Six From Gate Pass - A War of the Burning Sky Campaign (3.5)

[fromage67]

Lars says, ""Sounds good to me. I just have to check something first."

Lars dashes downstairs and chooses a locker out of sight of the stairs. He then inspects the locker, chooses a few metal implements from a rolled piece of wool that was tied in a tight roll in a discreet pouch inside the belt of his trousers.

OOC: On second thought, maybe I should Take 20 (or 10?) on the Open Lock roll.

 

[Adjuntive]

Alric regards the huge open palm extended before him with a hint of surprise. Though a smile creeps across his face and he clasps the meaty wrist firmly and looks into Bannock's face square.

"I swear that by no action of mine will this city come to harm."

[sblock="He then says to Bannock in a lower voice that others may not hear"]"I know what it means to thirst for vengeance, to long for retribution against an injustice, and you may consider me an ally in seeking it."[/sblock]

 

[Gregor]

After learning of his friends' death, Rivereye seems sad for a few moments before responding: "Oh...that is dreadful news. Dreadful indeed. Peppin was a true friend and he put his neck on the line for the resistance. It seems that was all for naught though given that the intelligence is now in the hands of the elves of Shahalesti."

Lowering his voice, he whispers to Hrimr and Torrent: "I fooled the elf in charge of this operation you know. He questioned me about the case. He had some floating orb of light with him and it blasted one of the guards to death...burned his face off! I was scared so I told the elf that only a password, a password Peppin had, could open it, otherwise a dangerous magical trap would be unleashed. Ha! What a boob, he fell for it. The case is magically sealed but no such trap exists. I was hoping that Peppin or the resistance would arrive and save me before they opened it. Unfortunately they knocked me out before I could see what happened. It seems like my plan worked!"

Torrent chuckles a bit: "Clever move gnome. Clever. What is in the case anyway?"

Again, in a whisper, he gnome responds: "All I know is that the information is precious military intelligence. When I worked in the court of the inquisitors in Ragesia as a spy, I was placed under a geas by the inquisitors not to talk about what I overheard. That case must make it to Lyceum. The resistance depends on it! The case I stole is black metal, about a foot long and wide, and half a foot deep, made of what I think might be adamantine, and it has a lock ... no key though."

After Kirio's interlude, Torrent nods and then corrals Rivereye, Hrimr, Alric and Bannock back to where Arnir and Kirio are interrogating Larion.

As the non-elven speakers arrive, Larion switches to common as a show of good faith: "My master Shealis holds the gnome's case and she is sworn to take the information to Calanis where it will be used to support the Shahalesti war effort against the Ragesians. I must be clear here: she has no interest in assisting you or in giving up the information that she was ordered to secure for the crown. If you wish to bargain for the information, or seek parlay with her, I can facilitate but I warn you that your chances of success are slim. Murdering me or using me as a hostage will also gain you nothing for we are both trained intelligence agents who have accepted that our missions outweigh our lives. Frankly I suggest you all pack your things and exit the city. If you allow me to go free, then I will speak kindly of you and your organization to my superiors. Perhaps an alliance could be formed at some point in the future. For now though, I fear you hold fewer cards in your hand."

Torrent weighs his words before responding: "I appreciate your cooperation Larion Prevarieth and I hear the gravity of your words. I have no wish to murder you or to use you as a hostage. Not only does that goes against my nature, but I agree that your master will merely shrug off your death and replace you with yet another agent."

"Friends, the resistance has dire need of that information, but I also recognize that our time is running out for getting out of the city. I think we should vote on what to do next: confront Shealis or head to the Councilman's compound to discuss our options for exiting Gate Pass. Either way we must head for Lyceum either with or without the intelligence."

She looks at each of you: "Well? What say you? I say we confront Shealis. If there is a chance we can gain the intelligence for the resistance, I think we should act on it."

********

Lars, you review the locker but find no evidence of wards or protections. You calmly spend two minutes picking at a lock (OOC: You can take 20 since its only two minutes of time, so I assume you did based on your OOC comment). After minute adjustments you hear a click and you're confident that the lock has been sprung.

 

[The Bashar]

Hrimr ponders the situation silently. He looks to the captured Elf and wonders if what he is saying is true. An ally in the Elves would be very useful for the Resistance. However, the information is also needed by the resistance to fight the war and a possible occupation. The Gnome did give the Resistance an ace up the sleeve, the Elves still think they need a password.

"We should go speak to this Shealis. The password is still needed to open the case and the Elves don't have it. Maybe we could make deal where we take envoys to Lyceum. There we can get the case opened and share the information."

"I do have a question for you Elf. How did you find out about this case?"

 

[Adjuntive]

Alric eyes Larion with mistrust and loathing.

"I trust these Shahalesti none at all. These elves might use the intelligence to not only defeat the Ragesian army but massacre all of Ragesia regardless of the innocence or guilt of the people. That I could NEVER abide."

He then turns to regard Torrent. "I trust that the resistance seeks a peaceful resolution. My vote is to win the intelligence for the resistance. And let these elves prove their worth of knowing such secrets as Arnir and Kirio have."

 

[fromage67]

Lars, you review the locker but find no evidence of wards or protections. You calmly spend two minutes picking at a lock (OOC: You can take 20 since its only two minutes of time, so I assume you did based on your OOC comment). After minute adjustments you hear a click and you're confident that the lock has been sprung.

Lars smiles in satisfaction, flexing his cramping fingers. He carefully puts away his tools and, very mindful of traps or other safeguards, he tries to use his dagger to pry open the latch, and pull the door outwards. As he does this he tries to stand to the side of the opening.

If/when he opens the door, he carefully glances inside.

Secret instructions for the eyes of the DM:
[sblock]Confident that the others are busy upstairs, Lars casts Light on the tip of his spear, and uses it to look inside the locker, and also, if possible, to remove any items. If he hears footsteps, he will quickly snuff out the light.[/sblock]

 

[Bannock]

Bannock listens to Torrent and Larion and furrows his brow. Spies and agents and negotiation were never part of his fantasies of adventure.

"Wait just a minute, you want to let Larry here go free, but also confront this Shiela woman? How will we possibly find her, if she's such a smart spy?" he says, spitting the last word,

"Won't she be long gone by now? Won't she know we're coming, whether or not we let Larry go? Let's say she's still in the city, then even if we could intercept her at a gate when she tries to leave, there are gates in every district! What are we supposed to do now? Wander about the city asking people if they've seen a she-elf with a shiny case? 'Oy, 'scuse me, miss, I know there be fireballs rainin' down on the rooftops and so on, but I was wonderin' if ye might have seen an elf with a fancy shoe box'! Did maybe I miss something about magically finding her when you were all jabbering in tongues?"

 

[Gregor]

Lars, as you open the door to the locker with your dagger, a number of glowing runes appear on the door. As you wonder how you could have missed them in your search, they detonate and blast flames in a radius that scorches the other lockers, the floor and of course, you. Although you react quickly and dodge the worst of the fire, it still scalds your skin and singes your hair.

After waving the smoke out of your eyes, you prod your now lit spear into the locker and find a decorative wooden box. When you open the box, you find a large stack of gold coins and a scroll case.

GM: You made your reflex save so you take 3 damage (half of 6). There are 310 gold coins in the box.

********

Upstairs, Torrent says: "Bannock, Kirio just told us that Shealis is at Gabals Wizard Academy, apparently posing as an instructor. If we hurry we could probably catch her before she tries to leave. However, I take your point about her potentially knowing we're coming. What say the rest of you?"

A burst of firelight radiates from the first floor, startling the group upstairs. Torrent steps out and peers over the side: "What happened? You ok down there Lars?"

 

[fromage67]

After waving the smoke out of your eyes, you prod your now lit spear into the locker and find a decorative wooden box. When you open the box, you find a large stack of gold coins and a scroll case.

Lars forgets the discomfort of the burns as he contemplates the loot. He picks up the scroll case and examines the contents.

A burst of firelight radiates from the first floor, startling the group upstairs. Torrent steps out and peers over the side: "What happened? You ok down there Lars?"

"Yes, yes! I'm fine" You can hear the excitement in his voice."I hope you guys are ready to go, I have something to contribute to our travel fund!"

Lars does not attempt any more openings, figuring that tempting fate any more would be foolish. He transfers the money to his belt pouch (and to his backpack if he runs out of space) and spends a few moments carefully closing the locker and hopefully concealing his actions.

 

[digimattic]

Hrmph! So unfortunate it isn't to your liking, princess. You can count on me to do what I can to expedite you to your departure!

i like pog games

Arnir looks up in shock at the intruder, and reaching into his quiver, he pulls out an arrow, spins gracefully on his feet to the interloper's side, and jams the arrow into his eye socket before he can even blink. Blood spews out like a geyser onto the floor, but Arnir is careful to avoid the spray. A small amount lands on Bannock's feet....Perhaps that was intentional. The intruder drops to his knees silently having had no time to react, and in a swift movement, Arnir plants his knee into the corpse's chest, sending it tumbling like a rag-doll over the railing an onto the cold stone floor below with a wet thud.

Arnir, still holding the bloody arrow, licks some of the blood off the arrowhead before placing it back in the quiver and turning to the group with a wild look in his eye and saying "we're not buying today..."

Changing his tone entirely, Arnir decides to weigh in on the isse at hand "Larion has said that he will take us to Shealis. There's no guarantee she'll give us anything, but she would make a powerful ally, and potentially have a way out of the city. We can take our chances with Menash and maybe get out of the city, or we can take our chances with Shealis and potentially get out of the city and obtain the information for your resistance. Besides, where Menash might be at this point is anyone's guess. I say we go with Larion and find Shealis."