Scene I - 13th of Olarune (early evening)
The trio arrived in Mandar Rath at dusk, just as the other late arrivals were filtering through the keep's main doors. Morgan was posing as an eastern Karrnathi noble visiting Rekkenmark on business, while Gerard and Esan went as his men-at-arms. They left their horses in a stable on the edge of town, knowing full well that they might have to reach these mounts in a hurry if things went badly tonight. Traveling up to the castle was an eerie experience, as their path was flanked on both sides by ghostly balls of light that hovered just a few feet off the ground. Morgan recognized the arcane trick quickly. When they reached the entrance hall of Mandar Keep, they were dismayed to see that the door they knew they would need to breach to begin their grim business had a guard posted directly in front of it. Even invisible, they would have a difficult time overcoming that obstacle. This problem lingered in their minds as they entered the adjoining Great Hall. A polished white marble floor reflected the light of hundreds more of the dancing lights that had illuminated the path to the castle. Perhaps eighty people sat or stood around the large room in clusters or alone, and servants in the livery of House Mandar moved among them, trays of hors d'oeuvres and wine glasses in hand.
They immediately began looking for the mole in Talovar's inner circle, a local noble named Halas ir'Jaimar. Sigo had indicated a passphrase for them to use when speaking with Halas to let him know that they were with Sigo. When they found the youthful lord, Morgan asked him about his 'encounter with the fierce bullette'. When Halas denied the rumor, and wondered aloud where it had first sprung up, Morgan replied that he had heard it from 'some drunken fool in Wynarn's Retreat'. Minutes later, Halas excused himself to the privy. While all this was going on, Gerard listened in on the prideful recounts of adventures in Xen'Drik by the famous explorer Thrush Xivdrad. Thrush was a special guest of honor at the gala, for his exploits were well publicized in the local rags. Gerard noticed a tall, heavily scarred man in plate armor listening intently to Thrush's tales, and asking pointed questions about survival techniques and local lore of the lost continent.
Gerard and Morgan left Esan in the ball room to go to the privy. Here, they met Halas again. All pretenses dropped, Halas was told of their dangerous mission and offered to aid them however he could. He took the vial of poison from Morgan, which was designed to triple the effects of the alchohol that its drinker consumed. Halas was better positioned to slip such a thing in Talovar's drink without being noticed. He told them that the passphrases to the various doors of the castle had been changed. Halas also warned them that Talovar's cat had some sort of special link to her master, and was more intelligent than others of its kind. Morgan guessed that she might be Talovar's familiar, for they knew that Talovar had studied at the Twelve, and was an accomplished wizard.
Gerard and Morgan met back up with Esan in the ball room minutes later. They decided to wait until the main performance by Amira d'Phiarlan began to slip out of the room, for they knew that Amira's play would be loud, and likely to keep the attention of the audience. Soon, the elven woman was on the stage with her troupe of actors, and Morgan recognized some illusion magic being used to set the stage. They left the room.
They immediately began looking for the mole in Talovar's inner circle, a local noble named Halas ir'Jaimar. Sigo had indicated a passphrase for them to use when speaking with Halas to let him know that they were with Sigo. When they found the youthful lord, Morgan asked him about his 'encounter with the fierce bullette'. When Halas denied the rumor, and wondered aloud where it had first sprung up, Morgan replied that he had heard it from 'some drunken fool in Wynarn's Retreat'. Minutes later, Halas excused himself to the privy. While all this was going on, Gerard listened in on the prideful recounts of adventures in Xen'Drik by the famous explorer Thrush Xivdrad. Thrush was a special guest of honor at the gala, for his exploits were well publicized in the local rags. Gerard noticed a tall, heavily scarred man in plate armor listening intently to Thrush's tales, and asking pointed questions about survival techniques and local lore of the lost continent.
Gerard and Morgan left Esan in the ball room to go to the privy. Here, they met Halas again. All pretenses dropped, Halas was told of their dangerous mission and offered to aid them however he could. He took the vial of poison from Morgan, which was designed to triple the effects of the alchohol that its drinker consumed. Halas was better positioned to slip such a thing in Talovar's drink without being noticed. He told them that the passphrases to the various doors of the castle had been changed. Halas also warned them that Talovar's cat had some sort of special link to her master, and was more intelligent than others of its kind. Morgan guessed that she might be Talovar's familiar, for they knew that Talovar had studied at the Twelve, and was an accomplished wizard.
Gerard and Morgan met back up with Esan in the ball room minutes later. They decided to wait until the main performance by Amira d'Phiarlan began to slip out of the room, for they knew that Amira's play would be loud, and likely to keep the attention of the audience. Soon, the elven woman was on the stage with her troupe of actors, and Morgan recognized some illusion magic being used to set the stage. They left the room.
Scene II
Morgan easily managed to get the guard away from his post long enough for them to get through the door; he used a minor wizard's trick to create some noise in Talovar's audience chamber on the other side of the entrance hall, and while the guard investigated, the three of them quaffed invisibility potions, unlocked the door, and slipped through. They made their way down to the dungeons without further interference. Esan crept down ahead of the group and killed the two guards posted at the bottom of the stairwell. Morgan jammed the alarm lever in the guard room and waited with Gerard there while Esan went to the cells to find the prisoner he had been sent to free. Ganitari was a mess, but she quickly shook some circulation into her limbs and followed Esan back to the guard room. She disappeared into a store room where her gear was kept, but before she did she warned them that Dashokoya Nurabo, her nefarious Inspired captor, might be coming down soon for her nightly interrogation.
Ganitari was right. While she was putting on her own clothing and gear, the footsteps of armored guards could be heard coming down the stairwell. The companions quickly set up an ambush in the hallway outside, a dangerous chokepoint. Soon, Dashokoya, her blade bearer and four Reidran retainers were in the guard room. They quickly spotted the bodies of the prison guards, but when one of the retainers asked his mistress whether the alarm should be raised, Dashokoya became overconfident. She believed that they could deal with the situation themselves. They stepped through the door and began dying. Esan and Gerard decimated Dashokoya's entourage quickly, Morgan blinded the Inspired woman with unorthodox yet highly effective necromancies, and soon Dashokoya was retreating up the stairs alone. Morgan recognized a psionic power used to circumvent her lost eyesight, but she apparently did not wish to fight when grossly outnumbered. Her unarmed bladebearer tried to block their way, but they plowed right on through him. Soon, Ganitari joined the fray. Cornered in the room just above the dungeons, Dashokoya succumbed to Gerard's relentless blows and the combined efforts of Esan and Ganitari. Right after Dashokoya fell, her bladebearer took his own life with a previously hidden dagger.
Thankful that they had (miracurously) not yet raised an alarm, the quartet made their way up to the second floor once again. They changed their plan a little bit when they ran across a second manned sentry room; they would ambush Talovar in one of the hallways of the outer wall, which he would have to travel through on his way to bed. They ended up waiting for much longer than they had planned - apparently, the poison hadn't worked, because Talovar didn't stumble through their trap until the party was nearly over. They killed him quickly, using a silence spell to avoid notice as well as to prevent him from casting spells.
When they returned to the sentry post that had deterred them before, they were surprised to see that all of the guards were asleep. Esan killed them silently and they continued up to Talovar's private suite on the third floor. The third surprise of the evening, and perhaps the most dangerous yet, was that they were not the only ones trying to get into Talovar's study. Crouching in front of the late lordling's bedroom door was a man dressed all in black, with two swords in criss-crossed scabbards on his back. Another, dressed identically, stepped out from a shadowy corner, staring right at Gerard. As the sentry called out a warning to his twin, the companions wondered briefly if they would fare better against these assassins united and awake, with Ganitari at their side...
Ganitari was right. While she was putting on her own clothing and gear, the footsteps of armored guards could be heard coming down the stairwell. The companions quickly set up an ambush in the hallway outside, a dangerous chokepoint. Soon, Dashokoya, her blade bearer and four Reidran retainers were in the guard room. They quickly spotted the bodies of the prison guards, but when one of the retainers asked his mistress whether the alarm should be raised, Dashokoya became overconfident. She believed that they could deal with the situation themselves. They stepped through the door and began dying. Esan and Gerard decimated Dashokoya's entourage quickly, Morgan blinded the Inspired woman with unorthodox yet highly effective necromancies, and soon Dashokoya was retreating up the stairs alone. Morgan recognized a psionic power used to circumvent her lost eyesight, but she apparently did not wish to fight when grossly outnumbered. Her unarmed bladebearer tried to block their way, but they plowed right on through him. Soon, Ganitari joined the fray. Cornered in the room just above the dungeons, Dashokoya succumbed to Gerard's relentless blows and the combined efforts of Esan and Ganitari. Right after Dashokoya fell, her bladebearer took his own life with a previously hidden dagger.
Scene III
Thankful that they had (miracurously) not yet raised an alarm, the quartet made their way up to the second floor once again. They changed their plan a little bit when they ran across a second manned sentry room; they would ambush Talovar in one of the hallways of the outer wall, which he would have to travel through on his way to bed. They ended up waiting for much longer than they had planned - apparently, the poison hadn't worked, because Talovar didn't stumble through their trap until the party was nearly over. They killed him quickly, using a silence spell to avoid notice as well as to prevent him from casting spells.
When they returned to the sentry post that had deterred them before, they were surprised to see that all of the guards were asleep. Esan killed them silently and they continued up to Talovar's private suite on the third floor. The third surprise of the evening, and perhaps the most dangerous yet, was that they were not the only ones trying to get into Talovar's study. Crouching in front of the late lordling's bedroom door was a man dressed all in black, with two swords in criss-crossed scabbards on his back. Another, dressed identically, stepped out from a shadowy corner, staring right at Gerard. As the sentry called out a warning to his twin, the companions wondered briefly if they would fare better against these assassins united and awake, with Ganitari at their side...
1 comment:
Great entry, Treehouse. I hadn't realized that the poison was unsuccessful. I just thought that it wasn't as good as we were led to believe. These are a lot of fun to read.
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