Kanon hoped that Zina was communicating with Orst. He gave her a pair of raised eyebrows and she responded with a roll of her eyes. She was on it!
Kanon now had to find Portia and Mara. Mara mentioned she would be tending to the refugees and he thought he saw Portia reconnecting with Malark in the hall. One last thing... Orst was going to provide a bag of gold for the business in Amn. He wondered if the dwarf would understand him if he spoke in code.
"Orst," Kanon says as the dwarf leads them to another room, "I remember you mentioned you had a few interesting books in your possession, but that they'd cost quite a bit of gold to obtain. Have you thought about parting with them? I'd love to study the mint further."
"As I was saying," Orst bellows over the top of Kanon. "We're bringing in dwarven engineers from Earthfast and Cormyr is sending a hundred veteran craftsmen of various type. We'll contract the labor force here locally, probably mostly from amongst the refugees. The coin will help them and they could use something productive to do anyway."
Orst glances around and sees many from Candlekeep still within earshot.
"It's unreasonably expensive to populate a standing garrison using mercenaries, so we'll only be using them to take back the south and secure the border long enough for the construction project. They'll be coming mostly from the Sword Coast area, but there's one contingent from Westgate as well, along the Dragonmere. They're filthy Umberlee loyalists, but they're fierce fighters and we can't afford to be too choosy in our friends these days."
He walks as he talks, moving at a swifter pace than you've ever seen him move before, until you are all outside the walls of the inner sanctum and descending its vast stair toward the keep's highest and wealthiest residential tier. He huffs and puffs as he hurries down the stair, trying to continue his speech but finding himself lacking the air.
"Okay," he pants once you all reach the bottom. "This way now."
He turns and leads you toward a cluster of homes, ducking down a wide street between gated mansions. Waving to a handful of gate guards, he turns onto a private cobbled path and beckons the group to join him.
"This is the home of Sulghend (SOOL-gend) Bret, a trader-lord from Dambrath. He's no friend, but he values coin enough to be loyal for our purposes." Orst scoffs at the cynicism of his own comment. "Inside, now, quickly."
He ushers you through a private garden of red orchids and through two massive doors of ruddy granite leading to a towering oval hall of gray and red stonework, in the center of which stands a tall and peculiar man with silvery-copper hair and ashen gray skin and the pointy ears of an elf. The man is clad in many layers of fine silks and velvets and wearing more jewelry of gold and exotic metals than you've ever seen on a person at a given time.
"This is..." Orst begins.
"Sulghend Bret," the main interrupts, his tone syrupy and effeminate. "Or just Sool, if you prefer. Let's not waste time, hmmm?"
He turns and leads you through many posh chambers in his opulent home, then down into his vast ballrooms and down further into a wine cellar so large it would take years to inventory. Through a bronze door flanked by two short statues of iron, he gestures to a steep and brutal stair.
"Be careful there," Sool says. "If you slip, you'll fall for an hour..."
Orst chuckles nervously. "These tunnels will lead ye down to the lower tiers. Take them right away. I'll send someone for Portia."
This was all happening so fast. He'd barely arrived back in Candlekeep when it was immediately time to go again. This time, through secret tunnels that no one knew existed! "Wait... Mara too. She... wants to come with us, I think. And," he stutters a bit, "and, the goal of this Orst. We'll need..." he rubs his fingers together to indicate coin. He remembered Orst was going to initially provide the coin needed to obtain the books Neiklot was looking for. They couldn't leave and have nothing to purchase the books with!
"Oh, right, right," Orst says, still puffing from his near-fatal encounter with stairs...
As Orst rummages through his pouches and pockets, his eyes go wide. He's clearly forgotten to bring the coin. Sool rolls his eyes and removes one of his larger rings, this one made of a pale blue metal and set with a yellowish gem that seems to glow faintly of its own accord. offering it to Kanon.
"This is worth at least ten thousand," he says. "Orst will repay me."
Orst nods, not bothering to inspect the ring.
"Your friend, the fighter from Beregost," Orst adds, "I'm told she's down with the children at the keep's lowest tier. Ye should retrieve her before ye go. Ye may well need a veteran blade before I see ye again..."
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
PBP "Beregost Blues" - Dungeon Master of Gnome Slaying +5
Kanon nods to Orst and Sool in thanks. He takes the offered ring and hands it to Petti. The last time he carried something of value it slipped through his fingers. Petti at least hid his wealth in a dozen places on his body. "Thank you. We will try to be as quick as we can," he says.
"And I must go now. See, I knew it wouldn't be long. May whatever Lathander leads me to do helps restore Beregost." She gives Malark another kiss on the cheek and a hug.
She steps away before Malark can say anything. Actually saying good-bye would make it feel final. She planned on seeing him again and she had a good clue what she would really be doing. The thing they had planned to do when still in the Gate. At least, they had more information to connect everything.
The path down and then through a rather opulent house proved almost dizzying. Someone else probably went to find Mara and at this point, she was not going to delay getting where this steward wanted to go. She sees an overly opulent elf and Orst.
"Thanks for the escort."
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
PbP - Beregost Blues - Portia Starflower, Half Elf, Cleric, Life Domain PbP - Tome of Annhilation - Vistani Mocanu, Human, Bard
"Thank you for all of your help, Orst," Zina gave the big dwarf another hug. "We'll see you on the other side. Stay safe until we get back." The gnome turned around, not one for drawn out goodbyes, and began to head down into the tunnels. They passed the time in silence, almost too scared to speak.
Before long they emerged, blinking in the bright sun. The lowest tier was overcrowded with refugees and urchins, standing in stark contrast to the pristine Upper Candles. It took Zina only a few moments to locate Mara, who had managed to gather a small throng of adoring children. The illusionist got just close enough to cast her trusty message spell, sending her voice into their fighter's head. Don't freak out, don't react. It's Z, the message said. The people of Candlekeep can't be trusted. We're going to run away, probably get branded as traitors, and save the world, are you in? Just think back and you can respond.
Pettilaen listened intently, intrigued by Orst's detailing of the garrison and how it would be built. His mind began to wander though, imagining owning his own castle, with lots of tall humans and elves to cater to his every need. And with the beautiful angel-lady as his wife. Their kids would still be his height though, but with pale skin, golden hair, and glowing eyes. He imagined the smaller children would make childbearing easier for the seven-foot tall beauty. Maybe I could have triplets?
His thoughts were cut off by Orst's quick command, "Inside, now, quickly." Snapping out of the daydream, he finds himself in a beautiful garden of red orchids. How in the Blazes did we get here? He didn't dare voice the thought, however. He smiles as they walk through the granite doors, entering the gray and red hall. On the opposite side, a grey elf stood. A rich grey elf, by any measurement of his apparel. Wait, am I in a house?He must be in this man's house.
He continued to listen as the elf, Sool, and Orst chatted, himself focused on the exotic and rich apparel of the elf. Those rings must be worth thousands of gold each. His thoughts began to swim with how he could easily buy a castle with just one of those rings. And then Kanon was offering him a ring! His eyes went wide as a massive smile formed on his face. He looked up at Kanon, his eyes a little teary from the gesture. "Is this a daydream? Am I dreaming?"
"No, Petti. Weren't listening?" Kanon questioned. Pettilaen smiled innocently, shaking his head. "This is what we're using in exchange of the gold Orst was going to give us to give to the lady in Amn." His dreams were crushed. This wasn't being given to him as a gift for being so brave against the hill giant? "Oh..." he muttered, sticking the ring down the front of his pants. Sool gave him an odd and slightly disgusted look, to which Pettilaen replied, "Don't worry. I have a secret storage compartment right there. It's water-proof, so no sweat gets in it." He flashes a forced grin, still in dismay that the ring wasn't actually his. Maybe he could make a profit off of it and keep the excess gold the woman in Amn didn't need. What was her name again? Some airy.
Saying his goodbyes, he turned to see Portia waltzing into the wine cellar. Oh good, she made it too.He liked her healing and soothing touch she had.
Mara froze as she heard the voice in her head. Confusion set in. Wait, what, was the first thing that came to mind. Then as the children tugged at her, her thoughts turned to them. What is happening? What about the refugees? Are they in danger?
In her head, she heard, No more dangers than they would be outside the walls. We... on... the... other... hand... are... in... danger.
Mara's thoughts were a whirlwind of emotion. What danger? Danger from who? What is going on? Who will take care of the children?
Again, Zina's voice said, You know, it's not super clear. Neiklot is no traitor, though, and you can see what they did to his reputation. We spoke to- I don't want to tell you too much. What if you tell the wrong person? I need to know if you are in or out. The kids will be as safe as they can be in these times.
I am not a traitor, Mara thought back, smiling to one of the children and ruffling his hair. She was torn. I promised you I would get you back home. Now I guess I won't be able to uphold that promise. She stopped thinking a moment, realizing Zina was listening in. Sorry, not you. I'm just worried for the children. They have nobody. I give them everything I have. If I'm branded a traitor... Her heart was breaking. "It looks like I have to leave again. I'm sorry. I promise, I'll come back. I promise." She stood and scanned the crowd for Zina, finally spotting her. Making her way over to the gnome, she thought, Please tell me I didn't just throw everything away for nothing. She held her head high, but it was clear, she was trying her hardest not to cry. Have to stay strong, Mara, she thought, again forgetting that Zina could hear.
We're going to help get them home. I swear to you, you did not throw everything away. But we can't help them holed up behind these walls. We need to find he source of this evil and destroy it. Zina reached up and grabbed Mara's hand, giving it a little squeeze. "You are the strongest person I know, Mara Windrunner."
"I know you don't trust me," Mara said, staring straight ahead. "But, I'm in." She stopped and looked over her shoulder at the scattering kids. "For them."
Kanon rides up with Portia's horse, Zeratto's old horse and two ponies in tow. "We are not forgetting the horses this time," he says as he rides up. "We've got a long journey ahead of us. Ready?" He asks.
He's never been really good with directions, but he knows that Amn is south. He hopes that Petti can figure out the directions. They might also have to figure something out for food. This was all happening so quickly!
Portia, finding herself amongst the refugees quickly handed her bag of acquired cheeses and other goodies from the meeting, to one of the women working around a cooking fire. "Make sure it gets shared." She smiled and walked away before they could react to make sure she did not lose sight of the others. She could see Zina with Mara, which proved a good thing. They could use the fighter for this trip and maybe it would make her feel like she could do something if she could see the bigger picture beyond the children.
"Oh good. My horse." She rubbed the horse's nose. "Did you miss me?"
Mara walks up to the third horse and pets it. "Hello there," she said softly. "I guess we're going to be friends now." She climbed into the saddle and rode up next to Kanon. In a low voice, she said, "Any time one of you wants to explain, I'd love to hear." She looked tense, and gripped the reigns tightly.
"Can't explain until we're out. Anyone have any idea how to get past the gate?" A few ideas occur to Kanon. One was to pretend the gnomes were one tall human and disguise the rest of the group, and another was to hide everyone in a cart and have Mara act like she were going out scavenging. Neither of the seemed like particularly good ideas. Maybe the guards would just let them out? That was worth a test as well. He might be able to lie his way into getting them to open the gate if needed. They seemed to be regular guards, of sort.
Portia signals to give her a minute before mounting. She trots slowly to the gate and doesn't stop until a guard tells her to. She notes the guards are about the number they have been every time she has gone through it since Beregost was razed.
No one stops her and she turns to follow the wall to the south and wanders back and forth riding her horse, exercising it at different gaits while getting further away as if not paying attention to how far from the wall she gets.
He leaves the group for a moment, heading back to the stables to retrieve the cart they arrived in. When he returns, he has completely changed his outfit. Gone are the adventuring leathers and dirty travelling clothes. Kanon arrives dressed in the latest Baldur's Gate fashion. His pantaloons are lined perfectly with his hose and the ruffles on his collar and arms are frayed enough to make a poodle jealous. His black leather clogs shine in the sun, their buckles reflecting the light back into everyone's face. He leads his horse as it pulls the cart and nods to the group. "If you wouldn't mind hitching your horses to my cart, my friends. And once you hide in the back, we shall be on our way," as he says this you catch a whiff of the latest Baldurian perfume.
"Sure, what could go wrong?" Zina said sarcastically, walking over to the cart. "Don't farji this up, Kanon."
She cast silent image on the cart, creating an illusory false bottom that she, Mara, and Pettilaen could hide under. "Shall we?" She gave her friends a wink before hiding underneath the illusion she had just made.
Mara hitches the horse to the cart, and grumbles to herself about this being a bad idea, before she crawls into the back of the cart and into the illusory bottom. "I hope you know what you're doing," she said to Kanon before settling in. She kept her sword at the ready, just in case. Sitting next to Zina, she whispers, "I expect you to explain everything to me later." It's clear that Mara Windrunner is not amused.
Pettilaen hops into the wagon, underneath Zina's camouflage. "I hope this works!" he mentions, a little uncertain. Whispering to Kanon, he says, "You look great!"
Kanon climbs into the driver's seat of the wagon, making sure his hose doesn't snag on any untoward nails. Before snapping the reins to move forward, he glances behind him to make sure the illusion was in place. Satisfied, he begins making his way to the gate. As he approaches he keeps his nose up and eyes forward, not saying anything unless addressed by one of the guards. He acts as if he expects the gate to be open by the time he arrives. If not, he indicates with a gesture for the guards to open the gate.
Kanon continues the ride through the gate, and it isn't until he crests a hill outside of the Keep's view that he calls out, "All clear!"
They see Portia riding up on her horse in the distance. He turns just in time to see Zina's illusion wear off and he has a huge grin on his face. "I knew it would work!" He says excitedly. He starts buckling his rapier and strapping on his armor over the puffed up clothing.
After he finishes and Portia is within earshot, he tells them what's going on. "Mordenkainen is hiding Neiklot," he says. "Neiklot found something in the scrolls that concerned one of the greatest mages in the realms, and they need us to get those texts from Amn and take them to Baldur's Gate. He needed us to leave like we did so that the others don't suspect a thing. Neiklot's been deemed a traitor for his disappearance, and we may be as well for helping them. According to Mordenkainen, the First Reader merely cares about the keep - he doesn't care for the refugees, Baldur's Gate, or anything happening around him as long as the keep is safe. As for High Lord Dhelt, he only cares about immediate threats. He's not looking ahead and that can be disastrous." He takes a deep breath, "We can't wait around for them to make a decision that may very well get everyone killed. We need to act."
He then frowns down at Mara, "We need to trust that they'll keep the refugees safe and harbor them at Baldur's Gate. But you're out of the keep now. If you intend to leave to Baldur's Gate, none of us will judge you for it."
Kanon hoped that Zina was communicating with Orst. He gave her a pair of raised eyebrows and she responded with a roll of her eyes. She was on it!
Kanon now had to find Portia and Mara. Mara mentioned she would be tending to the refugees and he thought he saw Portia reconnecting with Malark in the hall. One last thing... Orst was going to provide a bag of gold for the business in Amn. He wondered if the dwarf would understand him if he spoke in code.
"Orst," Kanon says as the dwarf leads them to another room, "I remember you mentioned you had a few interesting books in your possession, but that they'd cost quite a bit of gold to obtain. Have you thought about parting with them? I'd love to study the mint further."
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"As I was saying," Orst bellows over the top of Kanon. "We're bringing in dwarven engineers from Earthfast and Cormyr is sending a hundred veteran craftsmen of various type. We'll contract the labor force here locally, probably mostly from amongst the refugees. The coin will help them and they could use something productive to do anyway."
Orst glances around and sees many from Candlekeep still within earshot.
"It's unreasonably expensive to populate a standing garrison using mercenaries, so we'll only be using them to take back the south and secure the border long enough for the construction project. They'll be coming mostly from the Sword Coast area, but there's one contingent from Westgate as well, along the Dragonmere. They're filthy Umberlee loyalists, but they're fierce fighters and we can't afford to be too choosy in our friends these days."
He walks as he talks, moving at a swifter pace than you've ever seen him move before, until you are all outside the walls of the inner sanctum and descending its vast stair toward the keep's highest and wealthiest residential tier. He huffs and puffs as he hurries down the stair, trying to continue his speech but finding himself lacking the air.
"Okay," he pants once you all reach the bottom. "This way now."
He turns and leads you toward a cluster of homes, ducking down a wide street between gated mansions. Waving to a handful of gate guards, he turns onto a private cobbled path and beckons the group to join him.
"This is the home of Sulghend (SOOL-gend) Bret, a trader-lord from Dambrath. He's no friend, but he values coin enough to be loyal for our purposes." Orst scoffs at the cynicism of his own comment. "Inside, now, quickly."
He ushers you through a private garden of red orchids and through two massive doors of ruddy granite leading to a towering oval hall of gray and red stonework, in the center of which stands a tall and peculiar man with silvery-copper hair and ashen gray skin and the pointy ears of an elf. The man is clad in many layers of fine silks and velvets and wearing more jewelry of gold and exotic metals than you've ever seen on a person at a given time.
"This is..." Orst begins.
"Sulghend Bret," the main interrupts, his tone syrupy and effeminate. "Or just Sool, if you prefer. Let's not waste time, hmmm?"
He turns and leads you through many posh chambers in his opulent home, then down into his vast ballrooms and down further into a wine cellar so large it would take years to inventory. Through a bronze door flanked by two short statues of iron, he gestures to a steep and brutal stair.
"Be careful there," Sool says. "If you slip, you'll fall for an hour..."
Orst chuckles nervously. "These tunnels will lead ye down to the lower tiers. Take them right away. I'll send someone for Portia."
This was all happening so fast. He'd barely arrived back in Candlekeep when it was immediately time to go again. This time, through secret tunnels that no one knew existed! "Wait... Mara too. She... wants to come with us, I think. And," he stutters a bit, "and, the goal of this Orst. We'll need..." he rubs his fingers together to indicate coin. He remembered Orst was going to initially provide the coin needed to obtain the books Neiklot was looking for. They couldn't leave and have nothing to purchase the books with!
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"Oh, right, right," Orst says, still puffing from his near-fatal encounter with stairs...
As Orst rummages through his pouches and pockets, his eyes go wide. He's clearly forgotten to bring the coin. Sool rolls his eyes and removes one of his larger rings, this one made of a pale blue metal and set with a yellowish gem that seems to glow faintly of its own accord. offering it to Kanon.
"This is worth at least ten thousand," he says. "Orst will repay me."
Orst nods, not bothering to inspect the ring.
"Your friend, the fighter from Beregost," Orst adds, "I'm told she's down with the children at the keep's lowest tier. Ye should retrieve her before ye go. Ye may well need a veteran blade before I see ye again..."
Kanon nods to Orst and Sool in thanks. He takes the offered ring and hands it to Petti. The last time he carried something of value it slipped through his fingers. Petti at least hid his wealth in a dozen places on his body. "Thank you. We will try to be as quick as we can," he says.
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"And I must go now. See, I knew it wouldn't be long. May whatever Lathander leads me to do helps restore Beregost." She gives Malark another kiss on the cheek and a hug.
She steps away before Malark can say anything. Actually saying good-bye would make it feel final. She planned on seeing him again and she had a good clue what she would really be doing. The thing they had planned to do when still in the Gate. At least, they had more information to connect everything.
The path down and then through a rather opulent house proved almost dizzying. Someone else probably went to find Mara and at this point, she was not going to delay getting where this steward wanted to go. She sees an overly opulent elf and Orst.
"Thanks for the escort."
PbP - Beregost Blues - Portia Starflower, Half Elf, Cleric, Life Domain
PbP - Tome of Annhilation - Vistani Mocanu, Human, Bard
"Thank you for all of your help, Orst," Zina gave the big dwarf another hug. "We'll see you on the other side. Stay safe until we get back." The gnome turned around, not one for drawn out goodbyes, and began to head down into the tunnels. They passed the time in silence, almost too scared to speak.
Before long they emerged, blinking in the bright sun. The lowest tier was overcrowded with refugees and urchins, standing in stark contrast to the pristine Upper Candles. It took Zina only a few moments to locate Mara, who had managed to gather a small throng of adoring children. The illusionist got just close enough to cast her trusty message spell, sending her voice into their fighter's head. Don't freak out, don't react. It's Z, the message said. The people of Candlekeep can't be trusted. We're going to run away, probably get branded as traitors, and save the world, are you in? Just think back and you can respond.
PBP: DM of Titans of Tomorrow
PBP: Lera Zahuv in Whispers of Dissent
PBP: Evaine Brae in Innistrad: Dark Ascension
PBP: Cor'avin in Tomb of Annihilation
Pettilaen listened intently, intrigued by Orst's detailing of the garrison and how it would be built. His mind began to wander though, imagining owning his own castle, with lots of tall humans and elves to cater to his every need. And with the beautiful angel-lady as his wife. Their kids would still be his height though, but with pale skin, golden hair, and glowing eyes. He imagined the smaller children would make childbearing easier for the seven-foot tall beauty. Maybe I could have triplets?
His thoughts were cut off by Orst's quick command, "Inside, now, quickly." Snapping out of the daydream, he finds himself in a beautiful garden of red orchids. How in the Blazes did we get here? He didn't dare voice the thought, however. He smiles as they walk through the granite doors, entering the gray and red hall. On the opposite side, a grey elf stood. A rich grey elf, by any measurement of his apparel. Wait, am I in a house? He must be in this man's house.
He continued to listen as the elf, Sool, and Orst chatted, himself focused on the exotic and rich apparel of the elf. Those rings must be worth thousands of gold each. His thoughts began to swim with how he could easily buy a castle with just one of those rings. And then Kanon was offering him a ring! His eyes went wide as a massive smile formed on his face. He looked up at Kanon, his eyes a little teary from the gesture. "Is this a daydream? Am I dreaming?"
"No, Petti. Weren't listening?" Kanon questioned. Pettilaen smiled innocently, shaking his head. "This is what we're using in exchange of the gold Orst was going to give us to give to the lady in Amn." His dreams were crushed. This wasn't being given to him as a gift for being so brave against the hill giant? "Oh..." he muttered, sticking the ring down the front of his pants. Sool gave him an odd and slightly disgusted look, to which Pettilaen replied, "Don't worry. I have a secret storage compartment right there. It's water-proof, so no sweat gets in it." He flashes a forced grin, still in dismay that the ring wasn't actually his. Maybe he could make a profit off of it and keep the excess gold the woman in Amn didn't need. What was her name again? Some airy.
Saying his goodbyes, he turned to see Portia waltzing into the wine cellar. Oh good, she made it too. He liked her healing and soothing touch she had.
Mara froze as she heard the voice in her head. Confusion set in. Wait, what, was the first thing that came to mind. Then as the children tugged at her, her thoughts turned to them. What is happening? What about the refugees? Are they in danger?
In her head, she heard, No more dangers than they would be outside the walls. We... on... the... other... hand... are... in... danger.
Mara's thoughts were a whirlwind of emotion. What danger? Danger from who? What is going on? Who will take care of the children?
Again, Zina's voice said, You know, it's not super clear. Neiklot is no traitor, though, and you can see what they did to his reputation. We spoke to- I don't want to tell you too much. What if you tell the wrong person? I need to know if you are in or out. The kids will be as safe as they can be in these times.
I am not a traitor, Mara thought back, smiling to one of the children and ruffling his hair. She was torn. I promised you I would get you back home. Now I guess I won't be able to uphold that promise. She stopped thinking a moment, realizing Zina was listening in. Sorry, not you. I'm just worried for the children. They have nobody. I give them everything I have. If I'm branded a traitor... Her heart was breaking. "It looks like I have to leave again. I'm sorry. I promise, I'll come back. I promise." She stood and scanned the crowd for Zina, finally spotting her. Making her way over to the gnome, she thought, Please tell me I didn't just throw everything away for nothing. She held her head high, but it was clear, she was trying her hardest not to cry. Have to stay strong, Mara, she thought, again forgetting that Zina could hear.
We're going to help get them home. I swear to you, you did not throw everything away. But we can't help them holed up behind these walls. We need to find he source of this evil and destroy it. Zina reached up and grabbed Mara's hand, giving it a little squeeze. "You are the strongest person I know, Mara Windrunner."
"I know you don't trust me," Mara said, staring straight ahead. "But, I'm in." She stopped and looked over her shoulder at the scattering kids. "For them."
"I do now."
A dwarf with a canoe on his back? What could go wrong?
Kanon rides up with Portia's horse, Zeratto's old horse and two ponies in tow. "We are not forgetting the horses this time," he says as he rides up. "We've got a long journey ahead of us. Ready?" He asks.
He's never been really good with directions, but he knows that Amn is south. He hopes that Petti can figure out the directions. They might also have to figure something out for food. This was all happening so quickly!
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Portia, finding herself amongst the refugees quickly handed her bag of acquired cheeses and other goodies from the meeting, to one of the women working around a cooking fire. "Make sure it gets shared." She smiled and walked away before they could react to make sure she did not lose sight of the others. She could see Zina with Mara, which proved a good thing. They could use the fighter for this trip and maybe it would make her feel like she could do something if she could see the bigger picture beyond the children.
"Oh good. My horse." She rubbed the horse's nose. "Did you miss me?"
PbP - Beregost Blues - Portia Starflower, Half Elf, Cleric, Life Domain
PbP - Tome of Annhilation - Vistani Mocanu, Human, Bard
Mara walks up to the third horse and pets it. "Hello there," she said softly. "I guess we're going to be friends now." She climbed into the saddle and rode up next to Kanon. In a low voice, she said, "Any time one of you wants to explain, I'd love to hear." She looked tense, and gripped the reigns tightly.
A dwarf with a canoe on his back? What could go wrong?
"Can't explain until we're out. Anyone have any idea how to get past the gate?" A few ideas occur to Kanon. One was to pretend the gnomes were one tall human and disguise the rest of the group, and another was to hide everyone in a cart and have Mara act like she were going out scavenging. Neither of the seemed like particularly good ideas. Maybe the guards would just let them out? That was worth a test as well. He might be able to lie his way into getting them to open the gate if needed. They seemed to be regular guards, of sort.
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Portia signals to give her a minute before mounting. She trots slowly to the gate and doesn't stop until a guard tells her to. She notes the guards are about the number they have been every time she has gone through it since Beregost was razed.
No one stops her and she turns to follow the wall to the south and wanders back and forth riding her horse, exercising it at different gaits while getting further away as if not paying attention to how far from the wall she gets.
PbP - Beregost Blues - Portia Starflower, Half Elf, Cleric, Life Domain
PbP - Tome of Annhilation - Vistani Mocanu, Human, Bard
"Ok!" Kanon says. "I got it!"
He leaves the group for a moment, heading back to the stables to retrieve the cart they arrived in. When he returns, he has completely changed his outfit. Gone are the adventuring leathers and dirty travelling clothes. Kanon arrives dressed in the latest Baldur's Gate fashion. His pantaloons are lined perfectly with his hose and the ruffles on his collar and arms are frayed enough to make a poodle jealous. His black leather clogs shine in the sun, their buckles reflecting the light back into everyone's face. He leads his horse as it pulls the cart and nods to the group. "If you wouldn't mind hitching your horses to my cart, my friends. And once you hide in the back, we shall be on our way," as he says this you catch a whiff of the latest Baldurian perfume.
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"Sure, what could go wrong?" Zina said sarcastically, walking over to the cart. "Don't farji this up, Kanon."
She cast silent image on the cart, creating an illusory false bottom that she, Mara, and Pettilaen could hide under. "Shall we?" She gave her friends a wink before hiding underneath the illusion she had just made.
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Mara hitches the horse to the cart, and grumbles to herself about this being a bad idea, before she crawls into the back of the cart and into the illusory bottom. "I hope you know what you're doing," she said to Kanon before settling in. She kept her sword at the ready, just in case. Sitting next to Zina, she whispers, "I expect you to explain everything to me later." It's clear that Mara Windrunner is not amused.
A dwarf with a canoe on his back? What could go wrong?
Pettilaen hops into the wagon, underneath Zina's camouflage. "I hope this works!" he mentions, a little uncertain. Whispering to Kanon, he says, "You look great!"
Kanon climbs into the driver's seat of the wagon, making sure his hose doesn't snag on any untoward nails. Before snapping the reins to move forward, he glances behind him to make sure the illusion was in place. Satisfied, he begins making his way to the gate. As he approaches he keeps his nose up and eyes forward, not saying anything unless addressed by one of the guards. He acts as if he expects the gate to be open by the time he arrives. If not, he indicates with a gesture for the guards to open the gate.
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Kanon continues the ride through the gate, and it isn't until he crests a hill outside of the Keep's view that he calls out, "All clear!"
They see Portia riding up on her horse in the distance. He turns just in time to see Zina's illusion wear off and he has a huge grin on his face. "I knew it would work!" He says excitedly. He starts buckling his rapier and strapping on his armor over the puffed up clothing.
After he finishes and Portia is within earshot, he tells them what's going on. "Mordenkainen is hiding Neiklot," he says. "Neiklot found something in the scrolls that concerned one of the greatest mages in the realms, and they need us to get those texts from Amn and take them to Baldur's Gate. He needed us to leave like we did so that the others don't suspect a thing. Neiklot's been deemed a traitor for his disappearance, and we may be as well for helping them. According to Mordenkainen, the First Reader merely cares about the keep - he doesn't care for the refugees, Baldur's Gate, or anything happening around him as long as the keep is safe. As for High Lord Dhelt, he only cares about immediate threats. He's not looking ahead and that can be disastrous." He takes a deep breath, "We can't wait around for them to make a decision that may very well get everyone killed. We need to act."
He then frowns down at Mara, "We need to trust that they'll keep the refugees safe and harbor them at Baldur's Gate. But you're out of the keep now. If you intend to leave to Baldur's Gate, none of us will judge you for it."
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