March 2-3: The Old 19th and Events Thereafter

[Mister-Kent]

The scouting group @ the gates to the Old Nineteenth
Around Sunrise

[Mister-Kent]

Zaent on the other side of the wall
Between 5:30 AM and 7:00 AM

There is some loose ground as Zaent drops into the shadows beyond the wall. He finds that certain streets tremble underfoot, as if they'll crumble with a lot of weight. Other streets are collapsed or totally blocked off by rubble. There is a relatively intact multi-story building about half-way through the ward that looks like a residential site, perhaps an inn or boarding house, and a short half-crumbled fortification towards the far-side of the ward.

When the elf looks skyward, he sees Poe the raven circling overhead, then swooping down to a nearby low wall.

(By the time you check out the residential building/Site C on the map, you could be back in time for the grand opening of the gates, or at least get in position to meet up with the That way everyone's on the same timeline line )

Biblo, a block away from the gates
7:10 AM

Biblo arrives blocks away from the gates. As the phantasorcerer emerges from the carriage he can see the nearby inn about to open up its first-floor tavern for business, and the market towards the gates is churning to life.

Gul-Marach, Morgan, Ballar-Uh, and Zachariah @ the gates
7:30 AM

Barton gives Ballar-Uh a pair of shiny red apples gladly, and wishes him a good day.

Over near Gul-Marach, the female Penitent lowers her veil once more, and the Penitents turn to face the gates. Raising their arms and closing their eyes, the silent fanatics place their palms upon the great doors and mouth soundless blessings. The Priest of Vorn recognizes such prayers as very different from the prayers to Vorn, which are often shouted or boasted against the raging wind, instead of whispered.

The utterly devout Penitents summarily dismiss Zachariah Tar, but the rest of the morning's crowd finds him not as easy to ignore. Several merchants, including Barton the Apple-Vendor, seem curious about his words, though somewhat confused.

The agents of the Regent had been patiently standing at attention near the Penitents for some time now, in their dusky light gray plate armor and crimson half-capes. They react to Zachariah's cryptic rant with derision. "Fool," their broad-shouldered Captain hisses. "The sea is far from here, beyond the mountains. There will be no drowning, no 'Deluge', unless the White Lady wills it so!"

He motions for two of his men to take up positions at the cranks on either side of the gate. As the soldiers turn the wheels, the doors creak and grind open. The Penitents scurry back, arms still stretched towards the doors, their mouths still offering up pantomimed prayers.

When the gates are opened, the ruins of the neighborhood is revealed to all. The Captain gestures for the Penitents to stand vigil while he and his men enter what was formerly the Nineteenth Ward, its decrepit wreckage stretching out to a few distant standing structures.

(And where is Mathias during the investigative stages of the delve?)

[Inferno]

Zaent Darkhand, Elvish Rogue:

Zaent's sword whispered from its scabbard and was suddenly in his fist. He carefully crept through the dark, eerie ruins on his way to the tall building he had spied from the wall (Site C).

[Enoch]

If my assassin disguise ability is good enough to imitate an individual, Mathias will try to pick off the rear-most agent and take his place (probably kill him, drag him into an alley, and grab their raiment). Otherwise, he'll probably just disguise himself as a Penitent and wait for the gates to open.

[Marullus]

(Standing by to hear what Biblo proposed as his illusion-plan to get all of us through the gate.)

[Pulpatoon]

They react to Zachariah's cryptic rant with derision. "Fool," their broad-shouldered Captain hisses. "The sea is far from here, beyond the mountains. There will be no drowning, no 'Deluge', unless the White Lady wills it so!"

The vagrant screams back: "Fools! Doomed fools! Roast meat for crabs and gulls! My eyes have looked into the shadows of the depths, they have seen the letters written upon the Abyss, and I tell you, the Wall no longer protects us! Would you take spade and trowel and work to rebuild it, or do you side with the forces bent on our destruction?"

[Fulci]

Ballar Uh, fighter/assassin

Ballar Uh stands up and moves closer to Gul-Marach, but pretending to be interested in the ranting self-proclaimed prophet.

"Who's this man?" he asks of the priest of Vorn, then lowers his voice. And what are the white ghosts doing here? he adds, meaning the Penitents, of course. He doesn't know much about this faction.

[Grognardsw]

To be clear, the Pentinents are watching the Agents of the Regents enter the gates (along with assorted marketplace folk milling about?) It's assumed the Pentinents will then close the gates once the Regents are through?

If this is so, I'll have to think about what illusion could get us through, given the circumstances and many watchers.

I don't suppose my map I procured showed any underground, sewer connections or entrances by which we could go under the wall?

[Mister-Kent]

Mathias
(Replacing one of the soldiers would be tricky for Mathias to attempt by his disguise skills alone, as all the Regent's Men are notably human with unobscured faces. The veiled Penitents, on the other hand, are of course easy for Mathias to replace. What did the Penitent Mathias replaced look like? What did he do with them?)

As the Penitent woman lowers her veil and leads the muted prayer, she has no idea that one of the shrouded acolytes standing next to her is in truth Mathias--illusion-maker, assassin, and Delver extraordinaire--having "replaced" the original Penitent some time ago.

Zachariah
The Captain can no longer shrug off Zacharaiah's madness. He marches up to the older man, puffing up his chest, but Zachariah is slightly taller, so the confrontation isn't as intimidating as the Captain would wish.

"Sides? I serve Christiana the Scarlet. I am on the Regent's side. All else is false, and therefore inconsequential." He sneers, and returns to his men. "Speak your blasphemies again, and I'll make sure you're taken to Limehurst Sanitorium, where you'll get what you deserve!"

***

At first it’s not exactly clear what the Penitents are there for. Now that the gates are open, the four soldiers (five if you include the Captain) enter cautiously. They quickly locate the interior gate wheels and take up positions.

"Keep these gates closed until our return," the Captain informs the Penitents. "If anything other than us attempts to breach these gates, summon Lady Isabelle or Mother Bastet. Only they may give permission to enter here after us…"

The Penitent leader nods, and her acolytes stand in a line across the great threshold, half facing the Old Nineteenth and the other half facing the marketplace.

(Just from living in Vornheim you all know that Lady Isabelle is the mistress of the Royal Cavalry. Mother Bastet holds some position in the White Way church. When Christiana the Scarlet arrived from Midian, she brought many of her own personal clergy, and Bastet was among them.

Marna's Map has no sewer details--I could see Delvers having access to Excavators Guild maps of most Wards, though the map for the Old Nineteenth would be woefully out-of-date. If you'd want it, I'd allow you to have a sewer guide for this general area, which may or may not be of much use getting in.

You could try to play the 'Delver card', and see what reaction you get, or indeed find another way through. )

***

Zaent
As the elf moves on, Poe the Raven swoops down, and alights on a cracked half-wall. It caws at Zaent, and tilts its head suspiciously. It ruffles its feathers as it turns its head at a distant, but approaching, call. A faint "Huuuuuu…"

True to initial assessment, the structure ahead seems to be some sort of inn. From a closer view, Zaent can see that most of the front-facing windows are shuttered. The ones that would otherwise be open have been boarded up from the inside.

(What do you intend to do after scouting the site?)

[Grognardsw]

Biblo Phyle, illusionist

Biblo ponders the dilemma before him. Upon seeing the gate and public market he realizes that entrance sub rosa will be challenging. He discretely gathers his Delver comrades before the expected arrival of the Regent's Men.

"Let us enter as one and follow at safe distance. Zaent can trail more closely. I propose we move a block east to a discrete spot along the wall. I will create an illusion of the very wall, behind which we climb a rope up and over. If there are any observers, they will see but plain wall. I will need to be raised by rope, for to climb myself will break my concentration on the illusion."

[Enoch]

The Petitioner Mathias replaced was a stout, sour-faced man; Mathias slid a dagger into his kidney when an argument distracted nearby onlookers, then the changeling half-carried, half-dragged the man into a nearby alley as if he were assisting a drunken friend.

[Marullus]

"With the power of Vorn, I could compelling them to open the gate... But they would likely alert the authority after," comments Gul-Marach. "But if we wish to lift the librarian up the wall, it should pose little issue."

[Pulpatoon]

Zacharias Tar, Prophet of the Maddening Deeps

The vagrant yells after the captain, "Defilers! Vandals! Dismantlers! Close this breech! Shutter these gates once more!"

He attempts to rush through the gates after the captain, still yelling, "You should be the masons of the city's security, but you invite the squall! You are helpmeets to hurricane! ALLIES OF THE ABYSS!"

Should he somehow make it through the gates, Tar will scamper off and hide among the ruins.

[Fulci]

Ballar Uh, fighter/assassin

Ballar Uh hears out Biblo's plan and nods.

"You look slim enough. We can lift you after we scale the wall. Let's do this."

If everyone's in agreement, Ballar Uh heads over to the chosen place in the wall.
There are probably segments that are not visible to the Penitent guards?

[Enoch]

Seeing Ballar Uh and Biblo and intuiting the likely reason for their conference, Mathias nods to his fellow Penitents. He points to the left and the right, directing his fellow Penitents to other sections of the wall.

[Inferno]

Zaent Darkhand, rogue:

Zaent cautiously slinked back toward the gate and found a hiding spot a block from it. He lay in wait for the Regent's Men to come noisily stomping into the Ward. Once they did, he'd quietly follow them at a great distance, careful not to be seen, while looking for his fellow Delvers.

[jellyfish]

Morgan/Thief

Morgan follows closely behind the group. Looking at Ballar Uh, "I'll go first if you'd like and catch up with Zaent--he might need some assistance. Unless you think you need help lifting Biblio..."

[Fulci]

Ballar Uh, fighter/assassin

"You and me climb up first," Ballar Uh nods towards Morgan, "then you can go, find Zaent. You two secure the ground. I throw back two ropes. Gul-Marach ties one to Biblo, then I use the other to get him up to the wall... Then together we can surely lift up that skinny Librarian."

'I can probably do it alone as well...' he add to himself.

[Marullus]

Gul-Marach, Priest of Vorn

With little more than a grunt of consent, Gul-Marach agrees to the plan and waits at the bottom of the wall, climbing the rope when his turn comes, then lending his strength to Ballar Uh's to raise the librarian. His attention remains on the guards and the penitents, growing irritable with concern as they get further ahead through the gate.

[jellyfish]

Morgan/Thief

Morgan nods to Ballar Uh and makes ready to climb as soon as the ropes and illusion are in place.

Roll, if needed: [1d100] = 91