(Casual D&D III) The Man in Black

dpdx said:

"Perhaps St. Cuthbert sent you, Nurthk, so that Mr. Tatlock could properly don his new armor."

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Nurthk smiles a lop-sided grin.

"Perhaps you're right," he replies.

******

Sparky said:

"Where's Raven?"

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"Doing what he does best I'd wager," Nurthk answers.

dpdx said:

"Quietly now, who else wishes to assist these townsfolk? Hiritus and I are bound here, but there is no reason the rest of you should be required to join us in this assistance."

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"Heh, you are bound to your duty, and I am bound to the Fellowship. Where you go, there I am," he replies, and smiles grimly.

Aerda simply waves his hand, breaking the magic that keeps his mount summoned and it disperses into mists, being taken back to where it came from.

Aerda doesnt bother offering his acquiescence, and instead already has an idea. "If we can ambush one of these patrols, I have a spell that could make me appear like an orc... that could get us in."

Niccolo (autopilot) seems willing to stay, or continue on; Alexander is slower than the other mounts, so you should have no trouble catching up. Shavah says she will accompany him should you choose to send him along, but prefers not to see the group split. Her position is strong:

"Understand, Fendric, that my duty lies in Bethel, and I am bound to its defense, not Emmethrach's... I have travelled with you this long because I believe your task may have more bearing on my Kingdom's future than the fighting in its streets; to set aside that task, however good the cause, would be dereliction from duty. If we are to help, then we help tonight, then rest, as it seems this town would be a good place to rest, anyhow, knowing our fortunes in the wild. Any time beyond that... I strongly discourage."

Tatlock's opinion is much simpler: "I killed an orc once. I can do it again, I bet!"

The torch-bearer responds to Aerda's suggestion, once he's gotten over the awe of watching his mount disappear: "To look like an orc, or that orc, the one we ambush? There are only ten of them in there, so I doubt they'd overlook an unfamiliar face..."

"I can try to mimic his features, but it may not hold up a rigorous inspection. But the appearance from a distance might be enough to get us near the house, which with some planning could gain us entrance." Aerda speaks to the others more so than anyone else. He seems to want to help...

"It is settled, then: we do whatever we can for the evening and night, all of us, and set out for the Glades when we are rested, after. We recover the mayor's daughter tonight. I trust that the townsfolk will know what to do with any orcs we leave alive."

Fendric turns to the farmer: "We should find a place to keep our mounts where they may not be visible to patrols. We should speak with the one still here who knows the most about rooms in the mayor's house, and has an idea where the mayor's daughter may kept within it. We also need to know as much about the occupants as anyone in Emmethrach, any spellcasters, leaders, etcetera.

We cannot promise that we will rescue her alive, though we will expend every effort to do so, and recover any of the bodies we can in case you have the ability or access to Raise them, May the Light Bring Them to Life.

You say Tanor is alive, still. We must speak to him. But under no circumstances should any more townspeople be aware of our presence in Emmethrach than is absolutely necessary. The orcs may notice a change in demeanor, and act with more alacrity than we would wish.

Now, this is the most important thing: The instant any of you see any sign that the mayor's daughter has been murdered, May It Not Be So, since she is the last hostage, Emmethrach must be prepared at once, and in force, to destroy every last one of the orcs who remain.

Noone of able body must sleep tonight until this town is safe."

Fendric turns back to the Fellowship: "Have I left anything unmentioned? I wish Raven was here - he would know what else to do."

dpdx said:

"Now, this is the most important thing: The instant any of you see any sign that the mayor's daughter has been murdered, May It Not Be So, since she is the last hostage, Emmethrach must be prepared at once, and in force, to destroy every last one of the orcs who remain."

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"That goes without saying, if you don't mind me saying so... As far as most folks are concerned, that's not a contingency we prefer to make plans about."

He points across the field, toward a small house and a small barn.

"That's the Gastle place. You should be able to stow your horses there, and wait inside while I get Father Tanor... Come, I'll introduce you."

...

They are introduced only as Mr. and Mrs. Gastle, an older, childless couple -- not elderly, but old enough that there childless status would seem permanent. They seem intimidated at first, but are perfectly accomodating; Mr. Gastle assists you in hiding away your horses, while Mrs. Gastle insists on putting on tea.

You are not inside their home for long before Father Tanor arrives, a stern-faced, well-built fellow with a habit of chewing his lips between words. He is dressed in common clothes, with only a discreet silver necklace to signify his status as a cleric of Heironeous. Shavah sees this immediately, and smiles with a sort of comfort unseen since the night you kept watch in the halfling city, over the river Damiel...

"Well met," she says with soft emphasis.

"Yes, well," Tanor responds, seeming much less interested in the coincidence of their faith. "Baxter tells me you're interested in helping us with this problem of ours... I appreciate that, but are you absolutely sure that you can do this? There is a young lady in that house, understand, whose life will be cut short if you charge in with good intentions alone."

To help you make that judgment, and formulate a plan, Tanor provides a fairly thorough description of the house. He explains also that the mayor had a son, nine years of age, who escaped during the raid, who may be able to give you a few more details; he's currently nursing a broken leg, presumably from leaving through a second-floor window, and hasn't been willing to talk much since this all occurred.

The girl, and most of the orcs, are presumed to be in the basement. Occasional activity has been seen through the windows, but not much... They keep guards posted on the porch at all times, and it appears they have some situated inside at the back door, as well, but those ones may be more lax... There is also a cellar door accessible from outside, but Tanor feels that it's too obvious an entrance for the orcs to have left unblocked or otherwise available for quick entry...

(OOC: Let me know if you need any help "interpreting" the floorplan given in the attachment... Indentations in the walls around the house represent windows, and there's also a not-pictured overhang covering the porch, the roof of which is about level with the second floor... Everything else should be figure-outable from the picture, I think.)

Guilt Puppy said:

"Yes, well," Tanor responds, seeming much less interested in the coincidence of their faith. "Baxter tells me you're interested in helping us with this problem of ours... I appreciate that, but are you absolutely sure that you can do this? There is a young lady in that house, understand, whose life will be cut short if you charge in with good intentions alone."

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Fendric nods appreciatively.

"A good question, Father Tanor, but are you absolutely sure anything else can be done to save the girl, or that you are not running out of time? I would prefer to save her, Radiant Light Grant That It Be So, as a raising is beyond my own abilities, but we cannot promise her life any more than you can, unfortunately.

Your alternative is to wait to see if your two men in Eivanrach can raise the necessary army and return with it in the allotted time, and even then, they face the same problems we would. How to get in, unseen and unheard. How to interpose themselves in time between the girl and the orc who would slay her. But what is not in question is our willingness to do the task, our good souls as men, and our lethality with regard to orcs. We are an army, and we are here.

For all we know, if the orcs have not shown her alive of late, the girl may already be murdered, with only your collective knowledge of it between them and their certain deaths.

We do have the fact that, as even these orcs must know, the girl, if alive, is their only remaining hope to maintain the cessation of hostilities that exists - there are no other hostages left alive. Apparently, Father Tanor, you saw firsthand how orcs value negotiation. But they are not stupid, either.

We can promise you this, as we promised Baxter earlier: if you wish to entrust us with the mission, we will do whatever can be done to return the girl alive, if at all it can be done, same as those you would have hired.

Regardless, no orc will draw breath in Emmethrach, by dawn. I swear it on my immortal soul.

Now, let us talk of what you know of the orcs who remain. Are there any spellcasters among them? And where is Raven?"

(OOC : "raven" has been working like a total eejit, sorry)

"I'm here, Fendric" says a voice from the doorway. "I've been doing some scouting, trying to figure out what we could do for these people."
He walks inside, his boots and cloak muddy from sneaking around.
"It'll be tough, that's for sure. No guarantee the hostage will survive. The best I can come up with is sneaking in, either through one of the side windows or the roof, take out the guards inside as quietly as possible. That would mean Nurthk, Oliver and me. Wich would leave you, Hiritus and Shavah ready to storm the entrance as soon as you hear there's trouble. Aerda, I don't know what you're able to do, so you'll have to see where you can do your bit. Magic never was one of my stronger points, I fear. It would help if someone could fly invisibly to the roof, or whatever."
He turns to the older couple. "Is the major's son around. Wouldn't surprise me if he had an unconventional way of leaving the house whenever he got sent to his room. I know I had when I was young."

"Anyone got a better plan, or an addition to this one?"

dpdx said:

Regardless, no orc will draw breath in Emmethrach, by dawn. I swear it on my immortal soul.

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Nurthk looks a little uncomfortable as Fendric talks about slaughtering the orcs, but simply looks off to one side and exhales slowly.

Well that's the second time he's said it. It's justified... but I can't help feeling... weird.

He shrugs off any distracting thoughts and steps up.

"From the description of the house, and assuming the boy doesn't make a better suggestion if we can coax one outta him, I think the best entrance is the western window of the southeast room on the first floor. There's an entrance to the basement in the northeast of that room, giving us minimal exposure to first floor sentries. We could go in through the second floor if we wanted to check those top rooms just to be sure, but that means spending longer on the first floor to get to the basement and the less exposure to detection we have the better," Nurthk says, voicing his opinion, "If we go in through the top I'd recommend coming through the northeast bedroom. Walking on the overhang sounds like it could easily get us detected."

"We might wanna catch one or two alive, if we can. Poor basterds. I wonder what's driving them out of the mountains. Must be pretty tough, to make them raid a village in this manner for arms and equipment... Remember the shaman from the waystation, the night we met? No, I'd really like to know what's going on." Raven muses.

"Anyway, back to business. Going in through the window at ground floor is an option, although they will bloody expect for us to enter there. We can hope they're getting a bit complacent after a few days without getting attacked. Maybe better to enter through another window. They'll hesitate just a little longer if they see an interior door opening then when they see someone sneaking in through a window. But I guess we'll have to see who's inside wich room when we get there.
Fendric and Aerda, any way either of you could improve the odds a little?"