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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Seravin" data-source="post: 993061" data-attributes="member: 6783">The Taking of Broken SpireTwelve seconds.  Only twelve seconds more and the assault might have turned out differently; or not.  Perhaps Lyntern would have been killed forever ruining the party’s reputation in the area; perhaps not.  Ultimately it doesn’t matter, for what-ifs are the purview of bards and dreamers.“Down the stairs or through the door?”  Asks Kellron looking at everyone.  All of them had their weapons out.  Ashimar and his bloodied rapier, Kestral and her familiar crossbow, Kupier and Lyntern with Imperial style longswords, Panther with his bow, and Jallarzi with her slim hands and arcane might.The group looks at each other in askance.  Through door number one were guards who were waiting for them.  Not necessarily a problem, but potentially messy.  Through door number two was a kitchen and apparently a smithy (and only the long dead builders know why that was).  That left up and out, perhaps into the courtyard, or finally, down into the unknown cellars.“Door.”“We don’t need people at our backs.”“Feh.  Door.”<shrug>Kellron nodded and hefted his sword and looked at everyone.  “Everyone ready?”  He asked.  Apparently they were.  Kestral, had her crossbow loaded, Jallarzi had her enigmatic and almost eager smile, both Lyntern and Panther had their bows ready, while Ashimar and Kupier’s swords were at the ready.  “Okay.  Ashimar, Kupier, and I will go through the door.  The rest of you come in and cover us as needed.”  Kellron looked explicitly at Lyntern.  “You stay near Kestral and Panther and be careful.”With that the plan was set and they filed into the short hallway before the door to the next room.  Taking a deep breath, the warrior of Sarath cautiously touched the door handle and then with a yank and a push threw the door open to reveal the Grand Hall of the keep.The hall was nearly 50 feet square with a roof that rose almost twenty feet up.  On the left, against the outer wall, was a stone fireplace with a low fire burning in it.  Above, finely carved rafters spoke of a former grandeur.  Dominating the center of the room was a fine, dark feasting table, made of some dark wood – though even from fifteen feet away Kellron could tell it had been much abused over the years.  The room itself was lit only by the flickering fire in the fireplace and a torch next to the main doors that led out to the courtyard.More immediately there were a half-dozen men in the room, including an unpleasant looking man who stood six feet tall, had dark hair beginning to gray, and had a bastard sword strapped to his back.  All of the men had bows ready and were crouched down so as to provide as little as target as possible.  Kellron and Kupier charged through the door, followed closely by Ashimar.  However, Kupier and Ashimar had to stop short as they noticed two men hiding on either side of the door.  The men in the hall with their bows ready got off a volley of arrows before anyone reached them and then switched to their swords and surprising everyone, three more men rolled out from under the table to help flank the invaders, but in the end it was not even close to a fair fight.  The group was outnumbered but Kupier, Kellron, and Ashimar were well trained fighters whilst the defenders were little more than thugs.  Even their leader, the dark-haired man with the bastard-sword was only marginally better trained than your average guardsman.  By the end of the fight Ashimar was on top of the table with a corpse at his feet, Kupier was next to the door with two bodies at his feet that had started with the idea of trying to flee, and Kellron was just a little aways with the leader at two more bodies at his feet.  The rest of the group was just inside the hall with evidence of their ammunition scattered about.They took only the time to search the bodies and down a few more potions of healing.  Lyntern had been hit by a stray arrow and Kellron invoked Sarath’s blessing to heal it.  Another quick discussion later and they decided to head downstairs.  Before they did so, Kestral took the time to disable the large brass bell mounted on the wall.  It was fortunate that no one had rang it already, but they certainly didn’t want anyone else to ring it while they were exploring elsewhere.  The last item of interest that they noted was a familiar fish-like smell that permeated the leader of the thugs.Two Minutes LaterKupier took the point, heading down the stairs and Kellron took the rear guard.  There was no telling if there were more guards coming.  The rest of the group filed up between the two veterans.Kestral drifted closer to Kupier.  Imperial Scouts had a reputation in the Empire.  “Can you tell if anyone has been down this way?”  She asked.The old scout nodded and pointed towards a bit of food and half of a boot print.  “There.  And there.  Fortunately they’re not good housekeepers.”  The man grinned.  There’s been some traffic down here.”  Kestral took note of the signs he pointed out and filed them away.  The party then filed down the circular stairs into a small chamber.  Only one door led out.“Through the door?”  Whispered Kestral.Kupier’s eyes had never left the trail.  He nodded and Kestral and Ashimar quickly checked the door in sequence.  “All quiet.”  They reported.  So saying, Ashimar opened the door and stepped into a long dark hallway that started from the door and ran to their right.  Jallarzi summoned an arcane light.Kupier took point again.  The scout frowned and slowly crossed the hallway to a point about twenty feet down from the door.  “Something…”  He trailed off and pointed at the floor.  His next sentence was whispered.  “Here.  There’s a footprint half under this wall here.”The party looked at each other excitedly and quickly pulled back for a conference.  “Really?”“A room?”“Recent tracks?”“I believe so.  Within the last day at least.”Ashimar and Kestral stepped forward and a quick search confirmed a cleverly concealed door.  What is more, they could hear the muffled voices beyond.  The group looked at each other and tightened their hold on their weapons.  Kellron and Kupier moved closer to the door while Kestral, Panther, Lyntern, and Jallarzi took up firing positions.Without a word they opened the secret door and revealed a large room extravagantly appointed.  Rich tapestries depicting scenes of conquest and destruction hung about the walls.  Off on one side was a finely carved rosewood table with two matching chairs.On the opposite wall there was an open door and disappearing through it was a hulking figure in blackened leather armor.  Ashimar thought he recognized the figure as an orc. Closer still and more riveting was a large comfortable looking armchair next to a table filled with decanters of various liquors. Seated in the chair was tall man with dark complexion and greasy black ha.  He wore a patch over his right eye.  Ashimar immediately recognize the priest who had attacked them on the river almost two weeks ago.  He was still dressed in chain armor and his shield and flail were leaning against the chair.  Nearby, casually flanking the priest in a loose honor guard formation, were four men in black robes with large concealing hoods.The priest started to turn as the hidden door pivoted open, a look of annoyance on his face.  The look changed to alarm as Ashimar’s quick reflexes took over and he charged into the room.  As he passed the doorway he caught sight of a guard on either side, also wearing the concealing black robe and hoods.  “Guards.”  He shouted as he sprinted the fifteen feet to the chair.  He ran with his arm fully extended, intending to spear the priest.  He succeeded for the most part, and the metal sunk almost six inches into the man’s upraised arm.  Ashimar pulled the blade free and by the spurt of blood knew he had hit a major blood vessel.Panther fired around his friends to hit one of the unholy honor guard that would undoubtedly attack Ashimar for his impertinence. The arrow sunk deep into the guard, but there was no reaction of pain or anything else.  Kestral followed suit as Kellron and Kupier made their way into the room to take care of the guards flanking the guards.  Both Kellron and Kupier managed to sink their blades into their respective targets, knocking the hoods of their opponents back; revealing the faces of corpses long dead.Then Ranchefus was able to react, standing up quickly and ordering his zombie guards to attack and then calling loudly for help.  Being in a tight situation he concentrated while trying to dodge Ashimar’s weaving blade and tried to summon the tyrannical power of Tresh the Usurper.  Perhaps it was his wound, but Ranchefus was not up to the task and the spell of holding drained away.  Jallarzi and Lyntern dodged their way into the room and fired at random targets; the sorceress/wizard with a pair of magic missiles and Lyntern with his bow. The resulting commotion alerted the orcs in the next room and the pair charged into the room looking for targets.  No one but Ranchefus could tell, but the markings on the orc’s shields marked them as members of the Bloodskull tribe, a vicious and barbaric tribe by even their own race’s standards.Within the first few seconds the tide of battle had been decided.  The zombies were relentless opponents but not very skilled and easily avoided.  Kupier, Kellron, and Ashimar were skilled warriors and each one was easily a match for any one person in the room.  With Kestral, Jallarzi, Panther, and Lyntern for support, the outcome was never in doubt.  Ashimar quickly finished Ranchefus on his own, sustaining some injuries from the zombies, but nothing life threatening.  The head orc emissary was more of a problem as it entered a mindless rage and started laying about with it’s axe, but Kupier had cut his teeth on fighting orcs and Kellron’s battlefield training was nearly equal to the old Scout’s.Meanwhile Panther and Kestral moved into the room quickly and shut the door so no trace of their combat would alert anyone else.It really just wasn’t fair – for the bandits at least.   No one would realize that the surviving guards up top were only twelve seconds from deciding to alert Ranchefus when the group had assaulted the Grand Hall.  The guards were slow to respond to the attack though and the keep was truly large with many twists and turns.  What the group didn’t know was that by the time they had killed Ranchefus only two other bandits were currently in the keep.</blockquote>

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