When they start to hear murmuring from the surface, Drexon reaches out with his mind to read the thoughts of anyone close by, using his innate skills to allow him to do so without speaking.
He holds his hand to ask the others to wait, and reaching out to Karm telepathically and asking, "Can you last a little longer, while I see who is out there?".
Action: Cast Detect thoughts, using 1 sorcery point for Subtle Spell. Bonus Action: Telepathic Speech with Karm
Drexon, you cast your mind out and try to reach the closest mind apart from your friends. You can just barely discern its presence, but there is one mind at the very edge of your capability. You feel a sense of anticipation, boredom, and a hint of distrust from whoever this mind belongs to. Although, despite only noticing one mind, you can tell that this mind is conversing with another. You don't know how many more because they seem to be just outside of your range, but you know that they are there.
Drexon moves across to the wall and tries to very carefully slip out of the water and then move closer to the people, trying to determine how many people are there and a little more about their purpose.
He understands that the others may run out of breath at any moment, in which case stealth will be of no consequence anyway.
Drexon, you surface and cling to the wall, disregarding stealth to save time. Luckily, it seems the pool you are in is some sort of an antechamber. If you are not careful, the people in the other room will still be able to notice you, but it appears to be safe for the others to surface and get some needed air.
Still, you make a brief peek into the other room and notice that there are perhaps a dozen individuals standing around a table. They seem to be of varying ages and heights, but the most notable you notice is the fact that they all wear the same scarlet coat.
Eremoz grabs Karm and helps push him up to the surface of the water. After ensuring Karm gets some air, he pokes his head out to take another breath and descends again to assist Dvark and Cob with getting to the antechamber.
Drexon turns to Eremoz and puts his fingers to his lips, and then shows ten fingers followed by another two. He then concentrates on the one who seems to be the leader with his mind reading. If there doesn't look to be a leader, just the one who is talking.
Drexon, you jump from mind to mind, brushing each of their surface thoughts. Sometimes you get a full sentence -- the one they are thinking about, but sometimes you only get feelings and impressions. For most of them, you still get the feeling of anticipation, boredom, and a little bit of distrust. This time, though, you can unravel that distrust that the other minds felt is more akin to disbelief based on the thought from one of them.
"Isn't this just overkill? There's no way the Amber will attack tomorrow. There's just no way they would dare to do that. That's just suicide. Where's this info coming from?"
{{You still have time with the spell, but let's just say you can get one or two more surface thoughts read or one big push to enter one of their minds.}}
Drexon is definitely torn. He wants to know more but doesn't want to give away the fact they are here and he truly doesn't believe this one knows much anyway, otherwise why so many questions rattling around in his mind.
He continues dropping into surface thoughts, but quickly creates a telepathic link to Cob as he does.
"They are Scarlet Barony preparing for the Amber Squad to make trouble. I advise we wait and see who turns up".
If he can see well enough, he will try and determine if they are wet. He assumes there is another way into this chamber, but if not they should be prepared.
Drexon, from what you can see, they are indeed quite dry. Their trousers -- and some long skirts -- are a little bit damp up to their calf as if they had waded across a pool of water, but their upper garments are dry.
After a few more moments of rifling through the minds of the barony members, you finally get to hear from someone who seems important. The thought comes from one of the persons having their back to you. They are feminine in form and short in stature, yet carry themselves with more poise than the rest. They have their hand crossed hugging their body. They looked ponderous even from the back.
"I don't know what the Amber Squad is thinking by causing a problem at the lady's birthday tomorrow, but it couldn't be good. They never do anything without a cause. They either want to cause a confrontation with the Barony or they want to harm the lady -- maybe kidnap her and hold her for ransom. That would fit with the modus operandi -- seeking high ground and exploiting weaknesses. The lord would pay an arm and a leg just to ensure the lady's return. Perhaps the new mercenaries David hired could help keep watch over the lady while we deal with the possible riot outside the estate. Still, if the Squad incites a riot, it wouldn't be just the lady's livelihood that would be threatened, but the neighbourhood would not be safe too."
Drexon waits for the others to be out of the water, then makes the decision to show himself, but not before ensuring his is properly [spell]guidance;focussed[spell]. And not before warning Cob of what he is about to do.
"They appear to believe they are working on the side of Lady Zelena. I am going to show myself and see what they have to say".
He then steps into the gap between the main cavern and this antechamber, ensuring he is blocking sight of who else is with him if possible.
"Does Lord David know you are gathering here? He did not mention that the Scarlet Barony was involved in the security for the party when he employed us for that task", he asks in as officious a tone as he can muster.
Most of the red-cloaked people in the cavern jump a little when Drexon's voice echoes around. You notice the last mind you've read turning around and putting her hand in front of the others to halt any further movement. She looks older than the rest, perhaps in her mid to late twenties. A frown crosses her face before an incredulous look replaces it.
"Did you wade just into the lake and dive in?" She asks. "In late autumn? Could just use the other entrance like us. Bit muddy but dryer."
"Should we attack?" The person beside her asks. You can see that each person in the room has their hand inching toward a blade or a staff they are carrying. "He's alone. We can take him. For all we know, he could be an agent of the squad looking to eliminate us early."
"Don't be foolish. I've noticed him and his friends in town. Some of us can attest to seeing them. They're the additional eyes and hands that the lord hired for tomorrow's party."
There is a long stare-down before the leader steps forward closer to you. You can feel the suspicions from each of their minds amplifying your own sense of anxiety at the fact that you've just exposed yourself to fifteen unknown and possibly hostile people now that you can see them clearly.
"My name is Maya, the current leader of the Scarlet Barony," the leader says after a while. "The lord doesn't need to know explicitly of our involvement in the party's security, but he knows that we're around helping out. The Clarent has been a very good sponsor to the Barony. It's only right that we defend them from the scums and curs like the Amber Squad."
Drexon ignores the members of the group who suggest attacking, and instead focusses purely on Maya, water dripping onto the floor as he stands still as she approaches.
"It is good to make your acquaintance Maya. I was not aware of another entrance, or indeed of this caverns existence at all, so yes, I took a swim. Oddly Lord David didn't mention it either. And it wasn't just me, I am not actually alone. We are just here to talk though, now we know who you are", he says as he feeds on the nervous energy in the cavern.
"Why don't you tell us a bit more of the Amber Squads plans, then we can possibly help you with your response? After all, we appear to be on the same side here".
"The cave leads directly to the sewer system," Maya says. She points to a small channel running along the floor that you have so far missed. The channel runs from the pool you've surfaced from, across the cave and into the other side of the cave. "If you can navigate it, you can come here. One of us discovered this place during one of our expedition to look for new routes to travel without being seen. We've been monitoring it since the crevasse leads directly to the lake within the estate. I don't think the lord knows about it."
"Are they in the antechamber? Your friends? Maybe best to get them here so we can have a proper discussion. This will take some time. Is someone waiting for you anywhere?"
Maya lets out a heavy sigh and shakes her head to gain her bearing. "Where to start? You know about the Barony, of course. We didn't exactly hide ourselves. We helped the people in the district as per the mandate of the late Lord Clarent when he took us in his confidence. In return, the people tithed a few bronze to the house. When the late lord died, we became freelancer, albeit still having the sponsorship of the house in the form of monthly stipend. We still helped the people in the neighbourhood, but we also have to branch out, taking jobs from the Silver Sable and doing mercenary work when our rank grew. One of the job that we took was to find a missing person. We didn't find them in the end, but we found something more when we followed the trail. This person was assassinated for being a snitch to the local black market. We clashed with the assassins and uncovered a whole operation that we reported to the city guards and rangers. A few weeks later, this group of people began appearing around the neighbourhood, harassing the people we protect. After a confrontation that injured some of ours, we found out that they were working under someone to run interference against our influence in the district. Since then, we've clashed with them several times, but recently we've been hearing rumours of the Squad looking to incite a riot so another group of people could invade the Clarent estate. There would be a party in the nearby tavern, paid for by the young lade, that would definitely spread through the street. One wrong word to the wrong person could cause a brawl and chaos in no time. We're not sure what their aim is, but we know that we couldn't allow this to happen."
Drexon listens carefully to Maya, nodding along at points where he is familiar. He waits for the others to all appear, those who wish to anyway, making sure they had heard everything Maya had to say before responding.
"Yes we have seen the Scarlet Barony about, and are aware of your history with the Clarents. We are not so familiar with the Amber Squad, but the rumour abounds that there is no love lost between yourselves and them. Some even suggest you were both one and the same, however I have no knowledge of that", he says thoughtfully.
"I am not so sure Lady Zelena did the right thing with this whole free drinks idea for tomorrow, but you can't help but be impressed with her connection to the folk around here. But tell me, who is this other group that wants to invade the estate? Are these the ones that have the tattoo of an eye? Why are the Amber Squad allying with them? And why are you reluctant to tell Lord David all this?".
"Yeah, recently they have been using red cloak to make it seem like we caused some trouble," Maya says grimly. "It's noticeable that they act differently than we usually do, but the people are antsy. The young lady is helping us without even knowing it. The free drinks will take the people's minds off of us and the resentment that the people felt toward that wall that was put up a decade ago. But, I agree that it could be done with more finesse and preparation."
"Yes, they have a very distinct tattoo of an eye on their body," Maya continues. She motions for the other red cloaks to gather some cloths from the Barony's stash in the cave to be used as a towel. "We're not sure who is backing the Squad, but we know that it is someone with the ear of the mayor. It's easy to notice that we're contending with people in high places when their equipment is so much better than our own and close to military grade. They're also bold enough to raid a warehouse yesterday, which you probably heard. We suppose they are the owner of the black market operation that we helped the city guards bust and the Squad is something like their attack dogs."
"We choose to hide this from Sir David because we're not sure he can be trusted," a boy, probably twelve or thirteen years old, says from behind Maya. Maya lets out another sigh and shakes her head.
"We've talked about this," Maya says to the boy pointedly. She turns toward you and nods hesitantly at the boy's statement. "David... He was one of us before the late lord recognized his blood. He always encouraged us to be more proactive and stop relying too much on the Clarent's stipend. We have a suspicion that he was the one who increased the stipend when he officially joined the family, but we also know that he is a person with connections in a lot of shady places. His drive to protect the young lady is indubitable, but his means of doing it is sometimes suspect."
Eremoz shakes off water, before approaching the group and drying himself. “My apologies, but who says that you are not the troublesome ones in red and the others are genuine. You could be giving us a false lead to divert our attention. You are hiding behind a secret entrance where some sort of raid on the a house has been attempted before.”
"The fact that we didn't immediately attack your friend when he's alone is not a sign?" Maya asks. She pushes the young boy standing behind her further back. "Still, if you want, we can meet with the lord to corroborate our story. We wanted to close the entrance, trust me, but we lacked the means to do it. If you have some way, be my guess. I want to see this weakness of the estate gone as much as you do. And, if you're still not convinced, exhibit A is the youngest member of ours. He's eleven. Do you think an eleven-year-old wants to bring down the House of Clarent when they're the one that feeds him? Each of us in the Barony is indebted to the Clarents because the house is the one that ensured we grew up healthy and safe. We're orphans and the late lord Clarent gathered us to give us a better purpose than living on the streets as beggars. In return, we help House Clarent's interest in protecting the neighbourhood."
"Eremoz has good instincts. I am not saying he is right, but taking this to Lord David would certainly be the sensible thing to do", Drexon agrees.
"We do have some information about the ones that raided the warehouse that you might be interested in, which does actually help here. At least some of them, perhaps all, were...", he stops for a moment and looks around to the others, waiting for them to give him the nod to share this information.
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When they start to hear murmuring from the surface, Drexon reaches out with his mind to read the thoughts of anyone close by, using his innate skills to allow him to do so without speaking.
He holds his hand to ask the others to wait, and reaching out to Karm telepathically and asking, "Can you last a little longer, while I see who is out there?".
Action: Cast Detect thoughts, using 1 sorcery point for Subtle Spell.
Bonus Action: Telepathic Speech with Karm
Drexon, you cast your mind out and try to reach the closest mind apart from your friends. You can just barely discern its presence, but there is one mind at the very edge of your capability. You feel a sense of anticipation, boredom, and a hint of distrust from whoever this mind belongs to. Although, despite only noticing one mind, you can tell that this mind is conversing with another. You don't know how many more because they seem to be just outside of your range, but you know that they are there.
Drexon moves across to the wall and tries to very carefully slip out of the water and then move closer to the people, trying to determine how many people are there and a little more about their purpose.
He understands that the others may run out of breath at any moment, in which case stealth will be of no consequence anyway.
Drexon, you surface and cling to the wall, disregarding stealth to save time. Luckily, it seems the pool you are in is some sort of an antechamber. If you are not careful, the people in the other room will still be able to notice you, but it appears to be safe for the others to surface and get some needed air.
Still, you make a brief peek into the other room and notice that there are perhaps a dozen individuals standing around a table. They seem to be of varying ages and heights, but the most notable you notice is the fact that they all wear the same scarlet coat.
Eremoz grabs Karm and helps push him up to the surface of the water. After ensuring Karm gets some air, he pokes his head out to take another breath and descends again to assist Dvark and Cob with getting to the antechamber.
Drexon turns to Eremoz and puts his fingers to his lips, and then shows ten fingers followed by another two. He then concentrates on the one who seems to be the leader with his mind reading. If there doesn't look to be a leader, just the one who is talking.
Concentration: Detect Thoughts - not sure how long left
Cob slips up and takes a breath as well and then gets ready. If they burst out they're bound to surprise anyone there.
Drexon, you jump from mind to mind, brushing each of their surface thoughts. Sometimes you get a full sentence -- the one they are thinking about, but sometimes you only get feelings and impressions. For most of them, you still get the feeling of anticipation, boredom, and a little bit of distrust. This time, though, you can unravel that distrust that the other minds felt is more akin to disbelief based on the thought from one of them.
"Isn't this just overkill? There's no way the Amber will attack tomorrow. There's just no way they would dare to do that. That's just suicide. Where's this info coming from?"
{{You still have time with the spell, but let's just say you can get one or two more surface thoughts read or one big push to enter one of their minds.}}
Drexon is definitely torn. He wants to know more but doesn't want to give away the fact they are here and he truly doesn't believe this one knows much anyway, otherwise why so many questions rattling around in his mind.
He continues dropping into surface thoughts, but quickly creates a telepathic link to Cob as he does.
"They are Scarlet Barony preparing for the Amber Squad to make trouble. I advise we wait and see who turns up".
If he can see well enough, he will try and determine if they are wet. He assumes there is another way into this chamber, but if not they should be prepared.
Drexon, from what you can see, they are indeed quite dry. Their trousers -- and some long skirts -- are a little bit damp up to their calf as if they had waded across a pool of water, but their upper garments are dry.
After a few more moments of rifling through the minds of the barony members, you finally get to hear from someone who seems important. The thought comes from one of the persons having their back to you. They are feminine in form and short in stature, yet carry themselves with more poise than the rest. They have their hand crossed hugging their body. They looked ponderous even from the back.
"I don't know what the Amber Squad is thinking by causing a problem at the lady's birthday tomorrow, but it couldn't be good. They never do anything without a cause. They either want to cause a confrontation with the Barony or they want to harm the lady -- maybe kidnap her and hold her for ransom. That would fit with the modus operandi -- seeking high ground and exploiting weaknesses. The lord would pay an arm and a leg just to ensure the lady's return. Perhaps the new mercenaries David hired could help keep watch over the lady while we deal with the possible riot outside the estate. Still, if the Squad incites a riot, it wouldn't be just the lady's livelihood that would be threatened, but the neighbourhood would not be safe too."
Drexon waits for the others to be out of the water, then makes the decision to show himself, but not before ensuring his is properly [spell]guidance;focussed[spell]. And not before warning Cob of what he is about to do.
"They appear to believe they are working on the side of Lady Zelena. I am going to show myself and see what they have to say".
He then steps into the gap between the main cavern and this antechamber, ensuring he is blocking sight of who else is with him if possible.
"Does Lord David know you are gathering here? He did not mention that the Scarlet Barony was involved in the security for the party when he employed us for that task", he asks in as officious a tone as he can muster.
Persuasion (with guidance: (
20, 6)+6+2 = 14Most of the red-cloaked people in the cavern jump a little when Drexon's voice echoes around. You notice the last mind you've read turning around and putting her hand in front of the others to halt any further movement. She looks older than the rest, perhaps in her mid to late twenties. A frown crosses her face before an incredulous look replaces it.
"Did you wade just into the lake and dive in?" She asks. "In late autumn? Could just use the other entrance like us. Bit muddy but dryer."
"Should we attack?" The person beside her asks. You can see that each person in the room has their hand inching toward a blade or a staff they are carrying. "He's alone. We can take him. For all we know, he could be an agent of the squad looking to eliminate us early."
"Don't be foolish. I've noticed him and his friends in town. Some of us can attest to seeing them. They're the additional eyes and hands that the lord hired for tomorrow's party."
There is a long stare-down before the leader steps forward closer to you. You can feel the suspicions from each of their minds amplifying your own sense of anxiety at the fact that you've just exposed yourself to fifteen unknown and possibly hostile people now that you can see them clearly.
"My name is Maya, the current leader of the Scarlet Barony," the leader says after a while. "The lord doesn't need to know explicitly of our involvement in the party's security, but he knows that we're around helping out. The Clarent has been a very good sponsor to the Barony. It's only right that we defend them from the scums and curs like the Amber Squad."
Drexon ignores the members of the group who suggest attacking, and instead focusses purely on Maya, water dripping onto the floor as he stands still as she approaches.
"It is good to make your acquaintance Maya. I was not aware of another entrance, or indeed of this caverns existence at all, so yes, I took a swim. Oddly Lord David didn't mention it either. And it wasn't just me, I am not actually alone. We are just here to talk though, now we know who you are", he says as he feeds on the nervous energy in the cavern.
"Why don't you tell us a bit more of the Amber Squads plans, then we can possibly help you with your response? After all, we appear to be on the same side here".
"The cave leads directly to the sewer system," Maya says. She points to a small channel running along the floor that you have so far missed. The channel runs from the pool you've surfaced from, across the cave and into the other side of the cave. "If you can navigate it, you can come here. One of us discovered this place during one of our expedition to look for new routes to travel without being seen. We've been monitoring it since the crevasse leads directly to the lake within the estate. I don't think the lord knows about it."
"Are they in the antechamber? Your friends? Maybe best to get them here so we can have a proper discussion. This will take some time. Is someone waiting for you anywhere?"
Maya lets out a heavy sigh and shakes her head to gain her bearing. "Where to start? You know about the Barony, of course. We didn't exactly hide ourselves. We helped the people in the district as per the mandate of the late Lord Clarent when he took us in his confidence. In return, the people tithed a few bronze to the house. When the late lord died, we became freelancer, albeit still having the sponsorship of the house in the form of monthly stipend. We still helped the people in the neighbourhood, but we also have to branch out, taking jobs from the Silver Sable and doing mercenary work when our rank grew. One of the job that we took was to find a missing person. We didn't find them in the end, but we found something more when we followed the trail. This person was assassinated for being a snitch to the local black market. We clashed with the assassins and uncovered a whole operation that we reported to the city guards and rangers. A few weeks later, this group of people began appearing around the neighbourhood, harassing the people we protect. After a confrontation that injured some of ours, we found out that they were working under someone to run interference against our influence in the district. Since then, we've clashed with them several times, but recently we've been hearing rumours of the Squad looking to incite a riot so another group of people could invade the Clarent estate. There would be a party in the nearby tavern, paid for by the young lade, that would definitely spread through the street. One wrong word to the wrong person could cause a brawl and chaos in no time. We're not sure what their aim is, but we know that we couldn't allow this to happen."
Cob slips out of the water to join Drexon, shaking off some of the water as he does so.
Drexon listens carefully to Maya, nodding along at points where he is familiar. He waits for the others to all appear, those who wish to anyway, making sure they had heard everything Maya had to say before responding.
"Yes we have seen the Scarlet Barony about, and are aware of your history with the Clarents. We are not so familiar with the Amber Squad, but the rumour abounds that there is no love lost between yourselves and them. Some even suggest you were both one and the same, however I have no knowledge of that", he says thoughtfully.
"I am not so sure Lady Zelena did the right thing with this whole free drinks idea for tomorrow, but you can't help but be impressed with her connection to the folk around here. But tell me, who is this other group that wants to invade the estate? Are these the ones that have the tattoo of an eye? Why are the Amber Squad allying with them? And why are you reluctant to tell Lord David all this?".
"Yeah, recently they have been using red cloak to make it seem like we caused some trouble," Maya says grimly. "It's noticeable that they act differently than we usually do, but the people are antsy. The young lady is helping us without even knowing it. The free drinks will take the people's minds off of us and the resentment that the people felt toward that wall that was put up a decade ago. But, I agree that it could be done with more finesse and preparation."
"Yes, they have a very distinct tattoo of an eye on their body," Maya continues. She motions for the other red cloaks to gather some cloths from the Barony's stash in the cave to be used as a towel. "We're not sure who is backing the Squad, but we know that it is someone with the ear of the mayor. It's easy to notice that we're contending with people in high places when their equipment is so much better than our own and close to military grade. They're also bold enough to raid a warehouse yesterday, which you probably heard. We suppose they are the owner of the black market operation that we helped the city guards bust and the Squad is something like their attack dogs."
"We choose to hide this from Sir David because we're not sure he can be trusted," a boy, probably twelve or thirteen years old, says from behind Maya. Maya lets out another sigh and shakes her head.
"We've talked about this," Maya says to the boy pointedly. She turns toward you and nods hesitantly at the boy's statement. "David... He was one of us before the late lord recognized his blood. He always encouraged us to be more proactive and stop relying too much on the Clarent's stipend. We have a suspicion that he was the one who increased the stipend when he officially joined the family, but we also know that he is a person with connections in a lot of shady places. His drive to protect the young lady is indubitable, but his means of doing it is sometimes suspect."
Eremoz shakes off water, before approaching the group and drying himself. “My apologies, but who says that you are not the troublesome ones in red and the others are genuine. You could be giving us a false lead to divert our attention. You are hiding behind a secret entrance where some sort of raid on the a house has been attempted before.”
"The fact that we didn't immediately attack your friend when he's alone is not a sign?" Maya asks. She pushes the young boy standing behind her further back. "Still, if you want, we can meet with the lord to corroborate our story. We wanted to close the entrance, trust me, but we lacked the means to do it. If you have some way, be my guess. I want to see this weakness of the estate gone as much as you do. And, if you're still not convinced, exhibit A is the youngest member of ours. He's eleven. Do you think an eleven-year-old wants to bring down the House of Clarent when they're the one that feeds him? Each of us in the Barony is indebted to the Clarents because the house is the one that ensured we grew up healthy and safe. We're orphans and the late lord Clarent gathered us to give us a better purpose than living on the streets as beggars. In return, we help House Clarent's interest in protecting the neighbourhood."
"Eremoz has good instincts. I am not saying he is right, but taking this to Lord David would certainly be the sensible thing to do", Drexon agrees.
"We do have some information about the ones that raided the warehouse that you might be interested in, which does actually help here. At least some of them, perhaps all, were...", he stops for a moment and looks around to the others, waiting for them to give him the nod to share this information.