Way of the Wicked [IC Thread]

[Cyclopean]

Welcome to Branderscar Prison.

http://i.imgur.com/idtKCey.png

The crimes that have brought you here are varied. Heresy. Piracy. Sedition. High treason. The sentence carries but one meaning, however: you are wicked and irredeemable. Each of you were held down and greeted with a brand upon the arm. The runic F marks you forever as "forsaken," one who has betrayed the great and eternal love of Mitra and his chosen mortal vassals. Though you were branded hours ago, you can still feel the fire.

http://i.imgur.com/1zqiECx.png

Of course, it is not a mark you will have to bear long. You will spend three days chained to this wall. You don't know if you will receive food or water. Some of you know all too well that you can expect the "gentle" ministrations of inquisitors trying root out your friends and allies. At the end of those three days, you will face justice. Whether through axe, noose, or fire, your crimes will be answered.

At least you have company. Your cellmates are dressed in the same filthy, tattered rags that you are. Manhandled and mistreated, any finery you may have once have had is ruined, stolen, or lost. No prisoner has been afforded any special treatment--male or female; commoner or noble; human, half-orc, or tiefling--Branderscar makes no distinctions. Their feet secured by iron cuffs, the forsaken are tethered together by one long chain. Your arms are bound by manacles affixed to the wall above. The cell block is guarded day and night.

Escape seems hopeless. Every attempt to conceal anything on your person has failed. Even if you could somehow slip your bonds and fly from this prison--what then? Who from your former life would have anything to do with the forsaken? Despised, alone, and shackled, all that you can do now is await your doom.

Your life is over. Hope is a fading memory. Justice will be fairly meted. And who can blame fair Talingarde after what each of you has done?

[darklink_shadow]

Acheron relished the throbbing pain of the branding. They did it well, and with surprisingly minimal pain. Although it burned, a novice hand would have made it worse. The pain meant he was alive.

His eyes fluttered open, dazed from the earlier bloodloss. It appeared he was saved from becoming a pin cushin in death only to soon be drawn and quartered. Of course, that would not happen, Grummsh's will had not yet been done, and he knew he still had some part to play in the demise of the vile Mitra.

Kles. I see you made it back alive. That is good. We will have to formulate a better plan next time. One that doesn't end with shackles and certain doom. Acheron let out a dry chuckle. Don't worry though, this isn't yet over. I have a feeling Gruumsh does not intend for me to die soon. And my death will not be quiet as dramatic as this. Still sore, he turned to gaze at each other cellmate. Perhaps one of these ones are important to the cause. Hmm. I'll have to re-brand myself later. An "F" is meaningless to me.

[JonRG]

F meant a lot of things to Kles. Failure. Freak. Fiend. Fallen. Fool. He'd had plenty of time to mull the situation over, as the interrogator struggled to mar his tiefling skin with flame. She did persevere, though it took nearly a half hour. Perhaps less. Time dragged in this place. "Idiot..." Kles thought. Bellinda would have set him up for life, though one could say, in a twisted sense, that she had. Archeron was on about 'the cause' again. Decent enough fellow, but Asmodeus help you if he got into it about the scars. "I suppose we'll find out in three days if you're right," Kles replied with a chuckle. The shaman did have one point though. There were three others in this cell, a curiously high number of death row inmates. He scanned the assembled group, though he wasn't sure how to start conversation in a place like this.

Hells, there was no time for awkwardness. They would be dead in three days. With as much nerve as he could muster, he turned to his left and asked, "So, what are you in for?"

OOC: Someone who's not darklink_shadow, feel free to respond. :smalltongue:

[Frosty]

Chained to the wall between the half-orc and the human known as Alice is the aasimar. Dirty, unkempted, and bruised, Kayle's long hair has gone for shining gold to dirty blonde, and she is almost unrecognizable as an aasimar. She winces as the brand is still relatively new. At least she can cover it up when she wears her other skin.

She looks over to the confident half-orc. "Oh, and what cause would that be? What heinous act did you attempt to perform for your cause that landed you in this decrepit place?"

To respond to the (obvious?) tiefling, Kayle says, "For trying to take the Church of Mitra down a peg for their hypocrisy, and for trying to remove the royal family from power. You?"

Link to OOC thread: http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=308118

[Felyndiira]

Near the far end of the prison was a lone girl hunched in silence.

She did not look like she belonged here, in the same cell as some of the most horrific monsters of Talingarde. Though twenty, she had the appearance of a girl no older than her middle teenage years, with brown hair and a faintly innocent face that looked as if she had not suffered any true hardship prior to her imprisonment. Stuffed there, a casual observer might feel a sense of pity for her: what was such a young girl doing there? A noble, too - what sort of crime could such an innocent being have committed to have landed her here? She looked as if she had already given up any glimmer of hope for a second life; her hair, once lustrous and well-cared for, was now wasted by filth, hiding away her face as if they were another set of bars sealing away any semblance of a human emotion.

Every hour or so, she would longingly stare at the light outside the prison bars. There was so little evidence that there is still a world outside of this miserable place, and even then, she could not know whether that light truly came from the outside or from some incandescent lamp outside the cell's doors. Perhaps she would soothe herself with some outlandish fantasy of transforming into a wisp of light - guided by Mitra, of course - and escape into the stars. Perhaps she wanted to hear the bird's sing, outside, for one last time before the guillotine finally drops on her head. Whatever her intentions, that momentary hope quickly transforms into the usual expressionless face of a girl past her expiration, and all else was once again normal in this ordinary Branderscar cell.

Her crime...it was supposed to be heresy. She remembers it as defending people that have not yet committed a crime, and that is not too far from the truth. They were clerics of Asmodeus, sure, but the only crime they could even be charged with is the heinous crime of not praying to Mitra. Was the goddess of light so blind that she would sentence innocent men to their gallows? No, she could not be - that was what Alice had believed, at least, and that was what had landed her here. The only difference between her and the other citizens was that she did not believe in the wholesale slaughter of innocent people.

She was different from the other inmates here...but what did it matter now? They were all branded as the forsaken of Talingarde, and they will all die soon and be forgotten by the world. They might as well all be corpses here, talking with their last breath, and a corpse is a corpse whether it belonged to a noble or a criminal. Death does not distinguish between the guilty and the innocent.

The passing of time were distorted here. With time, she had forgotten what was morning and what was night; the only thing that was constant here was that incessant light that mocked the prisoners more than it gave them light. Here, the girl recited a prayer to Mitra under her breath, quietly enough so that the other inmates would not hear.

Could the goddess still hear her?

"Hey." She whispered at the end of her prayer, this time loudly enough for the other prisoners to hear. In better circumstances, she would never consider herself to be the same as these depraved beings, but there was no better or worse crime in this place. Still, the girl sounded full of gloom when she finally talked to the other inmates; she weakly eyed the two men that spoke, trying to get a measure of what sort of horrid crimes they had committed to earn a place at this cell. Perhaps they were just like herself?

"Something. Stuff," she added, returning to her display of gloom. Her voice was mechanical and devoid of emotion, as if she was a corpse going through the motions of imitating a living human. "It matters little anyway. In three days, we'll all end up the same."

[darklink_shadow]

You are quite lucky indeed, little girl. Acheron says with confidence. I do not know how my death shall come, but my body tells me it is not yet that time. Which can only mean we will escape.

Calmly he turns to size up the brutalized Aasimar again. Coincidentally, removing the current monarch from power is something I can support. It needs a better leader, one who knows the struggles of the people. But as for my cause, that is the total destruction of the wicked god Mitra, whose sins are without end. I do not know how far along my task will be when I die, but further than this. Her followers will be stopped from spreading the disease of her worship. She enables wicked things to happen and thwarts agents of good. So I tried to kill the princess. Kles and I did. We miscalculated though. No matter. We learn from our mistakes, and we grow from our failures more than any successes.

Acheron spits on the ground. Bitch. The single word leaps angrily off his tongue, chasing after his spittle. But that's a task for another time. I see now I took too large of a step at once. But what's with the little girl? Are they throwing anyone in here now? It'll be good for her, see the real side of the world, and learn from her scars. And we won't die her. We wouldn't be all bottled up at once for nothing. Gruumsh works in chaotic ways, but there is method to his madness. Justice to his whims.

[Felyndiira]

"That sounds so nice. I wish I had that sort of confidence; it would at least make a much quicker passing of these three days."

There were questions that the girl wanted to ask of the half-orc covered in scars. Her mouth had only began to form the word "Why-" before she managed to restrain herself, retreating back to her defeated appearance and letting her hair once again cover her face. A criminal that was thrown in for trying to kill the princess - this is very rare, even within these prison walls. What sort of demonic possession would compel someone to do such a thing? There were so many questions that she wanted to ask, and yet, the girl could not muster up the courage to speak them. Horrid as these people may be, they are her only companions for the final three days until the execution, and she did not want to needlessly anger them. She was already afraid of death - it would be unimaginable if she were also to also die alone.

A part of her also wanted to scream her title as loudly as she could muster. She wanted to distinguish herself from these murderers and treasonists - to prove that unlike them, she was different. She was innocent, and a countess who was well loved by her principality - so much that they would undoubtedly rush to her defense if they were to catch wind of her incarceration. She wanted to denounce them as murderers, but this, too, she quickly suppressed as a flight of fantasy; when her lips next parted, she merely told a short fable in a somber tone.

"This was a tale that I had heard, something left by a traveling magician that visited my former mansion." The girl did not look like she enjoyed telling the tale; if one were to observe carefully, he would notice a faint droplet of tear on her left eye, hidden from view by the prison of her own hair. Nonetheless, she continued. "A kind swordsman had taken pity on a blind man that he saw on the streets. He took the blind man home, dressed him in his finest clothes, and decided to teach him the way of the sword so that he could earn his own living. Eventually, the swordsman was attacked by his rivals; the blind man rushed to his benefactor's defense with his sword, but in his zeal he cut down his friend as well when he was not looking. When asked, the blind man only said, 'he sounded just like the enemy. I did not know who I had killed.' His master taught him to slay the enemy, but not to see, and thus, the blind man was doing his duty. He was not even a bit remorseful."

"Well, I'm like the swordsman. That was why I was thrown into this place. Not murder, not treason, but because I defended innocent people that practiced a different belief." The girl let out a sigh of resignation; she felt a bit better now, finally getting this burden away from her own bosom, but also a bit lonely and afraid. "But heresy is heresy in the kingdom's blind eyes, so here I am."

"Far be it for me to hope again, but I think...I would give everything just to see the sky for a second time."

[JonRG]

OOC: Kles is a pretty obvious tiefling. His eyes are red, and he's got small horns.

Kles focuses intently on the floor as Archeron recounts the crime. "Basically what happened." No need for them to hear the sordid details about his capture. Bellinda had actually been fairly civil about the whole affair, all things considered. Best not to tell Archeron. He upset easily. "Got any idea what those methods might be? I must have tried these cuffs a hundred times, but they won't budge." He shifted his wrists around in the shackles.

[darklink_shadow]

Hmph. Acheron grunted, frowning at Kles. He didn't pretend to understand all of Gruumsh's designs. To do so would to be overly arrogant. Not yet. I may not realize it until the time is upon us. We cannot break free from our shackles, so either we will escape with our shackles, or someone will take them off for us. Acheron struggles briefly against the chains. Damn. Oh all the things. My nose itches.

Acheron eyes the little girl briefly, then exhales loudly. Little girl. You have four options. You God wishes to punish you because you are wicked. Your God wishes to punish you because they are wicked. Your God doesn't exist. Your God has no power. Comes to terms with that. My God placed me here on a mission. He'll set me free. You don't need to hope to see the sky again, just hope I do, because if I do, you will.

[Felyndiira]

"That doesn't sound like the words of one of Talingarde's supposed worst criminals." The girl faintly giggled, briefly heartened by the Half-Orc's brash statement. It's so rare to find such a man here - someone who was brave enough to try to kill a princess, then afterwords spoke of providence and ushering a useless little girl to freedom. Hearing those words was like a potion, and the girl could feel a little sliver of strength - a sliver of hope - returning to her body. "Maybe I am being punished for somehow being wicked, I do not know. That knowledge isn't a luxury to be given to a dead girl."

"My hope is free in this place. Though I don't know how much good it will do, feel free to take as much of it as you wish."

[Frosty]

Kayle could recognize a kindred spirit instantly in Alice. This girl is obviously upset, and she has every right to be. The servants of Mitra have perverted her teachings. Mitra does not teach her followers to persecute others like has been done, and if Kayle must take up Asmodeus's banner in order to teach those servants a lesson, then so be it.

"You are not the swordsman. Comparing the current servants of Mitra to the blind man is too generous. Right now Mitra's worshippers know *exactly* what they are doing. They got rid of you because you were in the way and didn't conform to their persecuting and expansionist ways...just like they got rid of me. I was chased out of the priesthood when I dared questioned them about the brutality involved in rooting out the followers of Asmodeus, and the fairness of persecuting people just for having different beliefs. I was *there* before *and* during the purge. They called me a traitor...a heretic...and I left, working underground with various cults to try to restore some balance. However, it looks like I was sold out. But this is but a small set-back. Like the half-orc, I am confident that we will find an opportunity to escape."

She turns to look at Acheron. "I believe I have a purpose as well. Maybe I wasn't chosen by a god, but I know a calling when I see one. But I believe you are wrong. It is not Mitra who is wicked. It is her current crop of followers, or most of them anyways. They must be punished, and the pantheon of Talingarde restored to balance. I bet right now, worship of your god is 'illegal' in Talingarde. I will see Talingarde become a land where people can worship any god, yours included, openly. For that to happen, Mitra's position must be attacked."

[darklink_shadow]

Acheron scoffed. Really? A divine being with powers far beyond that of mere mortals has allowed her own teachings to be warped? Then she must be a pitiful Goddess. My God isn't outlawed for the simple reason that the Mitra cultists don't recognize legitimacy of the Old Gods. To ban their worship would be to admit they exist.

Acheron wiggled his nose, still annoyed with the itch, Gah! Ack! Uh... I guess it doesn't really matter if you believe in the righteousness of Mitra or not, as long as you can agree her clergy are corrupted and evil. I choose to believe you are also chosen to serve a divine purpose. I choose to believe it was arranged that we meet. I fervently believe in destiny. This innocent girl, and a hardened criminal such as myself, are total opposites. And then a teifling and an aasimar? Also total opposites. Seems like something important to me, is in the making here. Seems like fate. Perhaps we are to average each other out? I do not know. But it would not be the first time Gruumsh stole other gods' followers for his plans. What say you, angelkin? Are we in accord? And you, Kles, what say you about my ideas? Skeptical as you are of my faith, I doubt you trust in my assumptions.

[Geckus]

At the end of the line, Verrin hung listlessly in his chains, head bowed and lost in recrimination. The runic F branded into his arm still ached, but the sting of yet another failure burned far worse.

A fine ship and all it's men, sent right to bottom in days, and what to show for it? Naught but a chance to amuse the damned Mitrans by dancing at the end of a rope. What will my lord father think of this? A soft sigh escaped his lips as Verrin pictured the quiet rage smoldering in his father's heart & eyes at yet another embarrassing disappointment. Perhaps the noose won't be so bad after all...

Turning his attention outward in a bid to escape that oh so joyous thought, Verrin listened silently to the conversation of his fellow prisoners, his eyes resting on each in turn as they spoke. He is appalled by and yet somewhat in awe of the scarred one's sheer confidence.

"I don't know whether you're mad or just very, very sure of yourself." It took a second after the words popped out of Verrin's mouth for him to realize he'd spoken aloud for the first time since being brought into this cell. "Eh, sorry, didn't mean to interrupt, but I noticed you left someone out of your list of opposites." Nothing new there, The First damn it. "Perhaps I can can help....let's see, I'm neither as hardened as you not as apparently innocent as the young lady," he inclined his head towards Alice with a small smile. "And neither hell-blooded nor celestial-bound, but fully the human you are both halves of." With nods to Kles and Kayle in turn. "Would that perhaps make me the average of you all? Not flattering perhaps, but it fits your belief, does it not?"

[Frosty]

Kayle rattles her chains futilely. "I don't know about this opposites and averages out thing, and I don't know if it's fate. However, I am willing to work together towards out common goal, scarred one."

(I gotta go for most of the day. Be back laaaate tonight)

[Felyndiira]

"I do wonder." Alice momentarily paused; she looked up into the sky, as if trying to gleam some form of insight from the mold-covered ceiling of the cell. After a moment's pause, she resumed, this time in a much more natural voice, and without the restraint that she had shown earlier. "Branderscar is said to be one of the most secure prisons in all of Talingarde. I have not a single criminal that entered the gates here have yet been able to escape, even though many of them, too, likely claimed the same divine providence. Histories say that it was built upon a castle that has never been breached since the civil war that saw the rise of House Darius; it will take more than just a miracle for us to leave this place with our lives."

Her eyes scanned the vestige of the angel-born woman; she was truly beautiful, with hair of lustrous gold and an otherworldly, majestic aura about her. The Aasimar woman spoke freely of her crime, but for Mitra's chosen to throw someone such as her into a prison - would it be somewhat akin to condemning one of her own angels into the fires of the abyss? Would Mitra be angry at them for mistreating the daughter of one of her own chosen? When she spoke again, it was to the angelborn with no attention paid to the other prisoners. Her speech was jumbled and unclear, as if the girl herself did not know what she truly wanted to say.

"I have a name. Alice, formerly the Countess of Miran." She had not intended to speak her name or landship so freely, but the girl had been alone for the past few days; when she finally spoke freely to another human, everything flowed out from her lips like an unstoppable tide. "Before I was thrown here, I was the lord of my principality; I had watched, with my own eyes, children of rural families dance about in the streets as if they had no worries in the world. I remember, third house on the second block on the main street was a bakery owned by a nice family that had just moved there a few years ago. I would visit them often for their wonderful saffron bread, and they would always make it with the warmest smile on their faces. 'Food tastes better when it was baked with all of your heart', they would say. And there was never once when I visited that they didn't have that smile."

"I can't find it in my heart to say that they are wicked...or the children, or any of the other people that lived under the followers of Mitra. Sometimes, I really do think that it may be me..."

The girl's voice trailed off, but it was quite apparent what she had meant to say.

[Cyclopean]

Quiet down in there, orcblood! barks the guard. Apparently, the other traitors and heretics aren't loud enough to bother him. In response to the yelling, a moan rumbles from the cell to your right. Its occupant is concealed by a stone wall.

Local Knowledge (Kles and Kayle only):
That must be the ogre bandit who was terrorizing the moor. They captured him some time ago, and the constabulary intends to keep him here as a trophy until they can find a suitable occasion for his public execution. He's one of the very few of his kin still alive in Talingarde, and is currently the only prisoner in Branderscar besides you and your cellmates.

Just a few moments later, you hear men moving down the hall. Six guards come into view, led by Sergeant Thomas Blackerly. Even if he hadn't laughed as he held the branding iron that scarred you, you'd recognize this fat, well-dressed man. The guards are fully armed and look ready for trouble. Blackerly, on the other hand, seems a little dazed. Still, he sneers as he faces the cell and raises his finger to point at Verrin.

http://i.imgur.com/zWBstOf.png

"There! That's the scum! Get 'im unshackled. Any of you makes trouble, you'll earn a thrashing!" He glowers at the prisoners as he unlocks the cell door. When his eyes settle on the pirate, his expression becomes more difficult to read. "Today's your lucky day, scum," he says as the door swings open and the guards file in. "You've got a visitor. How you warranted such a fine lady is beyond me. Seems she wants to say goodbye," he says, the sneer returning to his face.

Never loosening their grip on his arms, the guards lift Verrin upright. "Now step lively. We wouldn't want to keep the lady waiting," Blackerly intones.

The on-duty guard slams the door shut and locks it as Verrin is dragged away. Your unseen neighbor begins to growl, or perhaps the growling is only now audible. "Shut up!" yells the guard as he raises his club, but he sounds a little afraid. The growling trails off anyway.

The guard walks back to his post--perhaps a bit too quickly--and as he vanishes from sight, you are once again left alone.

[darklink_shadow]

Honestly human, I had assumed from your silence that you were either asleep or died of your wounds. I can't get a good look at you, so I don't well know your condition. I'm not sure about my idea on opposites, but it's something I noted. It could be utterly false, and be straws I grasp at for explanation of the "Why" of the matter. But that doesn't change the Who, the What or the How even if the Where is unfortunate.

Alice. Acheron chuckled. Human names are so... easy to say. Just as he said this, men come rushing up and took away the human at the end of the line of chains. I wonder if he'll be coming back or not.

~No matter. But what of our friend next door?~ Acheron licked his lips and growled out a greeting to his neighbor in Orcish.

Brotherkin, do you speak the tongue of the blood the guard claims you have? I am Orc-blooded, and it would be good to see another with my hated blood. Besides, Gruumsh may have a grand place for you in his plans.

[Geckus]

Verrin gives a dry chuckle in response to Archeron's words. "Fair enough. Never been a fan of philosophizing; but looking at the hangman's noose makes one slightly more amenable to grasping at that 'why'."

At the sounds of their captor's approach, Verrin grows quiet once more; he greets Blackerly's arrival with an ill-concealed disdain, masking the sudden return of fear when he's is pointed out. My time with inquisitors already? Well, perhaps I can at least keep the only charges as piracy...minimize the disgrace to the family...wait, did he say lady?

Fighting to keep his confusion from showing, Verrin endeavors to stand on his own as the guards loosen the manacles holding him upright - not struggling, but trying to maintain at least a modicum of dignity as he's taken away. As they move into the hall outside the cell, he addresses the portly sergeant in an attempt to dispel at least a bit of the mystery.

"Come now Blackerly, not even a chance to clean up a bit before meeting the lady? Be a sport and at least tell me which of my admirers came to see me off."

Could it be Tresca? No...she couldn't possibly be her in Talingarde...not unless... Thinking about how eager his dear sister had been for him to take command of the Bearded Lion (which now rested in the sea's sunless depths), he couldn't help but consider the possibility that she had arranged this for him. She was certainly devious enough to have done it. Let the Mitran's know where his ship was headed, the flag she would fly until he raised the black, and it would do much to explain how they had managed to be right there, lying in wait for him. No, she wouldn't have done that to me...unless she was still upset about that indiscretion with her maid. Maybe I should have kept away from her favourite...

[JonRG]

Kles snorts. "They're vendors. Kind words are part of their brand. Keeps them in business. It's easy to be decent when everyone's watching, but once the customers've gone? Guy probably gets blind drunk and screams at his kids. Everyone's wicked. Some just hide it better than others." He apparently wasn't very comforting, judging by the expression on Alice's face. "Er, what I'm tryin' to say is, it's not you. Well, not just you." The guards' shouts spare Kles any further awkwardness. He stared intently at the guards as they unchained Verrin. It was a favorite pastime of his, though Kles had to be careful. No one would care if he could see at his execution.

Gnarled Orcish sounded in his ears. Archeron intended to make a friend. Good. That butcher cut a swath of death across the countryside, so certainly the type to resonate with Archeron's rhetoric. He'd make a worthy ally, or alternatively, a distraction.

[Cyclopean]

In the Cells:

"I told you to be quiet, orcblood, not to speak in devil!" The voice from the guardroom suggests that the guard was calling Acheron "orcblood" rather than the unseen neighbor, and also that the guard is utterly ignorant of both orcish and fiendish languages. "One more word from you and I'll have your teeth!"

Another groan comes from the other cell, apparently too soft for the guard to hear. "Little 'uns too loud. Makes Grumblejack's head hurt." The low, rough voice from the other cell is quiet, but intense. "Little 'uns make rest of Grumblejack hurt, too. Stupid, weak little 'uns. Put Grumblejack in cage instead of killing. Grumblejack kill two before they could." There's a pause and a chuckle as Grumblejack savors the memory. There is no mirth in his voice when he proceeds, however. "Grumblejack not happy that puny little 'uns caught Grumblejack. Not happy 'tall. That why little 'uns stupid. Grumblejack hurt, not dead. Maybe Grumblejack get to hurt more little 'uns. Maybe Grumblejack get out, kill 'em all." There's another pause. "Kill you little 'uns too, if you keep makin' 'em be loud."

Note: Grumblejack is speaking in common, although it doesn't seem to be his first language.

[Cyclopean]

In the Halls:


"Come now Blackerly, not even a chance to clean up a bit before meeting the lady? Be a sport and at least tell me which of my admirers came to see me off."

Blackerly snorts. "What'd be the point in that? You can't wash away ugly, scum." His men erupt with laughter, and Blackerly ignores the second request altogether.

It's only a short walk down the hall to where your visitor waits. Your escorts shove you into a chair. They unhand you, but keep their clubs at the ready to keep you from getting any ideas.

Across from you sits a woman with hair so blonde it approaches platinum. She is dressed as though mourning, down to the veil across her face. Tears well up in her green eyes, and you watch as they fall down her beautiful face.

You have never seen her before.
http://i.imgur.com/nELhS1C.png

"Oh, dearest!" she proclaims. I'm so relieved you're still alive, if only for a few..." she trails off, chokes, and turns to Blackerly. "Good sir, could we have a moment alone? For pity's sake, she pleads. Blackerly's face goes blank.
"Of course, my lady. For you, it is no problem." Blackerly beckons to his men. They follow him out of the room, looking somewhat confused, and close the door behind them.

The moment they do, any trace of distress vanishes from her face. "Don't you recognize me, dearest Verrin?" Her smirk drives away any lingering pretense. "Call me Tiadora. We have a mutual friend who wishes to meet with you and your cell-mates. Unfortunately, your present accommodations are a bit shabby for his tastes, so he won't be visiting. You'll have to escape, it seems."

Tiadora seems to relish your confusion and incredulity. "Oh, come now. Just because it's never been done doesn't mean you can't be the first. If you do manage it, cross the moors on the outskirts of town. On the old Moor Road you'll see a manor house with a single lantern burning in the second story window. There, our mutual friend waits. That is all I know. He did want me to give you this." She removes her veil and wipes away her feigned tears with it. "Something to remember me by, dearest," she says as she tosses it across the table. She moves as though to rise.

[Geckus]

Plucking the veil from the air as it flutters across the table, Verrin shakes his head bemusement.

"I appreciate the thought, Tiadora was it? but one does not simply walk out of Brandelscar."

Rising himself, he half-turns to keep both the door and his mysterious visitor in view. Loose from his chains and with the carrot of freedom dangling before him, Verrin can't help but consider his odds of fighting free. Basically nil...no armor...too many guards outside...I know next to nothing of the layout... He turns a considering gaze on Tiadora. Use a hostage? Better...and she does appear to have some hold over our dear Sergeant Blackerly.

"I'm all in favor of living past the next few days, and I'm not adverse to meeting with this mutual friend of ours, but if this," he raises the veil, "is supposed to have some significance, I do hope he told you what it was."

Else I may have to find out just how invested you are in aiding an escape.

[darklink_shadow]

Acheron forms a grin, then lets it fade. Alright, Grumblejack, I'll talk low, so our dear friend won't be annoyed by the ringing sound of justice in his halls of evil. Tell me, my friend, why are you imprisoned? Did you do something wrong, or do they hate you because they fear you? Tch. Acheron paused for half a moment then continued.

You really don't need to answer that. But let me tell you something, my friend, after you escape, because you will, with our help, I have a place you can go to be safe from being caught. These worms must have caught you napping or outnumbered you greatly. But I know of an orc tribe, not far from this pit, and if I tell them you are a friend, you will be welcomed. You'll have to work, but you'll be an equal tribesman. This way they will never catch you napping or have the number to trap you, because Orcs do not lose a man unless they lose an army.

[Frosty]

"
"[COLOR="Navy"]I can't find it in my heart to say that they are wicked...or the children, or any of the other people that lived under the followers of Mitra. Sometimes, I really do think that it may be me..."

The girl's voice trailed off, but it was quite apparent what she had meant to say.The celestial-touched woman shakes her head at Alice. "Alice, please call me Kayle. You had feelings that any decent person would've had. The fact that these people wouldn't been arrested if they were worshippers of Asmodeus shows just how corrupt and hypocritical the current regime is. It's not you who is wrong. You must have conviction in your beliefs. We can make things right."

Kles snorts. "They're vendors. Kind words are part of their brand. Keeps them in business. It's easy to be decent when everyone's watching, but once the customers've gone? Guy probably gets blind drunk and screams at his kids. Everyone's wicked. Some just hide it better than others."Kayle sighs at the tiefling. "Yes, being friendly is a part of their trade. And if being friendly is wicked, then count Alice amongst the wicked. No one has nay proof these kinds of people were up to no good. Yet they were persecuted just as harshly as you and the half-orc, two proven attempted murderers. Still, no one will remember or know how unfair everything is if we die here. So pray tell...what skills have you at your disposal that might be useful in helping us escape? Once out of these shackles, I know I can fight our way past the gards, but we need the manacles released first."

[Cyclopean]

In the room:

Tiadora scoffs. "If none of you is clever enough to figure it out by yourselves, our friend will be considerably less interested in meeting you. I've helped you as much as I can. Now, put that away; I believe we're out of time." Indeed, Verrin scarcely has time to put away the veil before the door opens and the guards re-enter.

Tiadora is once again the perfect picture of grief. "No, I can't bear to leave you!" she shrieks. She gives you what looks to all the world like a tender kiss; her lips feel cold and somehow alien. You manage not to shudder.

Blackerly shakes his head. "I'm afraid it's time, miss."

Tiodora looks deep into his eyes. "Thank you for letting me say goodbye. There's no need to search my dearest. You are such a good friend for letting me see him one more time." She hangs her head.

"Such a good friend," the sergeant intones back. You are now certain that your visitor has somehow enchanted Blackerly. He seems to be coming back into himself, though, as he politely bows to her. "A pleasure, madam."

As the guards seize you once again, you and Tiadora lock eyes. She flashes you a wicked smile. Three days, her voice echoes in your head. Don't be late, dearest.


-------------------------------------------------

In the cell block:

"Huh," says Grumblejack, and he is silent for a long moment. "You talk big for a little 'un, but you are in cage, same as Grumblejack. Maybe you do get out, though. Let Grumblejack out too, and we show the little 'uns that caught us, should have killed instead." The ogre growls; it seems he is getting worked up. "Grumblejack not orc, though. Grumblejack not work; Grumblejack fight. Maybe Grumblejack get out, and Grumblejack not die killing little 'uns, and Grumblejack follow you a while. Maybe not."

Maybe the ogre has more to say, but before anyone can speak, the door bursts open. Blackerly and and his men come clattering in, Verrin in tow. This is too much for Grumblejack to bear. He rattles the bars of his cell door, roaring with hatred and pain.

"Mitra preserve us," sighs Blackerly, drawing his sword. "Will you ever learn, beast?" As his unnerved men are returning Verrin to his bonds, the sergeant, carefully maintaining his distance, brings down his blade. Grumblejack bellows, reaches through the bars for his attacker, and receives another wound for his trouble. Blackerly walks away, leaving the ogre bleeding and seething with rage. Humiliated, Grumblejack swings once more, then retreats to the back of his cell to sulk.

Prisoner returned and ogre quieted, the men exit, leaving the prisoners alone once again.

[Frosty]

The aasimar mentally notes that this ogre will make a nice distraction...or even ally if she can get it to follow directions. But first, escape. She turns back to the man who was just let back into the cell. "So, mr-I-had-a-visitor...what's your name? I don't suppose that was some powerful wizard friend you've made in the coming to set you free?"

[JonRG]

Why didn't people ever actually listen to him? "That's not at all what I- Nevermind." Kles took a deep breath. "I know my way around locks and knives." He grows quiet when the other man returns. "Probably not, since he's still here," he mutters. His heart raced. Inmates did not usually receive or, failing that, were not allowed any visitors. Perhaps their story would not end here.

[Geckus]

As the guards re-enter the room, Verrin puts aside any though of summoning his blade; his instincts scream that a better chance will come later.


Tiadora is once again the perfect picture of grief. "No, I can't bear to leave you!" she shrieks.

"No need to cry dearest, it does not become you."

The cold and alien feel of Tiadora's lips crush any interest in extending the parting kiss, and leave Verrin wondering exactly who, or what, she really is.

It's a effort of will to keep from struggling as the guards lock onto his arms once more. I can not believe I am putting my faith in the belief that some unknown stranger wants me to escape and has given me, no us...she said everyone in the cell and I will need allies if any escape is to succeed... the means to do so; in the form of a damned veil.


Three days, her voice echoes in your head. Don't be late, dearest.

Verrin's eyes widen at the sound of Tiadora's voice in his head, surprise making it easy to be led meekly back to the cell and locked once again in irons.

Waiting until he hears the door at the end of hall close, Verrin then answers the lady near the far end of their chains in a quiet voice that hopefully won't carry beyond their cell.

"The name is Verrin, my good lady, Verrin Maelabrind. As to the second question...I'm really not sure. Certainly someone with an interest in seeing everyone in this cell free, though I can make no sense of their plan myself. Would any of you fine cell-mates happen to be a wizard?"

[darklink_shadow]

Of sorts. Acheron grunts in response to Verrin. The person who wants to see us free shall, but I wonder about their motives. They might be an ally of one of your causes, but none of my current allies would be interested in any of you, yet. Hmm... What did they say?

[Geckus]

"That someone with enough influence or power to get a visitor into Brandelscar and who knew that we would share a cell wants to meet with us, where to find them and when. My visitor gave me an item," Verrin opens his clenched right hand to allow the veil to fall loose, while keeping a firm grip on it's corner with thumb and forefinger, "that our supposed friend wanted us to have; I presume it was meant to aid an escape in some fashion, though I cannot see how unless it contains some form of magic and I'm no magician."

If anyone expresses an interest in a closer look, Varrin passes the veil along the chain - very carefully so as not to drop it.

[Felyndiira]

"In-"

The girl's words were suddenly interrupted by the presence of Sergeant Blackerly; some form of sudden realization struck her, and she returned to cuddling in the corner, peeking out with one eye to silently watch the proceeding between the obviously overweight man and the pirate-thief. The grumbles of the monster in the adjacent cell, too, caught the girl's attention. No - not monster, prisoner - as long as they are all here, they were all as good as dead. Corpses have no prejudice for race.

Was a prison sergeant supposed to be this fat, however? She had seen him before, when she was incarcerated and the burning black letter was scarred onto her arm. She didn't really pay much attention to anything other than the pain, then, so it's likely that she simply had not noticed. Still, Blackerly seemed to be quite well-to-do for someone working the equivalent of a prison head guard. Alice was pretty sure that even some of her own finery - when she was still a countess - could not match what the man was wearing now.

She remained silent; cuddled in the corner until the pirate thief returned. Her eyes lit up when he casually announced the word "free". Suddenly, a thousand questions came over her - a thousand rays of hope, too, shining down from the heavens as if providence from Mitra himself; when Blackerly finally disappeared, she spoke again with as much information as she could muster. At first, she spoke only to Kayle, but just enough so that everyone in the cell area - and no one else - could hear:

"Kayle...I, um, I remember Branderscar in the history books. The prison was supposed to be one of the most secure places in Talingarde; many powerful men and women passed through these cells, but not a single one has yet managed to escape. It's rather unbelievable that someone would be able to sneak in here so easily and smuggle contraband without the guards noticing, even if it only looks like a veil. I imagine if this was truly the case, someone would have smuggled prisoners out a long time ago, and Branderscar would never have received such a reputation."

She continued - this time, turning to every other prisoner in the cell. Had she not been in here, desperate and forgotten by her own people, she would have denounced all of them - even the angel-blooded girl, to some degree - as dangerous people that would create war and grief for the peaceful citizens in their pursuit of their selfish goals; people that had no rights to be free, in other manners of speaking. Yes, probably even Kayle; even if her revolution was founded on gentle ideas, what sort of chaos would overthrowing House Darius cause to the baker and his wife? To the innocent children of Miran?

The girl thought nothing of that now. In many ways that she did not even realize herself, she was selfish; as kind she had acted during her lifetime, now, her people did not even occupy a space on her mind. Alice was afraid to die. She had put up a strong appearance during the incarceration to convince herself otherwise, but death was taboo for all humans. There was nothing that could conquer such a fear. Her voice seemed now closer to her heart, stripped of any masks that she may have worn earlier:

"Please, take me with you. I promise I will listen and help as much as I can."

[Frosty]

"Poor Alice...so afraid...I was where she was at, emotionally speaking, decades ago. But I learned...I learned that in order to achieve my goals there is no method too cruel. And so she too will learn...in time." thinks the aasimar silently.

"May I see the item? Also, Verrin, how exactly did your visitor smuggle this to you?" asks Kayle to Verrin.

With enough tries, can we cast Detect Magic on the veil? We might fail our concentration checks many times, but we have infinite uses...

[darklink_shadow]

Alice! Acheron chided, clenching his jaw so he could sound harsh without actually making much noise. Do not beg for what is freely offered. Do not be so timid and weak. If you want to come with us, you're going to need to be strong, brave. The weak die. In this pit, we have no time to play Sheppard to sheep. Even if just for now, be a wolf. Or you'll die here. If you need it, drink your fear and let your desire to live grant you strength. Nothing you do here could hurt you, you're already dead until we escape. And if you die attempting an escape, it will still be a better end. A warrior's end, a martyr's end and a much less painful end they what they have planned.

Acheron gave her a sharp look. You can do that, the ability to do so is in all living things. You can be strong. If you choose not to do so, none of us can save you from yourself. Acheron swallowed, then sighed. Those tainted by Mitra's teachings often find that when alone, they are too scared to have strength. Mitra teaches individual weakness but strength in unity. That's stupid. You need personal strength and greatness in unity. Anyways, angelkin, when you're done looking, let me see it. If it's magical, hopefully I can unlock some mystery of it.

[Cyclopean]

You can't cast detect magic, unfortunately; the spell has somatic components, and your movements are restricted too tightly for even divine spellcasting. At present, any spell you try to cast will fail, unless it only has verbal components. It's extremely unlikely you'll be able to find material spell components in your cell just lying around in your cell.

Upon close inspection, the veil is obviously unusual. An assortment of seemingly unrelated shapes appear to be stitched into the silk.
http://i.imgur.com/U4Slyt8h.jpg
Religious Knowledge (Verrin, Alice, and Kayle):The shape in the center of the veil is quite plainly the holy symbol of Asmodeus. Though more noticeable than the other shapes, it seems none of the guards examined the veil closely enough to notice it.


Verrin passes the veil to Kles. The tiefling is unable to make any sense of the item, and he offers it to Alice. This transfer proves more difficult; whenever Alice reaches for the fabric, it seems to move away from her. When she eventually does get a hold of it, it seems for a moment that an unseen force will tear it away from her.

When she can finally begin to examine the veil, Alice soon notices something odd. As she runs her fingers across the silk, a fingernail catches on one of the shapes. Rather than pulling out the stitching, however, the entire shape seems to lift up a little. She thinks that she may be able to peel it off the veil entirely.

Alice: which shape have you caught a hold of, and what do you do now?

[JonRG]

Kles furrows his brow. He wasn't a magician or a tailor by any stretch of the imagination. The cloth was probably expensive, or could be represented as such. Helpless to contribute in any meaningful way, Kles focuses on the symbols. "Vial... sack... dagger... Say, those look like lockpicks. Think there's any way to get them out?" He realizes how idiotic that must sound and tries to quickly hand the cloth to Alice, get their eyes off of him. Naturally, it refuses to remain in her hand. "Typical. Juuuuuust typical."

[Felyndiira]

"Sure, if you wish it so." Alice replied simply to the half-orc. She disagreed with a number of the man's theology, but if they do manage to escape, there is all the time in the world for such disagreements. Besides, he is not entirely incorrect; right now, she is a lamb amongst a pack of wolves and thieves. She would have to carry her own part in order to earn a spot amongst these people. The angel-blood, perhaps, would be kinder, but definitely not the others. Definitely not the half-orc.

She could not even protest when the veil was handed to her. She knows of her own curse well, after living with it for almost the entire length of her life. Still, she tried her best to grab on to the veil, and once held, to take care not to just let it go. Her fingers ran across the fabric, eventually resting on the symbol of a star. "A symbol of Asmodeus," she whispered - she didn't intend to say this aloud, but it's invariable that the others in the cell can hear her. "I wonder why the lord of hell himself would send his followers to us?"

Her nails caught on the star-shaped unholy symbol; instead of tearing on the stitching and possibly ruining the veil, however, the symbol itself seemed to detach. Without another word, the girl removed her fingernail from the patch without detaching it and handed it to the angel woman with considerably difficulty, but careful not to let it escape her hands before Kayle had a chance to grasp it.

"I think the patches are detachable. I would rather not try due to a, um, special condition, but that may be the key behind the magic of this veil."

[darklink_shadow]

That sounds like our way out. Kles, can you pick these locks with those picks? Acheron asks, suddenly overjoyed at knowing the plan of Gruumsh, but his voice is low and gravelly, not showing a hint of his pleasure in the turn of events. Having had seen the veil yet, he is curious, but he knows Kles' hands are more suited to delicate work than his own.

[Frosty]

"That...sort of looks like a spell component pouch...or it could just be a sack. Still, I can't move so I can't really cast spells right now. The tiefling should try his hand with the lockpicks first." She hands the veil carefully to Kles.

(Has Kles revealed his name yet?)

[JonRG]

OOC: No, but Archeron has several times. :smallwink: Also, he will now.

Not so idiotic, perhaps. "Haven't seen the picks themselves, but somebody expended great effort to smuggle this to us. They should do the trick." Kles stretches to limber up and feels for the locking mechanism. Once it's found, he accepts the veil from Kayle. "Thanks, and uh, it's Kles." Kles peels the lockpick patch from the veil, taking a deep breath to clear his head.

[Cyclopean]

To his delight, Kles can get the lockpicks out of the fabric; one moment he is holding needlework, the next, his hand is full of gleaming thieves' tools.

You may begin making disable device checks. I'll make the first check and describe your success or failure. After that, roll and RP freely until you get a failure or unknown result. You get a -2 penalty while you remain manacled, but these tools are of masterwork quality, granting a +2 bonus.

Each manacle has a lock. However, you only need one success per person to give them freedom of movement and detach them from the wall. They'll be manacled to their other manacle, but not the wall.

The foot cuffs are held in place by the chain running through them. Pick the lock securing the chain to the wall (might be just a bit difficult with Verrin in the way), and you'll be able to remove the cuffs. Then there's just the lock on the door.

And now: does Kles thwart the manacles holding him on his first attempt?

[roll0]

[JonRG]

Kles bites back a curse. His wrists are stiff, and the noise could draw someone's attention. "Archeron," he mutters. "If this gets too loud, I might need a distraction from next door... if you catch my drift. Only as a last resort, mind." He clears his head and slides the pick into the lock. "C'mon. You can do this. You have to do this."

C'moooooooooon, big money, no whammies.

[roll0]

And another one, just to be optimistic.

[roll1]

[Frosty]

"Don't worry, I'm sure we can come up with a good excuse if they come to investigate. I'm am going to start praying loudly to Mitra to cover sounds up."

[JonRG]

"Sounds good. Could use all the help I can get." Kles smiles so she knows it was a joke. With a renewed sense of determination, he makes another attempt.

Not sure how that second roll fared, so I have to wait for Cyclopean to let me know. :smallbiggrin:

[JonRG]

Kles tries not to snap the delicate pick in Verrin's lock.

[roll0]

[Cyclopean]

A grunt comes from Grumblejack's cell. You hear him tread towards his cell door. The bars ring softly as he grabs them. Kles and Verrin can see him plainly, and Alice can glimpse the hulking figure. "Little 'uns not be loud," he warns, "or Grumblejack..."

http://i.imgur.com/XPmH0Ox.png

The ogre can only watch in amazement as Kles' hand slips out of the manacle. "Litte 'uns is getting out," he whispers in amazement. His cuts still glistening, he grins. "Still. Little 'uns not be loud. Little 'uns in there--" Grumblejack points to the guardroom--"not like loud. They come to shut you up, catch you again. Then little 'uns can't let Grumblejack out."

[Geckus]

"May I see the item? Also, Verrin, how exactly did your visitor smuggle this to you?" asks Kayle to Verrin.

"She wore it in. I've the feeling that she enchanted that fat bastard Blackerly somehow."

Verrin keeps his head turned to follow the progress of the veil, silently praying that no one suffers from a bout of butterfingers.


"I wonder why the lord of hell himself would send his followers to us?"

"The First Lord spins plans within plans, girl, but it's probably best not to dwell on them unless you cleave to his faith." He draws a quick hissing breath as the veil nearly pulls away from Alice's hand. "Carefullly now."


"...I'm am going to start praying loudly to Mitra to cover sounds up."

"Please reconsider the prayer, miss. As our rather large friend says, the last thing we need is a guard coming in here to shut us up before everyone is free."

[JonRG]

Kles turns to Grumblejack and presses a finger to his lips. "Need to..." Focus and concentrate probably weren't in his vocabulary. "Think lots to get out."

With Verrin freed, Kles focuses his attention on the chain.

[roll0]

He bites back a cheer but can't keep the grin off his face. This was really happening.

[Felyndiira]

The girl's eyes grew wider when she saw the demon-blooded man slip out of his manacles. Ever since her incarceration here, she had extinguished most hope of escaping to protect her own sanity and to parley herself from dwelling on her fate. But this is so much better: this was a chance at freedom! Something she never, in the wildest corners of her imagination, dreamed of ever since the moment she stepped into this place. A sparkle of light escaped the girl's eyes, and she whispered to Kles:

"I have some magic that may be able to assist, though I can't free myself from this predicament. Please free me next."

[JonRG]

Not wanting to lose momentum, Kles sidles down the row to Alice and tries to actually be reassuring this time. "Don't worry. Won't be long." He kept his eyes on his work rather than unnerve her or allow himself to be distracted.

[roll0]

[Geckus]

Verrin grins as the manacle clamped to his right wrist comes free, and begins wrapping the loose chain around his left arm to keep it from rattling around too badly. He's barely finished when the lock securing their leg irons pops open under Kles's clever fingers.

"Nicely done!"

While the tiefling continues working on the other's manacles, Verrin concentrates on quietly pulling the chain through the loops of the clamps securing their legs.

[Cyclopean]

Once again, the voices from the guardroom stop. You hear a chair scrape against the floor. You have a few seconds to prepare before the door opens.

You have a round before the door opens. The guard will then have to move closer before he can see you. If you want to hide an item on your body,that's a sleight of hand check (which you can make untrained). If you want to put back the manacles and chain discreetly, I need stealth rolls. Finally, I'll need bluff checks from you all; even if you don't say a word, you'll need a decent poker face.

Alternatively, you could get ready for a fight. What'll it be?

[Felyndiira]

Bluff: [roll0]

The bluff isn't just to maintain a poker face, it's to distract the guards and cover for anyone else that might have failed their checks. I'll probably wait until Nyaran post and edit what the Bluff check amounts to afterwords.

[Frosty]

Can't you use Stealth to try to hide the veil and tools?

Bluff: [roll0]

Kayle, not having been freed yet, just puts on a poker face.

[JonRG]

Sleight of Hand, but yeah. I'll do that. If it comes time to stab, I can always arm myself later. :smallbiggrin:

Stealth: [roll0]
Sleight of Hand: [roll1]
Bluff: [roll2]

"Oh hells." Of course his luck wouldn't last. It never did. Kles's eye drifts to the veil and those two dagger symbols. No, best not to risk it. Even he and Verrin together might not be able to bring down the guard, let alone the others that would come running. With a dejected sigh he tucks the veil and tools away, then returns to his place on the wall.

[Felyndiira]

"Please, just play along with me," Alice whispered to Kles as soon as she (and, hopefully, the other man) had pretended to re-fasten their manacles. Then, turning toward the cell bars, the girl let out a faint, but still audible, scream:

"Argh!"

She seemed to be breathing rather heavily; this fact would not be lost upon the guard that was sent to check on the cell. "Ow, it hurts," she whimpered - this time in a softer voice, but still loudly enough for her cell mates and the guard to hear. As soon as the guard is in visible sight, she switches to a more feminine voice.

"It's that...ugh, time of the year for girls." Realizing that he may still be a virgin, she added in a considerably more irritated tone, "do you not have a woman at home? Have you never known what we go through every month? By Mitra, and I sprained my wrists too. Are you here to rub it all in and laugh at the poor little former Countess of Miran?"

"Of course you don't understand! None of these prudes do! Please, just leave me alone! Or do you want to clean up after the mess I'm holding in?" Alice seemed to be sobbing, like she was breaking down by the stress of her imprisonment and the supposed event. Everything, of course, was just an act - but what measure of a human would be able to see a crying girl and deduce, without thought, that he was being played?

This was all done with the 21 bluff check that I rolled earlier, to convince the guard that nothing was wrong (well, except for a girl in a very bad mood) and that he doesn't need to check further.

Also, everything is spoken quietly enough so that no one but the people close to the cell can reasonably hear it. This will include the guard, of course.

[Geckus]

Verrin quickly shakes the wrapped chain loose from his arm and steps back into position, hoping that the guard doesn't notice anything amiss.


Bluff: [roll0]
Stealth: [roll1]

[darklink_shadow]

Acheron silently watches the proceedings like he would watch any ritual. The escape from Brandenscar would be a testament to Gruumsh's power, even if his other inmates didn't realize it. Asmodeus was a powerful ally in all this, but Asmodeus' servants have died in droves here, clearly he alone did not have the power to thwart this jail.

Acheron wears a modest grin after Alice's episode; the irony of her body realizing it was not going to bear child this cycle just before she died in prison was a little too much for Acheron, and he could easily mask all his glee at escaping with the stoic appreciation of bitter, painful irony.

Bluff [roll0] just in case.

[Cyclopean]

The guardroom door opens and the cell block becomes a little less dark. "All right, what's going on in here?" the guard shouts as he walks up the corridor.



"Of course you don't understand! None of these prudes do! Please, just leave me alone! Or do you want to clean up after the mess I'm holding in?" Alice seemed to be sobbing, like she was breaking down by the stress of her imprisonment and the supposed event. Everything, of course, was just an act - but what measure of a human would be able to see a crying girl and deduce, without thought, that he was being played?

The guard recoils in disgust...then continues. "Feh! Mess? We'll see how you like the mess after you soak in three days' worth of your own filth! Save your wailing for the pyre, countess. Now, let's see how one little lady made all that noise..."

Alice almost had him, but he rolled well. Besides, in Branderscar, she's not a crying girl; she's a hardened criminal. She's forsaken; she's a corpse.

Here's a tiny, tiny map of the cell block. Players are coded to their (approximate) text color; the guard is the black dot; Grumblejack is brown. Squares are actually 10'x10'. In the future, I may just have to draw my own maps...I don't think we'll have to use this to track much, but hopefully it will help to start.

http://i.imgur.com/N4Y2KvD.png


The guard rounds the corner and comes into full view. He spares a worried glance at Grumblejack before leaning in close to peer through the bars.

His eyes widen with horror; the chain is loose from the wall! "Arksen!" he cries out in terror. "Blow the horn! Summon help! The prisoners undid the chain!"

[Felyndiira]

Before the guard could even speak, Alice wad already ready with her reply. "You will do nothing. I command it.

Alice was hissing now. Her voice had already lost all pretense; if one were to listen closely, he would instantly realize that it was not an ordinary demand. Her words are backed by magic, and unless the guard was truly resilient, he would have no choice but to comply.

[darklink_shadow]

No. Acheron says calmly. Seeing the man's eyes widen, he acts by scrunching his face into a curse.

Evil Eye: -2 saves. DC 16 to make it not last 8 rounds, but it will last 1 round even if he saves.

Yeah!
It also looks like ALL of my hexes don't require much mobility.

[Frosty]

Kayle holds her action (and her breath), as this is a crucial moment and she HATES not being able to help right now.

[JonRG]

Kles didn't know much magic, but he'd lived long enough to know the power that must be behind Alice's words. He presses himself against the wall, praying that the guard ignores him.

When the guard halts and remains silent, Kles assumes the magic has worked. Quickly, he withdraws the veil from its hiding place and tears off one of the dagger patches.

[Cyclopean]

Before the guard could even speak, Alice wad already ready with her reply. "You will do nothing of that sort. Unlock the cell and approach me. I command it.

Alice was hissing now. Her voice had already lost all pretense; if one were to listen closely, he would instantly realize that it was not an ordinary demand. Her words are backed by magic, and unless the guard was truly resilient, he would have no choice but to comply.

The guard tries to reply, but can make no sound. He spies the loose chain in the corner of the cell, and his mouth opens in a silent scream.

So Kles' action is to retrieve the veil? I should note that when the new round begins, the guard will be flat-footed. :smallbiggrin:
EDIT: since Verrin is first in the initiative order, Geckus can post his surprise round action and full turn all at once.

[JonRG]

I was gonna try and free more people, but that works too. He'll pull out the veil and rip off a dagger patch. If he can pass it to Verrin in the same round, he'll do that too.

[Frosty]

"Good work, Alice!" says Kayle excitedly, but she does so in quiet voice.

[Geckus]

Verrin realizes they've been made the moment the guard's eyes widen. Slipping his feet free of the chains, he knows he won't be fast enough to silence the outcry sure to come. Nothing for it now but to make them pay to put us down. Then Alice's chilling voice seems to freeze the man's words in his throat, buying them precious seconds in which to act.

Pushing off the wall and throwing himself recklessly at the guard, Verrin unleashes the energy he's carried coiled within his mind, aching for release. A thick liquid seems to flow from the palm of his right hand, shaping itself into a three foot long crimson blade which he slams between the bars, the pent up power within raging straight through to the tip, seeking to take the guard in the throat and end him in an instant.


If I read correctly, there was a full round in round 0, so this should be legal. If I was mistaken, just remove the +2 for charging - should still be able to move to the cage edge (20'+10' tax to free feet), then attack action.

Round 0: Summon Mind Blade (move action), free feet from chains (move action)
Round 1: Charge the guard (full round action).

Attack (including +2 for charge): 1d20+5+2
Damage (discharging psionic weapon): 1d8+2+2d6

[JonRG]

Kles barely bats an eye at Verrin's assault, though he merely hides his surprise well. The tiefling steps toward the bars, braces one hand on the guard's shoulder, and attempts to drive the dagger home in his chest cavity.

With a CMB of +0, it'd be dumb to actually try and grapple this guy. The hand on the shoulder's merely for fluff.

Now... let's see if my luck tonight can keep on keepin' on. (Is the dagger masterwork, by chance?)

Attack: [roll0]
Damage: [roll1]
SA Damage: [roll2]

[Cyclopean]

The color drains from the guard's face as the two prisoners at the end rush at him with conjured blades. It seems that the prisoners are still stiff and weak from hunger, as his armor turns both attacks aside.

"Harrison, what's going on in there? Are you all right? calls a voice from the guardroom. His question is answered only by Grumblejack's laughter. You hear the ogre shuffling to the back of his cell.

[Felyndiira]

"It's working!" The girl hadn't been sure whether Mitra's gifts would still remain with her here, but her commands were definitely still being obeyed. She jumped when the other guard began calling to his comrade; gritting her teeth, she glared at the guard with a mix of fear and hatred.

"Remain! You will not move! I command you!" The girl's desperation was growing rapidly apparent in her voice. With her next breath, she prayed to Mitra - to anyone - to escape from this prison alive.

[JonRG]

Kles blinks the fatigue from his eyes and lashes out again.

Gotta get to bed myself, so here goes nothing!

Attack: [roll0]
Damage: [roll1]
Sneak Attack!: [roll2]

[Geckus]

Cursing under his breath as his initial blow glances off the guard's armor, Verrin tries to calm his screaming nerves.

At least whatever magic that woman is working seems to be holding him still; now prove you're worth a damn and put him down...

He raises the crimson blade and brings is slashing down between the bars.


Attack: [roll0]
Damage: [roll1]

[Cyclopean]

It seems the prisoners warm up quickly. On his second strike, the tiefling slips his dagger under Harrison's chain shirt and into his belly, while the pirate lands a devastating blow to the guard's shoulder.

And yet, somehow, he does not fall. The fight has gone out of him, however; he slouches, and clearly wishes to do nothing more than run. Try as he might, though, he cannot disobey the Countess.

His fellow guard suffers no such restraint. "Come on now, Harrison! Y-you ain't on the rotgut already, are you?" He cannot keep the fear from the timbre of his voice or the pace of his footfalls. Any second now, he will round the corner, and the mayhem will be in his full view.

Harrison is disabled, but still conscious.
Here's the terrible map I posted a while back again:
http://i.imgur.com/N4Y2KvD.png
I'm not going to bother updating it at the moment, but you might like to know that Guard Arksen will end his turn at the top left of 12-C. I believe Kles is currently at the top left of 8-A, tools in hand.

Anyway: I promise the next time I post a battle map, it'll be much better than this. I don't know why I thought keeping the squares at 10'x10' would be okay; probably I was still hung up on trying to make it look pretty, not realizing how tiny it would be. :smallyuk:

Trying to imitate Guard Arksen will require two rolls, I think; both a Disguise check and a Bluff check, each opposed by a single Perception check (I will resolve the outcome through GM wizardry). Of course, such a ruse could be thwarted by no more than a five-foot step...

Alice is up! Suggestions for map creation tools are welcome.

[Felyndiira]

"Aah! Stop!" Alice screamed, as if in pain and suffering from a beating. Her manacles clanked against its holder for a bit; to an unwary outsider, it sounds almost as if she is struggling to fight off an imaginary attacker. "No, wait! I'll be-aahh!"

Bluff: [roll0]

Now the curse of rolling poorly has spread to me =x.

[Frosty]

Kayle pretends to be Harrison. "SHUT YER TRAP! I'LL BEAT YA IF I FEEL LIKE IT!"

Bluff: [roll0]
Disguise: [roll1]

[Cyclopean]

"I...what? It's not like you to be drinking Blackerly's--"
The baffled Arksen is cut off as Harrison begins to slip out of Alice's power. However, the wounded guard can hardly speak, and the screams have long since left him. "Arksen," he coughs, and blood dribbles from his mouth. "Help...prisoners...the horn...help me..."

Talking is a free action :smallwink:. Of course, Harrison won't be able to run until his next turn, and by then it will be too late. It seems you've at least confused the other guy, and that should be worth something.

Acheron is up!

[darklink_shadow]

~Damn it.~ Acheron's thoughts about what to do with Arken's heretical corpse are darker than the cell in which they will leave it to rot, but he can do nothing about it at the moment. Sounds like it'll be a fight, then. Unless we could manage to get someone on the other side of the bars. If we could do that, we could have them run him down. A pity, we had a nearly silent escape too. But Gruumsh does love a little chaos in his plans.

In all seriousness, Kles unmanacle Kayle, Kayle summon monster as a standard action. Summoned with your SLA, it specifically CAN act immediately after you, have it chase down and butch the guard before he gets to the horn! :smallbiggrin:

Maybe? Yes?

[Cyclopean]

That would work. Like I said in the other thread, Kayle can actually summon right now (well, once it's her turn, anyway). The only problem is that her minion will be conjured a max of 25 feet away from her, and while she's attached to that wall, that has to be inside the cell. Mind, perhaps some summoned creatures could squeeze through the bars. Also, getting to move before summoning helps close that critical gap.

Kles is a bit farther from Kayle than a 5-foot step, but given that there's more freedom of movement with the ankle chain undone, I'll allow him to try to free Kayle instead of Alice next.

Remember, the chain halves Kayle's movement speed.

The suspense builds! Geckus is up. Has Harrison breathed his last?

[Frosty]

yes but WHICH creatures can squeeze through?

[Cyclopean]

Roll Knowledge (planes) for each creature you want to know about. Anything Tiny or smaller will be able to move through as though there is no obstacle.

[Geckus]

"Shut it, you"

Verrin reaches through the bars to grab Harrison and pull him up against the cell while laying his blade against the wounded man's throat. Not much hope if he goes for that horn...offering a way out might work.

"Look here Arksen, if you want your friend to live through the night you're best bet is to step in here and keep quiet. No need for you and Harrison here to bleed out trying to be heroes. We've no need to end you both to get out of here."

If Harrison tries anything stupid, Verrin slams his head against the bars in an attempt to stun or incapacitate him, rather than kill.


Bluff: [roll0]

As a side note, does our friend Harrison have a ring of keys on his person?

[Cyclopean]

Harrison can only moan as the youngest scion of Maelabrind traps the guard between his blade and the bars. He seems to be fading fast.

Normally this would require a grapple check and provoke and AoO, but this guy is disabled. I'm pretty sure that making an attack or resisting a grapple counts as strenuous, and Harrison would rather not start bleeding to death. So, you get this one for free.

Also, I realized that we forgot to add the trait bonus to damage. :smallredface: Technically you should have dropped the guy, but it's a bit late to retcon that. I might have him start making fort saves to stabilize. Anyway, having him definitely alive, if only for a little longer, could very well end up working to your advantage.

Nyarai is up!

[Frosty]

Kayle says to Kles, "*Psss* Kles! If you could just free me, I can summon allies into the other side of the bars. You know...as a surprise to the other guard if necessary."

[JonRG]

Don't exactly have it in my heart to do the RPs right now, so I'll try and let Kayle go and maybe edit something in later.

Disable Device: [roll0]

[darklink_shadow]

Acheron laughed a little as the guard was taken prisoner in his own jail by his own wards. There's something funny. You see, Mr. guard, you have attempted to hold the agents of a powerful god in prison, and already he has struck one man down and sent use the means to escape. You find yourself at a crossroads here. You can run and blow a horn to summon dozens of bastards to be taken the next life, provoking my wrath. Or you could come here and let us out. If you don't let us go, I will release every prisoner in this hellhole. So you can either be known as the man who was talking a piss when your partner let some prisoners free, or the ma who was on duty when every prisoner escaped all at once. Your choice. Personally I would pick death before dishonor, but I don't value my life, and maybe you do.

[Cyclopean]

"Wait! No! Don't hurt him!" cries Arksen as he darts around the corner. His jaw drops as his eyes fix on Verrin's red blade...and then flicker to the Tiefling in the back. Hardening his face, he raises his shield and continues in a voice that is perhaps a little too brave: "Stop. We can talk, but step away from the manacles!"


At present, Arksen is at the bottom right of 9-D.

What darklink has written up here is a good example of what an intimidate check should look like. However, I'm afraid he's jumping the gun just a bit here--my fault for taking so long to post. See, an intimidate check of the kind Acheron is trying takes about a minute of interaction, or ten rounds. Arksen, however, is under no compulsion to stick around and listen; he can bolt for the horn at any time.

Hostage Harrison has (predictably) brought Arksen to the table, but it seems he has a demand right off the bat. Will you meet it, or are you willing to risk letting him run?

I'm going to rule Acheron's speech delayed for now. The guard is turning the corner right as Verrin seizes Harrison, and issues his challenge in response to Verrin's threat.

So, things I need to know before Acheron's action is adjudicated. First: does a rat appear to cut off Arksen's escape? Second: does Kles withdraw his tools? We'll call it a free action to do so.

Once those two details are resolved, Acheron has the floor.

Fyi: this is the only cell block. The only prisoners here are yourselves and Grumblejack...but the thought of him roaming the prison as well is certainly terrifying to consider. After all, two guards died getting him in there in the first place.

[Frosty]

Yeah, a dire rat will be there now. :smallsmile:

[JonRG]

Kles wordlessly palms his tools and steps away from the wall.

Sleight-of-Hand: [roll0]

[Cyclopean]

The smell of sulfur fills the cell as a hideous creature appears to climb out of the shadows. Though ratlike in form, it is the size of a dog, and bony spikes protrude from beneath its mangy pelt. Hissing, it squeezes through the bars of the cell and streaks towards the door to the guardroom.

Verrin feels Harrison go limp in his arms, though he can still feel the man's shallow and irregular breathing.

The "orcblood" laughs at Arksen's naivete. Does he really think what doors and chains remain locked put the guard in a position to negotiate?


There's something funny. You see, Mr. guard, you have attempted to hold the agents of a powerful god in prison, and already he has struck one man down[...]

Perhaps Arksen realizes his error. As he sees the rat dart past him, he turns to run.

[Frosty]

(So the dire rat is blocking his way now yes? Alright. Let's see how many rounds the rat can last under Full Defense, unless you guys think the rat should just attack?)

[Cyclopean]

EDIT: From the OOC Thread, upon request:

Dammit, accidentally deleted this post while closing paint.

We are now in Round 5. Kles has taken his action (moving to the cell door, I believe), and Verrin is up. Harrison is unconscious, bleeding out, and still hexed. Arksen looks like he's going to make a run for it, although he should still be able to hear Acheron. We've racked up one round of intimidation; nine or so to go until the roll. Rat is not quite blocking the door, but he'll have it closed and will be by the time Arksen gets there.

The text I quoted is what Acheron has said thus far. If initiative rolls back to everyone's favorite half-orc and no one has chimed in, we'll assume he has continued uninterrupted and darklink can post (or repost) his next six seconds of speech.

Initiative:

Verrin (up): 20
Kles (action taken): 19

Arksen: 17

Alice: 16
Kayle (and minion): 14
Acheron: 10


Map:
The darker orange dot with the tiny inverted pentagram is Kayle's hellrat.
http://i.imgur.com/BmOd7kg.png


Harrison's Status:
-1 HP: dying
Evil Eye (Saves): 2/6 rounds remaining
Evil Eye (AC): 3/6 rounds remaining




(So the dire rat is blocking his way now yes? Alright. Let's see how many rounds the rat can last under Full Defense, unless you guys think the rat should just attack?)

"Close the door and guard it" is a reasonable command to give an Int 3 creature that understands language, and Total Defense is consistent with guarding. A fiendish dire animal is a nasty piece of work; it would be more in its nature to attack than defend, but it's also going to be interested in not getting slashed to bits.

If you look at the map, you can see that the hellrat is just 5 feet away from the door.

The guard won't be able to reach him this round, so your rat has the option of assuming total defense in front of an open door, or sacrificing the AC boost for a round in order to close the door.

[Geckus]

"Looks like your friend is fading fast here."

Verrin lowers the bleeding guard to the ground, slipping the bow and quiver off the dying man's shoulder as he does so. Hopefully one of his fellow detainee's could manage a decent shot with one - dark lord knew that Verrin had had a hard time even hitting the target during his lessons with one.

[Cyclopean]

"I'm so sorry, Harrison," whispers Arksen as he runs for the door. As he approaches the rat, he drops his club and draws his sword.

Arksen is just north of the rat. Forgot the guy could double-move...no matter. Next turn the rat can 5-foot step away and either close the door or assume total defense.

[Frosty]

"You there! Harrison doesn't have to die. We can probably save his life...if you just agree to be tied up, gagged, and knocked out. I promise I won't hurt either of you two further if you agree."

Kayle directs the rat to close to door. The aasimar is operating on (mostly) good faith here. She would not mind leaving the guards alive, but she's not sure she can convince the others to leave them alive. Especially the ogre.

[Felyndiira]

Alice's heart sank when the other guard appeared, and even more when he ran upon seeing Harrison's corpse. He was now outside the reach of her spells; the girl bit her lips in frustration, a bit of blood trickling from the wound. What sort of malevolent deity put them in such a hopeful situation, then takes it away as cruelly as this?

"Father..." Her mind wandered for a bit, but she quickly snapped from her trance. "The guard must have a key to these manacles," she whispered to her cellmates. "If all five of us are free or the prison door opened, we might be able to put ourselves in a better position."

[Frosty]

1) Harrison is the one already unconscious.
2) Your intended target is too far away. Command is Close range spell.

You should change your action.

"We have a set of lockpicks. Someone just needs to give him a little bit of a boost. Anyone got magic that can help?" The dire rat is commanded to hurry and close the door, if it hasn't already!

[JonRG]

"I... think I can manage." His trembling fingers set pick to lock. "Focus, for the love of Asmodeus! If you can't pick a simple lock, they'll leave you in this damned cell." Mind racing with prayers, Kles steadies his hands and tries to open the door.

Get on the floor. Everybody walk the dinosaur. C'mon, GITP. I know you can roll me a 9 or better, just this once, after the freakin' days I've had.

[roll0]

[Cyclopean]

As Guard Arksen bears down upon it, the infernal creature scurries forward and scrabbles up the doorjamb until it can bite down on the handle. The beast then lets go of the wall with the handle still in its jaws, and the door swings shut as Kayle's minion falls. Its first task complete, the rat opens its mouth wide to squeal at the guard.

The damned orcblood is still going, although Arksen finds he can't make out everything he's saying over the sound of the other speakers.


[...]and sent use the means to escape. You find yourself at a crossroads here. You can run and blow a horn to summon dozens of bastards to be taken the next life[...]

Round 5 Recap:

Kles has moved to the cell door. Harrison has fallen, though he is alive for now. Verrin has taken his longbow in the hopes that one of his cellmates can use it. Incidentally, none of you are proficient with longbows, although you could perhaps use the unstrung bow as an improvised quarterstaff in combat. The rat narrowly beat Arksen to the guardroom door and has successfully closed it. While Alice conferred with her cellmates, Kayle attempted to initiate diplomacy. Though this may have been intended to complement Acheron's continuing attempt at intimidation, the fact that the two are talking over each other means Arksen can't hear either properly.

Initiative:
Verrin (up): 20
Kles: 19

Arksen: 17

Alice: 16
Kayle (and minion): 14
Acheron: 10
I would recommend Verrin delay his action until Kles has tried unlocking the door. With a double move, he can be threatening Arksen at the end of his turn.

Map:
Now with tokens for the PCs!
http://i.imgur.com/KejHsHi.png


Harrison's Status (if you feel like checking IC):HP: -2 (Dying)
Evil Eye (Saves): 1/6 rounds remaining
Evil Eye (AC): 2/6 rounds remaining

[Frosty]

wait, did Kles just free Kayle or unlock cell doors? also, was that Disable Device roll last round or this round

[JonRG]

That was my Round 6 roll for opening the cell door.

[Cyclopean]

Yeah, Kles' action for Round 5 was to move to the cell door. Looks like the decision is about to pay off.

There is a click too quiet to hear over all the noise, but Kles can feel the lock turning over and coming undone. The door is unlocked.
600 xp (120 xp each) for escaping your prison cell. You get a bit more once everyone is out of their manacles.

Perception (Verrin):

You knew right away what Harrison was talking about when he mentioned the horn. You had spotted it sitting on a small table at the far end of the guardroom. And, now that you think about that room, you recall a key ring hanging from a peg by the door. It must still be there, if Arksen doesn't have it. Oh, and now that the door is unlocked, and with the rat slowing him down...you think you just might be able to catch the bastard.
Wisdom
It's now or never. Your best chance of getting out of here is by executing a well thought-out plan. You won't get a chance to plan, though, if Arksen gets to the horn.

[Frosty]

Nice work on the door. So that makes it 200 EXP total for each of us between the guard slain and the door?

[Cyclopean]

Mhm. Dealing with the other guard will be another 200 xp, and as mentioned earlier, you'll get xp once everyone is out of their manacles. The module is fairly liberal with story awards. :smallsmile: Of course, what you've accomplished already is no mean feat.

EDIT: We fail at math. Once Arksen is dealt with, then everyone has 200 xp. As it is now, there's 800 total xp in the pool; divide that by five for 160 xp each.

[Geckus]

Verrin waits for Kles to signal that the lock is open, then he swings the door wide and, rather than continuing to add his voice to the confusion, he simply moves in pursuit of Arksen.


Holding until Kles gets the door unlocked, then double move to close with the guard, flanking with Squealy McBiteBite.

[Cyclopean]

While you aren't flanking the guard--there's an empty square between him and the rat--you are threatening him, which means that what Arksen is about to do is very stupid.

With the pirate bearing down on him and a monster blocking the door, it seems Arksen will have no choice but to surrender.

Instead, he chokes back his fear and charges forward, heedless of uncanny blade and hellish fangs.

Arksen is making an Overrun attempt to go barreling through both the door and its guardian. Before he can do that, though, he has to survive Attacks of Opportunity from both Verrin and the fiendish dire rat.

Verrin AoO: [roll0]
Damage: [roll1]

FDR AoO: [roll2]
Damage: [roll3]
The +1 to damage here is from Smite Good, which the rat definitely declared against the guard last turn.

It's a DC 16 to Overrun the rat, thanks to its four legs.
Arksen Overrun: [roll4]

[Cyclopean]

His brave gambit, however, is utterly in vain. As the guard rushes forward, the pirate lands a savage blow against his thigh, cutting deep into the muscle. Carried forward by his own momentum, Arksen is at last brought down as the rat sinks its teeth into his calf. He falls, his outstretched hand just short of brushing against the door.

Confirming Verrin's Crit: [roll0]
Damage: [roll1]

Combat is over. You get 200 more xp, and Kles can make a bunch of disable device checks in a single post to free the remainder of the party. Once everyone is loose, that's another 400 xp.

And then: you must decide what to do next.

[JonRG]

Kles grins when Arksen's body hits the stone, then sets about freeing the rest of his comrades.

Alice: [roll0]

Alice Again: [roll1]

Alice A THIRD TIME :smallmad:: [roll2]

Once everyone is loose (two rounds from now), Kles will go look at Harrison and see what awesome stuff he has. (There's armor, but that should probably go to Alice and Verrin, who won't get too many penalties from it.)

[JonRG]

(I'm assuming Alice will offer me some Guidance.)

Kayle: [roll0]

Archeron: [roll1]

[Frosty]

The guard was Good? Cool. Anyhow, after everyone is free, that's 280 exp per person right? :smallsmile: Anyhow, I gotta go for the rest of the day, so I might be back at night for another post, but none in the day.

"We mustn't tarry. Who knows how when the next guard shift is. We also have the ogre to free. I think he can be a great ally."

[Cyclopean]

A thorough search of Harrison's body reveals the following:
1. A chain shirt.
2. A heavy steel shield.
3. A leather club. The club isn't made of leather, but rather wrapped in it. You know from painful experience that it packs a punch, but isn't made to kill; half the damage it deals is non-lethal. Otherwise, this functions as a normal club.
4. A longsword, still in its scabbard. You could take his belt, too. Of course, none of you are proficient with longswords.
5. The longbow retrieved by Verrin earlier. Harrison also had a quiver containing 20 arrows. Again, none of you are proficient with this weapon, but you might be able to improvise a quarterstaff from the unstrung bow and daggers or darts from the arrows.
6. A single iron key.
7. A ruined guard's uniform. Might still be warmer than these rags you're in, though.
8. He's not dead yet, but he's pretty damn close. This is especially clear if you are using your Soul Seer ability, which has standard-action activation and a 10 min./HD duration. I think you mentioned activating it IC as Verrin was taken to his mysterious visitor? It could conceivably still be going, though probably not much longer. As with Verrin's psionic focus, it's best if you tell me when you turn this on, but I'd be okay with you specifying that you keep it refreshed once you do. Basically, if you RP Kles doing his creepy stare, I'll interpret that as turning on Soul Seer. If we're in combat or some other situation where you need your standard action for something else, then I'll just interpret that as you using the ability.

[Cyclopean]

The guard was Good? Cool. Anyhow, after everyone is free, that's 280 exp per person right? :smallsmile: Anyhow, I gotta go for the rest of the day, so I might be back at night for another post, but none in the day.

"We mustn't tarry. Who knows how when the next guard shift is. We also have the ogre to free. I think he can be a great ally."

Well, I'm not sure if Harrison was good. He certainly wasn't acting noble, and even if you're evil and dangerous, you'd think he'd remember you're all human humanoids sapient and afford you some dignity. I'm going to say he was likely Lawful Hypocrite; maybe he's a decent guy otherwise, but he's been taught to deal with the forsaken as though they are already dead. Arksen, on the other hand, seems classic LG to me (subcategory: Lawful Stupid). He allowed his concern for his fellow guard to endanger the whole prison. He was willing to negotiate, although doing so was a serious failure to fulfill his duty. And in the end, he chose honor; he risked his very life in a desperate bid to recover from his lapse.

Without further direction from its Mistress, the fiendish creature takes the opportunity to rip Arksen's throat out.

Coup de Grace: [roll0]
And now he's dead. Remember to mind your minions if you want to avoid things like this.


The silent ogre looks out from behind the bars with interest, and suspicion.
http://i.imgur.com/XPmH0Ox.png

He appears to be injured.

[darklink_shadow]

Ah. Acheron says contently as Kles releases him. Moving over to the veil, he unceremoniously pries the last dagger from it and walks to the dead Harrison. Poor sod. Worshiped the wrong ideals.

Slowly, Acheron sliced off his left ear. Cutting a strip of his clothing, he makes a rough string, and strings the ear through it. So, Grumblejack, can you obey the little ones who set you free? You may be strong, but we are far cleverer, and our escape plan has gotten us further than yours has, am I correct? If you cannot follow orders until we are free of this place, you will be a burden and not an asset. However, I'd rather free you. You shouldn't be left to rot here because a few bastards decided your kind isn't welcome in their kingdom. Acheron hummed as he walked over to the second corpse.

Hello little rat. He said in a chipper voice as he passed, and then knelt beside the other man, and cut off his ear as well, adding it to his string. What else should I get? He asked himself, pondering the crafting of his new fetish mask now. A skull might be nice. How do you get skulls out of people's heads? Oh, and finger bones! Might as well just take the whole head and whole hands for now. Boil away the flesh later.

[Cyclopean]

I'm going to wait a bit longer before having Grumblejack responds in case someone else wants in on this diplomacy check (which I think is the kind meant to improve his attitude towards the party; i.e., how easy it's going to be to get him to cooperate).

[Frosty]

Kayle dismisses the dire rat, now that it has served its purpose. She steps out of the cell and stretches. "Perhaps some magical healing would go far in earning his gratitude? Unfortunately I do not have such magics. Now, while you all are putting on armor and arming yourself, I will be preparing for for upcoming battles."

The aasimar kneels down and starts a quiet chant, and will keep it going for 1 minute.

[JonRG]

"He's not actua-" Kles falters as Archeron's dagger bleeds the last dredges of life from the guard's body. "Nevermind." His gaze sweeps over the ogre, curious how much strength is left in the beast. He waits for his comrades to negotiate Grumblejack's freedom. Kles doesn't want to place himself next to the ogre before his intentions are known.

I'll refresh Deathwatch and check to see how much health Grumbles is at.

[Geckus]

Verrin takes a step back from the fallen guard as the rat starts to gnaw into his throat, keeping his blade at the ready and a wary eye on the vicious little beast until it fades away.

"I'll lay claim to Harrison's armor and that shield; it will feel good to have some steel between me and those out to bar our escape. Too bad about the uniforms, those could have been very handy." He considers the tattered rags the lot of them were currently wearing. "Might still be, actually."

Though he has little desire to add the ogre to their escape attempt, Verrin is wise enough to hold his tongue rather than risk focusing the beast's anger on him if someone else should decide to let it loose. He does frown as Acheron starts carving pieces from the guards.

"Is there some purpose to that?"

[Felyndiira]

It seems like forever since Alice could move her hands again. Though her incarceration was fairly recent, time simply did not pass in that hellish place; every second seemed like a minute at first, then an hour, and eventually even days. She would look and see death looming over the horizon, and was powerless to do anything but gaze helplessly as time trickles past. It's something in the future; some dreadful fog that clouded her senses and filled her body with that unholy chill that she could not escape, and no matter how much she had reassured herself - no matter how much she wanted it all to be over, time would not let her stop suffering anytime soon.

But all of that was in the past. She was free; she could feel the passage of time as if it had realigned itself, no longer able to torture her by prolonging her senses. Together with these criminals, she had managed to escape. But still...was Mitra watching her? Was her father watching her commit such pitiful and selfish acts? What did the war hero of Talingarde think of her daughter, killing innocent guards just to escape from a destiny she brought upon herself?

No, now was not the time for such things. Alice bit her lips slightly, snapping her mind back to the reality. They - she - was still within the bounds of Branderscar Prison. Even with all restraints removed, the party of criminals and murderers would still have to escape the prison to call themselves truly free.

That ogre...

"Don't be that mean, Acheron." It took all of the girl's courage just for those words to emerge; she was still frightened of the half-orc with the grizzled face. Thankful, certainly, but the man was intimidating with both his words and his beliefs, and Alice could not predict what sort of religious desecration he would come up with next...and on who. Still, she felt - at that moment - that she had to speak out. That they cannot lose such a valuable ally in escaping the prison. "We were all imprisoned...prisoners here at one time. It would be to the benefit of us all if we could help each other escape. We shouldn't be playing kings and servants in such a situation."

"Grumblejack." The girl crouched down towards the prison. Her hand was glowing for a moment as she chanted the words for guidance; she touched herself, bathing her entire body in a serene aura of light. She studied the ogre in closer detail, forcing herself to remain calm at the sight of the beaten creature; how many wounds has he suffered at these supposed humans' hands? "Oh, what have they done to you? Are you okay? You look really badly wounded."

"Kles..." Her voice trailed off. A bit of her old habits had slipped back into her speech. Her voice now was much closer to that of the kind Countess of Miran from years ago, with a bit of a majestic tone and . She isn't a countess of these men, however - they are dangerous, and she didn't want to sound commanding or step out of line for fear of her own life. Quickly, she changed to a pleading tone - a bit softer and more passive - when she spoke to the tiefing. "I think we should free him. We're all fellow prisoners, and we all need to help each other to escape from this place. I think Grumblejack knows this as well as any of us."

"I...I also need to heal him. His body is covered in wounds, and it would be best if we do not let the wounds remain and fester."

Extended diplomacy check :).

[Cyclopean]

Ah. Acheron says contently as Kles releases him. Moving over to the veil, he unceremoniously pries the last dagger from it and walks to the dead Harrison. Poor sod. Worshiped the wrong ideals.

Slowly, Acheron sliced off his left ear. Cutting a strip of his clothing, he makes a rough string, and strings the ear through it. So, Grumblejack, can you obey the little ones who set you free? You may be strong, but we are far cleverer, and our escape plan has gotten us further than yours has, am I correct? If you cannot follow orders until we are free of this place, you will be a burden and not an asset. However, I'd rather free you. You shouldn't be left to rot here because a few bastards decided your kind isn't welcome in their kingdom. Acheron hummed as he walked over to the second corpse.

Hello little rat. He said in a chipper voice as he passed, and then knelt beside the other man, and cut off his ear as well, adding it to his string. What else should I get? He asked himself, pondering the crafting of his new fetish mask now. A skull might be nice. How do you get skulls out of people's heads? Oh, and finger bones! Might as well just take the whole head and whole hands for now. Boil away the flesh later.

Grumblejack's eyes narrow. "Humph. Little humankin is better than Grumblejack because the humankin is smarter? Little 'uns needed magic to get out. Grumblejack saw. Little 'uns think Grumblejack stupid, but Grumblejack not alive because stronger than other ogres. Grumblejack not good at Common, but Grumblejack smarter than other ogres. Knows fighting is good, but sometimes fighting later is better." The giant pauses a moment to stare into the shadows. Alice takes the opportunity to speak up.



That ogre...

"Don't be that mean, Acheron." It took all of the girl's courage just for those words to emerge; she was still frightened of the half-orc with the grizzled face. Thankful, certainly, but the man was intimidating with both his words and his beliefs, and Alice could not predict what sort of religious desecration he would come up with next...and on who. Still, she felt - at that moment - that she had to speak out. That they cannot lose such a valuable ally in escaping the prison. "We were all imprisoned...prisoners here at one time. It would be to the benefit of us all if we could help each other escape. We shouldn't be playing kings and servants in such a situation."

"Grumblejack." The girl crouched down towards the prison. Her hand was glowing for a moment as she chanted the words for guidance; she touched herself, bathing her entire body in a serene aura of light. She studied the ogre in closer detail, forcing herself to remain calm at the sight of the beaten creature; how many wounds has he suffered at these supposed humans' hands? "Oh, what have they done to you? You look really badly wounded."

"Kles..." Her voice trailed off. A bit of her old habits had slipped back into her speech. Her voice now was much closer to that of the kind Countess of Miran from years ago, with a bit of a majestic tone and . She isn't a countess of these men, however - they are dangerous, and she didn't want to sound commanding or step out of line for fear of her own life. Quickly, she changed to a pleading tone - a bit softer and more passive - when she spoke to the tiefing. "I think we should free him. We're all fellow prisoners, and we all need to help each other to escape from this place. I think Grumblejack knows this as well as any of us."

"I...I also need to heal him. His body is covered in wounds, and it would be best if we do not let the wounds remain and fester."

The ogre's face softens a little, and his gaze drops to the floor. "After bastard worms caught and locked Grumblejack up," he growls, "cowards leave Grumblejack to starve. No meat, only gruel and water. Grumblejack eats and drinks even though tastes awful and hurts head. And still, he continues with rising fury, They beat Grumblejack, and the fat one always cuts. And the cowards won't come close enough to fight, just to hit." He says this with real disgust, as though he feels cheated.

Little 'uns let out Grumblejack, Grumblejack help kill worms that caught us. Grumblejack want to do that anyway. But Grumblejack not going to be slave to little 'uns, and little 'uns will rue the day they betray me."

You feel that he understands at least the gist of that last bit, although you are almost positive he did not come up with it himself.

Kles (Soul Seer):He's wounded pretty seriously, and he's sick, weakened somehow. He might be able to take a hit, but you don't know if he could take two.

[Frosty]

Has a minute passed yet? If so, I will describe the arrival of Illumina.

[Cyclopean]

Frosty: You're ten seconds away from a minute, at most. I'd like to have the response to Grumblejack happen first, but if nothing of that nature is up in the next few minutes, go ahead and RP the binding.

Fel: if you want to cast CLW on Grumblejack, either one of you can reach through the bars. Casting it won't cancel your bonus from guidance in this case.

[Frosty]

Kayle's chanting becomes a bit louder at the end (those who can understand Celestial recognizes it as such) of the minute, and then faint swirls of gas appears around the aasimar. Translucent at first, the gas becomes more and more solid over a few seconds, and soon coalesces into a figure. A ghostly image of a winged angel is briefly superimposed on Kayle before Kayle steps forward and...mixes with it. When it is all said and done, the resulting amalgamation has Kayle's face, but is visibly more celestial in nature than the aasimar's default state. The wings immediately fold up and disappear, but her skin is more...lustrous, her hair more...radiant, and her body more...powerful. She can still pass as an aasimar without the wings, but it would not be a stretch for her to claim to be a celestial.

"I am ready..."

I can delay this post if necessary.

[JonRG]

Kles chuckles almost manically and fans out his picks. "Grumblejack, I've rued every minute of my life." The admittedly accurate 'I doubt you could make it any worse' was omitted, lest the ogre take it as a challenge. He squats down next to the lock. This could take a while. Best keep him distracted. "Must be pretty smart to pick up a word like that. Rue. Where'd you learn it?" Kles hums to himself as he works the lock.

I have no faith in the dice roller, so let's see how much conversation I'll have to make. I assume I have guidance, but I'm not sure if this door is the same as the other one.

[roll0]
[roll1]
[roll2]
[roll3]

He bites back a curse as the lock nearly jams under his ministrations, but manages to recover. "Did the guards do anything else to you? You don't look well." Kles shrugs. "Got plenty of meat out here, if nothing else. Just, you know, mind Archeron's skull." He looks to Alice for her approval, then sidesteps and throws the door aside in one fluid motion.

[Cyclopean]

Grumblejack squints. "Don't remember. Grumblejack must have heard it somewhere. Maybe read it."

The ogre views Kayle's transformation with some consternation, but most of his attention seems focused on his impending freedom. As the lock clicks open, he gives a satisfied grunt. As he opens the door and strides towards Harrison's looted and mutilated body, he even mumbles "thanks."

As he grabs the arm of the former guard, Grumblejack seems to become aware of the eyes fixing on him. Looking up, he says "Grumblejack needs meat. Hope little 'uns don't mind," in a voice that is not quite apologetic.

He is courteous enough to spare you the sight of his grisly meal by dragging Harrison into his cell. It doesn't help with the sounds, though...

As a precaution, Grumblejack has one of his own legs protruding from the cell, preventing the door from being fully closed.

You may not believe his claims about being smarter than the other ogres, but from what you've heard about them, he's considerably more polite.

[Frosty]

Kayle's fused form also appears to sport a shimmering chain shirt of some kind, and a pair of daggers appear in each hand. She blinks, stretches her back and says, "Much better."

She looks at the ogre and comments, "Yes, I think he definitely has been neglected and tortured. Some healing on him would be good, especially if he's going to be up front getting all personal with the other...little 'uns, heh. Alice, do you have any such powers?"

The angel summoner turns to Grumblejack. "You will be no slave to us, Grumblejack. Slavery is for weaklings, and you are no weakling. We will get out of here, and maybe even get some revenge on the way out."
The chain shirt is cosmetic. It reflects how tough the eidolon's skin is. The daggers in her hand are re-fluffed Claws, and cannot be disarmed.

[Felyndiira]

"So he does eat humans..."

Alice swallowed nervously, though she was careful not to let any of her thoughts slip into the ogre's ears. There were too many things she was apprehensive about; she was a proponent of releasing Grumblejack, yes, but she was still honestly afraid of him. It took considerable restraint for her to show such compassion rather than running for the halls. Seeing the ogre eat a man did not help assuage her fears, but...at least it wasn't her, right?

Instead of immediately healing the ogre, she turned her attention to the other guard. Arksen...that was his name. It's so easy to forget names when she's trying not to remember her own involvement in the guard's current state. Unlike Harrison, Arksen did nothing to harm the prisoners; he thought only of his coworker when he risked negotiating with the prisoners, and even in his last moments thought only of his duty. Even if she did nothing...

Her steps were light and slow, but the girl slowly made her way towards the other fallen guard. "I'm sorry," she whispered. She didn't expect him to be able to hear her, with his consciousness drifting in and out of the material plane. Instead, it was a common honor for the dead in Talingarde, and sometimes, in absence of an available priest, it fell upon her to give these blessings to her subjects. Praying, she drew a quick symbol of Mitra on the guard's forehead before laying him to rest. "It is not my right, but your life was just, and your death is honorable. I hope that you will find your place among the blessed in Mitra's domain."

The prayer was short; she had little time to give the man his proper respects. Instead, she quietly removed the guard's armaments and placed it over her own rags. The shirt and shield - tailored for the much sturdier male guard - felt a bit large for her frame and a tiny bit awkward, but it would have to do for now. Alice whispered another silent prayer before putting on the guard's uniform, approaching the rest of the party with her new odium.

"It seems Grumblejack is currently hungry." She laughed, still a bit nervous. "I think I will wait until he is satisfied before I use my healing. It's...a bit overwhelming, to be honest."

Alice looted Arksen at the moment. She's equipped the chain shirt, shield, the guard clothes, and the belt with the iron sword. She also has the club tucked into the belt. I assumed Arksen would have the same items as Harrison, though feel free to correct me if my assumptions are wrong. Also, are there any other items on Arksen that she might be interested in looting?

She will be using CLW on Grumblejack as soon as he finishes eating. Feasting on humans is not quite a normal sight, so she'd rather not approach at the moment =p.

[darklink_shadow]

Is that right, Grumblejack? You're a clever ogre? Very well. If you can argue that you smart, I'll take your word. Perhaps I judged you for your poor skill in common. But you would judge me harshly if I tried your tongue. Acheron snorted.

My experience with ogre has been that they will only follow orders if you are bossy. Acheron said while watching Kles unlock Grumblejack. When he took the man and begun to eat Acheron frowned. Eating the whole man? Selfish. Acheron laughed.

[Geckus]

Verrin just shakes his head as the ogre drags the guard's corpse into his cell to snack upon. Hopefully the beast won't take too long satisfying it's needs... The sounds emanating from the cell are enough to push aside his own hunger, at least for the moment.

Taking a few moments to contemplate the crimson blade in his hand, Verrin silently offers his thanks to the First Lord for guiding his last strike. You have tasted the blood of two servants of our enemies. Much more I promise you, along with those who engineered our disgrace. We will rise again to rule over this land, as we were meant to, as your devoted agents in this world. Just the thought is enough to fill Verrin with warmth, a sure sign of the approval of his god.


Regaining psionic focus. :)


His eyes widen as Kayle completes her...transformation. Beatiful... "That is...you must command some powerful magic, miss. I can see why our benefactor would wish to meet with you."

He glances at Alice as she invokes Mitra's name during her blessing of the dead guard. "I'm surprised you still invoke her name, girl. Do you truly believe she watches over you still?" Despite the harsh sounding words, Verrin is more curious than hostile; the fact that Alice had claimed herself to be a (currently disgraced) countess had dredged up at least a little sympathy.

"I lost track of who had the veil during the excitement - is there aught else on there that might prove of use to us?"

[Frosty]

"Her name is Alice, Verrin. Mitra may very well be watching, although how much influence Mitra has over its followers right now is another question. Many of these guards treated us like beasts, with no dignity. People under Markadian the first would not stoop so low. As for that veil, it would be good if there were some spell components provided, as I know a little magic to protect us better."

Fused, even Kayle's voice sounds a bit more...powerful, and carries better.

[Cyclopean]

Grumblejack chuckles back at Acheron as he steps back out of the cell, wiping the blood from his mouth. "Maybe Grumblejack teach little humankin his tongue, eh? Not many left that speak Giant. And Grumblejack not eat whole human," he says, pointing back to his cell with his thumb. "Need stomach to get strong again before eating whole man raw. Plenty of good bits left if humankin want some."

[Felyndiira]

"It's only paying respects for the departed." The girl seemed as if she sensed that the other criminals - hardened as they may be - are not the type to murder over a common disagreement. Still, her voice was reserved, her words carefully chosen so that she would not offend the others. "Cruel as they may have been to us, the guards were still among the faithful of Mitra. It's...appropriate to at least give them the quickest rites to ensure that their spirits could reach his realm."

She noticed the ogre emerge from her cell. The remains that he had left behind were not very pleasant to the eyes, and Alice tried everything she could not to look when she approached the ogre. "If you do not mind, Mr. Grumblejack, can you lend your arms for a minute? I may be able to assauge your injuries, even if only a little.

Her arms moved towards the ogre's, a faint white light surrounded her hands.

Cure Light Wounds. I'm hoping that Grumbles won't dodge it, but attack roll in case if he does for some reason:

To Hit: [roll0]
Healing: [roll1]

[Frosty]

"So how about it, Grumblejack? Want to travel with little 'uns and get some payback? I'll even use my magic to make you tougher, harder to be hit."

To Alice, Kayle nods. "Agreed. When they are dead, there is no need to hold grudges against them any longer. Say your rites."

[Geckus]

Verrin raises his hands in mock surrender. "Fair enough, then...and Alice it is, my apologies. I've no love for any guard in this place, but I suppose there's no harm in your rites if you feel the need to give them."

"Hey Kles, would you mind taking a quick look at the other locks in this place? I'm curious if they are a match to the quality of the ones in our cell."

[JonRG]

Kles wanders back into their former cell and mutters vacantly behind him, "Locks here are all garbage. Decent one would've jammed when I tried to pick it." He rubs his face and continues in a louder voice, "The vulnerabilities in a prison are the cells and the outer doors - how prisoners would get out and invaders in. The locks shouldn't improve until we reach the outer wall." He picks up the veil and walks back to the others, noting what patches remain; vial, sack, window, lantern, wall, and rope. "Someone really cut corners here. Not entirely unreasonable. People are only here three days, and none before us have smuggled tools. Still, makes you wonder where that money went, eh?" He smirks and withdraws the veil. "Now, I'm no mage, but I'd wager that these would be your components." He tugs at the sack patch.

[Frosty]

"Yeah, that fat sergeant I bet has a hand in everything." If the sack turns out to be spell components, Kayle will take some.

Assuming Grumblejack agrees to come with us and help us, Kayle casts Mage Armor on the ogre.

[darklink_shadow]

Acheron licks his chops. I'd appreciate that, Grumblejack. Someone needs to preserve the tongue of the races mankind has deemed unfit to live. Mitra, in her eternal mercy, won't raise a finger to prevent genocide, but at least the orcs can take your tongue and keep it alive. By the way, my name is Acheron. And if you are still interested, I will still take you to an orcish tribe. But as I said before, equal membership comes with responsibilities. Hunting, gathering, working and such. Not as a slave, if that is what you think I meant. But as an equal.

Moving into the cell, Acheron uses the dagger to cut bits of flesh off the corpse. It would be better if we had time to cook the meat, but I guess we do not. Acheron says as he pops a few morsels in his mouth. Anyways, why would we betray you Grumblejack? Even those still clinging to their goddess of mercy should recognize that your incarceration was unjust, I would hope. Anyways, let's leave when we're ready. And hopefully we can find some bags. As if to explain why, Acheron holds up the head of the man he decapitated.

[Cyclopean]

Grumblejack bares his teeth in a fiendish grin as the healing magic courses through him and closes his most recent wounds. He stands a little straighter, though he still seems a bit sluggish. You think he may still be wounded, but it's difficult to distinguish between ugliness, old scarring, and remaining hurts. He bends down on one knee to look the one-time countess in the eye. "Alice? Thanks." The stench of blood is on his breath, mingled with scents more pungent, if less gruesome.

Rising again to his feet, Grumblejack takes the remaining sword and belt. He examines the blade critically, testing the weight of it with a few awkward swings. "Eh. Not big enough, but better than just fist." He returns the blade too its scabbard. Though the belt proves far too small to wrap around his waist, he is able to secure it to his leg instead.

"Magic would help. Grumblejack too easy to hit without his armor," he says to Kayle with a nod, though he still seems wary of the angelic figure.

As you open the small sack, you find it filled with items as eclectic as they are numerous. Guano, leather, seeds, butter...it is indeed the equivalent of a spell component pouch, fully stocked for the use of both arcane and divine casters.

Turning again to Acheron, the ogre seems to relax, though he is solemn. "Maybe Grumblejack will go to the orcs, then, and teach them Giant. Teach Acheron first, though. Of course," he continues, "first we need to escape. At least if we don't, we take many worms with us."

"So: when do we fight?"

With Grumblejack as a teacher, Acheron could indeed invest a skill point into linguistics to learn Giant. As a side effect, Grumblejack's Common would likely improve.

[Frosty]

Kayle tries to see if she has heard why this ogre was imprisoned here.
Knowledge (local): [roll0]

Also, conjure an invisible field of force around Grumblejack if she has the spell components to do so.

[Cyclopean]

I've actually already rolled Knowledge (Local) for the party on the guy; Kayle didn't roll well. Try asking your cellmates.

[Cyclopean]

By the way: diplomacy is concluded. You are awarded 600 xp for gaining Grumblejack as an ally.

[darklink_shadow]

I'll invest the skill point as soon as we level!

We'll escape, my friend, don't worry. Acheron says patting the massive ogre on the knee. We'll escape and take many worms with us.

Looking around at the other, Acheron grins. Are we ready then? Perhaps we should move into the guard post and see what we can find there. Then either wait and ambush the next patrol, or just make a run for it. Hopefully someone can remember the way out.

[Frosty]

"Well, we probably can't get past the gates without the master key. The sergeant will probably have one..."

[Felyndiira]

The girl recoiled when the stench of human blood reached her nose. This is still something she is not used to - seeing people dead, eaten, and tossed away as if they were just animals. Most of her opinions were, as always, kept to herself; they needed the ogre's strength to make it out of the prison, and she was still wary of the half-orc. No civilized human that she knows - criminal or not - would so defile the dead as he had done, and somewhere in her heart, she was afraid of what he would do if she ever proved anything but an asset to the group.

Her attention turned back towards the half-orc when she spoke - with a hint of nervousness still remaining, but the girl was rapidly regaining her confidence now that she's fully armed. "I agree. think it would be best if we left now," she whispered; her sword still around her waist, she instead turned to grab the leather-bound club from the fallen guard, twirling it in the air and taking care not to let it leave her hand. "There may be patrols outside of the guardhouse, however poorly the prison is guarded at the moment. Perhaps we should have those of us dressed as guards take the front ranks, just in case?"

"Kayle, if I may ask, can I hold on to the spell component pouch?"

If the aasimar woman was willing to - and, undoubtedly, with some difficulty overcoming her curse, Alice would cast Ghost Sounds a few times, imitating various voices, animals, and other soft sounds as a test.

[Frosty]

"Hold on. Let me protect myself as well..." The aasimar casts the same spell as before, but on herself this time. Then she hands the pouch back. "Alice, what you've experienced and seen today is not the last of it. I'm sure there will be much more bigotry, blood, and death before you find the peace you desire. I'll be there for you." Kayle's voice is soft and she expresses herself tenderly.

[JonRG]

Kles furrows his brow. "We have surprise on our side. Every second we wait costs us that advantage." He looks at Kayle. "The main gate's a portcullis. If there's a guard-only entrance, it'd be useless if they couldn't open it themselves." Kles pats down Arksen for his keyring while he addresses Alice, "No point in pretense. We're not supposed to be out of this cell block, and certainly not unshackled. They'll kill us on sight." He shoves the dagger into what passes for his waistband, then presses on to the guard station door. "While they're hashin' out their feelings, I might as well see what supplies there are," Kles thinks.

[Felyndiira]

"Thank you for the concern, Kayle." The girl turned to the eyes of the aasimar girl now, her face widening a bit with surprise. She was focused on the ogre and the half-orc before, such that she never had the time to observe her sudden transformation. For a moment, she seemed entranced at this new form, her lips moving almost involuntarily in praise. "Wow, you are really beautiful. Is this..."

The girl caught herself suddenly, and returned to a more somber tone.

"I am not seeking sympathy." She tried to sound brave - convicted, like the other inmates that were locked up with her, but there was still a hint of doubt in her voice. Still, the girl spoke without a single slur, as if reciting from a script she had practiced a thousand times. "The moment that I was thrown in here, Talingarde saw me as nothing more than a dead woman. What I was doesn't matter now. Dead people have no rights to demand a happy life."

"Don't worry, I'll follow you. As far as I know, you are the only friends I have in this narrow world."

[Frosty]

"Happy? Who said anything about happy? To achieve our objectives...and I imagine that ours are similar, based on your experiences, we will go through much pain and suffering, as will all of Talingarde. But make no mistake...I *will* stop the religious pogroms and restore freedom of religion to Talingarde, even if more Harrisons have to die for it. Mitra knows enough worshippers of Asmodeus and Father Mountain already have. At the end, we will at at peace with the decisions we've made and the legacy we leave behind...if we act with conviction, that is. "

It's probably an easy DC 10 Knowledge Religion check to know Father Mountain refers to the dwarven pantheon.

[Felyndiira]

"Let's worry about escape first." For the first time since they were thrown into this place, Alice did not want to continue this line of discussion with the celestial woman. Perhaps she was right; perhaps they had once fought for the same ideals, and the same ideals had landed them in this rotting place. She didn't have the time to worry about it now, however; they were still within the prison walls. They were still not free yet, and a single wrong move could send them back to the cold, dark cells - once again without a glimmer of hope for freedom. Still, Alice regarded the woman well; her reply was made with as much courtesy as her voice could muster.

"I promise you, Kayle. Once we leave, we can discuss this matter to your heart's content. I will be more than willing to listen to you then - and I will even likely lend my arm to your cause - when we can all sit in a bar far away and share a drink of brandy. For now, though..."

She looked in the direction of the guard house. Kles had already left - hopefully, to scout for any dangers ahead. She looked back with a faint smile - even if Kayle had only met the girl a moment ago, she would recognize it as both genuine and sincere, as if binding a promise that Alice will not break.

"Looks like Kles is already moving ahead of us," she continued, tapping their new ogre companion lightly on his right arm while addressing the rest of the group. "Perhaps we should follow him, in case if he runs into any other guards?"

[Cyclopean]

Kles finds very little in the guardroom. The furniture is sparse. Two empty chairs sit beside a small table, on top of which lies the carved signal horn. There is a fireplace, though no fire burns in it.

A key ring hangs from a peg in the wall. To the east is a wooden door; in the southwest corner, a staircase leading down.

http://i.imgur.com/roD5rwx.png
Verrin would recognize the room marked "20" as the place he was brought to meet Tiadora.

[darklink_shadow]

Kles is hasty, but that's what we need. Haste. We can decide what we want to do about all this later. Your goals are a little less far reaching than mine, but they are good goals. The worship of all Gods should be permitted at very least. Acheron said as he moved to follow Kles. Kles, do you see a bag? Acheron asked as he walked into the room with Kles.

[JonRG]

"'Fraid not." Kles snatches the keys from the peg and quickly compares them to the one he has. (If he has one.) Presumably, any keys on the communal keyring and not on the guards' personal ring would be the important one. He also takes the signal horn, which could come in handy, though not any time today. With a deep breath, Kles wracks his brain for whether their cells were up or down from the ground level.

[Felyndiira]

Without waiting for the others, Alice follows the two into the guard room, taking care to pace behind the half-orc.

[Frosty]

Kayle also follows. "I think we were led upstairs to our cells, so we probably need to head down to escape."

[Cyclopean]

The staircase only leads down. You don't see any way of going up.
Arksen and Harrison each had an iron key. Neither one matches each other or any of the keys on the ring (of which there are only three).

I'm going to say that there is a leather thong around the signal horn, so Kles can wear it around his neck.

[darklink_shadow]

Acheron nods, That sounds right, Kayle. Kles, mind taking point? You're sneakier than any of the rest of us, I'm sure. I'd like to get out without any blood loss for our side.

Acheron then turned to Alice. Quit fretting, I'm not going to bite you. We can have a civilized discussion about whatever it is that bothers you about me later. Don't make that face, you are clearly disturbed by me. That's fine, you should be. I'm half of what your country is trying to destroy. Savage, godless rituals and all that. Except each of our rituals have meaning, and our prayer to our Gods, we are just different. But like I said, we'll discussion your issues with me later, for now just don't fear me. Until we escape at least, we're allies. Sure that his explanation would not satisfy her, but also unwilling to go into the debate that was likely to get heated about his religious practices, he would add one more thing, before turning to follow a short ways behind Kles: In my culture, we eat what is worthy of eating, and nothing else. His corpse and his soul are not connected any longer, so his body is meaningless to him. To eat it is to honor him as worthy. The second man was not worthy. He was a great fool.

[JonRG]

Ya, but there could be up stairs elsewhere, or we could be on the ground floor and the stairs lead down into Blackerly's rumpus room. There is method to my madness believe it or not.

"Yeah, sure." The tiefling creeps down the stairs and scans the darkness for any sign of guards ahead.

[Felyndiira]

The girl found herself at a loss for words. Her lips moved slightly, as if she had wanted to say something in reply but quickly decided against the idea before a single sound could leave her mouth. The half-orc, she was more wary of than anyone else in the group; Grumblejack, while he may have eaten a human in front of her, was at least predictable. She had no idea what Acheron's religion would require of him - whether he would turn on her the moment she showed weakness or something else. She had seen a number of grotesque things when she was still a countess trying to earn admission into the paladin order, raiding the cells of Asmodeus's cultists - human eating was not what she was afraid of. The uncertainty of a savage religion, more than anything else, was frightening more than the act of eating a human itself.

As the half-orc reproached her, Alice tried to recall all of the religious and history texts that she had read in the past. "Gruumsh..." As her mind raced to find an answer, she swallowed deeply - and audibly - before walking before the orc, hoping that he would honor his words when her back was turned to him.

"It's...it's not that." The girl sounded much more nervous than before. The half-orc's admonition had intimidated her much more than before, and she struggled a bit before finally adding with a shaky voice. "You...you're right. We're allies. We're allies. I'm sorry...perhaps we could have a discussion at a later time. We're allies. We need to get out of here together."

She repeated those words a number of times in a silent whisper, as if to convince herself.

[Frosty]

(Did we wear any guard uniforms? I remember one was kinda tattered from the fight. What about the other?)

http://i.imgur.com/roD5rwx.png

We are current next to room 20 right? What's that thing in the room we are in currently? The thing on the lower right corner of the room we are in? A Chimney?

[JonRG]

(Alice has it, but I can't see her passing as a guard for more than half a second.)

[Cyclopean]

Though their armor and boots were not significantly damaged, their uniforms are bloody and badly torn. As a general rule, cutting someone to pieces will ruin someone's outfit as well as their day.

Harrison's outfit has been destroyed by combat and Grumblejack's desecration of the body. Arksen's shirt is intact, but it soaked up a lot of his blood. I believe Alice said she took it, and perhaps the pants as well? Anyway, Bloody Rags will certainly cover you more than your Prison Rags, but I'm not sure I'd go so far as to say they're better.

You are indeed in the room west of room 20. The thing in the southeast corner is an unlit fireplace. Presumably there is a chimney in the back of it.

[Frosty]

(So this is not a chimney that leads *down*? Aww....I was hoping someone could do an acrobatics check and surprise someone :smalltongue:

Although, perhaps we can scout if someone climbs UP? Gain roof access and we can get a general sense of the prison)

[JonRG]

(I highly doubt the prison builders would have been foolish enough to build more chimney than they needed, enough such that a grown adult would be able to fit inside it.

Cy, any chance of learning the mystery of what's down these stairs? Do I need to make my skill checks, or will you roll them so's they're a surprise? :smalltongue:)

[Frosty]

(we'll see how big the chimneys are. There are squeezing rules after all)

Kayle goes to investigate the fireplace and chimney, exploring to see whether it is a viable way to go down a level and get the jump on someone.

[Cyclopean]

OOC:
If you want more information about something, you typically need to RP your character checking it out. I'll assume that's what's happening here; you can edit such RP into your previous posts if you desire.

The fireplace is oversize almost to the point of absurdity. As Kayle approaches to investigate, she notices warmth seems to emanate from it despite the lack of a fire. Peering through the old ashes and the soot-encrusted grate that supports them, Kayle can see a fire glimmering somewhere below.

The chimney is lined with rough stone and is not much smaller than the fireplace. It looks as though it one could climb up it (or down, if not for the grate in the way).

More OOC:Ah, sorry. I was waiting for the post saying Kles was going downstairs, not realizing you had already made it :smallredface:. I'll be making stealth rolls for Kles, but feel free to call it out whenever you want one so I don't forget. In general, I'll interpret language like "sneaking" or "cautiously" as using Stealth.

Kles soon reaches the bottom of the stairwell. A torch ensconced in the wall provides ample light--not that the tiefling needs it. A few feet ahead of him is a door. Aside from the stairs, torch, and door, the room seems empty.

Map:
http://i.imgur.com/QN4dlgl.png

...Eh. It'll do for now.

[Frosty]

(I highly doubt the prison builders would have been foolish enough to build more chimney than they needed, enough such that a grown adult would be able to fit inside it


The fireplace is oversize almost to the point of absurdity.
:smallcool:

"Hey hey...Kles is resistant to fire right? There might be a kitchen down below here. What if he climbs down to scout around if he can remove the grate? If he finds some helpless maid, amybe he can even intimidate her for information? Or, if we really want to, we can use the window we have..."

She goes to look back into the interrogation room (assuming that is possible). "Hey WAIT a minute...I've got a good idea. There's furniture in that room. What if we use the furniture to BLOCK the chimney? Smoke will accumulate below, and they'll probably send the servants up to investigate. Or maybe a lone guard. We can kill or capture people one by one this way!"

[Cyclopean]

Even if you could block the grate with the meager amount of furniture in the room, the amount of smoke passing through the grate is negligible. The accumulation of smoke down below would take hours to become noticeable, if it ever did.

However, the grate does seem to be loose, and not too heavy. Likely it was designed to be removable to allow for cleaning--not that such cleaning appears to have happened any time soon.

Does Kles respond to Kayle, or go for the door?

[Frosty]

Kayle scraps that idea as they don't have a tarp to really cover everything, but the idea of removing the grate or using the window could still work!

[JonRG]

(I don't feel like it's unreasonable to assume that a world-class prison has some basic security measures. I'll stop now, as I'm clearly only setting myself up for disappointment. :smallfrown:

Kles'll move for the door and listen for any sound. I suppose that'd be a secret perception check, Cy.)

[Cyclopean]

Branderscar certainly has the reputation of a world-class prison, but you've noticed some pretty serious lapses in security.

Pressing his ear to the door, Kles hears what seem to be irregular footsteps pacing over a small area. It seems there's someone (or more than one someone) on the other side of the door.

If he gave the door a little pull, he could risk a quick peek.
Cracking the door open to make a quick look would be stealth vs. perception. The more you beat the perception roll by, the more time you're able to spend looking in.

[JonRG]

Kles cups a hand over the torch. Some locations had magical torches that never extinguished, but they weren't cheap like Blackerly. He wonders briefly about the scared girl and the pirate. Weak human eyes were so helpless in the dark. There's the lantern patch if they had mind to complain. Not that... Alice... would dare.

If it's actual fire, he takes 1 pt of fire damage, which is fully resisted.

Once the area's bathed in darkness, Kles slowly opens the door. If he's noticed, it will be easier to pass himself off as a guard in the dark.

Stealth:[roll0]

[Frosty]

The aasimar goes to Grumblejack. "You alright? Something wrong wit' da sword?" At least the ogre isn't very likely to hurt himself, with Kayle have armored him and herself up magically.

[Cyclopean]

Stairwell:

From his haunt in the darkness, Kles is able to view the hallway before him with impunity. There is a door to the east, and two to the west. The doors that dominate the hall, are the great double doors at the end of the hallway.

Two torches, each in a sconce halfway down the hall, are the only sources of light. The corners are left dim. Though the guard's pacing is unpredictable, he tends to stay near the torches. As far as Kles can see, there is only the one guard, and a telltale hiccup confirms his drunkenness. He does have a signal horn, though.

Map:http://i.imgur.com/wRlJt4i.png

Guardroom:
The ogre lowers the blade and grunts. "Making fun of Grumblejack? Humph." What follows for the next few seconds is what Kayle can only presume to be a string of insults and obscenities in Giant. With that out of his system, he continues in common. "Grumblejack not used to little sword, is all. Not heavy enough. Great club better, but bows wrong shape, too bendy." He shrugs, and his expression seems to say but such is life. "Grumblejack find better weapon later. But little 'uns keep playing with doors and chimbleys."

[Frosty]

"We are waiting for Kles the tiefling to come back from scouting. Basically, we want to see if we can kill all the guards one by one or maybe by twos without them making too much noise. Say, if the sword is too light, would just usin' your fists be better?"

[Geckus]

Verrin collects one of the keys from the fallen guards, figuring it would come in useful at some point. (I believe only one has already been taken at this point?)

Once Kayle is done with her investigation of the fireplace, Verrin pokes his head in to take a look for himself, curious as to how difficult it would be to scale the flue. With the addition of Grumblejack to our merry band of escapee's, I doubt it will prove a viable option, but it might serve as a backup plan if things go horribly wrong.

If he finds it too dark to make a decent assessment, or after he completes his inspection if it is not, he address the rest of the group still in the guardroom. "What exactly is left on that veil? I never did get a close look at it before passing it along."

[darklink_shadow]

Acheron glares at Kayle. Grumblejack, some of the more inattentive people among us may not recall that you struggle with common far less than they struggle with giant. Your imperfections on the language might come off as a little silly to some of us, but just remember that when you teach me your tongue, I will struggle just as much. In this way, at least, you'll know enough compassion to not taunt others when they struggle to speak an unnative tongue. But you've taunted her back, let's leave it. As soon as we find a better weapon, you'll have it but for now make do with the little sword.

Acheron pauses then laughs. Harrison might make a good club though. Fool. If he had been smart, we would have all been caught by now. Perhaps since he wanted us to escape so badly, he should continue to help us, eh, Grumblejack? Acheron laughed again. Oh, well, then again, maybe that actually is a good idea. Being smacked by 200lbs of flesh wouldn't hurt as much as 200lbs of wood, but it'd still hurt quite a lot.

[Frosty]

It's one of Kayle's wierd mannerisms. She tends to adopt little bits of the mode of speak of those she speaks to. It's mostly subconscious, and she probably does it to try to make them feel more at ease :smallbiggrin:

"Eh, a human body is unwieldly though. Hard to hit with it."

[Felyndiira]

"Wouldn't the bones break upon impact, though?" Alice was not used to such humor, but she disguised her voice as well as she could to try to fit in with the other. She seemed a bit calmer now - though her stomach is still tied in a tight knot, and her breath is still a bit heavy if one were to closely listen. Mentally, she noted to herself that she must speak with the half-orc when all of this is over. Even with her diligent studies, there are many things she still didn't know about Gruumsh, the orc god. He is frightening when so much about him is unknown...and thus, perhaps the only way is to enlighten herself. To bring the darkness into the light so that she would no longer have to doubt.

She turned to Verrin and added,

"I had forgotten about the veil. I have a few magicks that may help us identify what the other items mean...when Kles returns, that is. It may be best if we did not take off the patches at once - I can't imagine us carrying around a window, for instance."

[darklink_shadow]

Acheron frowned and nodded. The bones might break, you're right. That would make it loose all stiffness, rendering it useless. Hmm. Acheron rubbed his jaw, one finger arching up to rest on his scarred upper lip.

Well, when Kles get's back, maybe he'll say he found a big bench we could break into a club. Or some more bags. With a growl he moved to look down the stairs, but walked back. Recon is important, but I am eager to go. I'm sure Grumblejack feels the same. I want to touch the earth, see the sky. I can't wait for night, to see the stars, and stare into the campfire.

[Geckus]

Verrin chuckles. "No I imagine not. I can't fathom the reasoning behind putting a window in that thing..."



"Well, when Kles get's back, maybe he'll say he found a big bench we could break into a club....

"Hold that thought Acheron. There's a table in the next room," Verrin points to the closed door beside the entrance to the cell block. "Perhaps a suitable club could be fashioned from that?"

[Frosty]

"The only problem is how much noise would we make...erm....fashioning...a club from that?"

[darklink_shadow]

From a table? Probably not too much if Grumblejack does good work. Snapping off a few legs. But tables are awkwardly shaped. I couldn't swing a table sized down for me. Acheron says after musing a bit.

[Geckus]

"Noise could be a problem. Wait for Kles to let us know if the coast is clear down below first?"

[Cyclopean]

Frosty: yeah, that's what I figured Kayle was doing. Grumblejack took it the wrong way is all.

Grumblejack chuckles a little. "Grumblejack explain it later. And corpse no good for club: heavy, yes, but floppy. Worse than bows, even. Little 'uns not worry: sword fine for now. Find better weapon later."

Seriously, though: don't worry about arming Grumblejack right now. His weapon isn't the best for him right now, but the same goes for many of you.

[JonRG]

Kles watches the guard weave and wobble his way across the chamber several times. Tempting as it might be to sneak past, there was no way to predict his movements. He'd need support. Archeron at least, if not... Kale? Names weren't that important. Kles glides back up the stairs and stares into the group's expectant faces. Crowds... Well. Here goes nothing. "You two." He points at Kayle and Archeron. "Follow behind me, but stay at the bottom of the stairs. I need your help, I'll give the signal. Could be a whistle, could be a drunk guard screaming bloody murder. Surprises." Kles tosses the veil to Verrin. "Lantern should come in handy, for later. Someone might have snuffed the torch downstairs. Very unfortunate. Very dark." He nods. "Okay, off to see how many of these I can collect." Kles waves the signal horn before vanishing back down the stairs. That was almost eloquent but for the rapidity of his speech. Oh well. Archeron understood his methods. Kale... maybe not so much.

Basically, awkward fellow compensates for lack of charisma with bluster and speed. :smallbiggrin:

Kles'll creep back down the stairs and get into spyin' position.

[darklink_shadow]

Acheron nodded. Time for silence then, eh? Stealth and treachery aren't really my thing, but let's hope your signal is a whistle, not any screams. Don't botch it this time, you only get so many second chances. Acheron teased Kles, subtly reminding him about the failed assassination of the princess.

However, Acheron followed and did as he was told. In this matter, Kles knew best, and Acheron was wise enough to admit it. Ready to run and open the door at the signal, Acheron grinned, anticipating action. Standing around talking while they needed to escape made him uneasy, but action was a salve to that irritation.

[Felyndiira]

"Hey, Verrin, can I see the veil for a second?" Alice's eyes were glowing a faint shade of blue. Anyone with some knowledge of the arcane will instantly recognize the spell as Detect Magic, which the girl is attempting to use to fully analyze the magic item if it is handed to her.

I rolled for this OOC. It's using detect magic and spellcraft to try to identify the item:

http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=16262124&postcount=300

[Frosty]

The aasimar nods. "Will disable them from going for their horns. Waiting on your signal." She follows and waits on the bottom floor, not in sight of anyone looking in from the doorway if the door is opened.

She also gives a quick blessing to Kles. "May the gods be with you..."

Basically, directly to the side of the door so that if the door is opened, she can peek around and fire a Daze at someone.

Also, cast Guidance on Kles.

[Geckus]

Verrin nods and hands the veil over to Alice.

"Do your thing."

[Frosty]

Before they head down, Kayle asks Archeron, "Acheron, might you have any protective magics to help out a fellow warrior? I know some spells, but I wish to save my arcane energies to extend the life of my...fusion, if necessary. I have a feeling I will be on the front lines a lot."

[darklink_shadow]

Acheron furrows his brow, and looks Kayle up and down. I have exactly one warding charm prepared. My wonderful mask is gone, likely destroyed, and until I gain a new one, I am bereft of additional magics. My charm will not last long, and I do not believe this battle is going to last long enough to be worth the expenditure of the spell. I wager the fight ends without anyone but the enemy losing blood. However...

Acheron scowls at the ground and massages his jaw again, deep in thought, his eyes darting around as if running numbers in his head. I was going to use it on Kles, or even our massive friend upstairs, but if you want it, you can have it. Now? I suppose now is best... Here. Now I am out of warding charms. However, I can inspire terror twice before I am depleted of that kind of magic. Would you like to be a little scared?

Acheron's smile shows his teeth.

Mage armor on Kayle.

[Frosty]

Kayle smiles back, showing her row of (nearly) perfect teeth (she didn't get dental care while in jail). "I've already cast a protection charm on our big friend upstairs. Do not worry, if stealth fails and we must come face to face with the enemy, I shall stand fearless in front."

[JonRG]

Kles pauses a moment and looks at Archeron. Spells, for him? He smiles despite himself, then glides into the room under cover of shadow. His prey may be drunk, but he's lucid enough to stay in the light. When the man's back turns close to Kles' perch, he springs into action. Windpipe made a tempting target, but too challenging for these circumstances. He aims for one of the lungs instead, and attempts to place a hand over the drunkard's mouth.

C'mon...

Stealth: [roll0]
Attack!:[roll1] (Guidance!)
Dagger Damage: [roll2]
Sneak Attack: [roll3]

No idea what the roll for hand over mouth is. CMB? :smalltongue:

[Cyclopean]

Had the guard been sober, or had another pair of eyes been scanning the hallway, the assassin would almost certainly have been spotted. As it is, the lush doesn't realize the stabbing pain is from being stabbed until he feels a hand muffling his scream.

Seriously, though, that was a close call. The guard rolled a 15 on Perception (after modifiers).

No doubling, sorry. :smalltongue: You deal an extra [roll0] damage for a total of 9 damage.

Welcome to the surprise round. I believe a scream was discussed as a possible signal? If so, Acheron and Kayle should take their move actions.

Initiative Rolls:
Guard: [roll1]
Kles: [roll2]
Kayle: [roll3]
Acheron: [roll4]

Oh dear. I don't think Kayle can hurt him in the surprise round, but he'll be hard-pressed to make it through both the tiefling and the aasimar.

[Frosty]

do we have a map so I can see my options?

[Cyclopean]

Just a minute. And thanks for the correction on initiative, I must have been looking at your unfused char sheet.

[Cyclopean]

Map:http://i.imgur.com/IUXzS2A.png

Uh...sorry about the awful-looking coordinates. Back to text boxes next time.

[darklink_shadow]

Acheron hears a muffled scream, and grins, picturing the scene just on the other side of the door. The door lay between the prey and the hunters, and had to be dealt with, and so, being the manliest of them all, Acheron spent this round of time, this extra special moment, yes his moment of glory, opening the door. And then he advanced on the miscreant, hoping to flank the man, menacing him with his dagger and bag of gore.

I get one action, movement or standard, but the door is in the way. So I'll open it so Kayle can do whatever she wants with her action.

[Cyclopean]

While that is most gentlemanly of Acheron, a small-to-medium-sized biped like himself can treat the door as an obstacle that costs 5 feet of movement to open. It took a standard action for Kayle's minion to close the door because the doors here were not designed for the use of fiendish dire rats.

[Frosty]

Ok, so since Kles has a higher Dex mod, he goes before Kayle. So I guess I'll wait for Kles's surprise round action before I decide on to do?

[JonRG]

Kles grins at the orc across from him and feels the blood course down his chest. "Not a worthy meal, I'm afraid. Oh well." He drives his dagger in for what he hopes will be the kill.

C'mon... dice roll.

Attack: [roll0]
Damage: [roll1]
SA: [roll2]

[Cyclopean]

Kles' surprise round action was her initial sneak attack. After that, the guard is acutely aware that he is in combat. Well, as acutely as he can be in his current state.
Acheron opened the door for Kayle, and then walked in himself for his surprise round action. I don't think he'd be able to do Evil Eye from behind the door; the hex has a range of 30', for one thing.
The attack Kles just rolled was his Round 1 action. Even after an Evil Eye, it's a miss. Kayle can retcon in a surprise round action, and then the aasimar and half-orc can do their round 1 actions.

[Frosty]

Kayle d'Judicus (fused) (http://www.myth-weavers.com/sheetview.php?sheetid=677598)
HP: 9/9 Temp HP: 7/7
Saves: 3F/1R/3W
AC: 17 = 10 + 1 DEX + 4 NAT + 4 ARMOR - 2 CHARGE
Conditions: SM SLAs 7/8, Mage Armor (1 hour)
Current Map: Branderscar Prison


"Time to finish it quickly!" whispers Kayle to herself. Speed of the essence, Kayle charges out, her 'dagger' at the ready as she stabs forward at the flat-footed guard! She aims for the throat, in hope of minimizing any chances of the guard screaming successfully.

Kayle charges to C14, attacking the guard. If for some reason I have flanking, add +2.
Claw/dagger (+2 charge): [roll0]
Dam: [roll1]

[Cyclopean]

Upstairs:

"Hey, Verrin, can I see the veil for a second?" Alice's eyes were glowing a faint shade of blue. Anyone with some knowledge of the arcane will instantly recognize the spell as Detect Magic, which the girl is attempting to use to fully analyze the magic item if it is handed to her.

I rolled for this OOC. It's using detect magic and spellcraft to try to identify the item:

http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=16262124&postcount=300
Sorry it took me forever to get to this...

Alice picks up an aura of faint transmutation connected to the veil, though any magic on the items it once held seems to have faded. It seems that Tiadora left them a Veil of Useful Items--a magical object quite similar to the better known (and more powerful) Robe of Many Things. She is able to confirm that the veil does not have the power to turn objects back into cloth patches.

You notice a few things of interest. The lantern will be both lit and shuttered when removed; what you all thought was a wall is actually a heap of 100 gold coins (that's 100 gp); the flask is likely to contain a healing potion; and lastly, there is the window.

If removed, this patch will embed itself in a nearby wall. Provided the wall is not too thick, the window will pass all the way through; that is, whatever comprised the wall will be replaced by glass set in a tasteful wooden frame.

[Cyclopean]

Downstairs:
The guard's screaming is cut off as his throat is slashed. He sways on his feet...and to the surprise of the prisoners, manages to stay standing.

Apparently, drunkenness gives you some nasty penalties, but a number of temporary hit points :smallconfused:.


Soul Seer
You're surprised this guy's still standing after all the punishment he's taken, but at least he's on last legs. You could probably knock him over with a feather, but you prefer knives, personally.

[JonRG]

"Unbelievable. He's alive, if only just," Kles murmurs. "Perhaps I was wrong about his worthiness for your table." He drives his knife into the man's spine.

Hit: [roll0]
Damage: [roll1]
SA: [roll2]

[Cyclopean]

Kles weaves back behind the guard; a second later, he falls over dead.

I actually meant roll acrobatics to not trigger AoO as you moved in for the kill, but you have +9 to that, so you made those rolls pretty easily. And with either attack: the guy's dead. The party gets another 200 xp!

So: what next? You have four doors to choose from, and Alice may have some interesting things to say about a window.

[Frosty]

Unless the guard had combat reflexes, he couldn't have made an AoO since he is still flat-footed from not having actually acted yet :smalltongue: Alright, I vote the closest door...so the one on the left wall!

[Cyclopean]

Ah, point. Do you maybe want to bring down the rest of the party? Grumbles is just spoiling for a fight, and we wouldn't want Verrin and Alice getting bored, either.

[JonRG]

Signal horn in hand, Kles wordlessly heads back up the stairs. He draws the others' eyes with with a short whistle and shows them his prize. "Threat's been dealt with. Try to stay quiet." Not likely from Grumblejack, but he could try. Red eyes pass over Verrin and Alice. "You two will need the lantern." With that, he meanders back down the stairs.

[Frosty]

Kayle follows back up, dragging the corpse with her so no one would see a body and raise the alarm. She loots the key. If no one else wants the chain shirt, she'll actually put it on, over her fused form's chain shirt, and mysteriously, the guard's chain shirt kind of...disappears. She'll also put on the new guard uniform if no one else wants it. "Don't worry Grumblejack. I'm sure our luck will run out sometime and we'll have more guards than we can dream about!."

[Cyclopean]

"Good," Grumblejack grunts. "Little 'uns better not think they get all the revenge."

[Frosty]

"I'll tell you what. The guy who branded you...Sergeant Blackerly...if we see him and you can get to him, we'll try to leave him for you alright? Maybe a map of the prison will tell us where his quarters are and we can ambush him in his sleep."

[Felyndiira]

Alice removes the lantern from the veil. While she does so, she communicates part of what she had discovered to the party.

"I've had some time to study the veil while you were busy with the guards. Apparently, the window is quite an interesting artifact. If you remove it, it instantly creates a window on a nearby wall. Usable only once, of course."

[Frosty]

"Well, that *is* interested. I say we save it for a door that we find particularly pesky. Like, if we for some reason can't pick the lock, and we're on a time crunch to open the door to escape, then we'll just place the window *on* the lock area, and *poof* the lock is gone and the door can open! At least I hope it works that way."

[darklink_shadow]

Acheron stared at the signal horns for a long moment then nodded to himself. Kles, I'm going to want two or three signal horns eventually. Don't worry about for what. Maybe the veil once it is no longer useful... might add a positive note.

Acheron moved over to the other corpse and cuts off the left ear, adding it to the necklace around his neck.

What loots has the guard?

[Frosty]

Guard has the same as every other guard. Club, longsword, heavy steel shield, chain shirt, horn, a key. And I THINK bow and 20 arrows?

[Cyclopean]

That is correct. And a hip flask, in this one's case.

[Frosty]

After the guard is stripped of items, Kayle drags the guard's body into the interrogation room, where it won't be seen casually.

[JonRG]

Kles shrugs at Archeron's request, then returns downstairs. While waiting for the others to follow, he presses an ear to the southwest door and listens. If people tarry enough, he'll also listen at other doors.

[Frosty]

Kayle takes on the role to help everyone get organized and make sure they head down in a timely manner.

[Cyclopean]

Kles hears nothing at any of the doors.

[darklink_shadow]

Acheron picks up the hip flask and takes a swig of what's left. Drunk off this piss water? Gah. he complains, disapproving of the quality of alcohol. However he takes another swig before offering it around. He offer the flask to Grumblejack last, expecting him to finish whatever is left. Well, so far so good. Kles, mind scouting ahead again?

[Geckus]

Alice removes the lantern from the veil. While she does so, she communicates part of what she had discovered to the party.

"I've had some time to study the veil while you were busy with the guards. Apparently, the window is quite an interesting artifact. If you remove it, it instantly creates a window on a nearby wall. Usable only once, of course."

"Huh, really? That sounds remarkably useful."

Verrin gestures at the lantern with his blade as Alice pulls it free from the veil. "Better watch how much fuel that thing has; we'll likely need it more once we are free from this place." Hopefully we can find some extra oil on the way out.

Following Kles down the stairs shortly afterwards, Verrin follows his example and listens at the first door on the eastern wall, circling from there.

[Frosty]

Kayle tries the keys they have found so far on the door.

[Cyclopean]

None of the keys unlock the southern door on the west wall.

The hip flask was all but empty to begin with, but what remained was indeed some abhorrent whiskey.

Verrin notices that neither the eastern door nor the double doors in the northern wall have locks on them. He doesn't hear anything, though.

[Frosty]

"If it's locked, I bet it has things they don't want others to have access to. Kles, can you handle this lock?" asks the aasimar to the tiefling.

[JonRG]

"Sure." Kles draws the picks and works them to open the door.

Presumably, 'none of the keys' includes Kles' bonus ring o'keys. Oh well, Disable Device is a thing I am theoretically capable of.

[roll0]

and a few more in case that whiffs. Which it didn't. Yay.

[roll1]
[roll2]
[roll3]

I'll scout down the hallway and report back with what I see. Now I gotta get to bed. Early start tomorrow.

[Frosty]

Which hallway? Through the door you just opened?

[Cyclopean]

Though spacious (50 feet wide and 30 feet deep) and well-lit, this room is largely empty. A couple of chairs rest by a cluttered desk.

There are two doors in this room, aside from the one you just entered; one to the north, and one to the west. Only the door to the north is locked.

[Frosty]

post an updated map?

Assuming Kles is fine with the idea, Kayle quickly ushers everyone in here. "Close the door and lock it again. Ahh, paperwork...surely there's something useful here."

[Cyclopean]

I'll get that done soon. I'm trying to knock out some homework really quick at the moment.

Is Kayle Searching through the papers? Rifling through them all will take a minute. More than one PC can roll search at once.

[Frosty]

My Perception/Search sucks. Kayle will *aid* some other PC in the attempt.

[Cyclopean]

Most of what you find is boring, routine paperwork. Enough of it is signed by or addressed to Blackerly that you deduce this to be the Sergeant's Office.

You do find a piece of paper that is unconcerned with bureaucratic minutiae, however: a map of the prison entire.


http://i.imgur.com/1lA4zFL.jpg

Better image later. And now you see the other reason I didn't want to update the map :smalltongue:. You are currently in room 14.


You estimate it would take around 10 minutes to read through all the paperwork.

[darklink_shadow]

We have no time to go through all these papers. Someone just stuff a pair of pants with the papers. I'll carry them both. Acheron looks around the room for a valuable looking doodad with the intent to steal it.

[Frosty]

"Aha...a MAP! I knew there'd be one! Since no one has raised the alarm yet, keep on searching. Maybe there'll be a map of the moors too, or something else of important, like the exact guard strengths, guard assignments and rotations, etc."

Kayle looks at the unlocked door to the west. "Kles, care to take a peek into that room? If this is an office, then maybe that room is some sort of armory, or perhaps the quarters for the prison commander. If he's asleep, we can kill him. If he's not there, we can loot it."

(Is the map labeled at all? For example, we know the door *into* room 10 from room 8 is not locked. What do we think room 10 and 11 are?)

[Felyndiira]

Alice points at the two rooms marked '1' on the map.

"That must be a gatehouse. I guess we will have to jump off the bridge and swim." She seemed somewhat deep in thought for a moment, and continued - this time pointing at the walls and the fields outside. "I would not doubt if there are patrols out there as well. Otherwise, the prison security would be truly laughable."

"I think we should look through all of the rooms in this area of the prison. If we find guards or Blackerly, they will be isolated and easy to eliminate. If we disable them now, there will be fewer reinforcements if we do manage to alert any guards with prison horns."

"It might provide us with other information, as well."

[JonRG]

Kles blinks away his surprise. Unbelieveable. Even the Havelyns hadn't been this careless. "Uh, all... right." He ducks into the room and tunes out Kayle's theorizing.

Sneaking and lockpicking as needed.

[roll0]

[roll1]

[Frosty]

"Alice, given what we have faced so far, would it surprise you if the greatest prison in Talingarde turns out to be laughable? We shall be victorious if we are smart."

She will help Verrin search through this room for now, assuming Verrin does so.

[Cyclopean]

Labeling on the map is minimal. The document you have found is actually less detailed than the one provided. Numbering is preserved for convenience.

Lockpicking is not needed for the western door.


The wardrobe and unmade bed reveal this room to be the bedchambers of one Sergeant Tomas Blackerly. The only other furniture of note is a small table, though this is larger than the one from the guardroom.

The room appears to be unoccupied.

Better Map:http://i.imgur.com/j2pcrbL.jpg

[Felyndiira]

"I wonder if Blackerly's illicit fortune is somewhere in here," Alice mused nonchalantly.

[darklink_shadow]

Acheron searches the wardrobe and steals all of the pants, turning them all into makeshift bags, and stuffing them in one another. Acheron then turns the shirts into a yolk, with which to carry the bags on his shoulders.

I just did this in real life the other day ago to see if it could be done, and it's very easy. But hard to explain.

He then opens the little table to search for a trinket to steal.

[Frosty]

"Look for a chest. Either in a hidden section of wall, or, if security for his money is as bad as it is for the prison, merely under the bed. *snicker*"

[JonRG]

"That's what you're after? Why would his money be here?" Kles shakes his head. "He'd keep the money somewhere private or where, if it was found, the blame would fall on someone else." Regardless, he searches for anything of value.

[Frosty]

"This *is* somewhere private. It's his bedchambers! Alice, help Kles?"

[Cyclopean]

After clearing out the clothes, Acheron notices a backpack at the bottom of the wardrobe.

There is little of interest in the table drawers. It seems this is where Blackerly keeps his toiletries; a hairbrush, a small pair of scissors, that sort of thing.

I think I understand what you're trying with the shirts. Tie off the bottom, then tie the sleeves together around the neck, or to themselves in order to form loops?

Kles is filled with exasperation as he finds a locked iron box beneath the bed.

[Felyndiira]

Alice sighed in exasperation and began to removing the bedsheets.

"Eww." The bed was obviously slept on in the recent days, and the smell of...Blackerly was still pungent. She stepped back and threw her arms up in exasperation, the sheets leaving her hand and landing near the angel-blood. "I don't know if my assistance is necessary," she remarked, "There's only so many places here that can even hide a trinket, not to mention a pile of gold. Besides..."

"...I guess you already found it," she added, eyeing the chest that the rogue now held in his hands.

[darklink_shadow]

Ah ha! Acheron exclaims picking up the backpack. A backpack! Hmm... Verran, do you want it? I'm going to use my yoke. It's more comfortable. Acheron says handing over the bag. Oh... a iron chest? Good! Good....

Acheron breaks into a cackle, quietly reveling in their luck.

[JonRG]

Kles tries not to weep at the stupidity. "This is a public facility, and- I won't try to understand. The box can wait until we get where we're going." He shakes it and listens for the sound of coin.

[Cyclopean]

Kles hears a heavy clinking sound which seems to be coin--and quite a lot of it.

The iron box is quite large and heavy. Picking the lock would take some time but save a good deal of weight. Now that you have the backpack, the weight is perhaps not so much a concern.

Annoying as it is to keep up with encumbrance, we'll be doing it for the time being. It likely won't become an issue, but Acheron could stand to be a tad more discriminating in his looting, considering his 8 strength.

I mean, you can only use so many skulls in a mask. :smalltongue:

[Frosty]

"Oof, that looks like a very very heavy box, laden with treasure! I'm pretty strong in this form, but...Grumblejack, do you mind carrying it for the time being? It's no problem for a *big*, *strong* ogre like you."

Kayle goes on to do a more detailed search of the sergeant's wardrobe. Perhaps there would be important documents or passwords in there. Or hey, maybe recreational drugs. Who knows with this slacker sergeant?

[Geckus]

Needless to say, Verrin assists with the search of both the office and Blackerly's quarters. He accepts the backpack from Acheron with a nod of thanks, quickly slipping it over his shoulders. "I'll carry what we need, just try not to go too crazy with the looting; I'd like to able to keep a quick pace."


Taking a look at the map, Verrin runs his finger over a few points of interest, muttering to himself.

"Since Blackerly isn't here, I'd bet that he's in the Warden's Tower. Not worth the risk of raiding that, even to get our hands on that pig. Kitchens here, plus a garden outside; we'll want food for the trip, so we need to stop in there. Looks like barracks off the dining hall; not too big, so there can't be an overly large staff, or at least not one that lives on site. Might be able to aquire some clothes there, ones that will fit a bit better than Blackerly's...uniforms would be best, at least to get us close to the gatehouse after the bridge without alarming anyone."

"Anyone want to read through these papers while the rest of us check out these rooms here," Verrin points to the remaining pair of rooms on the west side of the hall (12 and 13 on the map). "Looks like storage rooms; might be able to arm up better from there." If anyone objects to splitting up, he adds, "We don't know how long we have until the next shift arrives, so we need to speed up our searching as best we can."

[JonRG]

"We can manage this all right, thanks." Kles slips the box into Verrin's satchel, or makes one of his own if he must. No way any sane thief would hand over their treasure to an ogre. "There. Now, Verrin's got the right idea. Let's scope out the storage rooms. Maybe they'll have some rations, and we won't need to alert the kitchen staff." He sidles out of the room and selects one of the storage rooms (lucky number 13) to root around in.