than happy to let her take the lead, Garret adds, ”Just let me know who I need to sweet-talk and I’ll support you the best I can.”
“That aligns with my thoughts as well—I do not possess the means to penetrate any hidden wards on the shield, and I wouldn’t know if they were there legitimately to keep people from disturbing the artifact or indeed newly applied to hide necrotic emanations of a bomb. Hopefully someone we have met could be convinced to have the proper authority check the shield for signs of tampering or necrotic enchantment before we leave,” suggests Garret.
"We need to figure out a way to detect any potential necrotic bombs, including penetrating any masking magic. If any of the pieces of the shield have been traded out, the bomb could be sitting out in plain sight at the War College," cautions Garret.
Garret offers to help with Nobility…
Noting Rosalind’s departure, Garret goes back to entertaining the veterans, this time regaling them with a fanciful tale of deceit, betrayal, and….?teeth?…under a skull-shaped moon.
Garret falls silent eventually and when the song is over. The solemn tune has put him in a contemplative mood, with the old songs of honor and loss and sacrifice resonating with him in a new way. He starts mentally composing a dirge for lost Roslar's Coffer as he wonders how he can help now with the current mission. Buying a round of drinks, he heads over to Ketra, Gandry, and the others.
Wandering over to the older woman, Garret starts to quietly sing harmony along with her wordless vocalizing. If his performance works, he will start with words, singing and chanting about ancient battles and noble sacrifices, honor and loyalty marking the best qualities of the Lastwall veterans.
Garret pipes up and says, "Amazing speech, honored Field Marshall. Your dedication to our safety is inspiring, and I am confident that we may all enjoy the celebration confidently and peacefully." Though he addresses Malderra, those familiar with his diplomatic tactics may realize his words are for the crowd, meant to allay any incipient panic Ketra's comment might foment.
"May we approach and congratulate you personally?" he continues, smiling and holding his hands out in a friendly gesture.
Garret considers what he might have heard of this shield or the person after whom it appears to be named.
Garret’s eyes narrow as he sees the dwarf approach, and he tries to assess her intent…perhaps a new ally wishing to make any onlookers think she is just and old friend of the party’s? She certainly knows at least the name of one of them.
Handing off his shopping list and the majority of his funds, Garret suggests, ”Perhaps some of us should hear this man out while the others get our shopping done?”
I am out of town right now, but I think I need an availability roll for at least one item—headband of alluring charisma +4. If I recall, my other items were 4500 gp and lower.
When can we do our shopping?
”Of course, and thank you, high priestess. We have no proof other than our own direct experiences and Wallace’s treatment. In case this is a subtle cultist plot, we wanted someone in authority to be alerted, but as there is no direct proof, speculating further now that we have conveyed the concern to you would be…inappropriate,” assures Garret.
”I’m sorry, we have been under a lot of stress lately, and we can only see a deadly threat and a vulnerable populace, with most of us totally unfamiliar with your city,” starts Garret. ”I thank you for the supplies, and we could also perhaps use your help as we purchase useful items with our own funds,” he suggests, ”As well as perhaps some formal way of identifying ourselves as deputized authorities.” ”If you have someone who can assign to us to help us find our way in the city—or perhaps a city map—that would be useful as well. Maybe even a letter of introduction to Gandry so he knows we are not merely frivolous festival attendees,” he adds. ”There is something of a more—delicate nature as well,” Garret mentions, pulling her aside if she allows and speaking in low tones about their suspicions of the undue influence of the Lord Commander’s advisor, even to imprisoning Wallace, his son.
”Ask us what you will, and we will answer to the best of our ability, putting our trust in you to help us prevent the destruction of you home as ours was destroyed,” says Garret earnestly.
”Greetings, Swordknight Varvatos, thank you for your prompt attention to this matter. Speaking for myself, legal counsel is not needed, as I am concerned with quickly convincing you that we speak the truth, then identifying the threat to the city, and that may slow us down,” starts Garret. ”I am hopeful that Quietus’ papers have shed some light on the Whispering Way’s plans for the region, and perhaps there might be questions suggested from that evaluation that would be pertinent. Questions I would consider—‘Who is the author of this letter signed as Y?’, ‘Why did you destroy Roslar’s Coffer?’, ‘What is the planned attack on Vigil and by whom?’, ‘How is Gildais involved in the plans against Vigil” he suggests.
”Indeed, you are most kind Lodgemistress Zognoss. We were hoping to rest tonight after raising the warning, then try and reprovision tomorrow before reporting to the temple for our discussion with the church authorities,” Garret says. He adds with a hint of a smile, ”We have found some unusual items that we are looking to sell to finance our refitting—and your help and kind offering of hospitality surely inclines us to give you first crack at whatever items you might find interesting.”
”We have two reasons to expect the Whispering Way to be operating in Vigil—one likely reliable, one of unknown veracity,” says Garret. ”The first is a letter that Quietus received in which the master was called ‘Great Lord’ and a directive was given to bring the threat to Vigil from someone who signed an initial ‘Y’. The Lord Commander has this letter and Quietus’ other correspondence now,” he continues. ”The other is a mysterious benefactor who healed me with immensely powerful magic and gave us supplies to make the trip to Vigil, but would not give her name to us, other than a temporary moniker of Dandilion. It was she who spoke of Gildais as potentially being the Whispering Way’s agent in Vigil,” he finishes, speaking the truth as best he knows it.
Garret will attempt an explanation of the explosion, focusing on the necrotic death effect and the twisted growth that followed.
Sorry I am running a bit slow on postings. I am traveling and out of my usual routine.
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