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Message: <blockquote data-quote="amethal" data-source="post: 3687740" data-attributes="member: 22784">The party find it surprisingly easy to convince Erdan that they are members of the Resistance. They don’t realise he already knows a fair bit about them already. He chats to them about the most exciting incident of the siege so far – the arrival of the red dragon, and the heroism of a druid (in giant eagle form) and the flight of Gryphon riders who drove it away. The wave of fear the heroes felt yesterday evening is now explained.Erdan happily buys the various items of equipment the party have acquired over the past day or so. He is equally happy to sell them several of his “special items” – extremely well made weapons and armour, far superior on quality to they currently have. Unfortunately, most of his stock is dyed in his signature green, yellow and purple ….Once trading has finished, Erdan agrees to help them get out of the city. He suggests they visit a friend of his, Captain Herreman, who is scheduled to lead a patrol outside the city walls at sunset. Erdan writes Herreman a note asking him to include the heroes as part of his patrol, then return without them through a different gate.At this point Gribron, Agatha and Ambar all realise that they need to spend some time sorting out a few personal matters before they can leave the city. Caryk, Jonathan and Solsus head for the barracks to meet the Captain.Scene 2 - The Streets, Free City of Gate PassJanuary 1st, 1 pmIts not long before Solsus spots something odd is happening.“That group of six town guards, behind us, seem to be following us,” says his disembodied voice.Caryk glances over his shell. “You’re right. And they don’t look much like guards to me, either. Since when do town guard patrols wear such an ill matched assortment of scalemail? Also, I don’t recall seeing any guards carrying saps before.”He turns towards the ‘guards’. “What do you want?”“Halt,” says the lead guard. “You are under arrest on suspicion of being mages. You must come with us.”“I’m not a mage, I’m a tortle. And Jonathan is a simple scholar.”“Nevertheless,” replies the guard. “You must …”“Oh, never mind,” says Caryk and aims a blow at the nearest guard. Solsus’s eagle screams in and attacks another, who also suffers the indignity of being struck on the head by what feels like a cobblestone – although whoever threw it is not in view.At the same time, Jonathan throws back his hood and booms his catchphrase, “Cower brief mortals!”Is mental assault leaves four of the guards with fear, but the other two are made of sterner stuff and are unmoved. The guards draw their swords and strike out at the eagle, hitting it several times. They succeed in driving it away, and then advance gingerly towards Jonathan and Caryk.Caryk draws his quarterstaff, and swings it in both hands towards the nearest guard. Unfortunately for him, the guard blocks the blow with his shield.It turns into a disorganised melee, with Caryk whirling his staff like a dervish, Solsus circling looking for an opening for a sling shot, and Jonathan seeking to fry the brains of the frightened guards. Two fall to the power of Jonathan’s mind, but the rest have the weight of numbers on their side and their sharp swords are far too close to Jonathan’s tender flesh for comfort.“I think we might be in a spot of trouble here,” says Caryk.At that moment a tall figure emerges from a nearby alleyway. “That sounds like my cue,” he says in a deep voice, and moves gracefully towards the nearest guard, smoothly drawing a massive greatsword as he does so. The blow he aims has more style than substance, but the guard is completely nonplussed by the new arrival, and clumsily dodges into the swords path. It is his last mistake.The other guards are also distracted, and another of Jonathan’s mental blows strikes home. A guard drops, clutching his head.“Now its three against two, and the odds are in our favour for once,” says Caryk.“Four against two,” squeaks an indignant Solsus.“Oh, sorry mate. Forgot about you,” replies Caryk. “It must be because you are aaaarggh!!!” A tiny humanoid, fluttering on leathery, bat-like wings, appears next to Caryk, its barbed tail stuck in the fleshy part of Caryk’s leg. A numb sensation starts to spread out from the wound, but adrenaline allows him to ignore the effects – at least for the time being …..The little monster makes a grab for the adamantine case, but Caryk retains enough presence of mind to keep it out of his reach.It has dawned on the two false guards that whatever plan they originally had has now been overtaken by events. They decide to retreat. A greatsword flashes down in the spot just vacated by one of the guards, who breathes a sigh of relief as he sprints down the street. His comrade is not so lucky, running straight into the path of a sling bullet and crumpling into a heap.The sole surviving guard hurtles around the corner, and nearly flattens a startled Gribron and Agatha. “I wonder what spooked him?” says Agatha. “Everything seems so peaceful for once.” The pair continue ambling along in the direction the man came from.Meanwhile, Caryk grunts as the monster stings him again. He is having trouble keeping the case out of the creature’s grasp, and is decides he needs to deal with the little pest as quickly as possible. “Maybe I can stun it,” he thinks, and swings his head towards it in a sophisticated martial arts technique known as the “East Wind’s Kiss”. Unfortunately, his twice-injured leg buckles slightly at this point, and his aim is just off.However, he has three allies and the monster is now alone. Solsus decides the time has come to kick some monster backside. He pulls out his most aerodynamically efficient sling bullet, whirls his sling as hard as he can, and releases his missile of doom. The metal shot strikes the creature hard and true in the chest – and then drops tamely to the ground Its as if all the momentum has been sucked out of the blow by the contact with the monster’s otherworldly flesh.“Fools! I am a veteran of the wars of Shavarath, Plane of Battle. I cannot be defeated by your puny mortal weapons.”“I need no weapons in order to kill,” responds Jonathan, sending a burst of mental energy towards the creature. This too has no effect.“You’ll have to do a lot better than that, foolish hu … sorry, foolish mort … um, foolish biped!” The monster is in fact an imp called Kurychek. It really wants the case. It has been stalking the party, in one guise or another, since they first headed for the Elven ghetto, and it is embarrassed that what originally appeared to be an opportune moment to intervene has now resulted in it single-handedly taking on four opponents.“I really don’t fancy reporting this cock-up to Guthwulf,” it thinks. “He’d make me a laughing stock. Mortals would start summoning me just so they could make witty remarks at my expense.“On the other hand, if this lot manage to kill me then it’s a one way ticket back to Shavarath. Normally that’s a good thing, but once word got around I croaked fighting four Sarlonnans, but only two of them had souls, then I’ll definitely be made to sit through all the ‘Balancing Risk Against Rewards’ lectures again. I might even have to re-sit the entire ‘Basic Contract Lore’ course, and usually that’s just for lemures.”“Time for a decision. No pain, no fun. That wrinkly old reptile thing can barely stand. One more jab with the trusty old stinger, he falls down, I grab the case, turn invisible, fly off back to Guthwulf with the goods, mission accomplished. The rest of this shower have only got a couple of seconds to intervene, and so far they ain’t even so much as scratched me.”The imp stabs at Caryk’s leg with his sting. There’s no way Caryk is going to fall for the same tactic three times in a row, and he manages to hop out of the way. The mysterious stranger adjusts his stance to take into account Kurychek’s new position, and his greatsword removes the imp’s head.“No one would ever call my weapon puny,” he sniggers.At this point Gribron and Agatha stroll onto the scene. Agatha spots the five dead ‘city guards’ and the decapitated imp. “Oh,” she says.Meanwhile, Gribron has spotted the stranger, who is carefully wiping the blood of his greatsword. The man is has a chain shirt, a goatee and a smirk.“Rantle!” says Gribron. “How are you doing? Haven’t seen you in a while.” He does his best to look cool in the presence of a man who is simultaneously a local folk hero and a leading light of the thieves’ guild.“Hi Gribron,” replies Rantle. “I’ve been busy doing this and that, you know how it is.” The two of them start looting the corpses.“I feel funny,” says Caryk.“That’ll be the poison from the imp’s stinger,” replies Jonathan. “It causes numbness, paralysis, and sometimes even death. I’ve never seen it outside of laboratory conditions. Do you mind if I inspect your wounds?” “Feel free,” says Caryk, teeth gritted against the pain.Jonathan pulls out some of the tools he took from the carpenter’s shop. “Lucky I’ve got my autopsy kit with me.” After a bit of poking around, he holds up a vial in the sunlight. “I think I’ve got enough to study, but if any more pus oozes out from your leg, please do me a favour and keep it for me.”Surprisingly, Caryk is feeling better. He wanders over to the naked body of the imp, which the canny treasure hunters have left for last, and spots it has a ring on a chain around its neck. The ring is made of iron, and has the letter ‘G’ inscribed on it.“Who do we know whose name starts with a G?” wonders Caryk. “Hang on a  minute. Gribron, where were you earlier?”Gribron denies summoning an imp to attack Caryk, and then the tortle belatedly remembers his manners. He turns to Rantle.“Thank you sir, for intervening when you did. It was lucky you were there to rescue us.”“Not really luck,” replies Rantle. “I’ve been following you for a while. The word on the street is that you guys are planning to head to Seaquen. That’s where my sister is going, and I wanted to ask you to deliver a message to her from me.”“Certainly, that’s the least we can do,” replies Caryk.“Thanks,” says Rantle, handing over a sealed scroll. “If you should see her, either in Seaquen or on the way there, please give her this. She’s a fire mage. Accidentally burnt down a few of our homes over the years. Decided leaving the city would be good for her health. You’ll know her if you see her. Long red hair, likes wearing red robes, everything about her says fire mage. Its embarrassing really.“Anyway, nice meeting you all. Can’t stop to chat. Got a city to save!” With one last grin, Rantle heads off down a nearby alley.Our heroes decide that the best course of action is to return to the councillor’s house and sell their latest loot. Then, battered and bruised, they head for the temple of Olladra in order to avail themselves of what limited healing the over-worked clerics can provide. Solsus is disappointed to learn that the clerics do not consider healing his eagle to be a priority. The party spends the rest of the day and all of the night hiding in the cellar.Scene 3 – Herreman’s Barracks, Free City of Gate PassJanuary 2nd, 8 amCaptain Herreman turns out to be a half orc, whose bushy beard cannot hide his tusks. He is happy to help friends of his old employer, Councillor Menash. He still has the dagger Menash gave him the last time he went on an expedition; it is bright yellow and shaped like a partly peeled banana.He glosses over the fact that the councillor’s note is dated yesterday. Timetables are prone to slip during wartime.The heroes are restless at having to wait until sunset before joining Herreman’s patrol, and spend the time wandering the district’s streets looking for trouble. However, things are eerily quiet, and the day passes without incident. Ambar never turns up, so the party decides to leave without her.Scene 4 – The Forest Road, Outside the Free City of Gate PassJanuary 2nd, 9 pmIt is getting dark, and our heroes decide to camp for the night.Getting out of the city proved fairly straightforward in the end. Captain Herreman disguised the adventurers as members of his patrol, and they marched brazenly out of the city gate. Herreman explained to the gate guards that his patrol was seeking a Ragesian necromancer, who had been plundering graveyards in order to bolster the Ragesian Second Army.Caryk was slightly disappointed to learn Herreman had invented the necromancer, and they wouldn’t actually be tracking him down.As the heroes exited the city, a lone bell started ringing off to the west.“That signal means they are letting the inquisitors into the city,” said Herreman gloomily.“At least we are safely outside,” replied Gribron.Act 4 - the GauntletScene 1 – The Forest Road, Outside the Free City of Gate PassJanuary 3rd  , 11 amThe forest road runs for thirty miles before it reaches the indomitable Fire Forest of Innendotdar. There are a few people living in the region, so the road sees some local traffic, but the forest is viewed as an impenetrable barrier so there is no passing trade.Thanks to their disguise as members of Herreman’s patrol, the heroes (except Solsus) have light warhorses, and they make good time along the road. The road itself is the only convenient route for travel; the terrain on either side is rugged and the road is bordered by cliff walls which rise forty or more feet  in the air. It’s a good spot for an ambush.Caryk and Solsus spot movement up ahead. A couple of shadowy humanoid figures, high up on the cliff to the right of the road, have darted back into the undergrowth.Solsus flies off to investigate, while Caryk dramatically falls off his horse.“Ow, ow, ow,” says Caryk. “I have just fallen off my horse. The fall has winded me, and I may have twisted my ankle. Let us rest here for a moment while I get my breath back.” The horse seems, if anything, relieved to be rid of his clumsy rider.“You useless friggin’ tortle,” says Agatha, playing along (maybe).Solsus spots the humanoid figures from the air. They are humans. They have crossbows slung across their backs, but have no weapons drawn. Secure in their hiding place, they can neither see nor be seen from the road.Moving further down the road, Solsus spots a side passage, clumsily camouflaged by a pile of rubble. Three horsemen are waiting behind the rubble, and it seems to Solsus that a skilled rider could get his mount over the obstruction and on to the road.He flies back to the others, and the party quickly concocts a plan. It never occurs to anyone to bemoan the absence of Torrent and her trusty wand of cure light wounds.No-one feels comfortable fighting form horseback, so the horses are quickly hobbled. Solus moves into position above the enemy horsemen, and Gribron creates an illusion of the party, on horseback, moving along the road. The illusion lacks the appropriate sound effects, but if all goes according to plan that won’t be an issue.Once the illusion arrives opposite the enemy horsemen, Jonathan hurls a thunderstone at it. His throw falls short, but that isn’t the point of the exercise.Startled by the loud bang, the two human scouts poke their heads out from cover. One of them is amazed to see the party has somehow managed to sneak past their position, and reaches into his pouch to throw a thunderstone in order to signal the horsemen to attack. Gradually it occurs to him that the bang he has just heard will do the job equally well, and elects instead to blow a loud blast on the horn hanging around his neck.His partner is more alert, and spots the real party lurking some thirty feet back down the road. He whips out his crossbow, and more by luck than judgement his bolt hits Agatha.Hearing what they believe to be the signal, two of the horsemen spur their steeds across the rubble. This is what Solsus has been waiting for, and he drops a thunderstone on top of them. The horsemen do well to control their mounts under such conditions, and engage Gribron’s illusion in hand to hand.The third rider, better equipped than the rest, hangs back, and fires an arrow at the illusionary Caryk. His aim is true, but the arrow passes straight through its target. Realising his men are fighting an illusion, the man shouts a warning – but they are suffering from the effects of Solsus’s thunderstone, and his words literally fall on deaf ears.Caryk hurls a javelin at the man who shot Agatha. Agatha, looking for revenge, walks up the side of the cliff and launches an eldritch blast at the same target. Their victim is badly injured, but still on his feet. His comrade helps him back from his exposed position on the edge of the cliff – and both of them are suddenly attacked by an eagle which hurls itself at them out of the sky.Solus hits the mounted archer with a well aimed sling stone. The man guides his horse carefully into the road and scans the sky for his hidden opponent, but to no avail.One of the horsemen slashing at Gribron’s illusion suddenly realises he has been tricked.  Looking around for the guilty mage, he spots Gribron some distance down the road and charges towards him. Gribron is struck by the rider’s sword, but manages to maintain his concentration on the illusion, thereby keeping the other rider occupied.Another rider appears around a bend in the road. This man is wearing plate armour, and seems oddly familiar. Some of the party recognise him as the leader of the bounty hunters who attacked them in the Poison Apple Pub on New Year’s Eve.Gribron decides to drop his illusion spell, and launches a blast of coloured rays at the horseman facing him. The man is able to cover his eyes in time to avoid the effect, but his horse collapses to the ground, spilling the rider.Always happy to kick a man when he’s down, Jonathan fires a blast of lightning at the unhorsed man, ending all of his problems.Meanwhile, the eagle and the uninjured scout fight an inconclusive battle on the cliff top. The other scout, badly injured but grateful for his partner’s bravery, takes the opportunity to flee.More stones rain down on the mounted archer’s head, but he ignores them and fires two well aimed shots at Gribron. Both arrows strike home almost simultaneously, and Gribron collapses, badly injured.Already freed from the illusion, the other horseman gain confidence from the appearance of his heavily armoured comrade. The two of them charge towards Caryk, who goes down under their combined attack. Agatha, still half way up the cliff wall, tries to blast the horsemen but her aim is poor.Jonathan senses something unusual about the armoured rider. The air is shimmering in front of him, almost as if he had called upon the power of his mind to create a screen of force to protect himself from physical attacks. Shrugging, Jonathan aims a bolt of lighting at the rider; he can’t miss a target encased in so much metal, but the man is tough in enough to remain in the saddle.Caryk, down but not out, crawls over to the fallen Gribron and fumbles around in his pack for a healing potion. He is dismayed to see a couple more crossbowmen have appeared around the bend in the road. “How many of these guys are there?” he wonders. He carefully pours the potion into Gribron’s mouth. Some of his comrade’s wounds heal, but he does not recover consciousness.Jonathan and Agatha concentrate their attacks on the armoured rider, but they can’t bring him down. The man swings his greatsword in a mighty blow at Jonathan’s head. There seems to be no way the scholar can avoid being decapitated, but instinctively he gathers the last reserves of his mental energy and manages to absorb some of the force of the blow. Despite this, he still crumples to the ground, covered in blood. He’s not a pretty sight, but he’s still breathing – at least for the time being.On the plus side, up on the cliff, Solsus’s eagle finally finishes off its opponent.Solsus, sensing Jonathan has used up the last reserves of his power – or possibly just not liking the guy – elects to help Caryk instead. Calling on the power of nature, he boosts the tortle’s metabolism, dramatically speeding up his natural healing process and enabling him to get to his feet.Seeing Caryk clamber to his feet, the crossbowmen knock him back down again with some well aimed bolts.This leaves Agatha, the invisible Solsus, and his eagle, against three mounted opponents and three crossbowmen.“Surrender, and I give my word you will not be harmed,” says the armoured man to Agatha.“Screw you,” she replies, and fires one more eldritch blast at him. The blow strikes him in the temple, and he falls from his horse. Then, still not fancying the odds, she walks over the top of the cliff and out of sight.The mounted archer rides over to the scene of the carnage, the crossbowmen trotting along behind him as best they can. He glances over the bodies with a practised eye.“That one will live,” he says, pointing at Gribron. “I think the ugly one already fed him a potion.” He turns his attention to Caryk. “Officially there isn’t a bounty on this lump, but he seems to have some sort of magical healing ability – even now his wounds are closing slowly – so we might be able to get something for him.”“This is the problem one,” he says, turning to Jonathan. He pulls a potion from his pouch and administers it to Jonathan. The scholar’s colour improves, but not by much. “Damn,” says the man.“Is he dead, Renard?” asks one of the crossbowmen.“No,” replies Renard, “but I’m gonna have to use up the other potion. What in the gods’ names was Kathor thinking of, swinging his dirty great sword at the guy’s head like that? We all know the inquisitors only pay for live mages, although it beats me what they want them for.”He tosses a second potion to one of his men. “Tie him up, and then get him to drink this.”“What about Kathor,” asks one of the men. “He’s still alive, but only just.”“Thanks to him, I’ve already had to use up two healing potions. I’m not wasting any more on his mangy carcase. That damn aristocrat was never really one of us anyway. “Besides, the bounty splits better five ways than it does six.”Jonathan Farrier recovers consciousness at about the same time Kathor dies of his wounds. Possibly he is still delirious, but it seems to him that for a second the air grows heavy, and something barely visible drifts out of Kathor’s body and flies away into the sky.</blockquote>

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