Chapter 6: Escape from the Prison World - Dark Beginnings

[Rukellian]

This battle scenario is going off of the assumption that Tooley is having Flynn remain on the defensive, not wanting to open up his wound again unnecessarily.

Enemies won initiative.

Whitsell's opponent swings his blade, but misses due to a properly timed duck. Being in a good position to attack, Whitsell does just that and thrusts his sword upward to one of the hollowed suit's unguarded areas. The blade pierces the armor cleanly. It is a strange feeling, thrusting a blade into a hollowed suit, but still feeling some sort of physical resistance instead of air. The warrior does not ponder too much on the thought for that has not stopped him from slaying zombies and skeletons and even a demon in the company of his comrades in arms.

Captain Hal does not fair too well with his opponent as a blade comes down onto him. There is noticeable blood spill and the Captain grunts in pain, his actions becoming sluggish after the enemy attack. But just as before when fighting 8-Finga Joe, Hal shows a tenacity that is hard to beat down in battle. Hal performs a three-step double sword strike maneuver (sounded and looked cool in my head... ), bringing his opponent to the ground and down for the count. Hal drops to one knee as he clings to his new open wound, seemingly unable to lift his sword.

One opponent remains, on its last leg so to speak.

[Rukellian]

Dufonte finishes prying the boards off in silence and enters the small tunnel in a cautious manner. His method of entering suggests that he is looking for something. It does not take long for him to stop his movement. He rubs his hands against the wall before him and pulls out a brick from the wall. The wall begins to open like a door. Dufonte looks behind to make sure everyone is still with him and then heads inside.

He instinctively walks over to where a torch is in the darkness and lights it. The light reveals a torn up room. Thing are scattered about everywhere, drawers from aged wooden desks are pulled out and papers are all over the ground. Looking at Dufonte's reaction, you can tell this is not how he last left the place.

The room itself is quite small and seems to be a small dirt enclosure, dug out by tools it seems and refurbished with some wooden flooring. Though you are in the sewers, for some reason you do not see any signs of water damage in any of the paper or furniture.

[tooleychris]

Flynn will leap into the captains place and parry any attacks this round while the wounded man withdraws.

[Zhym]

Elethil looks around the room. It must be one of several that the Order of the Knife has at its disposal. Surely such a small room would not be the only hideout for such an organization.

"This room is not, I presume, in the condition in which you had expected to find it?" he asks. "As far as I am aware, this is not the work of the Brothers. Perhaps agents of Fenrin have been here? Or perhaps this has some connection to the manner in which you were taken, given another man's form, and placed in the gallows?"

He finds a chair lying on the floor, turns it upright, and sits down. "You might not believe how few opportunities I have had to sit in a chair today," he says.

"Unless the state of this room creates more pressing matters, perhaps we should discuss how we can use our combined forces and skills to deal with Fenrin. Foremost among the factors we should consider is time: I need rest and time to study if I am to provide anything other than a strong arm to the cause."

[onlyme]

Realizing that time is of the essence, the humble Whitsell decides that he needs to quickly end the battle for them to concentrate on escaping.

long sword attack [1d20+4] = 18+4 = 22 thac017; damage [1d8+4] = 7+4 = 11

[Grognardsw]

If space permits, Deceidon slides in his sword past Hal to help finish off the animated armor.

Sword Attack [1d20] = 20, damage s/m [1d8] = 5, damage L [1d12] = 8

[Rukellian]

The enemy won initiative this round and manages to fit in one last attack, this time on the parrying Flynn. Though the enemy swings hard and fast, the swashbuckler manages to slide the blade away safely through some careful maneuvering. It is at this critical moment that Deceidon and Whitsell attack in unison, performing a crippling strike against the hollowed opponent. It collapses to the ground, marking the end of the brief conflict and return of silence. No more can be seen down the corridor.

Of those under Hal's command are still able in body, they rush over to help the Captain up. It is only after the battle that you realize just how battered up Hal was this whole time. All across his uniform, you can see signs of cuts and gashes, armor split apart, and shoddy bandage work barely keeping him together. He grunts in pain as they try to lift him up. "Don't worry about me you fools! The king comes first! Go! He can't be far from here." His voice grows weak as he props himself up against a wall, holding one of his sides.

The faint echo of a chain rattling against stone can be heard ahead in the darkness.

[Rukellian]

Elethil looks around the room. It must be one of several that the Order of the Knife has at its disposal. Surely such a small room would not be the only hideout for such an organization.

"This room is not, I presume, in the condition in which you had expected to find it?" he asks. "As far as I am aware, this is not the work of the Brothers. Perhaps agents of Fenrin have been here? Or perhaps this has some connection to the manner in which you were taken, given another man's form, and placed in the gallows?"

He finds a chair lying on the floor, turns it upright, and sits down. "You might not believe how few opportunities I have had to sit in a chair today," he says.

"Unless the state of this room creates more pressing matters, perhaps we should discuss how we can use our combined forces and skills to deal with Fenrin. Foremost among the factors we should consider is time: I need rest and time to study if I am to provide anything other than a strong arm to the cause."

Dufonte barks out a hoarse laugh in response to Elethil's statements. "Yes, no time for rest for anyone it seems, not even the wicked."

He surveys the room once more and nods his head in silent confirmation. "Whatever they were looking for, they probably didn't find it. As to who it was, I have no doubts in my mind that the Brothers are innocent. I know how they operate. They wouldn't take such aggressive measures as this to get what they want. Fenrin, he might of been behind this. He has been known to pull many strings in the past, get behind many names and operate in the shadows, much like what my order does. In fact, he probably wedged his dark influence into some of my men. It would explain why this place was found."

Dufonte clasps his hands together behind his back and starts to pace back and forth in thought. "Still, certain events still don't quite add up." His face lights up suddenly in a sort of epiphany. He looks towards Rand and Elethil and asks them in a slightly demanding voice. "Can you tell me why Fenrin wanted to see you two dead, specifically? Even though you saw him at the execution, even though you are members of the Brothers of Prometheus, you should all still technically see him as nothing more than the king's royal advisor, a mage. But something tells me, you know more about the man then what has been let on."

[tooleychris]

"One of you stay behind and look after your captain and the others." Flynn says to the guards.
"The rest with us to find his lordship!"
Flynn dashes toward the sound of chains.

[onlyme]

Whitsell follows Flynn, hoping to quickly find the king before it's too late.

[Grognardsw]

"Onward!" exclaims Deceidon, sheathing sword and nocking arrow.

[Rukellian]

Flynn, Whitsell and Deceidon does not waste any time upon hearing the chain rattles and Hal's words. They are close, they can feel it! With swords drawn and arrows knocked, the three charge into the darkness with a torch supplied by one of the guards.

As you descend down the corridor, you can hear the sounds of chains much more clearly and a muffled groan. The corridor ends with a small room. The lighting of your torch reveals it to be another torture dungeon of sorts with many tall cages and wooden tables strewn about. Tools and instruments hang on the walls and lay on the tables and the reflective surface of red can be spotted here and there. Your attention, however, is immediately drawn to a cage towards the far end of the room. Another moan emanates from it following a more frenzied chain rattle.

The man inside the cage is beaten, battered, broken, barely alive and starved. The man is Benegal, the Good King of the Dathanian Empire.

[tooleychris]

Flynn rushes to the cage and tries to see how it is locked.
"You are saved, your grace." he says to the poor man. "Hold fast, sire. Your people need you."

[onlyme]

Whitsell looks around for any keys.
We will save your majesty.

Seeing no keys visible, Whitsell will use his knowledge of steel to look for any weakness of the cage to bend/break the door or bars.

[Zhym]

Dufonte clasps his hands together behind his back and starts to pace back and forth in thought. "Still, certain events still don't quite add up." His face lights up suddenly in a sort of epiphany. He looks towards Rand and Elethil and asks them in a slightly demanding voice. "Can you tell me why Fenrin wanted to see you two dead, specifically? Even though you saw him at the execution, even though you are members of the Brothers of Prometheus, you should all still technically see him as nothing more than the king's royal advisor, a mage. But something tells me, you know more about the man then what has been let on."

Elethil raises one eyebrow and fixes Dufonte with an unflinching gaze. "Indeed? Then Sunshine did not report to you before—but of course he would not. The wood elves of the Macero clan were always somewhat flighty."

"It is a long story," he says, shaking his head slightly. "One that I am far too tired to recount in full at this time. Furthermore, despite Sunshine's failings as both assassin and spy, I suspect you are already quite familiar with most of the plot and themes of that tale. You would not have proposed an alliance between our groups had you not known the nature of the threat that Fenrin poses. So let us not play games, Dufonte. I believe we can each assume that the other knows more about Fenrin than he lets on. The question of the moment is what we intend to do about him."

[Rukellian]

Dufonte clasps his hands together behind his back and starts to pace back and forth in thought. "Still, certain events still don't quite add up." His face lights up suddenly in a sort of epiphany. He looks towards Rand and Elethil and asks them in a slightly demanding voice. "Can you tell me why Fenrin wanted to see you two dead, specifically? Even though you saw him at the execution, even though you are members of the Brothers of Prometheus, you should all still technically see him as nothing more than the king's royal advisor, a mage. But something tells me, you know more about the man then what has been let on."

Elethil raises one eyebrow and fixes Dufonte with an unflinching gaze. "Indeed? Then Sunshine did not report to you before—but of course he would not. The wood elves of the Macero clan were always somewhat flighty."

"It is a long story," he says, shaking his head slightly. "One that I am far too tired to recount in full at this time. Furthermore, despite Sunshine's failings as both assassin and spy, I suspect you are already quite familiar with most of the plot and themes of that tale. You would not have proposed an alliance between our groups had you not known the nature of the threat that Fenrin poses. So let us not play games, Dufonte. I believe we can each assume that the other knows more about Fenrin than he lets on. The question of the moment is what we intend to do about him."

"Yes, quite. Well then, even given my current connections, I have still yet to figure out just what Fenrin is hoping to achieve with his previous actions. The killing of mages and other magic users is a noble goal, considering how much evil is wrought with said tools, but he too is a magic user. Fenrin has made frequent use of the Order for various other activities as well, some not even dealing with magic. He is setting up the board for something, what... I was hoping you would be able to provide some insight into that. My agents are scattered at the moment, others are dead, and I have reason to believe that some of them have turned against their oaths. The situation is not good, to put it lightly, and to make matters worse, I have lost contact with the Good King himself."


Dufonte goes over to one of the ransacked drawers and pulls out a half-folded map of the city. He lays it out on the table and points toward two key areas. "If the execution was part of Fenrin's plans, whatever it was he hoped to accomplish by doing it, he will probably try and return to a base of operations to start up a back-up plan. He is a man of many contingencies and schemes." Dufonte points towards the New Dathan Castle in the center of the city. "As the king's royal advisor, he probably has an area set up somewhere in there; however, there is also the off chance that he has been pushed to a corner." He then points towards the city docks to the east. "If that is the case, he would probably try to recover some of his losses and travel to a safer location."

He pauses for a moment and looks up from the map towards Rand and Elethil, a serious expression on his face. "I do not know the current status of my group. I could try to get in contact with some of them and send them to these areas under Guild orders, but I can't promise anything at this point."

[Rukellian]

Flynn rushes to the cage and tries to see how it is locked."You are saved, your grace." he says to the poor man. "Hold fast, sire. Your people need you."

Whitsell looks around for any keys.
We will save your majesty.

Seeing no keys visible, Whitsell will use his knowledge of steel to look for any weakness of the cage to bend/break the door or bars.

Whitsell certainly could find the weakpoints in said cage, but that would take a strength check and something to be used for proper leverage. Remember though, Deceidon is a fighter/thief, you always have the option of having him attempt a lock pick.

And with that said, you do not see any keys nearby. The king appears too weak to speak at the moment, but he does muster up a smile and settles down.

[Zhym]

"Perhaps you are not as well-informed as I thought," says Elethil. "No doubt that is a side effect of killing men of knowledge instead of learning from them."

The elf contemplates Dufonte for a moment then nods, as if reaching a decision. "This, stated briefly, is what I know—or at least believe that I know. Fenrin has been playing with the threads of reality itself. He has an artifact that can create new planes of existence. As of this morning, I was an occupant of one of those planes. It was there that I met the unlamented Sunshine. I also met others, including this man Rand."

"While trapped in that dimension, Rand and I learned of Fenrin's plans for this world. He has made a deal with the demons of the Abyss to resurrect what he would call 'true magic.' He plans a dark war that will envelop the world, creating a new world order that he alone would control. Those who help him are promised dimensions of their own to rule. Those who would oppose him—such as the Brothers of Prometheus, who, in your ignorance, you are incapable of distinguishing from practitioners of dark magics—or who could be seen by Fenrin as competition are either banished to one of his little planes, as Rand and I were, or simply killed."

The elf takes a long look at the map. "We should watch the docks in case Fenrin does decide to flee the town. How quickly could you contact your men and have them in position? Because time is of the essence, as seems always to be the case for this interminable day, perhaps we should travel to the docks ourselves. We will also need a way to identify Fenrin once we are there, for he will certainly travel under a disguise if he is able. Have you any solutions to that problem?"

What resources do the Brothers have left? We went through many of them in the rescue attempt. Are there any scrolls left? How many Brothers are there we could use for dock watch?

[onlyme]

Flynn rushes to the cage and tries to see how it is locked."You are saved, your grace." he says to the poor man. "Hold fast, sire. Your people need you."

Whitsell looks around for any keys.
We will save your majesty.

Seeing no keys visible, Whitsell will use his knowledge of steel to look for any weakness of the cage to bend/break the door or bars.

Whitsell certainly could find the weakpoints in said cage, but that would take a strength check and something to be used for proper leverage. Remember though, Deceidon is a fighter/thief, you always have the option of having him attempt a lock pick.

And with that said, you do not see any keys nearby. The king appears too weak to speak at the moment, but he does muster up a smile and settles down.

Whitsell asks Deceidon whether he can pick the lock. Meanwhile Whitsell looks for something to use as leverage in case they need to brute force it.

[Grognardsw]

Deceidon attempts to pick the lock, but somehow makes it even more locked.

Deceidon Percentile Roll [1d100] = 100

"Ah, it must an enchanted lock, for it refuses my efforts," says Deceidon. "Who did this to you my King?"

Deceidon attempts to manhandle the lock apart, and breaks a fingernail.

Bend Bars [1d100] = 24

"Aye, a powerfully ensorcerelled lock it must be."