[Completed] Corvin/Mordred/Kasper Adventure 1: Battleaxe Gang

[shaidar]

Corvin

"Quick let get us, and the body, out of sight of the tower, in case she was heard."

[ybn1197]

Kasper

"I suggest we move her body into one of the unoccupied buildings. If her scream was heard, we want as little evidence as possible for the curious to find."

[archolewa]

The group quickly pick up and carry the woman's corpse into the nearest abandoned building, the one that Mordred and Sebastian had emerged from.

The tower remains still and silent. The group holds their breaths, waiting to see if anyone emerges, but nobody does. A few minutes tick by, and still, nobody so much as peeks their head out.

It does not appear her scream was heard by anyone inside the tower. A search of the girl's (no older than twenty) body reveals the following:

An amulet around her neck forged from black steel into the shape of a five pointed crown. The centermost point rises far above the other four, and has faint bloodstains. Even just the sight of it is enough to make Kander's skin crawl. Not only does it possess lingering remnants of the Kinslayer's power from the times the priestess has cast spells through it, but he knows why the centermost point is bloodstained. The Kinslayer's clerics use their holy symbol as a sacrificial dagger, plunging it into the chests of their sacrifices during dark and terrible rituals to their dark and terrible God.

A simple wooden club.

A plain iron key hanging from the same thong as that which held her holy symbol.

Hope folks don't mind my assumption that your next step would be to search the body. I won't ever make such assumptions if there's any danger involved, but in this case it seemed silly to wait a few hours for the obvious next step.

[shaidar]

Corvin

Corvin breathes a sigh of relief as her cry seems to have gone unnoticed.

"Why would such a young woman follow such a dark path. I hate to think what drove her to such a choice." when he sees the key his face brightens "This must open the basement door, why else would she have it. Geraint, you said she kept the door locked, is this the key?"

Hope folks don't mind my assumption that your next step would be to search the body. I won't ever make such assumptions if there's any danger involved, but in this case it seemed silly to wait a few hours for the obvious next step.

No problem here.

[archolewa]

Corvin

Corvin breathes a sigh of relief as her cry seems to have gone unnoticed.

"Why would such a young woman follow such a dark path. I hate to think what drove her to such a choice." when he sees the key his face brightens "This must open the basement door, why else would she have it. Geraint, you said she kept the door locked, is this the key?"

Geriant shrugs. "Probably. Ain't nothing else in the tower's locked, except for the vault with all the gang's money, and she never showed in any interest in money."

[shaidar]

Corvin

Corvin slips the key into a pouch for safe keeping. "If nobody minds.." he says, looking at the others. "...Now comes the hard part, taking out the tower. We should pretend to be Geraint's group returning, so it's likely best I go in last. Mordred, how's your ankle, should we take a look at it before we continue?"

[archolewa]

Corvin

Corvin slips the key into a pouch for safe keeping. "If nobody minds.." he says, looking at the others. "...Now comes the hard part, taking out the tower. We should pretend to be Geraint's group returning, so it's likely best I go in last. Mordred, how's your ankle, should we take a look at it before we continue?"

Geraint peeked out the window at what he could see of the eastern sky above the buildings. "If you do, make it quick. Got no more than an hour before dawn, and Hrek wakes up at dawn. He's easily the most dangerous man in there, with a blade nicer than the Magic-User's. If you can, you'll probably want to take him out while he's still sleeping."

[shaidar]

Corvin

"We need to move quickly then, take every advantage we can, otherwise we'll be outnumbered. Geraint, how are the stairs arranged between floors? Are they stone or wood? Are they enclosed? Are there trap doors on each floor or some other means to block and secure a floor?"

[archolewa]

Corvin

"We need to move quickly then, take every advantage we can, otherwise we'll be outnumbered. Geraint, how are the stairs arranged between floors? Are they stone or wood? Are they enclosed? Are there trap doors on each floor or some other means to block and secure a floor?"

"The stairs are in the southeast corner. They're tight, spiral stone. Only really room for one-on-one combat on the stairs. The turn is so tight, that anyone climbing up the stairs are gonna have a hard time -1 to attack if fighting up the stairs. Stairs are steep, and a bit treacherous. Real easy to shove someone down toodefender with the high ground gets a +1 to contested strength checks to shove someone down the stairs. Falling down the stairs deals 1d4, and saving throw vs paralysis or be stunned for 1 round."

Geraint rubs his neck. "Be careful though. Hrek spent years on the Thornwall. He'll be wide awake soon as he hears combat downstairs. Others might not wake up immediately. We're used to the folk on watch downstairs making a lot of noise. But he will. No trap doors that I'm aware of or anything."

[shaidar]

Corvin

"So we really do need to surprise those in the kitchen and overcome them quickly. Then, we need to find a way to get Hrek to come down to us rather than trying to fight him on the stairs.

[Edeldhur]

Mordred

Mordred stood over the fallen priestess, his breath steady despite the rush of recent events. His gaze lingered on her lifeless form, a mix of regret and resolve flickering in his eyes. "She chose her path," he muttered quietly, more to himself than to the others.

Turning away from the grim scene, the Magic-User took a moment to assess his own condition. He knelt down, the pain in his ankle a persistent reminder of their precarious situation. With practiced hands, he began to bandage the injury, securing the makeshift dressing tightly to minimize discomfort and potential complications during the upcoming infiltration.

First Aid [1d20+13]=14+13=27 If successful heals [1d4]=4

He listened attentively as Corvin and Geraint discussed their plan for infiltrating the tower. He nodded thoughtfully as Corvin outlined the need for stealth and surprise, acknowledging the wisdom in their approach. "Agreed," he replied quietly, his voice carrying determination. "Surprising them in the kitchen seems our best chance to gain the upper hand quickly."

His gaze shifted to Geraint as the man detailed the layout of the stairs and the challenges they would face. Mordred frowned slightly, mentally preparing himself for the tight confines and potential hazards of the spiral staircase.

[ybn1197]

Mordred

Mordred stood over the fallen priestess, his breath steady despite the rush of recent events. His gaze lingered on her lifeless form, a mix of regret and resolve flickering in his eyes. "She chose her path," he muttered quietly, more to himself than to the others.

Kasper places his hand on his friend's shoulder. "Indeed, she did choose her path and that path has only one inevitable ending. It is sad that one so young thought this was the best way; with hope she will be judged fairly in the afterlife and have a chance to repent for what she has done on this world." He then turns from Mordred and the girl and moves over to the other two discussing tactics. "I am by no means a tactician, I left that to others more skilled than I but Corvin's idea makes sense to me. I doubt we will have a chance should we fight Hrek in the stairwell."

[shaidar]

Corvin

"So we agree that we need to get surprise on those in the kitchen. There are five of us. How about we send Geraint in first with whichever two humans look most like the other two thugs, then the last human goes in followed by me? Alternatively, Geraint and our best two fighters go first and the rest bring up the rear."

[Edeldhur]

Back from traveling and so pinging here - I think we are agreed on the plan?
As for the surprise element, were the ones we defeated wearing hooded cloaks or something like that which can help obscuring who we really are?

[archolewa]

Back from traveling and so pinging here - I think we are agreed on the plan?
As for the surprise element, wear the ones we defeated wearing hooded cloaks or something like that which can help obscuring who we really are?

Nope. It was a clear night, a little bit cool, but not cool enough to need a cloak. They also feel no need to hide their identities this close to the tower.

[Edeldhur]

Mordred

Let's move along

Mordred finished bandaging his ankle, his mind already racing ahead to the next steps. He listened as Corvin and Geraint discussed the infiltration strategy, absorbing the critical details about the tower's layout and Hrek's routines.

"We still need to get past the front door first, and disguises aren't our strength," Mordred began, his voice calm and measured. "But maybe we do not need much. Geraint, you know the tower and its occupants. If you lead us in, claiming we are new 'recruits' who should meet the boss, would it be far fetched? Do new recruits come off the street like that? Maybe taking us to the kitchen for some soup beforehand?"

He glanced at the others, gauging their reactions, before adding, "It’s risky, but it might just work."

[archolewa]

Mordred

Let's move along

"We still need to get past the front door first, and disguises aren't our strength," Mordred began, his voice calm and measured. "But maybe we do not need much. Geraint, you know the tower and its occupants. If you lead us in, claiming we are new 'recruits' who should meet the boss, would it be far fetched? Do new recruits come off the street like that? Maybe taking us to the kitchen for some soup beforehand?"

Geraint tapped his chin thoughtfully. "I mean, it'd be far fetched, and Hrek would have a cow. But you're not trying to infiltrate the gang, you're just trying to get the jump on the two guards downstairs. And this might, if nothing else, confuse them long enough for you to do that. But the Druid had better hide his mistletoe, and you your starburst. No way they'll believe a Druid and Magic-User wanna join. To say nothing of the Cleric's holy symbol."

[shaidar]

Corvin

"That sounds like our best plan to me. We need to silence them quickly, so try to knock them out if you have that skill."

[archolewa]

Ok. So I'm going to need to know ordering. Geraint obviously will go in first. But what order the others? I believe Mordred and Kaspar are the most heavily armored, while Sebastian and Corvin have knock out capabilities.

[shaidar]

Corvin

"Me and Sebastian could go first, we've a good chance to knock them out and Mordred and Kaspar's heavier armour might make them suspicious."