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Message: <blockquote data-quote="gideonpepys" data-source="post: 6252605" data-attributes="member: 79141">Session 99e - Hasty Prep & CodaHasty PreparationsThe King was furious.  In private he made it apparent that he did not believe Lya Jierre, that his behaviour up to this point was pure diplomacy in an effort to make the Danorans feel at ease before his officers could find proof of their involvement with the Ob - an effort which Asrabey had just scuppered.But before the unit could say anything, or remind him of the thirty dead children whose blood was on Asrabey's hands, the King anticipated and pre-empted them: The Unseen Court was a separate nation within Risur's own borders, albeit an allied and friendly one (for the most part) and Asrabey was an ambassador for that nation.  He also said that one of the first things he had to get used to when he was crowned was dealing with the fey and their seemingly cold and callous way of thinking. So when Asrabey was readmitted, the unit was prepared for the fact that, other than a general admonishment for his interruption of the dinner, the King did not express any further outrage.  Instead, he set about learning all he could about what had transpired. Asrabey told them about the 'terrible machines' that had torn into the fey army, decimating them in no time.  The eladrin dreadnought could not believe the level of carnage and feared that even the professional Risuri military would falter under such a withering bombardment. They began to question Asrabey, though he did not seem to have a very clear grasp of his surroundings in the Bleak Gate, when there came a knock at the door.  Brakken was outside. "I'm a telepath," he said. "I read the Jierre's minds. Let me in." Hastily, Brakken said that he could read strong surface thoughts - a non-magical ability that was stigmatised in his home nation of Ber, and one he would not have revealed to them were it not for the urgency of the situation.  Lya Jierre had been surprised at Asrabey's revelations - shocked even.  Brakken felt sure she knew nothing of the 'fortress' Asarabey described.  Han Jierre was much more cool and Brakken read only a flicker of concern for his niece.  But the most important revelation came when he followed the Danorans to their chambers after Harkover's refusal to admit him; they would not admit him either, so he lingered in the foyer, wondering how best to get negotiations back on track without losing the whole evening.  At that point a nervous Danoran left the Sovereign's chambers clutching a bundle.  His unguarded and anxious mind was easy to read: He had been  given an urgent mission to warn the Obscurati via the Stanfield Canal. Matunaaga leaped to his feet and was about to chase the suspect down when Stover Delft, who had entered the chamber as Brakken spoke (dressed in full uniform, of course), raised a reassuring hand and said, "He won't get  far."  He then reminded the assembly that Unit B, Lt Dale, and sixty soldiers were already waiting at the canal to head into the gate at his word.  They sent a message to unit B to keep an eye out for the Danoran emissary and set about deciding exactly what to do: They had three methods of getting into the Bleak Gate: the canal route which might now be compromised (as Malthusius was still missing); the gatecrasher charm lost by Kell; and the wayfarer's lantern.  Using the same sigils they had found on the canal bridges, Harkover believed it would be possible to transfer into the Gate and fix themselves there using the Ob wands. These had been fixed and recharged to provide 10 castings apiece. A lot of ideas were thrown on the table and thrashed around, and a lot of misunderstandings were cleared up. Asrabey's intel (what little of it there was) was added to what the unit already knew and additional information provided by Sevitar (who reformed in the Bleak Gate equivalent of Cauldron Hill every time he was 'killed').  Sevitar had always assumed the facility he had seen was official, and only when he learned of the RHC's target did he share what he knew with Delft.  In the end the following course of action was decided upon: The  force already gathered at the canal would strike there, some distance away from the main entrance, in the hopes of convincing the Ob defenders that this was the only route they had.  Korrigan, Rumdoom, Matunaaga and Kvarti Gorbatiy would use the lantern, along with Alexander Grappa and Asrabey Varal. ("Is he going to fight properly this time?" asked Rumdoom, almost causing another international incident.) They would enter the Bleak Gate as close as they could to the same hillside entrance taken by Ekossigan:  The fey army had successfully broken through the outer door, but had fallen against the inner defences that lay at the end of a very long tunnel.  They were hoping that by the time they reached the second gate, Uru would have been able to hamper these defenses.  He would enter the Gate using the gatecrasher charm, as close as possible to one of the ventilation shafts he had seen during his attempt to rescue the spirits of the hill. He would enter the complex using one of the shafts, if possible. If not, he would re-join the others lower down the hill. In the meantime, they received word of Leon's escape and were enjoined by Delft and the King not to aid or abet him in any way.CodaBack in the RHC basement, thanks to a spell made possible by the destruction of the anti-magic pillar, the Obscurati agent Sylyx slipped through his cell bars.  He picked up the pistol of an unconscious guard and headed for the exit.  On the way out, he caught sight of Quentin Augst who had been watching him apprehensively and now retreated into the rear of his cell.  Heedless of the sound of approaching footsteps - drawn by the alarm raised by the deactivation of the pillar - 'Norm' aimed his pistol at the squirming lawyer. Augst pleaded for his life, but to no avail. Sylyx pulled the trigger and Augst slid to the floor of his cell.  Then Sylyx became invisible and slipped through the crowd of guards who arrived too late to achieve anything meaningful.</blockquote>

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