War of the Burning Sky IC

[Quxelopqr]

Garret prepares himself to charge the woman, quietly drawing his greatsword. She's being tricky, I can feel it.

[gareth]

Rex beckons Torrent and Van over and speaks softly to them.
I think we're done here. Unless there's anything else you want to ask the elf, or anything you want him to do. The spell will wear off in an hour, so he can't help us get into the safe house. He'd attack us before we got there. Van, I think you should tell him to hand all his weapons over and get as far away from us as possible.

[bchilders]

Duglan

Seeing his companion readying to join in, he unstraps his axes and prepares for any deception the elf has in store.

[Silverkiss]

Claire

Claire also readies her weapon, but is reluctant to go out on the open now, still staying hidden in case her comrades need help fighting the elf, so she will still have the element of surprise on her side.

[Methates]

Van Veranti

Van nods to Rex then speaks again to the elf.

"You have been a great help, Larion. I must ask, if one of your enemies were to attack your safehouse, what defenses do you have? Are there weaknesses there that could be exploited...if there are we might be able to, 'fix' them, when we stop by...but you should make your way back to Shahalesti as quickly as possible. It is far too dangerous here. But don't worry, we'll still have Shahalesti's best interests at heart" Van finishes giving Larion a reassuring pat on the shoulder, hoping at some level the elf truly believes Van.

[druid_grif]

Coming out of his rivalry, Diogenes asks Garret,"Can I borrow that rope for a bit." He takes the rope and ties Shealis's hands tightly behind her. He also takes a large handkerchief and bounds her mouth. She begins to wake up, moaning slightly. "Let's go meet up with the others. I think I know what to do with her." He pulls the elf to her feet pushes her towards the door. They quickly make their way to the elf's room, finding the rest of the party finishing up searching and questioning the elf. "Okay, let's rid these two of their possessions and I have a place where they will be 'safe'." They then take the two elves to a room right next to Gabal's office. Rex has never seen anyone enter or exit this room. Diogenes puts his thumb on the door, says something in a language none can understand, and makes a traces a mark on the door with his thumb. The door opens and you see several chairs in the room. Duglan and Van guard the door as the others untie the elf. She screams and tries to cast a spell but it doesn't go off. Rex then tries to reach into his being to find the lit candle of arcane energy but is blocked from doing so. It sends a shiver down his spine. Diogenes gives the frail elf woman a final push, sending her sprawling to the ground. They leave the room and Diogenes performs another ritual on the door. "Let's assume you find what you are looking for, what is your plan for getting out of the city?"

[gareth]

Rex forces his attention back to Diogenes, trying to ignore the disturbing block on his magic.
We were going to pretend to be a funeral party, going outside to bury a body. But I'm not sure we have time for that now. If the guards try to keep us inside a city at war, they deserve anything we can throw at them.

[Quxelopqr]

Now you're talking. Garret replaces his weapon and nods at Rex's suggestion.

[druid_grif]

"From what I have heard, there are only a few people that can get through the gates right now. One would be diplomatic license if you are a part of the Ragesian government. Obviously, guards on patrol duty can get through, also. I have no pull with the government or any high level Justicars. How about you guys? I have a means to charm a lot of people but it is pretty expensive and I was going to only use it in an emergency." Diogenes paces in the hallway, thinking, as an initiate in green robes comes running up.

"The Ragesians have stopped attacking," the initiate exclaims. Diogenes sighs but keeps pacing.

Spoiler

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People in the resistance will know that there are government officials in the resistance but do not know of any personally.

[gareth]

Rex thinks for a second, then shakes his head.
I don't know anyone with that kind of influence. I think we should use your gadget on the guards if diplomacy doesn't work. I'll help as much as I can, but I've only got one charm spell left, and there's no time for me to memorise more.

[bchilders]

Duglan

"Well, whatever we're doin'...let's get to it. I hate to put ya out of resources, but we need to be leaving," Duglan says anxious to get moving.

[gareth]

While the others are talking Rex studies Torrent for a moment, taking note of the design of her clothing, weapons, and holy symbol.

Spoiler

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Untrained Knowledge (Religion) check: "based on what I can see, what deity or cause does Torrent follow, and what are her possible alignments?" (1d20+4)[10]

[druid_grif]

Diogenes nods his head at each of the suggestions. "Unfortunately, the item for which I have access to belongs to the school and so I would need to be compensated for it's use. If I had to guess, it would probably use about 200-300g to replenish it. I would be happy to use it, but I would want that to be a last resort, short of attacking the guards. Also, I am going to stay here and take care of the school with the absence of Gabal. I would suggest you use your other resources here in the city before calling upon my help again." Seeing the conversation reaching an end, Torrent steers the group towards leaving, walking towards the front door.

Spoiler

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Torrent clearly worships a god of water, probably the sea. If you had to guess, it would probably be Seaqean, goddess of the Sea, Thunder, and Earthquakes. She tends towards the chaotic side while staying away from disputes over morality. Not coming from the coast, you have not heard, read, or seen much about Seaqean, or the agenda of her worshipers.

Sorry for the slow posts. I was waiting for others to respond and then I got caught up in real life. Another post will come early tonight and this weekend should be good too.

[Methates]

Van Veranti

"Well, I do not believe we will have to resort to that device...I just might have a, 'friend', who could lend us some assistance. He's not too far from here..." Van says as he follows Torrent to the door.

[druid_grif]

Diogenes wishes you all well as you leave, saying,"Good luck. Don't worry about me, I'll manage if the army gets through the gate." He waves and gives a hardy wave.

By now, the city is eerily quiet. Not only is it in the heart of night, but the citizens have holed up inside for safety. The bells are not ringing anymore; the faint sounds of battle, fire, or mayhem are no longer audible. As you walk down the road towards the Emelk Way, you hear the flap of wings above you. As you look up, you see an obviously wounded wyvern with a rider trying to control the erratic movements of the bat-like creature. The bat suddenly dives into the buildings about a block away.

[bchilders]

Duglan

"Think we should check it out?" Duglan says as he shrugs towards the wounded wyvern.

[Quxelopqr]

Garret shrugs. "Dunno, our priority is to get out of here alive, and fighting one of those beasts, even a wounded one, might be tough."

[gareth]

Rex looks interested.
I'd like to talk to the rider, we might get some information. Whoever's best at sneaking around, go see how badly hurt that thing is and report back.

[bchilders]

Duglan

"I've never been great at sneakin around, but if no one else wants I'll go check things out," Duglan says and waits for a response.

[Silverkiss]

Claire

Claire, who was silent all the way from the school of magic, nods to Garret when he says that the wyvern could mean trouble.

"I also think that this creature could prove to be dangerous to us; however if you want to go check on it, do as you wish. I am not a very sneaky person, though, and my armor doesn't help at that, so I will have to abstain from going."

Spoiler

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OCC: Sorry for not posting for so long, but I really had nothing to say back there...

[Methates]

Van Veranti

Van looks around to see if anyone else will volunteer. Then, he raises his hand.

"I'll go. But you all should stay nearby in case I get into trouble...but not too close..." he says with a chuckle as he starts to make his way to the Wyvern.

Spoiler

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Hide - (1d20+9)[17]
MoveSilently - (1d20+9)[22]
Spot - (1d20+3)[14]
Listen - (1d20+3)[19]

[bchilders]

Duglan

Duglan stays close, always keeping Van within sight. He holds both of his axes at ready in case they are needed.

[druid_grif]

Van walks ahead of the rest of the party towards where he thinks the wyvern "landed". He turns down a back street that has had very little foot traffic. In the darkness about 100 feet ahead, you see a rope swinging in the breeze coming from a rooftop of a second story tenement. As you get closer, you do not see any movement except for the swaying rope and the night is very quiet. As you come upon the rope, you see two obvious heavy booted sets of footprints leading off down the road away from where you came.

The others follow at a distance until Van goes down the back alley. Garret and Duglan keep Van just in their vision while the humans cannot see very far into the dark alley. When Van stops, Garret and Duglan lead the others into an alcove between two buildings, watching for a sign from Van.

Spoiler

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It's all good Silverkiss. I have felt that way in some of my campaigns and it is strange that Diogenes did so well against Shealis. I was expecting you guys to get involved in the next round but my rolls for Shealis were amazingly awful. I think you all know this but wyverns are rode by the Ragesian army, Griffins are rode by the Gatepass army.

[gareth]

Rex follows the others into the alcove and draws his crossbow.

[Methates]

Van Veranti

Van keeps his bow drawn and looks back to the group behind him. Wishing they had had time to develop hand signals, Van points to the group and then swings his arm forward, towards the boot tracks. Then he holds a hand to his lips and continues sneaking.

Spoiler

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New rolls...

Hide - (1d20+9)[17]
MoveSilently - (1d20+9)[21]
Spot - (1d20+3)[7]
Listen - (1d20+3)[22]

[druid_grif]

Van follows the bootprints for about half a block before they seem to stop, shuffle around and then disappear. A seven foot brick wall is on one side of the tracks so Van lifts himself to peer over into a shared courtyard. There is no movement in the courtyard, but one door is slightly ajar. As Van begins to lower himself back to the ground, his keen elvish hearing picks up the slight whisper of a child whimpering coming from inside the door.

The rest of the group follows Van past the hanging rope and when he stops, the group finds another dark area to hide in.

[gareth]

Rex speaks quietly to the others:
Did anyone get the loot from those elves back at the school?

[Methates]

Van Veranti

Van attempts to locate an easier means of entering the courtyard without attempting to climb over the wall, after which he will continue to sneak towards the sound.

Spoiler

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Hide - (1d20+9)[11]
MoveSilently - (1d20+9)[18]
Spot - (1d20+3)[8]
Listen - (1d20+3)[5]

If there is no other way to get into the courtyard, Van will instead motion the group to come and have them help get him over the wall.

[druid_grif]

Torrent answers, "I picked up everything that looked of value except the spellbooks, which I think you have. We can sell this stuff to get fresh mounts on the way to Seaquen." You notice that Van is signaling that there is something over the wall. He indicates that he has to go around the corner where the wall turns toward the buildings. The group heads up the street and hides in an alley across the street from the courtyard.

Van walks around the corner and finds the rickety wooden grate. Amazingly, it has well oiled hinges and does not get stuck in the snow as Van tests opening it. As he walks into the communal courtyard, his keen senses pick up again on the muffled whining. He then heres a gruff low "shhhh..." The door is not ajar enough to see anything inside the dark building.

[gareth]

Rex holds up the two spellbooks.
Right, right. Memory's the first thing to go...
He puts the books away and follows the others into alley.