This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
Kyrsa turns to the women in the cart, "Don't worry, we are going to get you out of here and to a safe location." She bends down and searches the guard for keys...
This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
Mina runs up to the first wagon, and searches the downed guards for keys. Hoping to find one to the wagon as well as whatever manacles the ones inside are probably wearing.
Both Mina and Kyrsa are able to locate keys to the wagons and the shackles.
Spar observes them, and then asks, "You sure you want to do that? If they run off, we'll have a devil of a time getting them all back in the wagons to get to the monastery. You know you have good intentions, but all these young ladies know is that armed bandits broke in and killed all the guards. You might even be from a rival gang. They have little reason to trust anybody at this point."
Kyrsa stands up after searching to body of the guard and speaks in a low voice, "I was not planning on releasing them immediately. Not after what we talked about prior to our departure. I just thought it would be easier to make sure we had the keys before leaving for the monastery."
She glances back at the prisoners, then turns back to the dwarf, "Are we ready to go?"
Tamryn looks at Annika and smiles, his eyes crinkling, “Annika, you are just the person I need. In that wagon,” he says, pointing to the third wagon, “are a group of very scared and very angry women. They all believed they were going to lose themselves to slavery and be forced to become something they are not. I have given them weapons and helped them unlock their shackles so that they can have a small piece of freedom back. It gives them a chance to feel a little more whole. But they need more reassurance that we mean them no harm. So, I need you to go in there. First, knock on the door and say these words (This is very important) ‘Monkey butts.’ They must be said loudly and clearly. Then enter slowly and unarmed. Tell them that the fighting is over, but they may not want to come out because of the bodies. Tell them exactly where we are taking them, how long it will take, and what will happen to them there. Ask if there is anyone who requires healing or other aid. If anyone needs to relieve themselves. Tell them that, if they like, you or I will ride in the wagon unarmed with them until we get to the monastery. And, this is very important, tell them that if anyone tries to enter the wagon without first saying ‘monkey butts,’ they are to oppose them with all their power. Can you do that, Annika? These women need a soul to point them home, and you can be that for them.”
Akyan reaches under the seat and pulls out the chest. Since the others are still talking, he decides to practice his lockpicking skills. He isn't as up to par with the skill as he would like. Besides, if he couldn't get this one, he could always try to find the key.
Mina also notices a small locked chest under the driver's seat of the first wagon.
Akyan struggles a bit with the lock, but finally manages to pop the chest open. Inside, there is a potion of healing and a sheaf of parchment documents. Upon examination, it seems to include a list of the name, age, and race of each of the captives in the wagon, as well as delivery instructions including an address in the city and a password.
Annika listens to Tamryn's monologue, her eyes growing wider by the second as he continues. "Monkey....?"she slowly repeats, trying to absorb the information. As the elf finishes, she swallows once or twice then nods. Without speaking, she hands her weapons to Millie, and then proceeds to the rear of wagon three. She knocks on the door, starts to speak but her voice croaks. She clears her throat, and then calls out "Monkey Butts!" in a raised voice before slowly opening the door, and entering. She closes the door behind her.
After about 10 minutes, Annika emerges from the wagon, looking worried. She walks over to Spar and whispers something in his ear. He frowns, and then nods at Annika and waves his hand towards the rest of you.
She clears her throat. "In that wagon there are eleven girls. The original cargo was eight, but the caravan came upon a small company of humans traveling east, and unwisely killed the men and took the women prisoner. Those three additional women are FatimaDannihyr, age 18, and two of her ladies-in-waiting." She pauses. "Fatima is the daughter of Mallika Dannihyr, the third-ranking leader of House Dannihyr, and who also runs a powerful criminal syndicate in the city. She is also rumored to be one of the top leaders of the city's guild of thieves.
"Fatima refuses to go to the monastery, and demands to be returned to her mother. She will not relinquish the weapons they received, and she states that from now on she will only speak with the 'boorish, clumsy and extremely unattractive elf' that killed their guard. She also demands a new password, deeming it beneath her dignity to continue having people shout 'Monkey butts' at her."Annika concludes here, rolling her eyes.
Spar has been thinking with a furrowed brow during this recital, and now speaks. "Fatima is no ordinary captive. And the nuns at the monastery will not hold her against her will, indeed, it would endanger them to do so. As soon as her disappearance is realized, Mallika will mobilize her minions, and there will be a large reward for her recovery, and a large bounty placed on her captors. Mallika is ruthless, and will suspect this to be the work of one of her rivals in the guild. It is likely that this will spark a gang war in the city, and lead to the deaths of many innocents. If we return the girl to her mother, it will be difficult for us to maintain our anonymity, and could complicate future missions as we frequently take out Dannihyr targets. In addition, it may not completely avert the gang war, as clearly someone in the city was expecting this shipment of slaves, even if the acquisition of Fatima was accidental.
"I am open to hearing suggestions on how to move forward."
Without really thinking about it, Akyan pockets the potion and looks over the documents. After reading the address and password, he looks over to the group. Once the dwarves are finished talking, he steps of the wagon and walks over to Spar.
“I found this under in the wagon. It has delivery instructions, an address and a password.”
He hold the paper out to the dwarf, “Might be useful.”
Once the dwarf takes the paper he continues, “That girl might actually be useful. Perhaps one of us can return her, posing as freelance bounty hunters looking for a guild. This could give us a leg up in joining a powerful guild. If this is a guild you commonly deal with, it wouldn’t be a bad idea to have eyes on the inside.”
Tamryn raises his hand, "I have an idea. It will be tricky, but I think we can pull it off. First, do we have horses? If not, we'll make do, but they would be very handy."
"We need to separate Fatima and her maids from the other women immediately. She must not think we are actually going to take the girls to a monastery. We are going to be a group of bandit raiders, who acted quickly to save the merchandise because we wanted to sell it to our buyer. The monastery is a lot of hokum we cooked up to keep the women docile."
"So, once we have horses (please?), we will bring Fatima and her maids out of the wagons (the other two wagons can go on without us). As they are led out, the leader of our gang (I suggest Spar or Jhaartael) will be dressing me down for entangling us with House Dannihyr too soon, before we're truly established. I will argue that I had no way of knowing Fatima was on the cart. When she exits, you will quiet immediately, not wanting her to overhear our plans. Then I and ideally three volunteers will take Fatima and her maids to her mother. We will pose as newly made bandits, who overheard plans for the cargo and decided to take it for our own. I was the second-in-command of the band, but now I have been disgraced. Our skill in disposing of the dearly departed slavers and our returning her daughter may earn us her good graces. That we can use."
"As for the manifests and passwords, I'd use them tonight if you still feel up to it. They will only be good for so long and you can use them to gain the element of surprise. Go kill some more bad guys tonight."
Spar ponders this, and says, "Interesting, but I would rather that Fatima not be able to recognize any more of our faces than she has already seen. We may already be too compromised to be able to operate effectively. We can mask our faces, but not our stature. I'm not ruling out this plan, but let's hear other ideas."
He looks over at Duncan, a questioning look on his face. Duncan shakes his head. "I'll need a night's sleep before I can do that again."
Spar looks around, "Well? Anyone else have ideas or suggestions?"
"Alright, I'm just going to put this out there as a possible last resort. The way to keep it so that only Tamryn and Annika have been seen . Are these Dannihyrs, slavers? If no, we could just leave the third wagon. The rest of us head out and with the other two wagons and leave the last for them to find their way. We could circle back later on in case Fatima left the others still shackled in the wagon and we could release them then and take them to the monastery.
"Or as the rest of us hide in either the other wagons or in the woods, Tamryn and Annika can give her one of the horses and let the three of them off on their own? That is a bit more risky for us."
Mina takes out the small chest under her bench. "I know it isn't ideal and I'm open to other suggestions, but thought I'd throw it out there."
Kyrsa listens to everyone silently, taking in all of the information. She doesn't really like the fact that they now have the daughter of a powerful crime lord in their custody, but if Team 2 thought it was alright to let her go should she really question it? She nods to Mina, but waits to hear Spar's response before responding herself. Right now, she really just wants to unshackle the girls in the wagon. She is perfectly willing to ride inside with them if it will make them more comfortable. Anything to let them have whatever reassurance that they are on their way to freedom. Still, she stays quiet. As far as she is concerned, right now, Spar is in charge, so he is the one who will ultimately decide what they do.
Kyrsa turns to the women in the cart, "Don't worry, we are going to get you out of here and to a safe location." She bends down and searches the guard for keys...
Investigation17
Mina runs up to the first wagon, and searches the downed guards for keys. Hoping to find one to the wagon as well as whatever manacles the ones inside are probably wearing.
Ah, Investigation if needed: 21
Both Mina and Kyrsa are able to locate keys to the wagons and the shackles.
Spar observes them, and then asks, "You sure you want to do that? If they run off, we'll have a devil of a time getting them all back in the wagons to get to the monastery. You know you have good intentions, but all these young ladies know is that armed bandits broke in and killed all the guards. You might even be from a rival gang. They have little reason to trust anybody at this point."
Kyrsa stands up after searching to body of the guard and speaks in a low voice, "I was not planning on releasing them immediately. Not after what we talked about prior to our departure. I just thought it would be easier to make sure we had the keys before leaving for the monastery."
She glances back at the prisoners, then turns back to the dwarf, "Are we ready to go?"
Akyan climbs up to the drivers seat of the second wagon. He picks up the reins, but waits for farther instructions.
Annika clears her throat, and then asks Tamryn, "Everything Ok in that last wagon? You came out of there with an odd look on your face."
For some reason, the dwarf is visibly blushing as she speaks to the rogue.
Mollie pipes up, "Eh, all elves look alike, he just looks a bit dafter than the rest."
As Akyan climbs up to the driver's seat, he notices a small locked chest tucked underneath it.
The raven, being called back by Jhaartael, comes to rest upon his shoulder.
Jhaartael strokes its shiny black feathers as he walks toward the front-right of the commandeered caravan.
((Once the group is underway, Jhaartael will have his raven scout ahead and at a radius around the wagons to detect any other ambushes)).
Eryndor - Red Dead Annihilation | GM - Volo's Trade Franchise - PF2e Adventures set in the Forgotten Realms
Mina nods at Spar, and heads up to the drivers seat of the first wagon. Mirroring Akyan and waiting for the rest.
Tamryn looks at Annika and smiles, his eyes crinkling, “Annika, you are just the person I need. In that wagon,” he says, pointing to the third wagon, “are a group of very scared and very angry women. They all believed they were going to lose themselves to slavery and be forced to become something they are not. I have given them weapons and helped them unlock their shackles so that they can have a small piece of freedom back. It gives them a chance to feel a little more whole. But they need more reassurance that we mean them no harm. So, I need you to go in there. First, knock on the door and say these words (This is very important) ‘Monkey butts.’ They must be said loudly and clearly. Then enter slowly and unarmed. Tell them that the fighting is over, but they may not want to come out because of the bodies. Tell them exactly where we are taking them, how long it will take, and what will happen to them there. Ask if there is anyone who requires healing or other aid. If anyone needs to relieve themselves. Tell them that, if they like, you or I will ride in the wagon unarmed with them until we get to the monastery. And, this is very important, tell them that if anyone tries to enter the wagon without first saying ‘monkey butts,’ they are to oppose them with all their power. Can you do that, Annika? These women need a soul to point them home, and you can be that for them.”
Tamryn - lvl 4 Wood Elf Rogue - Circle of Light Campaign || Drusilla - lvl 1 Half-Elf Ranger - Sleeping Gods || Grrzark - lvl 1 Goblin Barbarian - Danger at Darkshelf Quarry || DM - LTG - Curse of Strahd
Akyan reaches under the seat and pulls out the chest. Since the others are still talking, he decides to practice his lockpicking skills. He isn't as up to par with the skill as he would like. Besides, if he couldn't get this one, he could always try to find the key.
Thieves tools:12
Mina also notices a small locked chest under the driver's seat of the first wagon.
Akyan struggles a bit with the lock, but finally manages to pop the chest open. Inside, there is a potion of healing and a sheaf of parchment documents. Upon examination, it seems to include a list of the name, age, and race of each of the captives in the wagon, as well as delivery instructions including an address in the city and a password.
Annika listens to Tamryn's monologue, her eyes growing wider by the second as he continues. "Monkey....?" she slowly repeats, trying to absorb the information. As the elf finishes, she swallows once or twice then nods. Without speaking, she hands her weapons to Millie, and then proceeds to the rear of wagon three. She knocks on the door, starts to speak but her voice croaks. She clears her throat, and then calls out "Monkey Butts!" in a raised voice before slowly opening the door, and entering. She closes the door behind her.
After about 10 minutes, Annika emerges from the wagon, looking worried. She walks over to Spar and whispers something in his ear. He frowns, and then nods at Annika and waves his hand towards the rest of you.
She clears her throat. "In that wagon there are eleven girls. The original cargo was eight, but the caravan came upon a small company of humans traveling east, and unwisely killed the men and took the women prisoner. Those three additional women are Fatima Dannihyr, age 18, and two of her ladies-in-waiting." She pauses. "Fatima is the daughter of Mallika Dannihyr, the third-ranking leader of House Dannihyr, and who also runs a powerful criminal syndicate in the city. She is also rumored to be one of the top leaders of the city's guild of thieves.
"Fatima refuses to go to the monastery, and demands to be returned to her mother. She will not relinquish the weapons they received, and she states that from now on she will only speak with the 'boorish, clumsy and extremely unattractive elf' that killed their guard. She also demands a new password, deeming it beneath her dignity to continue having people shout 'Monkey butts' at her." Annika concludes here, rolling her eyes.
Spar has been thinking with a furrowed brow during this recital, and now speaks. "Fatima is no ordinary captive. And the nuns at the monastery will not hold her against her will, indeed, it would endanger them to do so. As soon as her disappearance is realized, Mallika will mobilize her minions, and there will be a large reward for her recovery, and a large bounty placed on her captors. Mallika is ruthless, and will suspect this to be the work of one of her rivals in the guild. It is likely that this will spark a gang war in the city, and lead to the deaths of many innocents. If we return the girl to her mother, it will be difficult for us to maintain our anonymity, and could complicate future missions as we frequently take out Dannihyr targets. In addition, it may not completely avert the gang war, as clearly someone in the city was expecting this shipment of slaves, even if the acquisition of Fatima was accidental.
"I am open to hearing suggestions on how to move forward."
Without really thinking about it, Akyan pockets the potion and looks over the documents. After reading the address and password, he looks over to the group. Once the dwarves are finished talking, he steps of the wagon and walks over to Spar.
“I found this under in the wagon. It has delivery instructions, an address and a password.”
He hold the paper out to the dwarf, “Might be useful.”
Once the dwarf takes the paper he continues, “That girl might actually be useful. Perhaps one of us can return her, posing as freelance bounty hunters looking for a guild. This could give us a leg up in joining a powerful guild. If this is a guild you commonly deal with, it wouldn’t be a bad idea to have eyes on the inside.”
Tamryn raises his hand, "I have an idea. It will be tricky, but I think we can pull it off. First, do we have horses? If not, we'll make do, but they would be very handy."
"We need to separate Fatima and her maids from the other women immediately. She must not think we are actually going to take the girls to a monastery. We are going to be a group of bandit raiders, who acted quickly to save the merchandise because we wanted to sell it to our buyer. The monastery is a lot of hokum we cooked up to keep the women docile."
"So, once we have horses (please?), we will bring Fatima and her maids out of the wagons (the other two wagons can go on without us). As they are led out, the leader of our gang (I suggest Spar or Jhaartael) will be dressing me down for entangling us with House Dannihyr too soon, before we're truly established. I will argue that I had no way of knowing Fatima was on the cart. When she exits, you will quiet immediately, not wanting her to overhear our plans. Then I and ideally three volunteers will take Fatima and her maids to her mother. We will pose as newly made bandits, who overheard plans for the cargo and decided to take it for our own. I was the second-in-command of the band, but now I have been disgraced. Our skill in disposing of the dearly departed slavers and our returning her daughter may earn us her good graces. That we can use."
"As for the manifests and passwords, I'd use them tonight if you still feel up to it. They will only be good for so long and you can use them to gain the element of surprise. Go kill some more bad guys tonight."
"So, what do you all think?"
Tamryn - lvl 4 Wood Elf Rogue - Circle of Light Campaign || Drusilla - lvl 1 Half-Elf Ranger - Sleeping Gods || Grrzark - lvl 1 Goblin Barbarian - Danger at Darkshelf Quarry || DM - LTG - Curse of Strahd
“That’s… basically what I was suggesting.”
Spar ponders this, and says, "Interesting, but I would rather that Fatima not be able to recognize any more of our faces than she has already seen. We may already be too compromised to be able to operate effectively. We can mask our faces, but not our stature. I'm not ruling out this plan, but let's hear other ideas."
He looks over at Duncan, a questioning look on his face. Duncan shakes his head. "I'll need a night's sleep before I can do that again."
Spar looks around, "Well? Anyone else have ideas or suggestions?"
"Alright, I'm just going to put this out there as a possible last resort. The way to keep it so that only Tamryn and Annika have been seen . Are these Dannihyrs, slavers? If no, we could just leave the third wagon. The rest of us head out and with the other two wagons and leave the last for them to find their way. We could circle back later on in case Fatima left the others still shackled in the wagon and we could release them then and take them to the monastery.
"Or as the rest of us hide in either the other wagons or in the woods, Tamryn and Annika can give her one of the horses and let the three of them off on their own? That is a bit more risky for us."
Mina takes out the small chest under her bench. "I know it isn't ideal and I'm open to other suggestions, but thought I'd throw it out there."
Kyrsa listens to everyone silently, taking in all of the information. She doesn't really like the fact that they now have the daughter of a powerful crime lord in their custody, but if Team 2 thought it was alright to let her go should she really question it? She nods to Mina, but waits to hear Spar's response before responding herself. Right now, she really just wants to unshackle the girls in the wagon. She is perfectly willing to ride inside with them if it will make them more comfortable. Anything to let them have whatever reassurance that they are on their way to freedom. Still, she stays quiet. As far as she is concerned, right now, Spar is in charge, so he is the one who will ultimately decide what they do.
Spar turns to Jhaartael, Lyndaran and the rest of the dwarves. "Does anyone else want to weigh in? Any idea is welcome at this point."