For More Than Glory

[Memnus]

Fleck leaves Fuernan's lab, muttering under his breath. "Ten gold per hour. I bet he'd do the work himself for less than that, for a hobgoblin." He climbs back onto his cart and heads for the center of town. Although he's not sure where to find the guild office itself, he figures he can at least locate some bureaucratic central hub, and from there get directions.

As he drives, he digs through his mess of papers, looking for something. Eventually, he finds what he seeks: a neatly cut parchment bearing the seal of the Kaiser, proclaiming him as a senior fellow in the Dumeldein Brotherhood of Alchemists. With it is a copy of the Brotherhood's charter.

 

[Ezieer]

As soon as Valdir unleashes his first salvo of arrows... Drack (who is 100' behind Valdir's position) will move up in a run torward Valdir's right flank (presumably Argus will bring up the left flank).

From then on he will read what the guards and orcs are doing and then decide whether to press forward after the guards (if fleeing) or hold his ground (if they come to attack Valdir). He is prepared to shoot or swing; hold his ground or pursue. He is also prepared to provide an alternate reason for their attack should any escape them... that they are druids and rangers 'Keepers of the Woods' here to stop 'the desecration of the trees'.

 

[Arkhandus]

After a while of searching through the town, as most lower and middle-class folk aren't familiar with the Alchemist's Guild headquarters in Pari Ka'ansa, Fleck finally finds the building with directions from a local limner who's been there once. The Guild's headquarters in the capitol comprise a moderately large, three-story building complex that includes a small stable for visiting members and nobles. Fleck manages to get Chalkback and the cart stabled there for a short period, but the stablemaster charges him a gold piece for the privelage. Says that someone's likely to steal the mule and cart if left unattended out in the street.

In any case, after getting Chalkback situated somewhere close, Fleck heads into the mildly busy reception room at the front of the complex. A short Kinrisari man in clerk's garb works at the front desk and checks various notes and forms from passing servants and guildmembers. Several moments pass before he notices Fleck in front of the desk, and then he addresses the gnome in Mulhati. With no quick response to that, he addresses Fleck dryly in Tradespeak. "Salutations, and welcome to the headquarters of the Kinrisari Alchemist's Guild. Please state your business."

 

[Memnus]

(The next day, relative to the previous post)

Fleck eventually finishes up in the lab, and dons his newly-enchanted cloak. It looks much as it did before, although there are some new patterns sewn in with thread that almost, but not quite, matches the color of the cloth. To Jaelyk, "See? By steeping the phosphor in the sealer before heating it, the luminescence is suppressed, and the binding is invisible to the unaided eye." Getting little enthusiasm fom the young apprentice, he shrugs. "If you wish to remember only one thing I say, remember this. Don't be afraid to follow your feelings. If you think something might work a way, try it." He hands the young man a handsome tip for his help, and walks out without a further word to Fuernan himself.

He grabs a quick meal at a nearby cafe - having worked straight through lunchtime - then makes his way back to the camp. As night begins to fall, he frowns. "No Valdir?" He shrugs, but doesn't worry for another while. Eventually, though, (say if Elfenhaus returns without him) he snorts. "He'd have made his way back by now."

He pulls the cloth off his mirror, and kneels in front of it, as is becoming his nightly habit. This time, though, he focuses on Valdir's familiar sense, and some Forestal sneaks into his monotonous chant. An hour later, the fog clears from the mirror, and he stares into it.

His eyes open wider, and his jaw sets. "Oh."

 

[Arkhandus]

Argus arrives at the camp some time later, having been gone all day out in the woods. He's now gently pulling along Elfenhaus by the reins, and the horse looks like it has a new scar or too, though it also appears that Argus has already healed the beast. He sees Fleck pre-occupied with some spell and a mirror, so he ties Elfenhaus' reins to a low tree limb and puts some feed down for the horse. Then the Hibridean sits down across from Drack and Zerash. He has no idea what Fleck's doing staring at that mirror, but it doesn't concern him.

"I think Valdir's been captured," he states bluntly. Then, talking more in one go than is normal for the quiet Hibridean, he explains. "Elfenhaus was wanderin' around, headed vaguely in the direction o' the camp but disoriented from blood loss I think. I plucked some arrows outta his hide and healed 'im, but Valdir was nowhere to be seen. After calming the beast, I went out lookin' for Valdir. But the elf's gone. I saw some spattered blood stains on some grass and trees, and some o' the trees was badly burnt. Not too much blood, don't think anyone died out there. Some broken arrows with Valdir's fletching were nearby, most of them bloodstained. But there were others there too, like Valdir was in a standoff or somethin'. Place stank a bit too, like after a thunder storm blastin' through all crazy-like with the lightning and stuff. But I didn't get the sense that Eraekoth or Typhus 'ad anything particular t' do with it. There were some horseshoe tracks, but no bodies. I think Valdir got taken t' the slave camp me and him scoped out some days ago, but there were a couple of horse tracks goin' both ways along the path, so I dunno for certain. Either he's in the slave camp, or been carried back t' town like a sack o' beans."

 

[Memnus]

"The camp, it looks like." He peers harder at the mirror, trying to get as much context of Valdir's imprisonment as he can. "Curse it, this is too early, but we can't let him rot there."

He turns away from the mirror, breaking the spell. "I don't suppose he managed to leave anything at the site... his spare bow, perhaps? Anything we can get to him so he can help get himself out."

"If I thought we could make it all the way in and back out, one of us could just fly in invisible, break the locks, render him invisible, and fly back out again with him. It seems, though," he looks at Argus, "that they have a caster, strong enough to be calling lightning, so that's not as simple as it ought to be. We'll want a distraction, too."

He taps his chin. "When during the day are the most guards gone? I'll go back into town and gather up some allies."

 

[Arkhandus]

"I dunno," Argus replies, "I didn't really watch the camp s' long as Valdir did. I guess during the middle o' the day, when the work-teams are gone with their slaver escorts. Might be less well-guarded at night, but only if the day-guards go back t' the city at night." He shrugs. "Think I should go scout the place to see?"

"Anyway, I might be able t' sneak in an' get Valdir his stuff, if they 'aven't stashed it away in the city nowhere. Gettin' out o' there with Valdir's a bit trickier..... I ain't 'alf-bad at sneakin' ya know, though, granted, Valdir an' Meier were - er, are, better. I know how t' dodge spells pretty well too, it's somethin' the West Wind trainin's good for. Plus I'm the fastest one here, so if it comes to it, I can outrun anythin' they send after me, an' they'll ne'er see my tracks." The druid-monk strides around the camp briefly and brushes past every bush, wildflower, or tree branch in his way. Not a single leaf falls, not a single flower stays smooshed, and not a single footprint remains.

((OOC: Argus can carry around 110 pounds or so while raging and still move at his full speed of 50 feet. An Expeditious Retreat spell or potion could boost that speed beyond any horse's capacity to keep up. Elves weigh around 90-some pounds on average..... But I dunno how much Valdir's gear weighs.))

 

[Memnus]

Fleck watches Argus skeptically. "Flight is just as fast, nearly as traceless, and gives you more options. Options they won't expect." He shrugs. "If they do see you, though, you're a lot more likely to survive than I would be. So, it's a deal. I can make you invisible, but not for more than ten minutes, and I can't do anything about silence. So we'll have to do it fast."

He gets up and heads for his cart. "I'll see if I can't get to the gnomes tonight. If we give some of them the arrows, you can smuggle the hand weapons in and have help getting out from the inside and the outside." With that, he unloads as much heavy stuff as he can quickly and safely, and heads for town as fast as he can.


Fleck stops off at the alley where the gnomish caster had left his familiar to get in touch with. He allows the little rat to sniff him and remember him. He speaks in Gnomish, not entirely sure that he'll be understood. "I need to talk to the Resistance, tonight. Hang on, I'm going to change." He glances around to make sure no one is watching, then casts a quick spell. His body grows and darkens, until he has the body, voice, and smell of a stocky Mittendiener. Unless the rat leads him elseways, he heads off for the Broken Wheel, on foot, leaving the cart.

(OOC: Expeditious Retreat can't be cast on other people, so can't be in a potion. I don't have Haste, oddly enough. Invis and Flying are fine, though. Also, I had to ship my laptop back for repairs, with the character node I'd been working on, so the sheet I hve is two weeks out of date. No big deal, since there haven't been any important changes other than +1 to saves. I'll just keep track of changes as such, and merge the two when the laptop comes back.)

 

[Ezieer]

Drack adds his two coppers. "That all seems doable like. I could try to gain employment in the slave camp... would be easy to set him free once I was in. Only problem is that will make me unemployable elsewares most likely.... unless everyone wasn't able to snitch me out meanin they all be dead when we be done."

 

[Arkhandus]

At Fleck's proposal, Argus asks "What good would it do to arm the gnome slaves right now? We going to try springin' the entire slave camp right away, with no real way to make the enemy think it's simply a rival House workin' against 'em? Avoid stealth on the way out and just fight our way out o' the slave camp, with who-knows-how-many gnomish slaves to protect and escape with?"

Argus shakes his head at Drack's suggestion, before Fleck responds. "I don't think they'd be letting new recruits near the slave camp right now....not after the raid yesterday, and then Valdir runnin' into trouble with some o' the slavers today..... Seems to me that they'd just bring in some guards from elsewhere in town, if anything, and maybe recruit some new guards for the more docile slave groups."

Argus goes quiet for a moment, then asks Fleck another question. "So d'you think I should try and spring Valdir out tonight, or should we wait 'till tomorrow? An' what could you do to help, with yer magic? I've pretty much just got speed, agility, and a bit o' sneakiness on my side."

The monk digs into what food he's caught for tonight, while he contemplates and awaits an answer.