"This is not an area I am good at sneaking around in, but I will try..."  Rubin says as he tries to scout around the keep.

Stealth: 11

Perception: 25

If it is in darkness he would be invisible to those with darkvision.

The walls are too tall for you to get a good picture of the inside, but you do see there’s one guard on each of the four walls.

Rubin returns to report in.  "Looks to be one guard on each of the walls." He tells the group.  "Couldn't tell much more than that though..."

Jairus thinks to Kethra's reconnaissance suggestions:

• "Make a rough count of how many guards there are."  - Done
• "Find if they're redirecting river water inside the keep, so we can have an escape route that doesn't leave footprints."
• "If that doesn't work out, could you check for any unguarded places you can sneak through as a small animal and let a rope down from, Davian?"
• "Lastly, listen if they have any horses."

Jairus attempts to scout to see if he can hear any horses, see any signs of a waterway passing into the keep, or for any small openings where a Wild Shaped Druid might gain entry.

Stealth:  18

Perception:   18

Investigation:    21

"So if they only have one guard on each wall that may mean they don't have the numbers for more or maybe they feel they don't need any more than one." Tyde motions for the others to gather near once their scouting is finished.

"I guess the plan is to gain entry as new recruits. But what then, if they buy it we might get to look around inside. If they don't we may have a fight on our hands."

"We could wait until nightfall and try to sneak inside somehow. We would only have to deal with one guard whichever wall we approached from."

"Any preferences?"

Quote from Brian_Avery >>

"So if they only have one guard on each wall that may mean they don't have the numbers for more or maybe they feel they don't need any more than one." Tyde motions for the others to gather near once their scouting is finished.

"I guess the plan is to gain entry as new recruits. But what then, if they buy it we might get to look around inside. If they don't we may have a fight on our hands."

"We could wait until nightfall and try to sneak inside somehow. We would only have to deal with one guard whichever wall approached from."

"Any preferences?"

 Jairus relates whatever he learned, if anything, on water access, a crevice for an animal to enter, and the sounds of horses (based on rolls, possibly "no idea"), and then responds, "I'd prefer to just try to sneak in by nightfall, if you're askin' me.  Bluff goes bad, we're surrounded.  Sneakin' in we have a better odds of bein' able to fall back if things get nasty.  But if everyone else is onboard fer play actin' I won't say no.  Sneakin' in is my suggestion, though.  I can creep up and shoot down a few sentries, I'm sure we got some others here who can do some silent take downs."  

Jairus, you don't hear any horses.  There is a water gate you see in the distance, but it's also guarded.  You don't notice any convenient rat portals.

Quote from LordShadowthorn >>

Jairus, you don't hear any horses.  There is a water gate you see in the distance, but it's also guarded.  You don't notice any convenient rat portals.

 Jairus relates this to the others.  "I didn't hear no horses, there's a water gate alright, but they've got a guard on it.  Place is pretty well secured against a rat-sized animal goin' in, maybe they had plague in these parts in the past.  Anyway, that's about all the intel you were lookin' fer, Kethra.  Now we've all just gotta decide how we want to do this thing.  We've got to open this jar of pickles, we gonna grease the lid, coax it open, or smash the thing?  A handful of people smashing a fortified keep ain't smart, so one of the other two."  Jairus does not elaborate on the metaphor so it's unclear what posing as recruits equates to, as opposed to a stealth operation. "Smash" is clear enough, and not the way he is leaning.  

"Maybe our best chances lie in waiting until dark and trying to take the water gate. It won't have as many guards as the keep and if things go wrong we can easily retreat." Tyde offers up to the others to see what they think. "If we go for trying to directly enter the keep, whether sneaking in or bluffing our way in, then we are surrounded in enemy territory if something goes wrong."

"What do you guys think?"

"That sounds better to me," Jairus agrees, nodding. "I don't much like the idea of putting ourselves in the hornets nest and rollin' the dice that we can pass fer hornets.  Rather sneak in and pick off those hornets on our terms."    

((I have to log off for the day, having some home issues and it may be hectic over the next few days, so if posts slow that will be why.  When things break they all break at once. Apologies in advance for any delays.))

(No problem.  Things do seem to all break at once, don't they.)

"I like that idea as well." Rubin says with a nod.  "Going in the water gate seems like our best avenue of entry.  I am not good at deceiving people, so it would probably be best if I not try to do so..."

(Are you all agreed to try the water route?)

(ooc: unless Kethra has a better plan, she is our leader and we will follow her, but this is the best course of action we could come up with that suits our strengths and weaknesses)

Tyde nods to each member of the group as they agree to the plan and looks to Kethra, "It's the best I can come up with with the limited scouting, I think it gives us good chances."

(Does the river flow north or south? How wide is it?)

Kethra would nod, replacing her cloak with the tattered one found earlier. "I don't like the idea of attacking an armed fortification that we were just warned not to, but...I can create a distraction..."

She would explain that since they don't have horses and that its night time, she can light a torch on the downstream side of the Keep, out of longbow range. Then she'd leave it on the ground, using her 80 ft of movement to run away (Step of the Wind), then continue to Dash after that.

"If they don't see me, I'll circle back to you guys and join you for the attack with their attention somewhere else..."

Laughing nervously under her breath, Kethra would say, "If they do see me, I'll lead them on a merry chase. With any luck, they'll open the water gate, send a boat after me and you guys can catch them by surprise. If no boat, I'll try to lose them by crossing the river, beat up the ones who make it across, then meet with the rest of you."

(The river flows north, and it's wide enough that you wouldn't be able to easily cross it (we're talking at least 120 feet).)

Kethra is not seen, or if she is they don't seem to care.

(Should have been more clear about this—the water gate is a chain stretching between two of the walls to keep boats from entering—but it doesn't impede people swimming.)

Rubin would be ready to go in, swimming if needed, once the others are.

Quote from LordShadowthorn >>

(The river flows north, and it's wide enough that you wouldn't be able to easily cross it (we're talking at least 120 feet).)

Kethra is not seen, or if she is they don't seem to care.

(Should have been more clear about this—the water gate is a chain stretching between two of the walls to keep boats from entering—but it doesn't impede people swimming.)

(If the situation doesn't seem urgent, I'll meditate 30 minutes to recover my ki point.)

Catching up to the others, Kethra joins the others with a sheepish look. "Sorry, it looks like the fish aren't biting. Mr....Baker (Tyde) are you fine with swimming? Between you, I and The Baker, you're the only one who can see in the dark, right, Dwarf? Please keep an eye out for the guard and shoot him if he catches us."

(You wouldn’t have needed a little point to dash—you could do it as your action.)