Viva la Resistance! [D&D 3.5 Rebellion Game]

[FlamingKobold]

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Here's the OOC.

As you're minding your own business and just going about your daily lives, be it in the shadows or the marketplace, the tavern or the wilderness, an old man dressed in old, tattered clothing walks towards you and grabs your arm. "I am a member of the Blue Oak Resistance, the same as you. Take this letter and pretend you never saw me," he whispers in your ear, shoving a small piece of rolled up paper into your hand. With that, he gives you a meaningful glance and limps away, not turning back.

The letter reads:

We bid that this letter reaches you in good health and prepared for your most difficult challenge yet. You have been handpicked to join a team of experts to deal with a grave new challenge to the freedom and lives of thousands of your countrymen. We recognize that this mission could bring you into harms way and will not fault you should you choose to decline. If, however, you accept and cherish the right to fight for the freedom of the oppressed, meet with us for more details tonight in room 238 of the Scarlett Ale Inn, south of the marketplace. You will be given more information at that time.

Should you choose to accept, this is what you find at the meeting place:

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You enter into a dirty, cheap and dimly lit room at one of the worst inns in town. A table dominates the room, with a cloaked man sitting on the far side from the door, and other rebels, similar to yourself, file into the room, taking the rest of the seats. There are five of you in all. After the last to arrive is seated, the man begins.

"Thank you all for choosing to accept this invitation and putting the needs of the many before your own. Your work and dedication will be noted and remembered by the Resistance. Now, let's skip the pleasantries, as I need to be away from here as soon as possible; it has come to our attention that the Duke of Escon is hiring a band of ruthless mercenaries, the Bloody Fist, to quell revolts among the peasants of the duchy. If this is not stopped, the lives of hundred, or possibly thousands, of the peasants will be in grave danger, and knowing the record of the Bloody Fist, there won't be many survivors. The king has turned a blind eye, content to allow such blatant slaughter of his subjects.

This is where you come in. It is up to you five to stop this man's plan from coming to fruition, and I fear that the duke will be meeting and paying the leader of the Bloody Fist, Lucas Aronsson, within the fortnight. I know not how you will stop them, the best I can do is advise you to try to gather more information on the issue in Ivydale, to the East. The Resistance will be willing to pay you 200 gold pieces for your service.

I must leave you now, though I do hope you plan to set out in the morning. Do not expect much help from other members on this mission; you're on your own. Good luck."

And with that he rises, ignoring any questions or interruptions, and departs the room, leaving you at a table with four strangers and, apparently, your new teammates.

[ghostaxe]

"I am Grun," declares the slender but dangerous-looking wood elf after the cloaked man left.

Grun counts out his share of the gold as he continues. "I've hunted with the javelin in the wild for over five decades. I say we find this Lucas right away, neutralize him, and then masquerade as him and his associates in approaching the Duke."

[Silver Night]

"I am called Crutch." The non-descript human scratches his chin, "There're two things we'd need to do, for that plan to work: Find the merc, an' make sure that the Duke don't know him by sight, right?"

[Lord Ruby34]

"I am Aaron, and I was trained as a paladin by my father."

He went on. "The Mercenaries are likely to numerous for us, and if we did succeed then the Earl would likely find someone else to do his dirty work." Aaron leaned back and considered the problem. What do I know of the earl? He thought back, trying to remember the man from his past.

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Knowledge Nobility and Royalty: [roll]1d20+5[/roll]

[Silver Night]

As I remember it, the head bastard for the Bloody Fist, Aronsson, he's from Escon. Could be the Duke'd know him to look at. They're pretty new to the merc game, but ruthless. No prisoners, no survivors types.

[Lord Ruby34]

"The duke is the same way. Now that you mention it, I do remember that the Duke has at least one family member in the Bloody Fists. It is likely he knows him on sight, at the very least. A better solution might be to take down the duke himself. If he can't give the order it can't happen."

"Although that would be difficult we would just need to catch him when he's out. Maybe when he goes to pay we can stage an ambush." Aaron readjusted his position in the chair, he had left his armor in his horse's saddle bags and he wasn't quite comfortable without it. He needed to go check on the horse soon. He hoped someone hadn't stolen it already.

[Silver Night]

"Well, we case them out a bit first, maybe, before we settle on a plan? Assumin' you're all goin' along wit this?"

[Telasi]

"We've not got the men to take the fight to the Fist, not on the field, that much is certain. That means that, whatever we do, it must be done by guile rather than pure force of arms." This statement comes from a young man with a fighter's look to him. He's dressed plainly, though he carries a longsword and a round steel shield at his back, half-obscured by his cloak. "The duke's death will just mean his heir taking control of the duchy, and I doubt that he'd be in a merciful mood. Unless you think to kill the man's family also, the duke's death would at best delay the slaughter. Beside that, unpaid sellswords are wont to mischief. It would serve little purpose to prevent the duke from hiring them only to leave them with nought else to do but pillage, rape, and murder at their own whims."

[gourdcaptain]

"Kind of suspicious, if you ask me, that the letter tells us they have no idea how to stop it, but then reccomend some place called Ivydale to check out?" says a halfling male in a chainshirt who looks incredibly average - brown hair, brown eyes, average build and height. The most striking thing is that his voice is very low and gravelly.

[Silver Night]

If somethin's off, somthin's off. We're going in the best way - eyes open. We need info, whatever the angle.

[Telasi]

"Aye, there's truth to that. Still, trap or no, our duty is clear; we cannot stand idly by and let this slaughter go unchecked."

[ghostaxe]

"I still think it's going to be much harder for us to approach the Duke than the Bloody Fist leaders. Many more bodyguards. On the other hand, if there was a little scuffle between some bandits and a random group of adventurers, we can still maintain a degree of anonymity... especially if we capture their leader.

[Silver Night]

Let's find out more first, then we can settle on a plan, yeah?

[Lord Ruby34]

"Agreed. We cannot determine our best course of action until we know what we're up against."

"So, uh, Does anyone know where Ivydale is?"

[gourdcaptain]

"Ah, the fine day the rebellion was defeated by its inability to locate a map."

[Telasi]

"Ivydale is to the east, if you were paying attention. In any case, it's not all that hard to find a town."

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Knowledge (local) to know how to get there? (1d20+1)[12]

[Silver Night]

I think we can manage to find the way, assuming that everyone is agreed on going?

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Best route to Ivydale Knowledge(Local) (1d20+5)[15]

[Telasi]

"We've no place better to start. To Ivydale, I say."

[gourdcaptain]

"Eh, fair enough."

[Lord Ruby34]

"Yes, I believe I got that part." Aaron deadpanned "If I am needed I will be in the stable. I wish to check on my horse, I'm afraid someone might try to steal her." With that he turned and left, making his way to the stable.

[FlamingKobold]

@Telasi

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The route to Ivydale is pretty simple. You can just follow Guild Street out of the East gate, and follow it until you hit Ivydale. It's a straight route, for the most part.

@Silver Night

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The route to Ivydale is pretty simple. You can just follow Guild Street out of the East gate, and follow it until you hit Ivydale. It's a straight route, for the most part. The road is rather well travelled and safe, so you don't anticipate any problems getting there

[Silver Night]

Anyone have any business to take care of before we go? If not we should get going. The trip should be pretty easy. Just follow Guild Street out the East gate.

[gourdcaptain]

"No particular buisness to attend to."

[FlamingKobold]

Everyone

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Are you planning on leaving tonight or tomorrow morning?

[Silver Night]

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Was planning on leaving ASAP.

[gourdcaptain]

"Can we get going tonight - I've got a day job."

Secret personal motivations for statement.

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He does have a day job - as a scholar at the local university, but more important, he has to take care of his kid in the morning - his father-in-law is only arranged to watch his young son for the night. Plus, he's already bound, and he tries to keep the binding to a minimum to avoid detection. It should wear off around 7 or so AM the next day - abruptly killing the Disguise Self, if nothing else. Can I have the parchment and ink supplies needed to perform an emergency rebinding in my carried posessions?

[ghostaxe]

Grun sharpens the tips of his javelins as the other talk. When they finish, he says, "Well, let's get going then."

[Telasi]

Garth stands up. "To Ivydale, then."

[Silver Night]

Crutch nods an stands.

[FlamingKobold]

You set off on horseback, Crutch leading the way. The trip itself is uneventful, though it lasts until several hours past nightfall. On the way, you see a sign, signifying entrance into the duchy of Escon. As you arrive in Ivydale, things seem very still, seemingly too still, at first glance. After a second look, though, you notice just how many guards there are, all of them armed with swords and heavy armor, looking ready for battle. Now, the sight of guards is generally welcome to law abiding citizens, but there seems to be an excessive amount, including the eight that you pass just entering the city.

As you ride through the gates, one of them walks up to you, and in a low, gruff voice asks "What be yer bus'ness in Ivydale?" as he casts you a suspicious look.