"I'm a woman of noble birth, it's practically in my blood."
Gwyn's grin is almost wide enough to take her ears.
"She will not. She believes the consequences would be quite dire."
Irritation sweeps across Price's face briefly. She says quietly, "I think Irena has reached her limit, she's trying to shut this all out - which is good. She'll stay quiet. Unfortunately, she isn't going to be of any more help. Let's go."
Cain nods at the plan as he sheathes his sword and picks back up Wendel's bottle… tossing it in the air, letting it spin a few times before catching it nonchalantly by the neck. "Sounds good to me." He cracks the door, making sure no guards have wandered into the hall.
If his eyes and ears tell him nothing has changed, he opens the door, offering Gwyn point.
After she quietly pads out heads out, he makes his way over to the door to Blackerly's office , pressing his ear up against it to listen for noise from within.
Gwyn leads the way. Her disguise is a little cumbersome and it's been a while since she's worn a dress, so the fabric ruffles a little as she tries to sneak around to the armory. She also listens at the door, but the new costume is proving more than a little distracting.
No guards have found their way into the hallway. Gwyndolin makes her way to the doorway to Blackerly's office, listening inside to hear nothing. The same comes from Cain.
You make your way to the armory, and no sounds can be heard from inside this room as well. A quick check inside shows the room to be quite dark, no candles or torches lit inside. A glint of light reflected from the torch in the hallway does indicate that their are weapons inside the room.
If you search, here's the goods.
- Six spare guard uniforms*
- 6 longswords*
- 6 chain shirts*
- 6 longbows*
- barrel with 240 arrows
- 12 cudgels on a rack
- 6 heavy steel shields*
- Shiv made from a woman's comb (treat as dagger, +2 to Sleight of Hand to hide on person if reasonable)
- A heavy mace, head shaped like a laughing demon
- a spear, a tattered peach of cloth at the end long ago ripped off
- MW Quarterstaff
- Battle axe, many notches upon it's handle
- rapier, still stained with blood
- greatsword, dulling from disuse (still functional though)
- trident, a salty smell upon it
- glaive
- dagger, a small groove in it's length, probably for poison (no mechanical bonus)
- a suit of leather armor, scarred from numerous strikes against it
- Items with a * are marked with Talingarde symbol, as are all guard equipment
Still not used to the dress, Gwyn tries to cautiously make her way into the armory and do a quick search. Her eyes sparkle with delight when she sees the poisoners dagger and the leather armor.
Oh how fickle luck can be.
A wicked grin spreads across her face. she makes her way out of the armory and whispers in Cain's ear.
Tactical Map
Cain nods at Gwyn then turns to relay the message. He pulls everyone in close and whispers , "Gwyn says the armory is well-stocked. There doesn't seem to have any other doors, but I'm going to work with Gwyn to make sure there's not any secret doors between this room and Blackerly's… which should back up to the far wall. So grab what you want, but do it quickly and quietly. Anyone willing to keep watch while we re-arm?"
Cain then stalks into the armory, quickly considering and dismissing most of the weapons. He grabs another two handfuls of arrows, and quickly inspects the old great sword as well as the glaive propped up in the corner. Once he reaches the back wall, he gets Gwyn's attention, and beckons for her to come take a look for any hidden catches or doors on the west wall.
Price cat-foots into the armory and smiles with delight at the demon-headed mace, hefting it. Mace in hand, Price takes up a guard position while others re-equip themselves.
Jakes stops a moment in the doorway to the Armory, face splitting with a grin.
Eyeing the rack of blades, she says "Ah! Everything we need to host a proper party!" With a chuckle, she tosses her knife into the corner and brandishes the rapier, swishing it through the air for good measure.
Xanos waits patiently as the group arms themselves, entering last. Hanging his stolen longsword on a weapon rack, he picks up the staff. Hefting it, he seems satisfied.
As they leave he gently shuts the door behind him.
"Break the lock." He says to Cain.
Realizing she doesn't have a lot of time to be just standing there, Gwyn grabs the dagger(s) and the shiv, as well as the leather armor. She debates whether or not to wear it and decides a disguise was the better defense.
"Can someone carry this for me? I'll need it later, but right now I think it might be better to act the part of a scared serving girl."
Gwyn stuffs the other daggers in her sleeves and holds on to the one she had been using. After all, no sense in getting hurt because you foolishly hid all of your weapons where you couldn't get to them.
Not finding any false walls or anything in the armory , Cain heads back towards the hallway. He sets his shield on the ground, taking a moment to decide between the glaive and the greatsword. Visions of the great blade cleaving screaming guards in half in explosions of warm blood dance before his eyes. With a sigh, he shakes away the wonderful visions, practicality dictating that he leave the unwieldy blade behind. The glaive is the strategic choice, anyway., he thinks as he picks it up, heading out into the hallway.
Being careful not to bang the long weapon on anything, he steps up next to Price, giving her his usual feral grin as he hefts the glaive a bit. "Betcha mine's longer than yours."
""Break the lock." He says to Cain.
Cain regards the door for a second before nodding, "Good idea." He looks around for a second, then his eyes flash between the mess hall and Gwyn. Decision apparently made, he grabs a heavy cutting knife from the mess hall, cuts a long strip of heavy cloth from one of the dead guards cloaks, then borrows Gwyn's lock picks .
He gives everyone one last opportunity to grab anything else they need from the armory before closing the door quietly, then resets the lock -- after which he hands the picks/keys back to Gwyn. Finally, he turns back to the door, taking his helmet off and wrapping the strip of heavy cloth multiple times around the hilt of the heavy blade. He then kneels down, yellow eyes level with the lock, and carefully inserts the point of the blade into the small key-hole, specifically targeting the inner-locking-mechanism. Holding it in place with one hand, he gives it three sharp whacks with the helmet, the sound effectiely muffled by the cloth. Then, with a grunt, he snaps the last inch of the blade off in the key-hole.
Apparently satisfied, he steps back, testing the door. Happy with his work, he appraises the damage to the helmet, gives the crew a crooked smile and a shrug, and claps the helmet rakishly atop his dark, greasy hair.
"Killing guards. Riggin' locks. Completing dashing outfits." He gives the wide and only slightly dented helmet a whimsical thump on the rim, "This hat may be the best find we've come across all day."
Job done, he retrieves his glaive, looking over at Xanos, then Price, Gwyn, and finally Kalina -- all geared up and ready for some violence. "Is it just me, Xanos, or is there something especially sexy about women all bloodied up and ready for some killin'? What say we go have a chat with Blackerly?"
Being careful not to bang the long weapon on anything, he steps up next to Price, giving her his usual feral grin as he hefts the glaive a bit. "Betcha mine's longer than yours."
Price returns a warm smile, "I love it when you talk dirty, Cain. Now, let's see if we can find some guards for you to f@$< with that over-sized phallus."
Xanos lifts an eyebrow ever so slightly at Cain's words and looks each of the women up and down in turn. His gaze seems clinical rather than lustful. "Their comeliness may be of value in our escape."
It's Price's turn to raise an eyebrow at Xanos' clinical assessment, which she doesn't seem to mind in the least. "You are a silver-tongued charmer, Xanos. Snare a lot of ladies with that line?"
There's a sound outside the doorway to the north. Someone's about to come in! If you made the perception check, you can take 1 surprise action before they come in.
Kalina
Kalina
Xanos
Xanos
"I have never needed to."
Gwyn's eyes go wide and stands still for a moment before moving as silently as she can to hide close to the door on the side opposite of the hinges.
Xanos hisses at the sounds of footsteps. "Incoming."
Thinking quickly he reaches behind him to grab Cain's hands and use them to lift his own arms up behind his back, as if Cain was putting him into an arm bar.
"Push me to the wall!"
Seeing Xanos' act, she decided to alter course and make for the door and open it. on the way there she puts an expression of terror on her face. Unfortunately, she can't get the gleam out of her eye.
Price stands further down the hall turned away and staring at Grumblejack out of sight in the other room. As soon as the guards' enter the building, she plans on claiming there's another prisoner loose in the far room and she needs help, to draw the guards in quickly.
Thinking quickly he reaches behind him to grab Cain's hands and use them to lift his own arms up behind his back, as if Cain was putting him into an arm bar.
"Push me to the wall!"
Cain reacts instantly, dropping his glaive, grabbing the tall man, and slamming him into the wall. Gotta give it to the man, Cain thinks as Xanos rebounds hard off the stone wall, he's got some grit.
Cain summons what little acting skills he has, trying to play the part of a guard barely in control of a situation against a man he is clearly afraid of, ".. and you'll be keepin' those curse-spittin' lips closed, if you know what's good for you! And what'd you do with Wendell?!"
The front door to the prison opens and in comes two guards, weapons and shields drawn, apparently expecting some form of trouble. Quickly taking in the sight before them, one quickly rushes to assist Cain while the other moves forward to help Price. "What happened?" The on assisting Cain asks as they come forward.
Price
Xanos
Gwyndolin
Cain
Kalina
Guards
Grumblejack
Price continues the ruse, hoping to draw the guards in further. She pitches her voice low, grumbly, and as masculine she can while she faces off with her non-existent opponent in the doorway. She angles forward, as if she is about to rush him.
"Bastard cut up Irena! Drop that pig-sticker, boy, or we're gonna bust you up."
Gwyn, perhaps being overly dramatic, perhaps just not knowing how to act convincingly, or perhaps having an off day, begins to bawl, unconvincingly, although she does manage to get the waterworks going. She clutches the dagger to her chest like a scared woman who didn't properly know how to use it would. Maybe the grip being wrong made her feel uncomfortable and squirm too much.
"Please! Don't let him kill me! He said he'd feed my--my soul to devils!"
Cain attempts to keep up the ruse, but can't help giving the guard next to him a quick look. Too late he realizes the man may recognize him, or maybe the man will recognize the predatory look in Cain's eyes. Quickly he tries to rip his eyes from the man with a clumsy attempt at salvaging the situation. "One of you go check on Wendell. He was on guard. And where's the Sargent?" Seeing an opportunity, Cain grabs Xanos's sword and pulls it free -- presumably a captor disarming his captive. Blade in hand, Cain watches the guard for any hostile actions.
The one guard moves up next to Price, prepared to charge ahead to whatever threat they faced, while the other moves to help subdue Xanos. As he comes up, a sudden realization dawns on him and he turns back to stare at Gwyn. "Wait, if Irena is dead than who's that?" A moment too late he realizes something is wrong, as Cain attempts to strike him down, barely deflecting the blow with his shield.
Inish Order
Gwyndolin
Guards
Grumblejack
Cain
Xanos
Kalina
Price
Price whips around towards the guardsman, driving the mace with both hands towards his face.
She calls out to the ogre. "'Jack, come get a piece of this!"
Gwyn's first order of business is to draw another dagger. It's not quite what she's used to, but it's close enough. She then moves to get behind the guard and flank him with Xanos.
Xanos maintains threatening closeness but waits, considering the right moment.
The guard dodges the blow from Cain as Price unleashes an attack against the guard near her, both not quite connecting. Gwyn draws another dagger in preparation to strike while Xanos readies a spell. Grumblejack the ogre steps forward and unleashes an attack against the guard near Price, but doesn't manage to strike him with the doorway blocking his aim. Kalina moves up and strikes as well against the northern guard, dealing a viscious blow.
As the new round begins, Gwyn, has moved up to flank with Xanos against the guard injured by Kalina, finishing the job before he's able to let off a warning. Unfortunately the other guard manages to pull his horn free. Xanos unleashes his spell against the guard, who resist's it's effects. Grumblejack attempts to follow through with an attack as the guard opens himself up, but cannot seem to strike through the doorway. All that is left is Price to stop him from blowing the horn.
GJ
K
K Dam
G Will
GJ AoO