Council of Thieves [Bastards of Erebus] (IC)

[lostsole31]

PART FOUR: A DRAMATIC RESCUE

Shortly after the PCs arrive at the shrine, meet the other Children of Westcrown, and rest up, news comes in via the grapevine that the Hellknights have finally secured control over Arael, the bureaucratic complications of what jurisdiction the prisoner fell into finally having been resolved in the Order of the Rack’s favor. The Hellknights are preparing to move Arael from the city jail to Citadel Rivad, the order’s stronghold outside the city walls. Once he’s there, he’s as good as lost—Janiven knows there’s no way she and the other rebels can rescue him then, even with the PCs’ help. Without Arael, the rebel group is likely to fall apart—worse, she’s afraid that the Hellknights will use magic or other extreme interrogation methods once they get him into their custody in the citadel, using them to extract the identities of all the Children of Westcrown.

Janiven wants to rescue Arael while the Hellknights are transporting him on the road outside of Westcrown; there won’t be any witnesses to see them attacking the Hellknights, nor any civilians around to get hurt, and there will be fewer guards than at the prison or the citadel. Even more importantly, by rescuing him beyond Westcrown’s walls, they aren’t technically breaking city laws. Many in Westcrown (including a significant portion of the nobility) bristle at the Hellknights and see them as little more than mercenaries, and won’t take issue if they lose a prisoner on the way to the citadel. Best of all, since Arael is now in Hellknight custody, Westcrown is no longer interested in his supposed crimes, and if he escapes, the city won’t be bound to turn him back over to the Hellknights unless enough government officials want to do the Order of the Rack a favor. Janiven knows such a favor is unlikely to be granted, especially since handing the prisoner over to the zealous Order of the Rack is already just such a favor—she’s confident that if they can get Arael back to Westcrown alive (preferably without the death of any Hellknights), he’ll be safe.

But she and her team of untrained rebels can’t pull off his rescue alone.

PLANNING THE RESCUE

Citadel Rivad lies northwest of the city of Westcrown—a fortress and training ground for the Order of the Rack, the oldest (and most zealous) of the Hellknight orders. It is essentially impregnable (at least for PCs at this point in their careers). The road to the citadel is an offshoot from the main road that winds off to the southwest—the land along the route to the citadel is mostly open plain, with a few scattered groves of trees (some of which are cut back every few years to make it harder for bandits to hide) and one stone bridge crossing a stream. With rare exceptions, the only people who use the road are Hellknights or those providing services for them (food, messages, and so on), and on a typical day only three or four groups travel the road in either direction. Because of the low traffic and the proximity to the Hellknights, banditry is unheard of on this minor road, and while the forces of Citadel Rivad aren’t careless about the possibility of being attacked in this area, they certainly don’t expect it. This all makes the road the best point to attempt a rescue of the imprisoned half-elf.

Another factor works to the advantage of the daring plan—the Order of the Rack’s arrogance. This Hellknight order is the oldest, and they’ve faced very few failures over their long history. As a result, the escort for Arael’s transport is relatively light. As the entire operation to capture Arael was, basically, a training exercise (Janiven bitterly comments on how the [Children of Westcrown] should receive a payment from the Order of the Rack in thanks for providing such a convenient opportunity), the honor of escorting Arael back to Citadel Rivad has been granted to the group of armigers most directly responsible for his capture. Word on the street is that the other armigers’ failure to catch any other supposed “rebels” has resulted in quite a bit of shame and mockery, and much of this current crop of trainees’ remaining pride rests solely on Arael’s imminent imprisonment in Citadel Rivad.

According to various reports, Arael’s trip to the Citadel will be escorted by a total of 10 Hellknight armigers, led by their sponsor, a young and gifted (but low-ranking) Hellknight Signifier named Shanwen. Despite the destruction of three undead in the sewers (Meijen would inform you what they were), this is probably too many foes to handle at once—particularly since Janiven wants to avoid any Hellknight fatalities if possible. The more Hellknight armigers who live, the less brutal the [Children of Westcrown] look and the more humiliation and shame they inflict on the Order of the Rack.

Janiven has a plan to even the odds even further. While the PCs make the primary attack on the armored wagon transporting Arael and mount his rescue, she’ll lead several of the other [Children of Westcrown] in a feint-ambush against the Hellknights. Given the absence of bandit attacks on that road, the Hellknights are sure to interpret any attack as an attempt to rescue their prisoner, and the likely response to sighting a group of what appear to be bandits stepping into the road ahead will be to split their forces, sending their mounted troops forward to handle the supposed highwaymen while the prisoner and his guards hang back and perhaps begin to turn around to make a retreat back to Westcrown so they don’t lose their prize. This would give the main force—meaning the PCs—fewer opponents to fight and making it much easier to free Arael—especially if the mounted Hellknights fall for the plan and ride their horses into a section of the road the secondary group prepares with caltrops.

The real question is where to stage the ambush of the transport. Janiven sketches a map of the road to the citadel, pointing out the small stone bridge that crosses the swift but relatively narrow stream called the Athua, which might make a good place for an ambush. She also indicates a few locations before and after the bridge where there’s much more tree cover to allow a hit-and-run attack and to complicate pursuit via horseback.

The choice is up to the PCs, since they’ll be the ones in greatest peril. [Tactical Maps provided ...]

Spoiler: Tactical Maps

Show

Of course, the PCs may have their own plan, but Janiven refuses any proposal that requires the main force of the rebels to battle the Hellknights head-to-head; they’re neither trained nor equipped for it (and don’t have time to get gear and move into position ahead of the Hellknights).

Once the rebels hear about Arael being sent to the citadel, time is of the essence. The heroes only have about an hour to prepare before they must leave along the northwest road. Since the PCs don’t have horses and probably don't want to buy their own (at this time), Janiven arranges to have fellow rebel Gorvio talk to his uncle Jacovo to lend them horses or ponies, with the understanding that the horses aren’t hers and she really needs them back in one piece.

---

So, important takeaways ...

1. The heroes have not had a chance to retrieve any at-home items yet. So, you still don't have any adventuring gear you left home.
2. There is no time to get those things, as you have to immediately ride out to head off the Hellknight prison escort. So, no time to run home or to go shopping. There is also no spare gear lying around with which to equip yourselves.
3. You will have to get there mounted, or you won't make it in time. Aldo will need to be on a pony, the others on horses. The mounts will not be doubled so that Aldo is on a horse with another PC.
4. You need to choose whether you want one of the several roadside sites or a bridge ambush.
5. The "PCs" in Janiven's mind to directly assault the wagon are simply that: Aldo Coldvale, Folco Cassani, Gabriella, and Tia Hendros. Do any of you refuse to go for any reason? Do you want anyone else not named to go with you?
6. Do you have an alternate plan, or does Janiven's plan seem to make sense? Note that you do not have time to dicker and dither over a lengthy plan, because you really need to get going now. So, if you have an alternate plan, state it succintly and clearly. The clock starts right now, not once you set out, and I will note the time it takes for your group to actually chatter. It is not assumed to be "free time" because you are "only talking."