Sneaking into the Ruined Temple

[SCREE]

(Galadria)
Galadria waits for her companions to take point. She hides her armour under her cloth cloak, conscious of the risk of a traiterous moon peaking it's head out from between rainclouds... but perhaps also in part because she didn't particularly enjoy wearing the armour during a miserable rainy 4am start like this.

Still. She was a professional. Or tried to be. She let her eyes wander the streets but occasionally ensured her attention was on Durrant's and Edel's back, not wanting the magical trump cards of their team to come to harm. She knew stealth wasn't her strong point, so put her full trust in their vanguard team to gather information while remaining hidden behind cover as much as possible.

[Rex]

Brick

"Got it Mortar."

[Straither]

Highport,

4.30am

Hobgoblins hovel.

Setting things into motion, Fawkes and Goran sneak ahead to check out the cobbled alleyway. This is a narrow meandering path, wide enough for a horse and cart but uneven in places with many loose stones and a filth filled gutter. Either side are old stone terraced houses, some three or four storeys high. Old shops have large frontages and some cottage industry must take place here with signs for 'cobblers', 'dentist & barber', locksmithing, carpentry. A pillar on a corner building has an alcove with a standpipe and 'mostly fresh' words chiselled in the stones around in several Highport tongues. A boarded up door in an elaborate archway has several ears nailed to it. A bloody message is scrawled "trespasses will not be forgiven". The only light in the alley, apart from the filtered moonlight are occasional sparkles of flickering candles in upper rooms. A dog barking in a yard nearby the only initial sound above your footfall.


The little Halfling, smeared in his urban camouflage hugs one side wall and skips silently over the cobbles, flitting from doorway to doorway and adjoining narrow defiles. He makes it to the hovel of the gaming Hobgoblins. It is little more than a draughty shell of a partially ruined storehouse, long empty of goods. Pallas, perched on the stone sill of a broken window gives his bird's-eye view back to Edel. He watches as Goran presses his ear to the closed door on the exterior street side, listening in to decipher the Hobgoblins activity in the room behind. As noted before, the figures dice and wager, some standing and some sitting at a long table that holds a wood frame for the casting of knucklebone dice. The knucklebones are carved into the image of pigs and when rolled together, the dice interlock in various poses. Tusk to tusk butting each other, belly up, head over trotter or one mounting the other as if mating. At this the Hobgoblins cry "Making bacon!" and winning wages are settled. An odd game that might seem fun after a few ales. These have been drinking too which only exacerbates the tension between them as the winning prize seems to be the terrified slave woman.

Goran tries to listen beyond the raucous entertainment, straining his ears to discern a rear door opening and footsteps receding into the courtyard around the back. You can scramble over some rubble and peer through a cracked gate into the hovel yard, seeing one of the Hobgoblins seated on a bench, arse exposed over an open sewer taking a dump of yesterday's lunch.

Fawkes is a few yards behind as the Halfling can take advantage using his racial traits to sneak ahead if alone and not in metal armour. The Half-orc takes the other side of the alley to stalk but, using your failed MS roll, literally walks upon the outstretched legs of a vagabond who shelters under an arched overhang. Stepping on the unseen figure rouses him and he gives a cry of alarm and fear as he is suddenly awoken by a crossbow totting assassin, or so he may justifiably think.

Entering the alley some yards behind, Olleg & Brick gesture a halt as they try to learn what is happening ahead. The fighters melt into shadows, hands upon hilts in case the dangers of discover become real.

Edel withdraws from his bond with Pallas, coming back to himself, (I think I am going to go with the idea that when you use the Familiar to look through its eyes and sensory organs, you lose consciousness of those abilities in your own body. So you only have one visual perception at any one time, Edel's or the owl's. . The small avian is perfectly camouflaged against the grey stone and watches proceedings in the alley.

Durrant, Galadria & Vennar bring up the rear, keeping out of view as hand gestures are given by those further up. They look behind, curious as to Mortar Whizzbang who, on a whim to take advantage of his invisibility, has followed the path to the outer watchtower and city gates. They cannot see him of course and mark the trail by chalking a wall, so he may follow should he get too far separated.

Perhaps an easier and less risky route may be found by circumnavigation of the city's ramparts? The watchtower with beacon that suffices as a lighthouse is a tall stone building, three storeys high. It may seem like common rooms or barracks are on the ground floor then private rooms and beacon on the uppermost. Based in the watchtower are more than two dozen militia, mostly Orcs and half-orcs. The have a customised patchwork armoured uniform, some kind of quilted gambeson with sashes and stripes which must denote some differing between the conscripts and those veteran guards. Just by the watchtower is a double portcullis, The two grid bar designed gates are both lowered down, firmly closed, pointy teeth fixed buried into the hard ground. Ropes tied to pulleys in the gate lift the heavy timbers up, presumably at dawn. You can creep right up to the gates undetected, looking through to the wilderness outside the city. The coast of Woolly Bay stretches away on one side, green fields mark the other. However they are not verdant unspoiled pastures but pockmarked with many corrugated lean to's, shanty cabins and mud built dwellings. More dwellings for the city labourers not graced with residence within. The idea to sneak out and around might have proved worthwhile but from what your limited view provides, there are less ruins to shelter within and more risk of exposure.

This is assuming we have some kind of map or at least an idea where the temple is inside the city.

yes, you have basic directions towards the Temple with an approximate location. Using that same pic you edited, the square building with the fire towards the south wall is the one I am using as the ruined Temple.

Actions Mortar, continue your exploration.

Goran, decide on your actions.

Fawkes, deal with the awakened vagabond.

others, you can all act, choosing to still hang back in the alley or advance. You can each roll me a [1d20] which I will check against any intelligence insights.



Highport: random encounter vs 1 [1d6]=6

[gurusql]

Vennar

Vennar will stay with the main group while carrying his morning star.

[_1d20]=(3)=3 Int 10

[Stirling]

Fawkes

More Clubfoot than Twinkletoes. Once the person sleeping rough is woken by me inadvertently treading upon him, I will grab him by the scruff of his collar, trying to manhandle him around to face the wall if I can. I don't want conflict but to intimidate him into thinking I am conducting some kind of bust or hustle looking for someone else.

"Alright buddy, face the wall, hands up, stretch em'. Just gonna pad you down.

Are you the RedRat! The one they call the RedRat? Goes around robbing old uns' and mugging em? Stealing from the most vulnerable. Let's see what you have in your pocket see."

Fawkes: charisma 9 (11) check [1d20]=6

Ideally I can frisk him against the wall or doorway, all the while having the crossbow jammed into him. Then let him realise 'he is not the one I am looking for', and give him a few silvers for his trouble.

"Here take five, you are sound. Go get yourself brekkie and a bath in some hostel. Less said the better." If a side alley to this cobbled street is nearby, I will point him that way so that he neither goes up towards Goran or down the alley and runs into the others.

that's my plan anyway ...

[Rex]

Brick

Brick freezes in place, trying to remain perfectly still and silent.

[Edeldhur]

Edel

The Magic User hangs back.

Int roll vs. 17: [1d20]=18

Ofc

[Scott308]

Durrant Winterflame - Human Magic User

The mage hangs back with the other, less martially-inclined, members of the party.

INT check (16): [1d20]=20 Yeah, that's pretty much on brand for Durrant!

[Ythgar]

Goran, Halfling, 16/16

Goran gets ready to backstab the drunken, defecating, hobgoblin.

His plan is to kill the hobgoblin, move the corpse out of eyesight if possible, and wait for the next hobgoblin who needs to answer nature's call or comes looking for his companion. If he cannot move the corpse out of eyesight, he will arrange it so it appears to be passed out.

He signs to Fawkes in Thieves Cant

Single goblin in rear, backstabbing him.

Moving his rock/debris to his left hand, and drawing a short sword with his right, Goran approaches the hobgoblin from behind. If something happens that he draws the hobgoblin's attention, he will toss the rock/debris to the other side of the area, and also away from the direction of the other hobgoblins, to attempt to keep his surprise attack.

Not sure if this is a move silently check, a Halfling surprise check, both, or something else and what modifiers might apply due to drunk and defecating, so here are rolls for both (-5% for luckstone not applied to that result), (I don't know if luckstone applies to surprise)

Attack rolls:

If the backstab doesn't do the trick, Goran will draw his left hand short sword, maneuver for position, and finish the hobgoblin while he retains the advantage:

maneuver for position: (luckstone -5% still misses by 1!); dual wield attack rolls:

[OGRE MAGE]

Mortar-Mer
Gnome Illusionist

Not thrilled to discover that his idea of slipping outside the walls will likely be more difficult than their current course of action, Mortar remains on high alert for anything dangerous coming his way.

Feeling quite confident that he can't be detected in his current state, the invisible Gnome decides to continue searching along the wall all alone, trying to discover anything he can as he moves in a roundabout path that should bring him back towards the others eventually.

He uses all of his senses to the best of his ability, straining to learn any tidbit of valuable information he can as he sneaks around the dangerous city. INT check (17) [1d20]=18

One thing is for certain.......with all these orcs and other undesirables nearby, he won't need to waste many charges on the strange looking hand shaped wand he carries for a while.


General path of travel, unless something horrible happens.

Highport - Copy.jpg (33.79 KiB) Viewed 790 times

[Howman]

[Olleg, Dwarf, 33/33]

Hearing some unexpected noise ahead, but unsure of its source, Olleg immediately halts next to Brick. Peering further down the alley and listening intently, he attempts to discern if either of his companions are in danger.

[Rex]

Brick

I missed the Int check.

Int check (5) [1d20]=17

[Straither]

Sneaking in Highport.

Mortar Whizzbang continues his side excursion, walking stealthily in the lee of the western ramparts. In several places, small cottages are built right alongside the wall base or small courtyard gardens back into it, in other places you can go right next to it if no vagabond in his tent has not claimed the territory first.

The city wall rises in height to above sixty feet at least and must be several feet thick. The ramparts are traditionally crennallated and silhouetted against the skyline are several guards that shuffle along between the watchtowers. They do not look too observant which either indicates boredom or less expectancy of any attacking threats. Several portions of the walls are in disrepair and scaffolding towers are fixed against walls due to the ongoing rebuilding work. Even in these early hours of a new day, labourers are beginning to gather in anticipation of more back-breaking duties.

The next watchtower along is in quite derelict condition and undergoing a thorough rebuild. A new stone archway over the ground floor entrance door has been created with a demonic faced cornerstone that leers intently over those who approach. A black robed priest talks with two others, pointing at the tower and comparing the current build to the blueprint they follow. Labourers grab picks, trowels and hammers, another pair are busy stirring long staves into a round mortar mixer. All watched over by a hulking foreman who bellows orders and encourages them into work with a crack or two of a leathery whip.

Nearby is a small pony drawn wagon, which has a rusty cage erected upon the back. Shackled prisoners huddle inside, two seemingly surrendered to whatever Fate has in store, heads in hands in resigned despair. A large quarried stone has been rolled purposely by the archway and upon its rune covered surface, a black hooded Gnolls grinds the edge of a large, half-moon bladed axe.

Mortar can understand the grisly ritual that the prisoners expect to unwillingly participate in. These men have been taken as some kind of sacrificial offering for the foundation to the repaired Watchtower.

As Mortar Whizzbang watches the scene unfold, the third man in the cage stretches out his hand through the cage bars, clutching a wooden goblet and suddenly looking straight at the unseen gnome, implores him for water from a nearby barrel. The labourers, foreman, guards and robed priest have no such detection of the gnome. "I thirst for water and my freedom."



Actions for Mortar

[SCREE]

Galadria hangs back unless the sounds of combat start to get out of hand. In the meantime she continues to keep an eye out.

[Rex]

Brick

Brick remains still.

[Straither]

Sneaking in Highport

Fawkes roughs the rough sleeper up, grabbing him and forcefully pushing him against the door he sleeps by. The man protests his innocence to any crime and wrongdoing, "RedRat? Never heard of him. This is Dead Reckoning territory, they is the brute squad round here." Fawkes finds the man has a rusted hand axe for comfort, you can take it from his waist and kick it away from him down the cobbles. Once frisked and turned the man lowers his arms but not his gaze, peering over the shoulder of the Half-orc and down the alley towards the shadowy figures who hunker in the dark recesses.

"Friends of yours? Listen I want no trouble, just minded my own business." he says nervously as a cry of pain or alarm comes from the hovel's yard ahead.

Vagabond reactions to Fawkes: [1d100]=75

Offered five silvers to buy his silence and lack of presence, the vagabond takes off down another adjoining jitty. -5sp Fawkes.

Goran Tillertoes gestures from his own ambush position that he is going to deal with the dumpster. He sneaks closer but at a critical moment a step away from tearing the Hobgoblin a new back passage, the Halfling rogue steps upon some broken pottery that crunches underfoot. It is enough to cause the Hobgoblin to look over his shoulder and see a grease smeared Hobbit lunging at him. He stumbles away, pants around his ankles, Goran takes another stab or two, wounding the Hobgoblin in the buttocks, -1hp.

After the cry of pain and surprise over, the Hobgoblin girds his loins and pulls out a dagger.

Edel, Durrant, Olleg, Brick, Vennar and Galadria come up the alley.

so with two intelligence successes, I will give you two bits of information about this alley or area.

A pillar on a corner building has an alcove with a standpipe and 'mostly fresh' words chiselled in the stones around in several Highport tongues.

Highport is on the coast and relies heavily upon natural underground aquifers to supply residents with drinkable water. This standpipe was built into an alcove that was dedicated to a druidic deity, a partially defaced image of 'the Green Man' is carved in bas relief on the rear wall. You may remember that Highport was originally built as a dwarven and human settlement, and many of its ancient features, in particular, divine or arcane themed points of interest such as a saintly statue, a well, a tombstone to a veritable elder; these may still carry a residue blessing that the aura may bestow upon those with relational class identity or those who can act or honour the point of interest in some way.

So this standpipe dedicated to 'the Green Man' will imbue a blessing to anyone with good or neutral alignment who drinks from it with thanksgiving. For those with less moral alignments, the water may taste salty and brackish but is nevertheless still potable.

so do consider as you adventure to do random things, cast Mending on the broken Saint statue, give coins upon the offering plate, spruce up the warrior's headstone and other creative actions to earn bonuses.

A boarded up door in an elaborate archway has several ears nailed to it. A bloody message is scrawled "trespasses will not be forgiven".

The ears on the door are from several races of humans and humanoids. Looking closely, none have any earlobe rings still attached but all do have tiny, tick like insects crawling about, ticks that hatched from eggs laid in the recesses of the ear hole and canal. Ear Seekers, a dreaded parasitical insect that burrows into flesh. A timely reminder then to anyone tempted to listen in at doors, that they might be risking becoming host to larvae that spring forth from the oak panels should a warm, fleshy ear be pressed too closely upon it. Highport is riddled with various parasites and disease bearing vermin.

Highport: random encounter vs 1 [1d6]=6

Despite the flurry of noises, little disturbs sleeping residents in this neighbourhood. Perhaps they are all too familiar with night-time shenanigans to care for the odd cry, sheltered as they are behind their own barred dwellings. The group consolidate behind Fawkes outside the front entrance to the Hobgoblin hovel. The owl Pallas perched high on an upper sill viewing through the rafters into the derelict room beyond. The gamers dice and drink, one pulling the slave maiden closer to his lap and readies a final throw of his porcine carved knucklebones. The group with him cheer his fist shaking as he grasps them but a sudden cry from the yard momentarily stops the interior entertainment.

Hobgoblins: reaction to noise from yard [1d100]=16

"That ain't constipation getting the better of him." "Go take a look." "Nah, I ain't wiping his arse, you do it!" "He ain't sploshing in the gutter, that's sword on stone, listen." they debate. 'Dicey' pushes the girl off him and grabs a sword. Another walks to exit the room. Edel can blink back from his Familiar bond to relay their actions.

now to yours ...

Actions Goran in melee with 'dumpster' in rear yard.

Fawkes & Co' in alleyway, front of house.

[Stirling]

Fawkes

"Dead Reckoning eh? Maybe that's them Hobgobs." Hearing the cry from the rear yard, I will head that way around, leaving the heavy mob to bust down the front door.

I will scramble over the rubble and back gate to target the Hobgoblin fighting with Goran.

Fawkes: looses Heavy Crossbow: [1d20]=14 [2d4]=6

[Rex]

Brick

Brick rushes in, attacking the first hobgoblin he comes to.

Bastard Sword [1d20+2]=11+2=13 to hit [2d4+5]=5+5=10 damage

[Edeldhur]

Edel

The Elf remains out of sight, keeping watch over their surroundings.

[Ythgar]

Goran, Halfling, 16/16

Goran presses the attack on dumpster, again maneuvering for position

and attacking with both short swords.

Once he has a chance to do so without exposing himself to attack, Goran will
(1) if there is a chance, slip into the shadows;

(2) if he cannot or is unsuccessful at hiding, will sheath his short swords and ready his short bow and arrows.

If he does successfully hide, Goran will keep with his swords hoping for an opportunity to backstab.