(IC) From the Dark

[Saskia]

From the Dark, IC
OOC (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=313025)

The eyes of Pharaoh Horustep III feel as though they sear the flesh as they pierce through you; almost as if he sees not the body, but the soul that powers it. He stands before the massive throne of his forefathers like something out of a myth. An impossible mountain of a man, he stands perhaps eight feet tall and his headdress radiates a brilliant light signifying his status as the progeny of Horus-Re, and his voice surges through the marble-and-granite audience chamber with the force of a landslide.

"Four thousand years ago, our ancestors were captured by the Imaskari, using mighty mortal wizardry. These men and women, once-proud citizens of the tribes and empires of another world, were brought low by the chains of Imaskar. The crowning achievement of their foul artifice was a barrier sealing off the influence of our gods, whom they feared terribly. Pray though our forebears might, there was no comforting voice to reassure them; no blazing warriors of the sun to do battle with the vile oppressors of our peoples.

"Yet they did not give up hope. Mighty though the great wizards of Imaskar were, they were still mortal, and through the faith and endurance of our displaced ancestors our gods found a way. They risked their very essences in true death to rally and free the Mulan people from their shackles in a world where much of their divine power was stripped away. Such was the love of our gods for their people, and so was Re, the Lord of the Eternal Sun, the king of the gods, the first king of the newly christened Mulan people, and from the rotting husk of a faithless empire the Mulan people settled the lands we now own. In time, we built our own great empires, though we have since been brought low from our rightful station by treason and treachery."

The young Pharaoh pauses, looking over the assembled once more. "The bloated corpse of Unther and the beaten dogs it calls citizens will again be joined with their Mulhorandi brethren come Spring, and with time, perhaps they can be healed of the scars inflicted upon the Untheric people by their once-tyrannical, but now long-dead gods. The men they call leaders are already clamoring for surrender before the renewed might of Mulhorand, granted us only though our faith to our gods." Though it is difficult to look directly at the Pharaoh's face through the blinding brilliance of his headdress, you might swear you saw the hint of a smile.

"With Unther's remains under the purview of the Lord of the Sun-Disk, and soon to undergo rebuilding efforts, there remains only one hurdle standing between the orders of my godly Father and a united Mulan people, and that is the rogue nation of Thay, hated by all outside their own borders." The divinely appointed king pauses again, taking a deep, slow breath. "However, they will not be easy like Unther. Thay is a nation ruled by vile and paranoid wizards, bound together only by the fact that they rely on their circles for their power. This is the source of political stability in Thay. Further, few will willingly enter Thayan ports, nor allow Thayan ships in their own. For this reason Mulhorand serves as Thay's gateway to the world, and it is only through the mercy of Horus-Re and Nepthys that goods are able to flow into and out of Thay at all.

"This has yielded consequences unforeseen, however. As the Lord of Mulhorand and the representative of Horus-Re on Toril, I must abide the wishes of my people, and there are many who see Thay as something less than a scourge upon civilization for the wealth it brings to Mulhorand. However, as the Scion of the House of Helcaliant, I must also do what is right, both by the gods by whom I was entrusted with rulership, and by the people of the world more broadly. The only way to serve my dual roles as mortal king and divine servitor is to bring into the harsh and unforgiving light of the Master of Vengeance the evils and the dangers of Thay, for though it may serve the needs of the merchants today, our fortunes may soon turn if we are not proactive, and our relationship with Thay may not be so beneficial. When that inevitable day comes, it must be on terms agreeable to Anhur, not to the zulkirs of Thay.

"And to this end, I have gathered you, through my agents abroad and at home. To you shall fall the sacred honor of preparing the horrid land of Thay, and the people therein, for the forces of Mulhorand. However, this is no mean feat. If you should accept this glorious honor, however, you will be glorified by the gods, and satisfied in the knowledge that you have performed a truly heroic service for all the people of Faerûn.

With this, the Pharaoh finally falls silent, awaiting confirmations—or questions—as the remaining eyes in the chamber all focus on the unusual group to whom the Pharaoh has given an unusual audience.

[Archmage1]

Varana, a short elf wearing plain, unremarkable clothing, with a longbow and quiver across her back, standing near the rear of the group, listens to the Pharaoh as he pontificates, noting that the vast majority of his speech is positioning, nothing more. She also notes the rather distinct lack of specificity in his words. However, preferring to work from the shadows, avoiding notice so that she might simply drift on when the time comes, she stays silent, hoping that the others here would ask the relevant questions. She simply looks respectful.

[nersxe]

Gudakesha

Gudakesha keeps her thoughts to herself. She knows all too well that this nation is not kind to non-humans, and wonders if it pained the Pharaoh to hire two elves. It isn't as though she doesn't attract notice in other nations, but at least in Amn, men stared because of her clothes.

(It had been suggested to her, more than once, that she trade in her riotously-colored silks in for a more Faerunian mode of dress. Gently but firmly, Gudakesha has refused time and again.)

She pays close attention to the speech, but like her fellow elf, she does not speak. A mysterious smile will do for now; her true worth will be shown in the Thayans she brings to heel.

[Yukitsu]

Dressed in the fine clothes of a nobleman of her people, Elissa rattled a rod against her bangle together as she would her spear against shield in confirmation of the pharaoh's words, quick to prove that she is eager to ride, hoping her enthusiasm would grant her an honourable position in the vanguard.

Here here Lord! If the people of Mulhorand are content with the wealth that flows from the coffers of Thay, then they shall be humbled by the plunder we pluck from them. My people have ridden for these lands for thousands of years, and we shall not stop today! Let me prove to you that the ages have not dulled our skills!

[Dimers]

Asim Tanwari Third-born seems an unlikely choice for a hero -- out of shape, unweathered, looking like a fop who has never seen privation or threat. But he would not be in this room had the Pharaoh's bureaucracy not called him to service. Perhaps he is a mage or a priest -- he does wear a symbol of the pantheon around his neck, he cheers with abandon like the many fervent attendees at the more gods-soaked portions of the speech, and he is unfazed by the Scion's repeated talk of magical power among enemies. Or perhaps this too-clean man really is a fop, destined to die quickly upon a foe's spear, sent to war as a punishment for some political indiscretion.

When the Pharaoh's eyes light on Asim's face, he smiles a brilliant and honest smile and says, "Yes, I will serve, my Lord." He is no war-slave, then -- that means he must be powerful, foolish, or fanatical to the point of self-sacrifice. Time will tell ... probably just a little time, if this conflict goes the way most do.

[Karl Prosek]

Samendra Dararathi was in his most formal Curna uniform. The Durpari soldier was in pressed dark green trousers with red piping, tucked into polished black boots, with a dark green jacket with red piping and a wide black belt polished to a nearly mirror shine and the broad brimmed Curna hat complete with chin strap. All the proper insignia were sewed or pinned in position with exacting precision, though the young man didn't have the impressive 'fruit salad' of a more experienced soldier. And though it wasn't his preferred weapon, his formal kukri was sheathed at his left hip in its black leather scabbard.

The young mercenary was fit and trim, and his dusky Durpari skintone was darkened further by constant exposure to the elements. Under his hat his hair was virtually shaved down to the skin. As the Pharoah spoke, he stood ramrod straight at attention.

At the Pharaoh's cue, the Curna Warden bowed and responded with the unit's motto. In Durpari. "Kaatar Hunnu Bhanda Marnu Ramro!" He continued in a more common tongue. "The Curna Wardens will not fail, your Majesty."

[ChaoticDitz]

Crushing Thay...? Almexia wondered to himself. I fail to see a purpose behind senseless violence...

Almexia, trying to be in the middle of the group for the simple sake of making it look like a group (what with how many of the assembled people were trying to stand apart), merely raised his hand to his head in an informal salute, sending the pharaoh a focused yet disinterested look.

The birth or death of a god is of no concern to me, and the wishes of a false messenger even less so... He whispered under his breath, then raised his voice to a near-shout, loud enough for everyone to hear him, saying alas, I shall accompany this group through completion of the assignment. By my honour as a servant of peace and Mulhorandi soldier, I, Almexia, solemnly swear to contribute my all to the survival of my allies and the fall of the Thayan advantage.

With that, he dropped his hand to his side, carefully studying the group he had been presented with. He hadn't personally met any of them until just today, but he felt a general air of competence from each of them.

Pharaoh, if I may ask, Almexia continued, considering the relatively large importance of the task we're engaging in, what sorts of provisions aside from what we've equipped ourselves with will we be provided? Though we can provide such external functions as direct reconnaissance, combat, and the possible social encounter in and of ourselves, will you be able to provide us with diviners to gather preliminary information and perhaps minimal inside support? I put no pressure on you to provide such things, Pharaoh, but rather I simply wish to know what our situation is on that in advance.

[Archmage1]

Well, at least one of them is willing to ask the important questions. Now, the reaction...

Varana shifts slightly, looking around, observing.

[Saskia]

One of the other four in the room, an above-average-looking woman perhaps in her 30s, bows as Horustep changes his gaze toward her. "Indeed, sending the best men and women mighty Mulhorand could muster into hostile lands teeming with vile foes devoid of assistance would be a fool's errand, and with such foolishness Mulhorand would be hoist with mine own petard. Lord High Wizard Zolis," he says by way of introduction, "is Mulhorand's premier diviner."

Zolis speaks more quickly than the Pharaoh; professionally, in a airy and melodious voice contrasting sharply with Horustep's thunderous oration. "Thank you, Lord Pharaoh. Thay has protections against scrying over much of its lands. I've been able to pierce them before, but not reliably enough to count on that support, and never as far as the Thaymount. However these protections are provided by magical objects that the red wizards have created and hidden in their estates and fortresses, or sometimes out in the wilderness. Because red wizards themselves are unhindered by those protections, they have little way of determining if something is amiss until they find out that their protective devices have been destroyed or disjointed without visiting the sites personally, as they would never trust such important objects to their underlings. Should you be able to find and neutralize these devices, it would dramatically increase my ability to provide intelligence; at least, until the warding bauble is replaced. That should take months though, or longer, given their power. Unfortunately, you'll be going in blind save for what little we can give you through reports from our own spies and those of our Rashemi allies, but if you can destroy or otherwise neutralize some of these protective devices, I'll be able to provide real-time support over a much broader range and more quickly than could spies. Until then, however, many of my divinations will be unreliable.

"The remainder of your intelligence support will come from Lord Hamza, who is currently afield in a town called Apex, which is uncomfortably close to the ruined city of Delhumide, and you will meet him at an undisclosed site which Lord Hamza has already determined. Travelers crossing the border however are accosted by patrols and usually killed on the spot, and so you will arrive in Delhumide with the aid of a relic held by Thoth's faithful from the time when Horus-Re himself claimed the Pharaoh's throne. The weakest of the anti-scrying devices lie in the tharch of Delhumide, which you may be interested to know is the poorest of the tharchs and is home to the lowest population of guards and red wizards, but also houses the greatest ratio of slaves to freemen, as it is where most of the slave farms are located." When she finishes, she takes a breath, just deep enough to gently and politely imply that she's finished speaking.

[nersxe]

Gudakesha

The elf's lips curve into a smile once more, this one more cruel than the first. Destruction of property? Oh, that she can provide. She is, in a very real way, walking artillery, suited better for destruction than sneaking about.

Rather than say that, however, she allows her presence to speak for her. If she is good enough to be invited personally by a humanocentric nation to serve, she is good enough that her merits need not be spoken by herself.

[Archmage1]

Varana thinks, her mind analyzing the options before her.
It would seem that this is a mission that is considered far too dangerous for their own troops, but apparently not for us, of course. More worrisome is the objective, which is far, far too... general. As well as the lack of payment for such a non specific objective. Targeting these locations one at a time... maybe. But a general hunt and destroy...
She shakes her head. This was not a good idea. But if this Lord Hamza was to provide further information, perhaps it might be more advisable to ask for more details from him.

[ChaoticDitz]

I see... Almexia muttered. So basically what you're saying is that allowing those scry-negation devices to exist severely hinders our chances... That's a bit odd, though. I of course haven't even seen the place in any level of quarter, but it makes very little sense to me that they would leave the place with most of their slave farms as the least guarded. Nonetheless, I think it would be in the best interests of both ourselves and the greater good to assure that those slaves come to no further harm.

Almexia shook his head. The Red Wizards are certainly an intelligent and tenacious bunch, and it simply defied natural economic sense that the effective center of slavery in a country was also the poorest part of it. Something was afoot here, but at the moment, it wasn't the most important thing to concentrate on.

Sadly, Almexia momentarily pondered to himself, even as the elite of the country, I hardly think the group of us could take even one big-name Red Wizard in our current stage of ability; multiple of them, and their Circle Magic would be almost guaranteed to destroy us. It will be extremely vital that we be cautious and focus on our objectives one at a time, in an efficient manner.

Keeping everything else in mind, it would be wise not to allow the Red Wizards to alert each other of our presence until we've managed to destroy the idol at Delhumide and preferably gotten a proper detachment stationed there, and thus a bit of subterfuge will be important at the beginning. Keeping that in mind, I have to ask, what will this artifact of which you speak do for us? Conceal our presence, teleport us straight to Lord Hamza or his "undisclosed location", or perhaps something else? He as well took a short breath, returning the courtesy Zolis had shown them in showing that he was done speaking.

[Dimers]

Cutting in momentarily as the halfling finishes, Asim adds, "And will we be able to recognize the target bauble on sight, Lord High Wizard?" Asim's intonation of the title makes his respect and his bureaucratic experience both clear.

[Saskia]

Zolis shakes her head. "The relic will deliver yourselves and your equipment to the beacon laid by Lord Hamza. Unfortunately I suspect you will not be able to tell at a glance what the piece of artifice might be that wards our divinations. A mirror turned upon itself should be nearly invisible." Almost as soon as she says this her pretty face contorts as if she realizes her words sound meaningless. "Rather, I can't tell you what the subject looks like with any degree of certitude, but I suspect it should incorporate an obfuscating mirror of some sort, since a wizard's scrying projects images onto a mirror. The image reflected when scrying into these warded areas is an image of the mirror used to scry. It's," For the faintest of moments, her businesslike composure fades. "Well, it's quite irritating."

"However," the interjection comes from the largish and finely chiseled man of maybe forty years, clad in mail beside Zolis, bearing the headdress of a priest of Anhur. "The slave farms boast the majority of the region's soldiery, which means that while they are few, they're highly concentrated. There's a good chance that this work of artifice is held somewhere within the tharchion's personal demesne. Delhumide is a region of tremendous poverty, but punctuated by the abject wealth of the tharchion and other slave farmers. It's also home to the highest population of undead and demons, even in Thay; some of the walking corpses there have supposedly been wandering since the destruction of Delhumide City. So it's not that the slave farms are unguarded, but that the rest of the citizens are without guards, and they are rightfully unhappy about their tharchion's inattention to their safety. Apex is one such town. This is why Lord Hamza chose this tharch as your point of entry; he believes that destabilizing Delhumide would collapse the rest of the Thayan economy even before the first harvest, and lead to an easy Mulhorandi victory by Autumn, and with minimal bloodshed." He clears his throat and glances at the pharaoh, adding "We don't wish to repeat the mistakes we made in Unther."

Horustep offers the hint of a smile when his voice surges through the throne room once again. "Lord Rishad, mercy personified. Mulhorand serves her gods, not her merchants, and the continued scourge of the red wizards threatening the security of Toril offends greatly all deities worthy of praise. Indeed, finding the compassion to care not only for the lives of your men, but even for the lives of the enemy, you truly are the voice of Anhur himself."

Lord Rishad bows graciously. "Thank you, Lord Pharaoh. Your kindness knows no bounds. Ultimately, my friends, the primary objective of your operation is to disrupt Thay's ability to defend itself in preparation of the invasion force, easing the invasion and subsequent reclamation of the Thayan territories, and do it without linking anything back to Mulhorand, if possible. As the six of you will be the entirety of our forces on the ground, at least for a time, you will be free to pursue that objective as you see fit. Here in Skuld we will not know the conditions on the front, after all. Without the red wizards' base of military and economic power, all of Faerûn might rest a bit easier, from Mulhorand to Lantan, and it will all start with you." His voice and gaze take a dire turn as he continues. "This cannot be stressed enough. You're being sent into a hornets' nest, and the consequences of failure could be worse than death. There are none among the red wizards to be trifled with. They are selected from the most talented and amoral wizards Thay has to offer, but even compared with them, the tharchions are like foxes among rabbits, and the zulkirs are as alligators. When you must face a red wizard, and only when you must, you must do so only on ground and time of your choosing."

[Archmage1]

Varana wonders, still standing quietly, listening intently.
Interesting. Why tell us this... surely they would be planning on us being captured, and interrogated. The believably of this is... suspect. On the bright side, two aggressive, expansionist powers going at each other would be a pretty good sign for me to be leaving...

[Karl Prosek]

Sam continued to listen in silence. He was not accustomed to questioning his orders and so did not speak up. He was, however, accustomed to being alone in hostile territory, and he had gone up against Thayan forces before, so he was not particularly concerned about the stated lack of support.

The vague directive to damage the Thayan war machine was even somewhat interesting, in that he would be self-directed for the first time. The idea was quite attractive.

[nersxe]

Gudakesha waits patiently through the dialogue of the others. She appreciates good intelligence as much as the next operative, but no plan survives contact with the enemy, and no intel is as complete as your own eyes.

[Dimers]

Asim mouths a few words silently at the diviner's talk of mirrors, perhaps committing something to memory or considering the implications. He says nothing aloud, however, politely waiting for more specific instruction or for dismissal.

[Saskia]

Pharaoh Horustep III dismisses the assembled, with the simple wellwishing order to rest well. The following morning the six of you are retrieved from your various abodes and lodgings and treated to a fine morning meal at the palace consisting of lamb, bread, beer, and vegetables stewed in milk, though not before a perhaps overly verbose blessing from a young priestess of Isis who seemed to take it much more seriously than she realized. Also present is the diviner Zolis from the previous day, pleasant and talkative. Asim and Ellisa however get a sense that there's something ever so slightly disingenuous about her smile and demeanor. Not something malicious, but perhaps nervous. And perhaps with good reason: If the group fails, Mulhorand herself may be destroyed in the Thayan reprisal.

Soon after everyone has had their fill, Zolis bids you follow her to the war room, where Pharaoh Horustep and Lord Rishad are already discussing the full ground force invasion, along with two other aging men bearing the three circles on their foreheads of the Mulhorandi priesthoods.

The pharaoh stops and offers another long winded and mostly vacuous speech, but he does tell you that glory and honor will not be your only rewards: A personal reward of twenty thousand gold for each, payable to yourselves, or to be delivered to your next of kin, over and above the fees to the Curnas and the Raurin for their aid. "Righteousness cannot be bought," he says, "But it must not go unrewarded."

It is reiterated that you will be the only forces present until you feel that the tharch's central power structure is weakened and in sufficient disarray that forces can begin to trickle in unnoticed via what teleportation magic is available, and through river barges which you are assured will pass through customs and excise offices conveniently unchecked. Unlike yesterday, each of you are directly asked for your input and questions, and much ado is made about ensuring that the six of you are not sent in blind and ignorant.

Playing this conversation out in-character could soak up another week or three with my inattention due to the horrendous combination of holidays and finals rapidly approaching, so any questions you or your characters might have you can ask them in the OOC or in spoilers or whatever. And anything you don't think to ask now we can probably assume your character would have thought to ask; I know my intelligence and wisdom, if they could be so simply expressed in D&D terms, would not be anywhere near 18s, and also these characters are professionals in their fields, so it would only make sense they'd know what to ask even if the players and DM don't.

When the discussion of military matters is concluded, Zolis unrolls a large silvery tapestry that had been sitting undisturbed on a table, whereupon its surface begins to ripple like a pond in the rain, and with a drop of ink from Zolis' phial it coalesces with the image of what looks like the inside of a dark barn. The picture is extremely clear, as if it were painted on plaster rather than linen, and as you gaze closely to try to make out details in the image, the sound of a lute slowly begins to register in each of your consciousnesses.

It's coming from behind. As you each look up and around, there's a slight sense of vertigo as it dawns on you that you're no longer where you thought you were. Indeed, you stand in a darkened barn with dust dancing in the light that comes between the cracks in the roof and the walls.

"Six of you!" the lutenist says. He's quite an attractive young man sitting on a workbench, maybe in his mid twenties, with a neatly trimmed beard and wavy black hair. If you didn't know better, you might suspect by the way he's dressed that he's from Cormyr. "I hadn't expected more than four, His Graciousness must be easing up on that obnoxious xenophobia." He puts down his lute and kisses Ellisa's hand with a bow. "Hamza of the House of—"

"By the—Over here, you idiots! He's got friends!" A loud crash and a deafening roar resonate through the barn accompanied by a huge beast appearing as something between an ibex and a powerfully-built lion knocks the door down. Behind it stands a man in scale armor with a longsword and a large wooden shield. Even over the fell beast's growling you can hear the sound of clanging armor plates grow louder.

More are coming.

Initiative!

Also, map. Don't judge.

http://i.imgur.com/2CFt3ac.jpg

[Karl Prosek]

Spoiled due to me jumping the gun. This'll be what he does if they get to combat, though.

Sam curses in Durpari and immediately goes for his arrows. As he raises his weapon he shouts a command to the big shaggy dog at his side. <"Kaya, kill!">

Move action to order Kaya to attack the animal (she's got a Bite attack at +5, 1d6+5 damage, AC 20, other stats on Sam's sheet).

He'll also attack the creature with his greatbow (normal arrow: +6, 1d10 dmg) and try a Knowledge (Nature) check to ID the creature at +11.

His main tactic will be to keep out of melee and attack with his bow while Kaya runs interference for him. Next round he will actually move before attacking; if ordering the dog hasn't taken a Move action he would've retreated from melee range this round.

[Saskia]

Anyone who speaks sylvan recognizes the order given to the beast: "Sverna, kill!" Even not knowing the word though, the intent is obvious. Immediately the monster rears back to bring to bear its claws and the brute force of its massive head and horns against Gudakesha before finally attempting to snap her leg with its powerful jaws. Though her armor protects her well, the head butt connects squarely and one of the huge paws catches her hard on the shoulder. A lesser woman might have been left dazed by the crushing force of skull-against-skull, but she's able to shake it off.
8 damage from the head butt, and 6 from a critical on a claw.

[Archmage1]

Varana, annoyed at the sudden eruption of combat, which was one thing she never liked much, tries to resolve the battle, without further fuss.

Her eyes glowing with a soft, lambent light, Varana tries to charm the human standing behind the creature(DC 16, you get a +5 to will)

[Archmage1]

Knowing her spell worked, Varana shifts to the side, making sure that the guard she just charmed could see her clearly.

"Friend, please! Is this really necessary? We have done nothing wrong!"

[Saskia]

The soldier curses lowly. Again he speaks to the horned lion in sylvan, "Sverna, stand down!" He shakes his head and spits before addressing the rest of you. "That man is a fugitive, I heard him at a bar making ungentlemanly remarks about the tharchion, and to a slave, no less. I'll let you go if you leave now, but this seditionist cannot be allowed to roam free."

[Archmage1]

Varana looks around, thinking.
I might as well try and save the contact, as he may have information that we need, but I would prefer to not make a scene, and I certainly don't want us to be remembered. Time to keep it reasonable...

"Perhaps you might be willing to give him a warning? I assume the slave has been executed, yes? He was drunk, and he has had some... issues come up, and was talking to the only things that wouldn't laugh in his face. With the execution, even they won't talk to him now. Which leaves him with no friends at all."

[nersxe]

Gudakesha hisses in pain, moving back behind her compatriots. She claps one hand over the bleeding wound, and with the other weaves her spell. Her free hand finishes the motions with a thumb pressed to her index and middle fingers, between which a knife appears. She whips her arm back and throws straight for the creature that hurt her.

Move: 10' north, behind V.
Standard: Cast ice knife. Total of 15 to hit, 12 ice damage if it does hit, Fort14 or it will also take 2 dex damage, rolls here (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=16526916&postcount=97).

[Dimers]

Asim withdraws the hand he had stuck out to greet Duke Hamza, instead using it to grasp his jagged morningstar as he moves closer to the beast's flank. Closer to the door, his polished armor catches a stray ray of sunlight and makes the muffled ringing sound of chain links. He seems to concentrate while staring at nothing for a moment, as if casting a spell; a moment later, a half-solid glow settles over him and a chemical smell briefly replaces the scent of hay, dust and manure.

Description notwithstanding, my first action is to manifest thicken skin unaugmented, with Linked Power to manifest animal affinity for a Strength bonus next round, spending 4pp total. Concentration check to manifest without display: [roll0] against a flat DC of 15.

Then with a move action I'll move south, south, southwest, and since I have BAB greater than 0 I can draw a weapon simultaneously.

I have immediate actions to use if someone hurts me or forces a save.

[Saskia]

As Asim draws close the monster lashes violently with its long coglike horns, but its back paw gets stuck in the smashed door for the slightest of moments, allowing Asim time to give the attack a wide berth.

[ChaoticDitz]

Almexia, not entirely sure what's going on due to the skewed Initiative glancing quickly over the creature and getting a feel for its potential strengths and weaknesses, moves five feet away from the creature and then pauses, feeling a sudden tug within his head. He blinks forcefully and then concentrates on the ground the Ibexion is standing on.

It is far too early for things to be getting this exciting... Sit, boy!

With a momentary pulse of energy as he unlocks his latent psychic energy, Almexia manifests the Grease, Psionic power, creating an ectoplasmic sheen on the ten foot surface directly under the Ibexion.

I'm assuming that I'm acting on my turn, directly after Gudakesha and thus before the Charm effect. Though really, I highly doubt this counts as a threatening action anyway, so yeah. Oh, Reflex DC is 16, and just in case an AoO happens (the rules confuse me here, and the Initiative weirdness doesn't help) here's a Concentration check: [roll0]

[Karl Prosek]

Since Varana had the soldier talking and the man had the... not quite animal quiescent for the moment, Sam took the opportunity to get away from that huge rack of antlers.

Sam will move straight up his column so that he's diagonally up and to the right next to H. He'll take Kaya with him.

It doesn't look like there is anyplace to offer concealment from the ibexion, but do those walls in between the horse stalls offer cover or concealment from the soldier in the doorway?

[Saskia]

A loud roar of surprise rattles the barn, and the creature falls over on its side, and it attempts in vain to scramble to its feet.

The soldier holds his sword up as if to tell his compatriots to hold off. It sounds like they're still some distance off. "Not yet, but she'll be on the block soon enough." His face contorts into a sleazy grin, dragging his eyes along the elf's frame. "I can let your friend off this once, but you'd need to make it worth my while."

With friends charmed sycophants like this guy, who needs creepy stalkers?

Anyway, I would agree, using grease on a vicious rubber-necked animal with giant crushing horns that keeps head-butting people seems like as nonaggressive a response as any, but even if it were threatening you are going before the charm. And it doesn't take an AoO.

It doesn't have combat reflexes.

And reflex [roll0] Failure!

And yes, the horse stalls' partitions are about four feet tall and solid, and would offer cover or total cover from the guy, depending on whether you were ducked totally behind it. Judging from what it did to the barn door though, the creature would probably have no trouble smashing it to get to you if it wanted.

And we're on track with initiative!

[Archmage1]

Shuddering inwardly, Varana maintains a calm outwards mien. This pig wanted her to... The thought was not worth considering.
Still, her voice continued to be calm, soothing, reasonable.
"Of course. Say, 10 gold? That should be more than enough for you to have a very good time."

[Yukitsu]

Doubt that's what he's after.

Elissa, appearing as feminine as a tin can was a bit less concerned, but she had a good idea what soldiers wanted. She pushed herself heavily into her saddle, taking the time to get the stirrups right, and had her horse canter around the back of the stable into a good position to charge.

[Saskia]

The soldier smiles a broad and knowing smile to the lady-knight. "You wound me, madame." His voice is thick with sarcasm, but he returns his gaze to Varana. "Alright, we'll do it your way. Maybe I only saw the guy bought the girl something to eat. Maybe he was just trying to be a real stand-up guy, and I imagined the rest. There's a chance I never even reported it to my boss." He turns his head briefly, presumably to ensure that his cohorts aren't any closer than he expected. "Maybe that's worth fifteen to you."

[Archmage1]

Varana smiles, and approaches him.
"Thank you, for your understanding."
She reaches into her bag, and pulls out 20 gold coins, before she places them into his hand, and closing it, carefully.
"He won't be doing something like that again, I assure you."

[Dimers]

Keeping his shield up and his eye on the beast, Asim trundles closer to the foppish Hamza. "Playing games like that will get you killed," he says sharply to the duke.

[Karl Prosek]

"We can argue later. Right now we need to get out of here." Sam nods at the bribed soldier. "His friends might not be so understanding." The scout moves for the door with his big, shaggy dog by his side.

[Saskia]

The fields surrounding the barn have rows of tilled but unplanted soil, which is unsurprising given the season but makes it easy to see far off. Outside there is a group of four men with armor and shields about fifty feet off, standing idly but constantly looking over to the barn as if expecting some terrible creature to erupt from it any minute. Beyond them in the distance is what looks like a smallish town with what used to be stone walls, but are in places crumbling with a mix of new mortar and wooden beams for repair work. You can easily estimate that the distance is about two miles.

On the other side, looking north in the far distance you see the top of some ruins standing above the flat plain. If you didn't recognize it as the destroyed capital Delhumide City, you might have trouble figuring out the distance, but knowing the highest surviving tower in Delhumide is about 150 feet, from its position on the horizon you can figure you're about nine or ten miles from it. Judging from what you've heard, you don't want to be any closer to the place.

Good geography and survival modifiers, whee!

"Oh, no, no." The soldier speaks with a newfound etiquette in his voice, now the coins are in hand. His smile is still sleazy and lopsided, but less offensively so. Try as he might, being in polite company is obviously unfamiliar territory for this individual. "She keeps this attitude up and she'd pass for a native, if she wasn't an elf." He steps outside and whistles a sharp note and returns to his men, prompting the lion-goat creature to scramble somewhat comically to its feet on the grease and follow. "Wrong guy, boys, just some merchants from Alaor slumming in this pisshole. We'll find him eventually. Let's just head back, drinks on me."

With that the soldiers leave. "Well color me impressed. Always best to avoid a fight when you can make friends instead, I've always said, and telling off your superiors to boot." Hamza winks to Asim, and with a thin baton of bone he speaks what some might recognize as Solitude in the tongue of the Lantanna gnomes. "Some privacy should help. Now, Zolis tells me you're the best she could find, and she's quite good at finding things." He takes a deep breath and looks the group over. "We should probably wait a short while until they're gone, but I agree we should leave soon. If we left this moment I think it may reflect poorly on us, though. So for the moment, as I was saying, I am Hamza of the House of Helcaliant, and while I'm not a soldier. I make friends people would rather I not make, and I find things out that others would rather I not know. I'm not your superior officer, and I'm not going to issue you orders. I'm here to keep you ladies and gentlemen informed on the conditions surrounding us and dig up intelligence as is needed in ways the group cannot.

"Now, I'm sure Zolis has told you something about them, but the scrying inverters are a primary problem we're facing right now as far as outside help goes. Unfortunately while I know where the one guarding this area is—it's in the tharchion's private demesne—it won't be easy to get to. His name is Invarri Metron is a bestiarian and a soldier of considerable skill. He fights in his own gladiatorial matches, and his people say he even killed a hezrou in single combat once. I don't know if that's true, but I do know he's a poor instructor, so Invarri's guards are at best modestly trained. They're high enough in number to be a threat, but it's his pets that are the real problem. Some of the wizards in the tharch opt to buy slaves from him because he lets them pay with monsters, so he's got a lot."

He takes a deep breath. "The slaves in this tharch outnumber freemen about twelve to one. My dear cousin would balk at the suggestion, but the way his other brilliant plans have been going I don't put much stock in his disapproval. Even if a revolt got all of the slaves killed, there aren't enough freemen to keep the farms running. Even a wizard has to eat, right?"

[Archmage1]

After the soldier leaves, Varana pulls out a sheet of paper, and a quill, and rapidly makes a note, in elven.
"Bribe: 20 gold. Hamza Witnessed."

After writing her expense report, Varana, who had clearly been listening to Hamsa's information, nods, but a bit dubiously.
"A slave revolt might give us a chance... But... these gladiatorial matches... if he participates, how long does that take him? Might that time be extended? I imagine that he is the sort who would reward his better guards by letting them watch the games, and those that remain will be distracted, which would let us sneak in."

[Karl Prosek]

Sam had been listening from the door as he studied the terrain. "I'd prefer a stealthy approach as well. Even if we trip the alarms it wouldn't necessarily make provoking a slave revolt any harder- most people aren't going to associate a botched robbery with a possible revolution."

He nods in the direction of the town. "Whatever he's doing, he's not using a lot of money on construction repairs. That wall isn't in the best shape and whoever's doing the repair looks like they either don't have the money or the skill to fix it up right."

Cool, a use for Knowledge (Geography). Now if only he had Knowledge (Architecture and Engineering) so he actually knew what he was talking about in reference to the town wall.

[Dimers]

"Well color me impressed. Always best to avoid a fight when you can make friends instead, I've always said, and telling off your superiors to boot." Hamza winks to Asim ...

Asim returns the wink and says with humor in his voice, "Oh, you think you're so superior." :smalltongue:

After Hamza has outlined the situation and his allies have made initial suggestions, Asim asks the noble, "What do you think provoking a wide-scale revolt would require? -- and when I say wide-scale, I mean large enough to convince people to face the tharchion's monsters. Killing a person is simple enough -- the slaves know humans have obvious vulnerabilities. But it's something else entirely to convince an underequipped man to battle a horrible thing with magic powers. All the moreso here in Thay, given people's conditioning about magic."

[Yukitsu]

Those slaves are little more than commoners put to the whip. They'd not last a day in a revolt against the spells and monsters of the wizards of Thay. We would be sacrificing their lives for a mere distraction, which is not something I can in good conscience agree to. And with the current wealth of thay, I doubt any in charge would suffer a day of hunger if the slaves in the field were to die.

[Saskia]

"A wide-scale revolt would be easy enough. Kill a couple of wizards, let it sink in that they're mortals. Kill the guards and overseers at a slave farm and distribute the arms and armor. Teaching them to use proper weapons and simple leather wouldn't take much. They wouldn't be military-grade soldiers, but en masse they'd be enough to do some damage and cause a serious panic. After that it's as easy as tipping cows."

Hamza nods solemnly. "Unfortunately you're both correct. I don't see a way to avoid heavy casualties, but I also don't see a better way to avoid drawing attention to our plan. And there's the issue of integrating former slaves into society as freemen; you can't give them a taste of empowerment and then take it away as soon as their usefulness is up. Even if it weren't hideously unethical, it just can't be done practically." He scratches idly at his chin. "Again, it's just an idea. If you've got other ideas that don't involve what amounts to human sacrifice, I'm more than open to them."

[Archmage1]

Varana shakes her head as the others discuss freeing the slaves for their army, clearly not agreeing with the plan, although, her reasons are not as obvious.
"The tharchion participates in the gladatorial contests, you said. Does he have a pattern to what fights he participates in? If we can distract him, get him out of his home, it will be easier to break in. If he is not capable of making another ward, then he will likely keep quite about the theft, lest he be embarrassed by it."

[Yukitsu]

If it were so easy to kill a few wizards guarded by their army of monsters, we wouldn't need to be here. I am personally incapable of hiding, not for ethical reasons, but because I have no competence there. We could take advantage of that, I could perhaps begin a hunt against me. I think they may find that a swift rider is not so easy to catch, and in any event, far better to see soldiers like ourselves risk our lives rather than the innocent.

Elissa will shrug. It still is potentially is a sacrifice, but we knew what we were getting into when we joined the army, and the Gods favour the bold, in this life and the next.

[Archmage1]

Varana shakes her head, finding Elissa's attitude almost adorable.
"Having them hunt you would do us no good, unless they are absolute idiots. They will have teams for hunting down escaped slaves, and you would be one more target. No, having them go after you would do no good, especially when a non-existent target would do just as well. As for the gods...they favor the winners, for otherwise, how could they have won."
The small elf seems to have a somewhat sarcastic view of the gods.
"There is a time for open movement, and then there is a time for stealth. Now is when stealth and cunning are far more valuable than open strength. After all, I did not join the army. None of us are in one now. We are agents, not soldiers. I imagine that we could smuggle you in, depending on the defenses and guards around the tower."

she looks at Hamza expectantly.

[Karl Prosek]

Sam nods at Varana. "That's the question, though. What are the defenses like around his palace or tower or whatever? Given time and patience we could collect the information ourselves, but the longer we sit here the greater the chance we'll be oncovered." He gestures at the barn. "Not here, here. I just mean in town. It's always a trade-off, collecting information and doing reconnaissance versus being noticed."

[Archmage1]

"Wear drab clothing, seem downcast... Basically, be a slave to the casual observer, and they won't look twice. Especially if we can make it appear as though we are the property of someone powerful, and that we are on an errand. Getting there should be simple. Breaking in, on the other hand, will be more tricky."

[nersxe]

"I am not a very good liar," Gudakesha comments crisply, "I cannot leave behind my arms and armament, I am wounded-" she pulls her hand off of her wound to reveal the blood starting to clot there, "-and I am an elf in human lands."

[Yukitsu]

Ellisa move over to her comrade and taps him on the shoulder, spreading a bit of warmth through her shoulder and helping the gash just a little.

you heal 2 from lay on hands. I can heal another 2, but think I should save it in case we need to stabilize someone, you can have the other two before I pray at dawn.

That is another good point. We'll need to find somewhere else to hide while that wound heals, or we'll have to go along without. Bringing injured warriors to the front would be too great a risk.

[Karl Prosek]

"Wear drab clothing, seem downcast... Basically, be a slave to the casual observer, and they won't look twice. Especially if we can make it appear as though we are the property of someone powerful, and that we are on an errand. Getting there should be simple. Breaking in, on the other hand, will be more tricky."

Sam shrugs, looking doubtful. "Slaves on an errand likely wouldn't be entrusted with weapons, armor, and spell components. They also wouldn't have the leisure to sit somewhere- a tavern or an inn in some proximity to the wizard's residence are most likely, somewherre we could loiter without drawing undue attention, assuming they have those in town- long enough to gather useful I formation about guard patrols patterns and behaviors. Add to that none of us have the right accent or the right look to pass as a local non-slave and clothes aren't going to be sufficient disguises."

"Trying to pass ourselves off as foreign mercenaries provides it own problems- namely that eventually someone in town will figure out that no one actually has hired us. But it seems like the best option at the moment. If they'd given us more time we could have come up with an actual cover before infiltrating." Sam shakes his head and sighs, moving on to the next thing.

He nods at Ellisa. "This barn can't have been meant as a long term home base. For a long term operation like this there must be someplace with beds and a kitchen, at least." The scout looks at Hamza. "Right?"

[nersxe]

Gudakesha exhales, her tension easing as the pain retreats just that little bit. "Thank you, Ellisa."

Sitting at 7/19. Nothing to get too worried about, but she really shouldn't get in another combat today.

[Archmage1]

"If we are scouting, why would we need them. Just walk along, take a look, and return. If we can find the right props, it should be simple enough. I could try sneaking up, invisibly, but I imagine that would set of quite a lot of alarms."

Varana pauses to consider for a moment, before turning to Hamza.

"When are the next gladatorial games? Striking during them is our best chance, especially if we can blame it on some other Thayan faction present."

[Karl Prosek]

"Do you want to walk around town, an unarmed foreigner with no legal status in a place known for catching people and forcing them into slavery?" Sam shakes his head. "Plus reconnaissance isn't just walking by and looking at things. We'd need to observe the watch rotations long enough to make sure we knew who was where when, especially during special events like the gladiatorial matches. Preferably long enough to figure out which guards are bribeable or vulnerable to other methods of coercion."

He looks at Hamza again, who had said he was able to acquire things. "Unless we already have access to that information?"

[Archmage1]

Varana shakes her head, not really understanding where Sam is coming from.
"If we are wandering unarmed, then we are pretending to be slaves. If we are wandering as foreigners, we would be armed. Reconnaissance is all the information we can get. I don't believe that we have the time to gather information on a scale that either of us want. We shall have to make do with either that Hamza knows, or what we can learn in a short period of time."

She looks over at the frozen man, and speaks softly, almost as though she is trying to comfort a pet, knowing that tone is more important than content.
"Hamza, I know it is scary, but we do need your information. It will be ok."

[Saskia]

Hamza raises an eyebrow, and with a melodious incantation and a fleeting wave of his hand Gudakesha's wounds close further. "The next fight Invarri's going to participate in is going to be tomorrow night. They have them a lot. He's going to be fighting a vrock, or maybe something mocked up to look like a vrock after a long series of other fights. The night's expected to take about two or three hours Conveniently enough, they're starting just past sunset. He says the glow of the torches makes things more dramatic." He glances around to assess any other injuries. "Posing as mercenaries isn't an untenable option, but slaves would be difficult. I don't have any spare bags of holding in my bag of tricks, and you lot have an awful lot of very odd things for slaves to be carrying. Even better though, that nice gentleman gave us a perfectly acceptable cover story." He grins and leans in toward the group. "We're merchants, looking for new markets in the off-season. That gives us a reason to be anywhere we need to be, a reason for armed guards who might have trouble passing as merchants, and the lovely lady's highly trained destrier was the only one of our horses to survive a nearly lethal encounter with some very nasty undead."


healing.

[Archmage1]

Varana absorbs the information that Hamza provides, nodding thoughtfully.
"Is there a rival wizard's territory that we might claim to be from? No reason not to sow some evidence while we are about it. However, can you tell us about the guards around Invarri's home when he is at the games?"

[Saskia]

"If there are any wizards looking for Invarri's head, I'm not sure. He's pretty popular, at least with the red wizards, but it doesn't take much to sow suspicion in a red wizard, either. His palace should have about thirty guards, and the tower holding the inverter is probably going to have about ten of them. I know they use dogs with enhanced senses around the perimeter to hedge out intruders, and I doubt they'll use anything as destructive as that thing we saw a few minutes ago in the tharchion's palace, but I've got very little idea what sorts of guard beasts they'll be using."

[Archmage1]

"Are the dogs well watched? How alert are the guards? Is there a way to the tower that doesn't involve going through the guards?"

Clearly, Varana is thinking of a plan.

[Saskia]

"The dogs go on patrol with a pair of soldiers. Normally there'll be five or six patrols at any given time, and I didn't get the sense anyone was expecting trouble."

[Archmage1]

We have the target, and we know the guards. We need a way to get them off of us while we infiltrate. I can't sneak past dogs. Stupid noses. You'd think there would be a way to fool them, but no...
"Would there be a performance group, or some courtesans, or something that we could use to distract the patrols? A fire, maybe?"

[nersxe]

Her wounds close yet further, and Gudakesha nods to her healer. When Varana mentions 'courtesans', a muscle in Gudakesha's eye starts to twitch. She says nothing, waiting for the plans to be finalized before objecting, but she's beginning to regret taking on this commission.

[Karl Prosek]

"A fire large enough to draw the guards away from the tower- I would assume they have orders not to leave their posts for anything but the gravest threats- is also likely to draw the tharchion back to the palace. If we could get to their kitchen and poison the guards, having a bunch of sick men on watch would be helpful."

Sam frowns. "I would think that unscheduled prostitutes or a troupe of street performers would be unlikely to lure trained guards away from their posts. Especially since whoever's on watch when this happens is likely to be executed, from what I've heard of Thayan motivational practices."

[Archmage1]

Varana smiles, slyly.
"That all depends on the source. If, for example, a group of slaves were to show up a few hours beforehand, with a supply of alcohol for the house, and accidentally give the guards responsibility for taking it inside... Thayvians are not known for loyalty. Especially since the tharchion should be getting ready for his evening fight. If we get the courtesans to say that the tharchion felt that a... reward, for doing their job on a night where there are far more interesting things to do..."

[Yukitsu]

Perhaps if he intends to step into the ring, one of us could do the same. Defeating him in a duel in the gladiator pit would win some protection, and sow enough chaos that we could perhaps exploit.

[Dimers]

Asim shakes his head at Ellisa's suggestion. "I wouldn't be the one for that position. If the man has tackled a hezrou alone, I could do little against him directly. Hm. Varana -- why do you think an invisible entry would activate alarms? Surely the entire perimeter of the demesne is not layered with scrying spells ... and the number of false alarms from overzealous defense would become untenable quickly."

[Yukitsu]

I doubt that security against such would be difficult. All they need do is have someone see them coming, and that is simply a man who can see the invisible, and a schedule. As for combat, I suspect he hasn't a real Vrock in the field arena, he like as not prefers the glow of torches as it would cover any duplicity on his part, and it is not in my view, a Thayan practice to fight with honour.

[Saskia]

"That's precisely what I was thinking, Miss. Not many would be foolish enough to face down a demon as vicious as a vrock even if they could keep one in holding long enough to do it. But he is still a vicious warrior and I wouldn't put money on very many to best him. As far as his demesne's defenses go, he's got a few magical wards but nothing so expansive over the entirety of his estate. I know there's warding in the entryways to the tower, and I suspect the vault or vaults in his palace, maybe his personal quarters. The tower and the palace are a couple hundred meters apart, but that's not a bad idea. I think I could quite easily set up a distraction to keep the heat occupied for a while." With a mischievous grin he adds "You'd be amazed what the Thayans leave just lying around."

[Archmage1]

"I imagine that he would have alarm spells scattered, especially over the more sensitive areas, possibly with wards to back them up. Luckily for you, you have me. I should be able to find and disable such spells."
When the idea of fighting the Tharchion in the arena comes up, Varana shakes her head.
"That would be suicide. Even if you are able to defeat him, he would not allow his death, and would order the guards to kill you, even if he then has to kill all the witnesses. Hamza, if you can provide a distraction, we should be able to do this. Break into the tower, steal/break the ward. If we have time, we might rob his palace as well, but it would be risky."

[Karl Prosek]

Sam coughs. "There are better places to have this conversation than in a barn, even with magical silence covering us. Let's plan somewhere else."

[Archmage1]

Varana turns to Sam, curious.
"Do you have somewhere else handy? I certainly don't!"

[Karl Prosek]

Sam gestures at Hamza. "There must have been someplace more appropriate planned for us to stay. An inn, a safehouse, a camp out in the woods, something. Even if this was to be our base, this barn is now compromised. Maybe those bribed guards aren't going to bother us, but that doesn't mean another group of guards isn't going to come along and wonder why a barn is being warded against eavesdropping. For all we know, that guard took our money and went around the corner to report a bunch of suspicious, well armed strangers to his superiors."

[Saskia]

"Very true, milady, depending on your idea of 'appropriate'. I expected this place wouldn't attract much attention, but I'm never without a backup plan. We can even accommodate your horse."

He walks out the door and looks around the plowed and unplanted fields as though he owns them, and motions for the group to follow to the north. To the south there lies a small town not too far away whose walls seem in need of repair, and in the distance to the north you can make out over the flat plateau's horizon the top of a tall tower. "Not many people like getting any closer to the ruins than this, what with the risk of undead and demons, but I figure that makes the little place I've found all the more secure."

He walks out looking not the least bit as though he doesn't belong, despite the occurrence only minutes before, and motions for the rest to follow. "There's an old, old, and still intact shrine to Hathor about an hour's trek north. Not close enough for a good chance of being found by the zombies and the dretches, much less anything more foul, but close enough that most soldiers aren't willing to go there even under orders. The best part is that the shrine itself is warded against undead and otherworldly evils. Not sure why the place was made that way or by who, but it's powerful, so as long as we don't have human pursuers we should be more or less safe there." He motions with a broad grin for the rest to follow him. "And I have a small stock of resources I've acquired in my stay here that should be able to help out."

The ensuing hike is easy enough, even if the weather is not particularly pleasant. While winters may not get particularly cold in central Thay, the winds can be sudden, strong, and unyielding, making it feel far colder than it really is. Otherwise the trip is uneventful, almost tauntingly so, with nothing but a single skeleton animate with malign power falling easily to Ellisa's charge.

The shrine Hamza mentioned is as anyone familiar with Hathor's clergy would expect: Small, simple, and with three walls of mud bricks enclosing the Nurturing Mother in a small hut big enough to hold perhaps ten people; or perhaps seven people, a horse, and a dog. As would not be expected, the grass is lush surrounding the hut, and you can only tell that the walls are of brick from the inside, as the outside walls are thick with unseasonably vibrant vines converging tightly over the statue. It almost seems the local flora refused to leave its guardian goddess' shrine unsheltered, even centuries after mortals left the roof to decay into nothingness. Surrounding the hut are what look like slave barracks, or what were at one time slave barracks, with mud brick walls that effectively block the strong gusts, enclosing an area about forty feet around the shrine in a small oasis of peacefully silent greenery.

Hamza kneels before the statue before addressing the group. "Here we are. It's almost like we're not in Thay anymore, right? The earth knows who its friends are, even if its inhabitants don't." He quickly snaps out of his reverence and is back to business. "Now about those dogs. The moment I found out about them I set about finding a way to deal with them. They can see like the drow in pitch darkness and better in twilight, but the real problem is their noses. The stuff is expensive, but in the corner over there I've got a really good alchemical soap that's supposed to make it so dogs and the like can't track you. It's not perfect, but it's good enough as long as you don't get within a few yards of'em. I couldn't get enough for even the four I was expecting, but if we make judicious use of it we should be able to deodorize two people. It lasts about four hours so it's a little inconvenient, but the distance from the nearest stream to our targets isn't terribly great, either." He glances at the group, noting the much higher concentration of female soldiers than a Mulhorandi man is used to and adds "Or inn, for that matter, if privacy is particularly important to anyone. Also we've got nine potions of light healing and a wand to go with'em, two shield potions, and an arcane lock scroll. Finally, a wand of ventriloquism and a scroll of invisibility are also at your disposal. I have a pair of flaming sphere scrolls, too, but I think those'll be handy for creating the necessary diversion. This stuff wasn't easy to get hold of, but if Mystra's taught me anything, magic is made to be used."

For brevity's sake and for ease of reference since he's already got all the information on them,

9x Potion of cure light wounds, CL 1st
2x Potion of shield, CL 1st
Wand of empowered cure light wounds, CL 3rd, 18/50 charges
Wand of ventriloquism, 8/50 charges, CL 1st
2x Flaming Sphere scroll, CL 3rd
Scroll of arcane lock, CL 3rd
Scroll of invisibility, CL 3rd

[Archmage1]

"That... that changes things. With these, Sam and I should be able to sneak in, while the rest of you act as a distraction. The wand of ventriloquism should be helpful there, as a distraction, as will the soap. The other items... The scroll of arcane lock might come in handy, but my chances of being able to use it are quite low. the scroll of invisibility might be handy, but, then I can cast that already."
She pauses to think for a moment.
"For the distraction... Get into a building, and control the spheres from there... should be distracting enough, and you should be able to get away cleanly. I will send you a message when we need a repeat, to get out. But you will need to be close to receive it."

[Karl Prosek]

On the hike out Sam trails the rest of the group, doing his best to obscure signs of their passage. Before entering the shrine he makes a circuit of the area around it, looking for any hint that soldiers had been there before them. Who knew whether Hamza was compromised or not.

After Hamza's presentation, Sam nods at the man. "That's good advance work. Thanks. I don't mean to be rude, but I think we can take it from here. It's better for all of us if we don't have too much contact with you. Give us a way to contact you and we'll get in touch if we need something we can't acquire on our own without attracting too much attention." Which was all true, but Sam was more worried about Hamza being a turncoat than keeping Hamza's cover from being blown.

[Dimers]

Asim tells his companions, "I also have some minor magical aid you should be aware of. I can cast a spell of camouflage to hide well, though it doesn't muffle any sounds I might make. And I have a potion to evade all animals' senses for a few minutes. If you get stuck inside, Sam, Varana, I have that minimal stealth to enter the compound and aid you. My minor teleportation magics will be useful as well, I think."

The portly man turns to Hamza and asks, "You know the lay of the land here. How long should it take us to walk back to the demesne?"

[Archmage1]

"That could be helpful indeed, although... I am assuming that they will have detect magic set up, since their most dangerous opponents would be wizards, who would need magic to sneak in. But... if we are stuck, then it is quite likely that they will already have been alerted anyway. Still... it would seem that we have a plan. All we need to do now is wait for the games to begin."

[nersxe]

"In case of need, I can create a quite effective distraction," Gudakesha offers, flexing her arm and rotating her shoulder to make sure her aim will not be thrown off by the newly-healed injury. "Also, holding detect magic requires mental discipline of a kind I have found to be rare. Even the slightest wavering of attention, and one must cast the spell anew."

[Archmage1]

Varana shakes her head.
"Difficult, but not impossible. More likely, a alarm trap, linked to magic detection, keyed to a password of some sort. Potentially problematical. As for the distraction... I think those scrolls will do the job quite nicely, assuming you can use it."

[nersxe]

Where some might take offense, Gudakesha merely nods. "I will be able to call upon them when the time is right."

[Saskia]

"It's an hour and some change into town, if you follow the road east for another half an hour or so you'll see his complex. The walls are pretty high, and they've got a metallic sheen to them. They're supposed to have the look of adamantine, but they're really just glamered stone." He drops his pack on the ground and digs in it until he finds a thick leather-bound book with a unicorn's head etched into the cover and starts to flip through it purposefully. "And there's one last thing. There's a young woman in there who goes by Aurea. Invarri's other slaves tell me she's his favorite, and not just because she's nice to look at. She's a storyteller and a gifted physician, I'm not sure how she fell into slavery but Invarri Metron is nothing if he's not good at putting the proper person to a job. She's got a clinic set up on the tower's first floor. She's also a daughter of Rashemen, so I know she'd love to help out if she found out what we're doing."

[Archmage1]

"Well, I think we have our plan then. We wait until about an hour and a half before the next games, then move in. The distraction is in town, to give us the maximum amount of time before forces in town can respond. Sam and myself can sneak into the compound, and break the ward. If we run into trouble, we can see if Aurea can help us out, but it should not be needed."

[ChaoticDitz]

Almexia merely stood silent, observing the affairs and conversation of his allies in this planning. He didn't really see anything wrong with their plan at the moment, though he was curious what somebody would suggest he do.

Just a note, Almexia piped up, if this match is indeed a mock-up, he has no real reason not to burn extra spells making his place more thoroughly guarded, and he'll be completely alert to any mishaps. Doesn't give a whole lot of insurance, so I recommend a backup plan too.

With that, he looked at his finger. The chances of us being able to take on an opponent of that caliber are pathetically low, so it's an escape plan, definitely, but I think I can cover it with some help. I have a power that allows the summoning of a construct, and I can equip it with wings or another helpful quality... However, assuming the rooms are particularly large, I'd need one of you with something slightly less flashy than that burning sphere able to get him within fifty feet of me. As I've not become particularly familiar with all of your abilities, can anyone arrange that for me? Regardless of if he comes flying or not, I should be able to get my construct to engage him in a grapple from that distance, which should serve as a quick disabler of his magic. That ought to give us about a minute and a half to flee, if I gather focus beforehand and extend the power. Though we should also work out how we arrange ourselves in the area to increase the efficiency of our escape... Anyway, does anybody have the sort of capability to get him close to me?

OOC: Sorry if I'm rather derpy. I haven't been thinking strategically lately so I'm rusty, and unfortunately my character's INT is far higher than my own.

[Archmage1]

Varana smiles slightly, and looks at Almexia, her face seemingly calm, waiting for the right time to make their move now, as their plans were complete.
"We can't control his spells, so I will need to deal with whatever he has left behind. That power could be useful, but I am hopeful that it won't come to that. However, he sees himself as a warrior, so I think getting him within 50 feet will be quite easy. "

[Karl Prosek]

Sam frowns. "That brings up the question of where the distraction should be. If we put it in between the arena and the residence the rest of you will be in place to slow down any forces that respond to a tripped alarm. That means, though, you'll be in greater danger of being trapped by forces coming from both sides. We would probably be best served by putting the distraction at the apex of a hypothetical triangle with the arena and the residence at the other two angles, giving us the option of engaging reinforcements from the arena while still giving the distraction team the ability to withdraw in the face of overwhelming strength."

[Archmage1]

"Without a more detailed map of the town, placing the distraction will need to be handled by those actually in the town. Find a place that would be important to the wizard as well. And make sure you can withdraw. With a 30 min walk between the town and the palace, it will be some time for troops to move between the two."

[ChaoticDitz]

Almexia, briefly sighing in relief at the fortune that their opponent may be more foolish than he expected, closed his eyes, breathed deeply, and focused on the power locked deeply in his mind, building up his Psionic Focus for later use.

[Saskia]

Hamza nods. "True. I'll see what I can accomplish in the confusion, and afterward I suggest meeting up back here if you can avoid pursuit. Are you planning on going into town for the night or just skipping straight to the tharchion's compound tomorrow? There are enough merchants and wizards coming in with their private guards to watch their bloodsport you'd be able to go in and out more or less unnoticed to case the town."

[Archmage1]

Varana considers her choices for a moment, before nodding.
"I think that I, at least, will go to the compound, so I can case it beforehand."
She looks at everyone else.
"Those of you who are going to be in the town, though, should spend the night there. Avoid trouble, and gather information."

[Karl Prosek]

Sam nods at Varana. "I'll go with you. We might as well stay in town tonight, as well. It'll make it a little harder to track us back here after the mission if none of us made a beeline from here to the target and straight back."

[Archmage1]

Varana looks at Sam, clearly not happy about something.
Does he really think that I would have just made a beeline from here to the target?
She shakes her head, before continuing.
"We shouldn't stay together, and I am by no means certain of my safety in town. Alone, without friends nearby... I don't really want to risk it. I should be able to find a safe place to meditate near the house. Which means that we need to set up a meeting for tomorrow, if you plan on going in town."

[Dimers]

Asim suggests, "Meeting again on the road between here and there should be simple enough. But I may recommend against dividing our already small force. We are in dangerous land even here, where our worry is undead and other freely wandering monstrosities. And we face possible dangers on the road and in town. Samendra, we know you have experience in practical military matters. Would you say we stand to benefit more from a few extra hours of scouting than we stand to lose if we are attacked while separated?"

[Archmage1]

Varana shakes her head at this idea.
"Asim... if we are attacked, we have already lost. The only way we can win this is through stealth, and never actually revealing ourselves. Scouting will certainly be useful, but we shouldn't stick together while doing so. That way, one being captured is not the end of us all. Remember, the two groups will need to operate independently. The signal for the group in town to act will be the Tharchion trying to leave early, or else large numbers of soldiers being sent to the house."