(Casual D&D III) The Man in Black

Tatlock grins sheepishly at Oliver's praise, then seems to feel left out as the others discuss their plans.

"Don't worry, Tat," Shavah says. "Just stick with me... Once I figure out where I'm supposed to be, at least."

(Just a bumpy post to encourage you to let me know what angle you're talking the house from, and also to show off a freshly-finished map: http://www.rowf.net/trust/free-cities.png

Also, when you do declare your approach, post some Hide/Move Silently rolls as well, so I can advance the action as much as possible...)

Hmmm

"I also have a spell of invisibility, if someone was able to get into the basement while invisible perhaps they could secure the girl... Either way, it's a definate asset, and someone should use it. I know there may be others who do not think so, but I won't quite be a liability in combat." Aerda shrugs, making a mental sign to Astrule to move to scout the Mayor's house. "That's assuming I am out of the radius of the silence spell..."

Nurthk collects his weapons and slings them on his back.

An invisibility spell, gotta respect him for sound choices magic-wise.

"I'm willing to go in invisible if noone else wants to. If I do I'll set myself up to grab the would-be executioner if he gets any ideas," he says.

As the party gathers the gear they're going to take, and prepares to head out the door, Hiritus walks up to Raven.

"Okay, I like the plan, but there are door guards on our side of the door when you go to open it from the front side, that I can't quite work out what to do with. Now I'm sure we can take them from melee, but it's bound to be noisy. And unless Aerda or Shavah has something nice, we seem to be a little underpowered on our side from range.

So unless we can drop them both on the first shot, Fendric's going to have to expend his Silence right then to keep them from alerting the rest. Not to mention we need to get concealed somewhere within range, and out of sight of not only the first floor, but the upstairs too, when we assault the door guards. Does this sound like a problem, or am I not clear on the plan?"

Fendric, who had been listening in, offers a thought.

"If I cast Silence directly on the doorway, it will help us until the guards know what is happening, but we should then need to get through the door before the spell is gone."

"But the inside group can't know when you cast that spell, Fendric."

"Yes, and if I cast it soon enough, they can open the door silently, and join in from behind."

"Too soon, and whoever's inside is aware that they're under attack."

"Could we all go in together, behind our more silent brethren, and deal with the front guards after we've rescued the girl?"

Fendric's last question seems directed at them both. Hiritus defers to Raven for an answer.

"I was thinking of going in through the side window with Nuthk and Oliver, and taking out the guards of the back door, as silent as possible, then letting you guys in through the back door. Maybe Fendric should cast silence on one of us, so we can take them out silently, then go straight on through to the basement, leaving the two outside guarding whatever they want to guard. Chances are they don't hear anything. We might wanna keep an eye out for them, though." Raven says. "That's what I think is best. And casting an invisibility on Nurthk has two sides. You'll have to wait untill I finish shooting before rushing in, 'cause I don't really fancy an invisible ally in the line of fire. Things will be dangerous as it is."

"Even if that gets downstairs, there's still the issue of what to do then -- can we move fast enough to stop them from killing the girl, then?" She shakes her head, frustrated. "If only Xiao were still here... He could get in there more quickly and quietly than any of us, I think... Could probably outrun Niccolo's dog, if he wanted to."

Niccolo grins at this, considering it. "You know, I could send Alexander in, so long as as I had a target to point him at. But he'd need to hear the command, so only if I'm out of Fendric's magical silence..."

"I can use an enchantment to calm emotions, but likewise, I'd need to be outside of the silence... Maybe you should just dismiss it once we're ready to move downstairs?"

(Another note on silence... Like most area spells, I treat it as a sphere of effect unless otherwise specified... So be aware that the effects may reach the basement, or second story.)

Shortly, Astrule returns, and after a brief "conversation" Aerda has some more information on the positioning of the orcs:

- There are two upstairs, sleeping in the beds. (See map)
- The two in the kitchen area (near the backdoor) are playing some sort of dice game. The door into the dining room is left open, so they'd be able to see anyone who came in through the side window.
- The orcs in front are positioned a bit away from the windows, facing outward, giving them very little visibility of what's going on inside.

No other orcs are present in the parts of the house that can be seen from outside. Additionally, both the back and front doors seem to be broken such that their latching mechnism doesn't hold; they are currently propped shut with rocks.

Oliver watches Aerda take Astrule's report, a look of envy flashing across his haggard features. His jaw muscles bunch as he looks away, nodding at the information the slim elf passes along.

He pauses briefly, "There's a big window into the study... I think that's our best bet for getting everyone in. Don't seem to be any good lines of sight from the inside to that side of the house or from the other rooms. From there we can move room by room. I can steal upstairs and... despatch... the two sleeping." He clears his throat, uncomfortable plotting murder with the more goodly folk. A fine way to start the Fast. But a better one, I can't imagine. He closes his eyes, hand covering his brow for a brief instant.

"The guards out front could be dealt with in a similar fashion. As long as I have someone to support me with a timely spell or arrow." Oliver's palms start to itch and sweat. He rubs the hollow of his hand with a gnarled thumb and seems to relax.

"Does the front door open in our out?" Oliver asks the nearest person who might know. We need to hurry.

OOC:
Move Silently: 13+7=20
Hide: 19+7=26
Disable Device: 7+7=14
Open Lock: 11+7=18

Listen: 16+7=23
Spot: 12+7=19

Disable Device/Open Lock is for anything locking the window or any other barrier to Oliver and the group's way.

"It would be best if we avoid the front of the house altogether until after we have rescued the girl, I think. Then we can deal with them on our terms, and with the help of the town, Light Be Praised."

"Whatever we're doing, we need to figure it out now. The 'Lost Patrol' is due back any time."

Fendric and Hiritus are ready to go.

Hiritus:

Hide: 5 (Hiritus will apparently take a wide berth around any lines of sight around the house, and not enter the house until the ground floor has been rid of orcs, it seems.)

Move Silently: 9 (Perhaps he can use his Disguise skill to look like a bugbear reinforcement.)

Fendric:

Hide: 4 (Don't mind us, my good man - we're just traveling missionaries...)

Move Silently: 17 ("Gee, that dinner standing out there in plain sight sure doesn't scream much.")

Nurthk checks his equipment once more, then looks to the others.

"I'm agreeing with Oliver on this one. There's a clear route from the study to the basement and as long as we're quiet we can spring them unawares," he says, "If I was invisible, I could easily slip into the basement and wait till everyone else makes their move. As soon as everyone enters the basement I could make an appearance and try restraining or neutralising the executioner. That's assuming there's more than one orc down there."

Hide: 13 + 5 = 18
Move Silently: 17 + 5 = 22

"The study it is then." Raven says. "We'll dispatch those two orcs first, then see what's going on. If we're still clear, we'll let the second group in and g for the basement. Last one there is a rotten egg."
And off he goes into the night, his bow at the ready.

Hide : 12+12=24
Move silently 12+8=20