Ally thinks
Subject Ally thinks
"The distraction sounds like a good idea, but what are we going to do with that distraction? That's what worries me."
The Order of the Silver Sword
Subject The Order of the Silver Sword
While we're in the middle of all this hiatus-ing, I have a question. I've been reading over the archives, and it seems that the Order of the Silver Sword, of which Harp is definitely a member, is a sub-order of an overall order. I'm not sure if that is the case, but it seemed from something I read that the OotSS is like the military branch of the order, in which case Ragnar would not actually be a member of the OotSS, but rather the larger organization. I could, however, be misreading it. And since there's no convenient way to search the archives, I'm not going to go back looking for it. I'd like to know anything about the order(s) that you can tell us, including the hierarchy, and specifically where the "cleric" part and the "paladin/warrior" part start to overlap. I figure Ragnar would know a great deal, though I understand that you probably haven't filled in the entire organizational chart in your notes.
OotSS
Subject OotSS
Well the Order of the Silver Sword does have clerics.
The larger group would be the church of Heronious(SP?) in the country of Schon. Probably the closest analogy would be the Knights Templar and the Catholic Church. The more martial clerics join or are assigned to the OotSS. The more "normal" clerics would be part of the rest of the Church.
If that does not make sense let me know.
Checking in, map
Subject Check in
Mark, I am back, though slammed at work. I will not add anything else at this point, other than Harp will give his impressions of the guard detachment at the mayors house.
From: Mark
Subject Check in
Is everyone back and ready? If eveyone could check in I will start on the next turn.
I want to make sure we are all on the same page. It is early evening of the partys third day in town. They are at a new inn, the Screeching Eel, it is early evening and people have been filling each other in on what they found. Players may want to restate what they have found/deduced etc.just so that every one is up to date.
From: Karl
Subject check in
"I agree" Salix says.
(OOC -- we are talking about the residence in town, right? Not the estate.)
From: Karl
Subject Check in
"I think we need to get down to the prison area in the cellar. If any of my people are still alive, it's very likely they are being held there."
From: Mark
Subject Check in
This should be correct. The Mockers have only been talked to and talked about the Mayors house.
For future clarification, the Mayor's house is the house in town. The Mayor's Estate is the large place outside of town that Salix and Kal and Ragnar went to scope out.
From: Derek
Subject Check in
OOC: Check.
IC: So will getting back out and getting to safety be a problem? As long as we can get outside I can turn invisible and fly away, but getting everyone else out, including possibly some prisoners, could be a real problem. What if we released everyone from the prison at once? Would that be a sufficient distraction?
From: Jason
Subject Check in
Checking in
From: Randy
Subject Check in
"Should we plan to make our move while Hack and I are in the Mayor's grounds? We were invited to come back and do some training tomorow and that might give us a chance to hamstring their defenses if trouble starts or the two of us could go inside once the distraction gets the guards moving out. Based on the skill of the troops that we saw we should have no trouble physically. What do you guys think?"
Ranthir pushes his hair out of his eyes and looks to Salix, waiting for the plan to take shape so that he could prepare for what was needed of him.
From: Karl
Subject Check in
"That might be a good idea. From what you saw of the Mayor's grounds, how would you suggest the rest of us get inside with the least notice?"
From: Derek
Subject Check in
"I could probably go with you guys at the same time. I'm fairly certain that they want me to work as a scribe there, and once I'm inside I could either incapacitate the scribe or the butler and run off, turn myself invisible, create a distraction, or any other number of things."
From: Mark
Subject Map
The Mockers did give Surin and Mund a map of the basic layout of the house. It does give basic descriptions of the rooms in the house. However there are two things to remember. The map is at least two years old and it shows nothing of the basement/cellars other than where the stairs for them were three years ago.
I will get a map sent out tonight.
From: Ashley
Subject Check in
I thought we didn't want to go to the house, but the estate? Unless there's a secret passage or something connecting the two.
From: Mark
Subject Check in
You, meaning the party, may want to investigate both. ;)
From: Karl
Subject Check in
Salix has been concentrating on the house ever since learning the cellar was converted into a prison. So far, he sees no reason to go to the Estate. That may change when he finds out about the house. His first priority is to find the missing druids and try to get them to safety, and to inform the Druid council of the status of the town and probable cause of the trouble.
Everyone else's only priority at this point should be to find the Stormfather, as it is he who know where to find the next gemstone. Salix will explain all this explicitly if necessary.
From: Josh
Subject Check in
I'm ready.
From: Kevin
Subject Check in
OOC: I know Salix is anxious to get going, but we have only been here 3 days or so. If we can get Hack, Ran and Allistair inside the house, 2 of them on "guard duty" and Ally actually inside snooping around, it may bode well for our plan. In fact, how long does Allistairs Invisibility spell last? He could cast it on Surin as they head into the house, Surin could look around while invisible, and Ally would not raise any suspicions.
Just food for thought.
From: Mark
Subject map
Ok it seems like my Open Office program has disappeared off of my PC. However, I think I have gotten something useful using MS Office.
I have attached a map of the 1st floor of the Mayor's house. A couple of comments. The large green area is a courtyard/garden. The inside of the U shape of the house has lots of windows that were not obvious from the first visit. The outside of the U is stone with large glass windows. According to the Upright Man the Windows are for light only and can not be opened.
Something I was not able to draw is in the Foyer. There is a large Grand Staircase that heads to the second floor. This is in addition to the other two smaller staircases.
The doors that take up 10 feet spaces are the front door, the doors into and out of the Ballroom and the doors into the Formal Dinning room. The rooms that are not marked, the Mockers are not sure what they are.
I will be working on the Second floor tonight. Ally was tested on the second floor. Ran, Harp and Ally were taken in the door near the kitchen, they had the small encounter with the maid there and then Ally was led up the stair across from the Kitchen to the Second floor.
One small retcon. In the story I have already written , the three waited in a laundry room. It was actually the kitchen.
Other than that it should be ok.
Let me know if you have any questions.
The Mayor's house, at the Eel
Subject The second floor
Ok here is the second floor map. Let me know if you have any questions.
The third floor is attic space and where the live in help lives. The Mockers feel that it is very unlikely that the party will need to go to the third floor.
The two stairs near the back of the building on either side also go down to the basements.
Please let me know if there are any questions. And let me know what plan the party is going to come up with.
I will write more this afternoon.
From: Randy
Subject The Mayor's house
So when Ranthir, Harp, and Ally approached the house where did they approach? I assume the Main Entrance. If I understand right they were then led around the house to the rear entrance near the kitchen. Is this correct?
Also, is the courtyard just completely open access to the street or is there a wall protecting it? When Ranthir and Harp were asked to return the next day were they to report directly to the courtyard or were they to report to the house first?
From: Mark
Subject The Mayor's house
There is a fence around all of the grounds of the Mayors house. The front of the house, which is the wide portion with the large doors, faces the main gate. There is a driveway of sorts that creates a large loop right in front of the main door. There are also paths that head towards the back. Ran et al were taken in the door on the back left hand side, where the kitchen is. They were then led upstairs.
The courtyard is at the back of the house. It was not visible from the street. It is open to the grounds behind it. There are other buildings on the grounds such as a stable, barn, smokehouse, blacksmith, etc. Think of a typical English estate from the early 1800's or so. You know those houses you see on PBS or the BBC when they do Great Performances?
From: Kevin
Subject The Mayor's house
OOC: Do Harp, Ran, or Allistair notice if what they saw of the layout is substantially different from what they see on the Mockers map?
From: Kevin
Subject Stairs
OOC: Mark, also, were the stairs that were used set up the way we are familiar with - i.e. a stair down on the other side of the stair up?
From: Mark
Subject Stairs
No. Harp and Ran have only seen the kitchen, the one hallway, the stairs, the upstairs hallway and the Butlers office. Ally was in one of the other offices close to the butlers office. However nothing they have seen looks any different than the map.
From: Mark
Subject At the Eel
The party sits around a large table in a private room. They had spent some gold to get the privacy, but felt it was well worth it. The Screeching Eel was sure step up from the last two places they had stayed, but the overall sense of corruption still prevailed. The whores were a bit cleaner and the drugs were used in private rooms, but every thing was still for sale. Surin had reported on his meeting with the Mocker's and had shown the others the map of the Mayor's house. Ally and Harp and Ran confirmed that the map was accurate, at least for the little bit of the house they had seen. "We need to get into the cellars "Salix says "and soon. I feel that if any of the druids are still alive, that is where they are being kept."
Harp talks quietly. "Salix, my friend, I know you wish this to be done and sooner rather than later, but I think we still need more time to gather more information. We have done well for only being in town for a few days. I understand that there is risk in waiting too long, but there is also risk in moving too quickly. Let Allistair and Ran and me go back tomorrow and see if they hire us. That will give us a chance to do some up close inspections and see if these maps are still accurate. Give us one or two more days." Salix sighs, knowing in his mind that Harp is right but feeling in his heart that they need to move soon.
"Surin" Salix continues "tomorrow, go find your contact and agree to the fee for the distraction. See if you can find out how large it will be and where it will be. Also see if they have any suggestions as to where we should enter the house? Front door, back doors, etc? I would hope they might just tell us this but if they ask for payment, do it unless it is really out of line." The druid turns to Harp and Ran and Ally. "Tomorrow, you three go back and see if they have accepted you for work. If so, you know what to do. If not, come back here and we will figure something out. Mund, Ragnar and Kal you three spend the day wondering around the town, especially around the streets and ally around the Mayor's house. I want all of you to be as familiar with those streets as if you were born here. When we go in we may be moving fast on the way out and I don't want us running into any dead ends."
He looks around the table. "Any thing else before we turn in for the night?"
OODM: Here is the time to make any other suggestions.
From: Porter
Subject At the Eel
Mund pipes up. "The Upright Man said said we'd be needin' more muscle to go into the Mayor's house. If we go in there, I think we ought to do it together. Ain't no use trying to do everything at once if we get ourselfs killed."
From: Mark
Subject At the Eel
OK. Let me make sure I'm on the right page.
We have a map for the Mayor's *house* in town, which is where Allistair, Hack, and Ran went.
Salix and his companions went to the Mayor's *estate* out in the country, where we're guessing they're building an army.
Right?
From: Porter
Subject At the Eel
Mund looks sideways to the elf Kal, and opens his mouth as though to speak, but then changes his mind.
When he opens his mouth again, he just says "I wish there were something more we could *do* in the meantime besides walking around, but it could help out. Sure thing."
From: Kevin
Subject At the Eel
Harp speaks up. "You know, one of the guards was saying that the seargant does not really like half orcs like me. He may offer a job to Ren and not me, but Ran could try and make it a package deal. We could offer to take a night shift when we both would be able to see better than a normal human. It would also allow us a better chance to look around without getting people suspicious. There are probably less folks in there at night any way. We might be able to help sneak Surin in so he can look around. It might be even easier if Allistair turned him invisible."
T-1 down
Subject At the Eel
"I'm willing to give it a try. I can make someone invisible for up to 7 minutes with a spell, so I could probably get Surin inside, at least. Once he's inside he'd be on his own, though."
OOC: Did Kal or Surin end up buying any pearls for ID spells?
From: Ashley
Subject At the Eel
"I wouldn't mind scouting a bit first with the help of Ally's invisibility spell, then bringing in the muscle when we know better what we might be dealing with. D'you think the mayor might have set up any defenses against somebody like me sneaking in undetected?"
From: Kevin
Subject At the Eel
Harp responds " I don't know. Maybe when we go back tomorrow, if Allistair gets offered a job, he can see if he can sense any magic in and around the place. That might give us an idea of what we are up against."
From: Jason
Subject At the Eel
Ragnar agrees with Salix. While he would love to strike a blow against the clerics of the death-god, our purpose here is to find Stormfather Acer (and hopefully the others) and bring them to safety.
From: Karl
Subject At the Eel
Salix defers to Harp, er Hack's cooler head and will try to be patient for one more day while the rest of the group does more reconnaissance. He will go with one of the others to scout the streets.
From: Derek
Subject At the Eel
"I know some of you guys are itching to do something more than just wandering the streets around the mayor's house all day. Why don't you try and get a job as a laborer for one of these groups that is shipping all the goods to the mayor's estate outside of town? You might be able to get a ride on one of the wagons into the estate and help unload it, and get to see inside the walls of the estate."
From: Mark
Subject T-1 down
Sorry for no replies today. Our T-1 line at work got disconected and we were with out internet access most of the day.
I will try and get something out tonight or tomorrow.