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Message: <blockquote data-quote="JollyDoc" data-source="post: 6853238" data-attributes="member: 9546">20 Rova, 4716- 22 Rova, 4716: Going Out Of BusinessDay 11"So let's recap, shall we?" Kelvin asked.The Dannisters, Lemmy and Roger were once more gathered in Tardaesha's and Dakota's room, comparing notes."Lines of communication, vis-a-vis the ravens, between Balentyne and other garrisons have been cut," Kelvin ticked off points on his fingers. "The bulk of the Tower's bow ammunition has been destroyed. The portcullis and the sand cauldrons in the gate house have been disabled. Twenty soldiers have been removed from service, thanks to Tardaesha."The anti-paladin curtsied. "And lastly," Kelvin concluded, "two of the four captains have been taken out of the equation. All in all, I'd say that's not bad for a week's work, and none of the commanders in Balentyne the wiser.""So what's next?" Roger asked."We still have four days until the bugbears will be in position," Kelvin replied"Yes, but the Fire-Axe said he could hold there for up to another two weeks," Dorian said."True," Kelvin nodded, "but I would prefer to strike while the iron is hot, and I believe we can accomplish our goals sooner rather than later. The cholera outbreak has given me an idea. Perhaps we can use it to further our advantage even more. 'Aesha, I'll need your help with this, though not in the capacity you're probably thinking."__________________________________________________________________A hour later, Tardaesha arrived at the Tower, though no one would have recognized her. She had used her circlet to disguise herself as a Talirean soldier, thought not from Balentyne itself. When she reached the pontine gate of the fortress, two guards came out to meet her."Greetings," one of them said, eyeing her curiously. "Where are you coming from?""Eastwatch-By-The-Sea," she replied, naming the Watch Tower furthest to the east along the Wall. "I bring a message from Lord Commander Sembryl for Lord Commander Havelyn."The guard nodded and asked her to wait for a moment. He entered the fortress and then returned a short time later with Captain Barhold."What's this all about?" the grim-faced captain asked, scowling."I'm to deliver a message to the Lord Commander," Tardaeshs said. "It's urgent.""Give it to me," Barhold said, holding out his hand.Tardaesha complied, then stood silently. Barhold unfolded the note and read it, then read it again."Come with me," he said curtly, folding it back up and tucking it into his belt.Tardaesha followed him through the gate and into the courtyard. He walked straight for the keep at its center, ignoring the salutes of the two guards who stood outside the doors. Inside was one, large open room...the Great Hall, which was currently empty, with chairs and tables pushed against the walls. It also held the Commander's Seat, which was equally unoccupied. Barhold strode across the room to a set of stairs on the far wall. Up these, 'Aesha found herself in a room whose walls were carved with hundreds of names. Two more guards stood duty there, and she noted that there was a large stone plug to one side of the stairs which could be pushed into place to block access from below. Barhold crossed the room to a door on the opposite side, which gave onto a short hall and another flight of stairs. Climbing these led to yet another guardroom with another pair of soldiers, and a final set of stairs. The last flight ended on a landing. Two ornate doors stood directly across from the stairs, and a smaller, single doors was to the south. A trapdoor and ladder appeared to lead to the roof. Two soldiers snapped to attention at the double doors when they saw Barhold. "As you were," he muttered, and then knocked on one of the doors."Come," a deep voice called from the other side.Barhold pushed the door slightly open, then turned to Tardaesha and told her to wait for a moment. Several minutes later, the doors opened again and Barhold beckoned Tardaesha inside. She found herself in a large, austere and conservatively appointed chamber. There was little more than a heavy wooden table and a few chairs. Pushed into one corner was a large, stout chest of oak banded with iron. Behind the desk sat an imposing man. Of middle age, his very presence spoke of gravitas and dignity. His polished breastplate bore the emblem of his House, Havelyn, as well as the insignia of the Knights of Alerion. He spoke without preamble."It says here that there has been a cholera outbreak at Eastwatch," he began. "We have had the same here. It says your commander tried to send us a raven, but as you no doubt saw when you entered, we had unfortunate accident befall our rookery. Commander Sembryl states that a quarter of his garrison is out, and his scouts have seen movement among the bugbear tribes to the north. Is all of this true?""Every word of it, my Lord," 'Aesha lied. "Hard times have befallen our keep.""Yes, ours as well," Havelyn said. "Yet never let it be said that Thomas Havelyn ignored calls for aid from his brethren."He pulled a sheet of parchment, quill and ink from the desk, and set about writing. After several moments, he blotted the page, folded it, sealed it and handed it to Tardaesha."My reply," he said. "Take it with you when you return to Eastwatch tomorrow, accompanied by a ten man squad of my men, along with two of our acolytes. I'm afraid it's the best we can do at this time."_________________________________________________________________Barhold escorted Tardaesh out of the keep, and then down into the undercroft of the Tower to the barracks. A good portion of the beds were filled with pale-faced, weak looking men, tended to by white-robed, masked acolytes. The healthy soldiers were all on the opposite side of the room. 'Aesha found an empty bunk and stored her gear, nodding politely to the curious onlookers."You'll leave at first light," Barhold said. "Make sure you're at the pontine gate on time. They won't wait for you."He left without waiting for a reply. 'Aesha spent the evening gossiping amiably with the other soldiers, filling them in about her 'mission.' At one point she saw Timeon enter the barracks. Of course he did not recognize her in her current guise. She took out paper and quill and scribbled a brief note. Then, as she walked across the room towards the jakes, she surreptitiously dropped it on the squire's bunk. Timeon blinked, a look of confusion on his face as he stared at the back of the retreating soldier. He picked up the note and unfolded it.'Timmy, my love, 4 days hence, Balentyne will not be so welcoming. By midnight of that evening, you should be in the tunnel. You know the one. We will find you. Destroy this message. T.'Timeon began quietly tearing the paper to shreds, and then stuffed the pieces into his mouth and swallowed.________________________________________________________________________Katarina had taken to staking out the secret door in the cellar of the Lord's Dalliance nightly, hoping to find out what, exactly, the innkeeper was up to. That night, she got lucky. Bellam Barhold crept down the stairs sometime after midnight, a clinking crate in his hands. He opened the concealed portal and disappeared inside. Kat waited several minutes, then quietly followed.This time, the innkeeper traveled the entire length of the passage to the vault at the far end. There, he set his burden down, and then picked up another crate that was hidden behind some barrels. Hefting it, he started back down the tunnel. Kat hid among the dry goods until he was gone, then tip-toed over to the box he'd left behind. Inside were a dozen bottles of wine. She uncorked one, sniffed it, then tasted it. She made a face. It was cheap, watered-down fare, one-step removed from vinegar. Curious, she hurried back down the passage, as quickly as she could while still remaining silent. She reached the inn's cellar just as Barhold  was concealing the other crate beneath a tarp in a corner. He then trotted back upstairs. Kat went to the second crate and looked inside. Another dozen bottles of wine, save that these bore labels with flowing, lovely script. Elvish, she thought. She opened one and tasted, then closed her eyes in delight as what felt like liquid gold flowed down her throat.'Fool,' she thought to herself. 'All this subterfuge just to steal wine, albeit exquisite wine. It will quite literally cost him the keys to the kingdom.'_________________________________________________________________Day 12At sunrise the following morning, thirteen horsemen set out from Tower Balentyne. Tardaesha rode near the front, leading the ten soldiers and two acolytes. From a nearby alley, Katarina watched them go. This wasn't part of the plan. She hurried back to the inn to inform her cohorts about this unexpected development."Damn!" Kelvin cursed. "That's less than we'd hoped for, and now 'Aesha's with them!""Then we're going after her," Dakota said matter-of-factly, her tone suggesting this was not open for debate."Yes, I suppose we are," Kelvin sighed. "We'll rent some horses and follow from a safe distance. We know where they're headed, so there's no danger of losing them. When the make camp tonight, we'll assess the situation. _______________________________________________________________________Kelvin's plan actually worked. Not expecting any trouble on the 'civilized' side of the Wall, and least of all from the direction they'd just come, the soldiers never spotted their tail. As the sun went down, they made camp in a clearing just off the road. Tardaesha was unperturbed. She knew her siblings would not let her down, and when she spied Kat creeping around in the trees just beyond the firelight, she smiled. A moment later, all Hells broke loose.From literally thin air, thick, heavy strands of webbing suddenly appeared, criss-crossing the campsite. Men started shouting in alarm as they found themselves entangled in the sticky goo. Tardaesha was unfortunately in the middle of the morass, but she was nimble enough to avoid touching the strands, as she recognized Kelvin's handiwork and knew exactly what would happen if she did. Moving carefully, she made her way to the edge of the webs...just as the whole mass began to blaze with flames as it was set alight from the campfire! Full-blown panic now gripped the camp as the trapped soldiers began burning. Their brethren who had been lucky enough to be outside of the web spread tried desperately to hack them free. Then, a whistling hiss came out of the darkness, and one of the entangled men shrieked as an arrow pierced his chest. His cries were cut off a moment later when a dagger abruptly sprouted from his throat. Tardaesha grinned widely, and almost laughed out loud when she saw both of the acolytes collapse, succumbing to the smoke and fire. Then a dazzling flash of light burst amidst the men, followed by a glittering cloud of dust that settled over them. Four of the soldiers began clawing at their eyes, blinded by the radiance. "This way!" 'Aesha shouted to them. "Follow the sound of my voice! I'll help you!"Desperate for any salvation, they began making their way towards her. One of the soldiers who was free of the webs and not blind, suddenly looked towards the road as he heard the sound of running footsteps. There he saw a burly man with small tusks protruding past his lower lip rushing towards him, a great-sword lifted over his head. The soldier drew his own blade and rushed out to meet this new threat, but before he'd closed half the distance, his attacker abruptly paused and spoke in a deep, hypnotic voice."Kill your allies," Roger commanded.The soldier blinked in confusion for a moment, then turned and headed back towards the camp."Take my hand!" Tardaesha shouted as one of the blind soldiers neared her. "I'm a healer!"The man reached out for her, and as his fingers touched hers, 'Aesha smiled wickedly and channeled the power of Asmodeus into the unfortunate fool. His body jerked and twitched as the dark energy pulsed through him, and he fell back into the flames."Nicely done!" Katarina said from where she'd appeared at her sister's side.Kat slashed a dagger across the throat of another blind soldier who had gotten too close, putting him out of his misery. "I'm just getting started!" Tardaesha laughed.The soldier following Roger's murderous command ran towards one of his trapped comrades and swung his sword wildly. The attack barely missed. "What are you doing?" his target shouted. "Have you gone mad!?"The first soldier shook his head, and then looked around."I...I don't...where am I?" he asked as the spell's effects dissipated. "Are you responsible for this!?" the entangled guard screamed. "Traitor! Traitor!!"Two more soldiers had spotted Roger and were moving towards him. The big half-orc held his blade at the ready, and when one of them tried to flank behind him, Roger took the man off at the knees. The second one screamed as another arrow from the darkness impaled his shoulder. The distraction quickly cost him his life when Roger thrust his blade through his belly.Another blind soldier fell, jerking and shriveled, taken in by Tardaesha's bluff. Katarina cut the throat of the last one who'd come to 'Aesha's call. Then streaks of light came flashing out of the night, striking two more soldiers, including the one Roger had turned traitor, killing them both in an instant. That left only one soldier still standing. "Surrender!" Roger shouted at him."Yes, they'll let us live!" Tardaesha pleaded with the man, throwing down her own weapon. The soldier glanced around in desperation, then tossed aside his sword."Wise move," Roger nodded. "Now, why don't you tell us where the magister's and the high priest's quarters are located in Balentyne Tower?""W...what...?""You understood me perfectly," Roger sneered, holding the point of his sword to the man's throat. "Say 'what' again! I dare you!""W...," the man began, but then gulped. "Th...the magister's chambers are in the keep, just below the Lord Commanders! Father Donnagin sleeps in a cell near the acolytes not far from the barracks! I swear!""Excellent," Roger nodded. "You have our gratitude."And with that, he swept the man's head from his shoulders. ________________________________________________________________Tardaesha carved the symbol of Asmodeus into the foreheads of both of the acolytes before dumping them unceremoniously in the woods atop the pile of soldiers. "Crows have to eat too," she said, dusting off her hands. While the others busied themselves with that unsavory task, Kelvin took the tabards they'd stripped from the soldiers. All were torn, bloodied and singed, but with a couple of handy prestidigitation and mending cantrips, he had them looking good as new. They might come in handy later. Their work done, the 9th knot remounted their horses and headed back for Aldencross. There was still much preparation to do, and increasingly little time to accomplish it.______________________________________________________________Day 13"The entire inn??" Bellam Barhold asked."Yes," Tardaesha nodded. "We are expecting several important investors over the next few days. It is important that we make a good impression. The future of our little consortium depends on it. We will, of course, compensate you well for your trouble."Barhold thought it over for a few moments."Well...," he began, "I can't rightly put the dwarves out. They're on assignment for the Tower, and are more or less permanent residents.""Of course not," 'Aesha agreed. "I think there will still be plenty of room for our guests. So we are agreed then?"Barhold grinned and stuck out one meaty hand."Gold up front," he said.______________________________________________________________'The plan isn't going to work,' Kelvin thought to himself. He sat alone in his room jotting down notes and doodling diagrams.'At least not in its current incarnation.'Though they had several successes in their column so far, the young mage, who had always had a knack for tactics (it had been a vital part of his slaving operation), knew that as long as the Tower leadership was still alive, the bugbears would ultimately fail in their assault. Disabling the siege engines and getting rid of the dwarves, who could repair the sabotage, would go a long way towards ensuring victory, but if the Lord Commander could still rally the troops, Donnagin could still heal them, and the magister could still provide magical support, it wouldn't matter. Kelvin underlined the names of the three commanders with his quill. 'Yes, we are going to have to advance the timeline...starting tonight...,'___________________________________________________________________Barnabus Eisenbauch and his engineers where having a grand time of it. After a typical day at work at the Tower, he and his crew would return to the Lord's Dalliance to eat, drink an unprecedented amount of ale, chat about the day's endeavors, and play their incomprehensible dwarven card games. Tonight was no different, except for the fact that Tardaesha was buying the rounds. The common room was empty save for the dwarves and the members of the Knot, thanks to Barhold having evicted all of the other tenants, and the two crews were having quite the celebration. Only Lemmy didn't join in the festivities, sitting sullenly in a corner despite the jibes and dares from the other dwarves. The drinking carried on well into the wee hours...well after Barhold and his wife had retired for the night.Finally, as most of them were close to passing out anyway, the dwarves said their goodnights and trooped noisily up to their rooms. The Nessians followed, retiring to their own rooms. Time passed. The inn was quiet save for the incessant snoring echoing from behind the door where the dwarves slept. Then, a slight creak. A door opened along the darkened hall, shortly followed by another. Several shadowy forms crept out into the hall, but now they made no further sound. Their every movement was cloaked in a magical curtain of silence. They gathered outside the dwarves' door, and a slender form bent and fiddled with the lock. The door opened. The individuals slipped inside...all save one. A short, stocky figure stood in the hall, arms crossed and head bowed. Lemmy watched his companions go to the beds of the sleeping dwarves. He knew this had to be done. Their mission depended on it. What he didn't know was why it bothered him. God's knew he was not the sentimental sort. It was just that the camaraderie he'd found among his kinsmen the last few days had brought back old memories...and opened old wounds. He didn't object to what necessity dictated, but he declined to participate. In a matter of moments, it was done. His companions exited the room, cleaning their weapons on their cloaks.When the process was repeated a few minutes later in the innkeeper's room, Lemmy had no such compunctions. He joined the others, even reveled in the silent slaughter. Getting lost in his art always helped him to work through his issues.____________________________________________________________________The following morning there was new sign on the door of the Lord's Dalliance:CLOSED UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE! GUESTS AND PROPRIETORS CHOLERIC! DO NOT ENTER!</blockquote>

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