While Jan scans the office, she keeps most of her senses attuned to the room behind her and the stairwell off of that, knowing that if someone comes up behind, she'll be trapped in this room.
But despite her divided attention, it's impossible not to notice the five, heavy wooden cabinets along the curved eastern wall. Quickly pulling on the drawers reveals they're locked, and these locks are not keyed to the guards.
Turning, she also sees that the large desk dominating the center of the room has a side drawer, also locked.
She doesn't immediately see any way to open the window, apart from perhaps breaking it.
(DC 12 Thieves' Tools for each lock Jan want's to try and unlock).
IN THE KITCHEN:
Marrin/Jarrin is almost out of her scale mail armour. Soren is seconds behind, doing the same thing. Geffroi has wisely removed himself from the danger of melee to keep watch on the hallway behind the group. Ula, Hammerdasher and the two real prison guards are faced off against five of the black clad soliders. One soldier lies dead.
The sound of combat blasts in from the mess hall. There's a good chance more soldiers will come this way if they're getting the better of the prison guards.
Avaria is up.
IN THE PANOPTICON:
The handful of prisoners Solomona has encouraged to go down the north passage keep running that way. Down the hall, where guards would normally be stationed to man and watch the elevator that leads down to the ice dock, Solomona sees no one. Something has pulled the guards away from their posts, and if he had to guess, it wouldn't be hard to imagine the sounds of sword fighting have something to do with it.
Godrick and Korda do not make any attempt to head to the north passage, or to mingle with any prisoners. They continue moving westward, towards the passage on the west side of the Panopticon, the one that leads to a meeting room. Godrick looks at Solomona, but his expression is hard to read. The pair move almost to the entrance to the western hallway.
At the southern side of the Panopticon, Vonth finds himself alone with the dead Culver; the dead man's pouch in the massive hand of the Goliath. The remaining guard has almost stepped out of sight into the Surveillance Hub, the other prisoners have disappeared, and even Solomona is gone.
But then he sees movement to the northwest. Godrick and Korda moving across the Panopticon, arriving at the entrance to the western hallway that leads to the outer parts of the prison (approximately 60' away from Vonth).
This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
Jan will start with the drawer attached to the desk, sizing it up and peering through K as they perch on the desk to feel any vibrations within before drawing back into herself and inserting her tools.
Thieves Tools: 22
(edit: trying to force it to roll, said unable to parse)
Avaria's rage burns deep and she shifts to her more wolf persona as Ula takes the guard down that she had attacked first. She then turns to the one closest to her friends (unless she can't get to them, she'll go to the one closest in her rage state)
Using her borrowed longsword, she attacks recklessly again (but with being shifted, now no attacks against her can be at advantage)
Jan feels the vibrations of the tower and the desk through her attunement with K'. They're barely there as the prison sits on a solid granite shelf. But they are still there. The faintest movement in the world around them. However, this is a fairly simple lock, with no tumblers. It just needs to be turned, and Jan does that quickly and easily.
Click.
The drawer slides easily outwards. Inside are ten ledger books. Jan quickly grabs the top one and flips through the pages. Then the next.
These aren't the prisoner records. They're financial ledgers, detailing the operating costs, budgets, member lord contribution payments. Everything, down to the cost of ink and quills for the ledgers themselves are recorded in neat columns. The Warden is definitely not skimming anything off the top here.
Jan doesn't know how long this prison has been here or how many prisoners have passed through, but she'd guess that there would have been far too many to have fit all in the side drawer of the desk.
Avaria is able to move down the empty side of the workstations closest to the doorways on the western side of the kitchen. She can't get into melee next to her friends but she can get to the flanks where the real prison guards are.
Both slashes of her longsword connect with the soldier closest to the western wall. She can see the bloody wounds appear where the soldier was too slow in getting their shield up. But while she caused damage, there's a lot of fight left in him.
The injured soldier hacks back, twice at Avaria, but her sudden ferocious appearance left him slightly off balance and both blows glance off her armour. Two other of the soldiers are able to get hits in on one of the guards and on Ula. The guard grimaces but doesn't fade. Ula on the other hand is hurting badly. She's taken the brunt of the soldiers attacks so far and won't withstand another.
Hammerdasher, seeing the state Ula is in, shifts over and places himself directly in front of the seriously injured dwarf, providing some cover for her. Unfortunately the movement and worry for Ula, throws his own balance off and his swing with the meat tenderizer misses the other soldiers completely.
Jarrin cuts the last strap of her armour and it falls to the floor around her.
Jarrin/Marrin is up (then the other three soldiers and the prison guards).
A shiver ran through Vonth as the answer to his prayer came. Warmth crept beneath scorched skin, easing the worst of the damage. He did not know the power’s name, only its weight—and that it was divine. That was enough. He accepted the gift without reverence or doubt. Gratitude did not require ceremony.
He opened Culver’s pouch with quick fingers. His eyes catalogued the contents in a heartbeat: a worn pipe, a tarnished brass ring, a metal-stoppered bottle. Personal things, most likely. Useful things, perhaps. No time to decide. He tucked the pouch away and lifted his gaze.
The spellcasters stood near the western hall, herding no one, threatening no one. That gnawed at him. If chaos was their aim, why strike only him? He did not like unanswered questions—especially when they came wrapped in pain. For now, he wanted nothing more to do with them.
The other guard had vanished into the Hub.
Vonth looked down at Culver. Unconscious. Breathing. Alive, maybe. He could carry him. Could trade the guard’s life for access, for mercy, for order. And remain a prisoner.
His gaze shifted north. Solomona was already moving, drawing the other prisoners with them. No resistance. No hesitation.
That was the open path. Opportunity did not wait. And Vonth had already lingered too long.
He turned north and moved.
_____
Movement: Towards the North and towards Solomona. Action: Dash to move 30 more feet in that direction. Bonus Action: Harness Divine Power to regain a used spell slot.
After skimming through the ledgers in the desk and finding them not fitting the description of what she's searching for, returns them to the desk and quickly locks them before gliding to the cabinets.
Thieves Tools: 15
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
DM:Forged in Chaos, Spiders of the Abyss, The Sundered Way, Champions of the Citadel
The bulk of the prisoners were moving out the northern access, unimpeded by the absent guards. Solomona had no idea if the ice skiff was there or not. That wasn't his concern.
Godrick and Korda were moving out the western access, also unimpeded. Perhaps they had transport, but from what Solomona had seen, it was unlikely they were inclined to share.
The sounds of fighting from the kitchen were of more interest. Few of the prison guards had been as cordial as Culver, but Solomona felt he owed it to the man to aid them. Besides, they might have a more reliable means of departing the region.
Seeing Vonth running his way, Solomona leaves the northern access and approaches the goliath.
Hey neighbour! You heading out then? Might get a bit crazy out at the docks, eh. Probably lots of fullahs all trying to get on one little boat. Good luck to ya. Me, I'm gonna go see what's goin' on in the kitchen, eh. Might be some fullahs who be grateful for some help and give us a ride out. Maybe even get us a good feed.
And with that, Solomona heads east toward the kitchens.
------------------------------------
Only Move and Action: Dash for this round, first toward Vonth, and then toward the kitchen. In fact, Solomona doesn't even need to move toward Vonth if not necessary... if he can talk to him across the panopticon. He has 80' total, and doesn't want to enter the kitchen this round, but hopefully be within 40' for next round. Sorry, I didn't count the squares.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
How does a red dragon blow out the candles on its birthday cake?
Jan puts the financial ledgers to the side, no longer interested in the price of privy buckets, and sets to work on the wooden cabinets. She notes the wood of the cabinets, especially around the handles, is very smooth, likely from years of fingers and hands touching them. The locks, while simple still take a few moments to master. But once she gets the first one, Jan finds getting the rest open quite simple. She manages to get all five cabinets open.
Looking through what's in them, she find all sorts of different prison records. There are folders full of ship cargo manifests and records of past deliveries, many cross-referenced to the financial ledgers she had just tossed aside. Prisoner transfer orders and initial sentencing deliver receipts are carefully stored in a alphabetical order, cross referenced with a separate duplicate set of books ordered chronologically.
Jan is beginning to wonder whether or not the warden is incredibly efficient and precise, or if the long winters in the prison leave her with nothing else to do but keep an incredibly well ordered filing system.
In the final cabinet she finds a thick ledger documenting the names, crimes, sentences, and commutations of every prisoner who has been incarcerated here. The records include death certificates for prisoners who died while incarcerated. The cause of death is always given as “natural,” “accidental,” or “unnatural,” with no details.
The room behind her remains quiet. But suddenly the lights on the walls flare red and the prison alarm sounds.
Did Jan miss an alarm trap on the locks?
But then she hears over the speaker system "Cell breach. Prisoners escaping. All cells breached."
IN THE PANOPTICON:
Vonth heads towards the northern passage while Solomona cuts towards the eastern hallway that leads towards the kitchen. The pair pass close enough to speak without having to shout.
Solomona can get to the eastern end of the passageway, and about 20' from the doorway to the kitchen. She can see one of the prison guards - one of the new guards, the thin, bookish looking one who looks like he's wearing armour for the first time and that it's always too big for him. The guard's eyes go wide when he sees Solomona approaching.
Vonth can either continue north towards the hall leading to the exit, or turn and follow Solomona (ending up about 20' behind the monk and 40' from the kitchen doorway).
The released prisoners continue out of sight.
Neither Vonth or Solomona can see Godrick or Korda any longer, with the Surveillance Hub in the way.
The prison alarm system starts again - the lights flare, and then change to a darker red and an alarm starts sounding again. A voice calls out over the speaker system "Cell breach. Prisoners escaping. All cells breached."
Vonth and Solomona can act as they like until they enter into combat or find a hostile again.
IN THE KITCHEN:
Jarrin hops on one foot to get out of the last of the scale mail mess she's created, and quickly lines up the opposing soldiers, finding that at best she can line up three of them (the ones faced off between Avaria, Ula and one of the prison guards), and keeping her fingers crossed that Avaria, in her heightened rage doesn't push forward at the wrong time, plays the quick melody.
A pewter pitcher sitting on a table just within the range crumples in on itself, and a large crack appears in the table top itself as a piercing thunderous wave of noise explodes in the circle.
With some satisfaction Jarrin notes that two of the guards stagger slightly, blood seeping from their ears. The third is not as affected but still grimaces slightly.
The other unaffected soldiers go to work on Hammerdasher and the other prison guard. A whirl of longsword strokes find Hammerdasher a more than capable defender. He blocks one with the kitchen meat tenderizer he's been wielding as a hammer, and the other with the pot lid he's using as a shield. The prison guard is not as adept and takes two savage blows to his shoulder and chest.
The prison guards, while energetic and seeming to understand they're fighting for their lives are not as skilled and while they make contact with their swords, they glance harmlessly off the thick black armour the soldiers are wearing.
Near the doorway, Soren also cuts through the last of the leather straps on his armour and quickly begins pealing the pieces off.
Geffroi sticks his head back into the kitchen and shouts. "Someone is coming this way. Big guy."
He no sooner finishes speaking when the lights in the kitchen flare red, the prison alarm sounds and everyone hears over the speaker system."Cell breach. Prisoners escaping. All cells breached."
As Vonth moved north, Solomona angled toward him. Vonth slowed, pausing just long enough to hear them out. He watched closely. He had measured Solomona before and found worth there—but chaos stripped masks away. And after being struck without warning by spellcasters, trust was a thinner thing.
“Hey, neighbour,” Solomona said easily. “You headin’ out then? Might get a bit crazy down at the docks, eh. Whole mess of fullahs fightin’ over one little boat. Good luck to ya. Me, I’m gonna see what’s goin’ on in the kitchen. Might be some folk who’d appreciate help—and maybe give us a ride out. Might even get a decent feed.”
Vonth listened. No interruption. No questions. He weighed the words like stones in his hand.
He disliked turning back. Going backwards ran against his grain. But letting Solomona move alone felt wrong. Foolish, maybe—but not weak. And Solomona had already proven they did not fold under pressure.
Vonth squeezed his eyes shut for a heartbeat, irritation flaring and settling just as quickly. Then he nodded once.
Avaria doesn't even register Geffroi's call or Jarrin's response. She only sees the soldiers in front of her, the ones that are overpowering the others and the anger she feels towards the situation and towards the Warden is palpable.
Continuing her onslaught on the one she attacked earlier, she attacks recklessly again.
Avaria, losing herself in the heat of battle, slashes outwards, her sword almost becoming club-like with the strength she puts behind each blow, cuts deeply into the soldier she's facing.
While, bleeding heavily, the soldier still has fight left in him and his training and seeming devotion to his comrades means he doesn't step away from guarding their flank.
Ula, whispers a short prayer to herself, bringing some colour back to her skin that had been dangerously pale. She still doesn't look great but now at least she doesn't look like a strong breeze will knock her down.
She swings out with a frying pan but just misses the soldier in front of her.
The enemy soldiers to the eastern side of the line press their attack against the prison guard and Hammerdasher. One is able to get through and leave a cut on Hammerdasher's arm, but the others press against the prison guard and a series of devastating blows brings him to his knees and then to the floor.
At the entrance to the mess hall, the group can see more fighting with what looks like a group of prison guards getting pushed back by the soldiers. There's still no sign of Ethel, nor the Warden, or the Hargroves for that matter.
----------------------------------
Jarrin/Marrin is up.
IN THE PRISON:
Vonth follows after Solomona. The monk can see the guard ahead looks distressed by the sight of both him and Vonth and is moving to close the kitchen door on them.
Jan mutters some choice elven curses under her breath. Tucking the ledger under an arm, she swings closed the cabinet doors, but doesn't take the time to re-lock them. If the prisoners are escaping, she can only assume that includes Korda, and that Hargrove is involved somehow... the ledger's value as a bartering chip for Korda's cooperation probably just plummeted, but if she was interested enough to request it, then keeping it safe from her might be worthwhile. For all Jan know's Korda is on her way up here for the ledger right now... though escape is probably more her priority.
<K, be a dear and make sure no one's coming, would you?>
She sends and invisible K'oshash into the council room and hallway to scout, before moving after them. As long as the way is clear, she will follow out to the exterior stairs.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
DM:Forged in Chaos, Spiders of the Abyss, The Sundered Way, Champions of the Citadel
The Prison:
IN THE TOWER:
While Jan scans the office, she keeps most of her senses attuned to the room behind her and the stairwell off of that, knowing that if someone comes up behind, she'll be trapped in this room.
But despite her divided attention, it's impossible not to notice the five, heavy wooden cabinets along the curved eastern wall. Quickly pulling on the drawers reveals they're locked, and these locks are not keyed to the guards.
Turning, she also sees that the large desk dominating the center of the room has a side drawer, also locked.
She doesn't immediately see any way to open the window, apart from perhaps breaking it.
(DC 12 Thieves' Tools for each lock Jan want's to try and unlock).
IN THE KITCHEN:
Marrin/Jarrin is almost out of her scale mail armour. Soren is seconds behind, doing the same thing. Geffroi has wisely removed himself from the danger of melee to keep watch on the hallway behind the group. Ula, Hammerdasher and the two real prison guards are faced off against five of the black clad soliders. One soldier lies dead.
The sound of combat blasts in from the mess hall. There's a good chance more soldiers will come this way if they're getting the better of the prison guards.
Avaria is up.
IN THE PANOPTICON:
The handful of prisoners Solomona has encouraged to go down the north passage keep running that way. Down the hall, where guards would normally be stationed to man and watch the elevator that leads down to the ice dock, Solomona sees no one. Something has pulled the guards away from their posts, and if he had to guess, it wouldn't be hard to imagine the sounds of sword fighting have something to do with it.
Godrick and Korda do not make any attempt to head to the north passage, or to mingle with any prisoners. They continue moving westward, towards the passage on the west side of the Panopticon, the one that leads to a meeting room. Godrick looks at Solomona, but his expression is hard to read. The pair move almost to the entrance to the western hallway.
At the southern side of the Panopticon, Vonth finds himself alone with the dead Culver; the dead man's pouch in the massive hand of the Goliath. The remaining guard has almost stepped out of sight into the Surveillance Hub, the other prisoners have disappeared, and even Solomona is gone.
But then he sees movement to the northwest. Godrick and Korda moving across the Panopticon, arriving at the entrance to the western hallway that leads to the outer parts of the prison (approximately 60' away from Vonth).
Solomona and Vonth are up.
Jan will start with the drawer attached to the desk, sizing it up and peering through K as they perch on the desk to feel any vibrations within before drawing back into herself and inserting her tools.
Thieves Tools: 22
(edit: trying to force it to roll, said unable to parse)
DM: Forged in Chaos, Spiders of the Abyss, The Sundered Way, Champions of the Citadel
Active Characters:
Breldo, Halfling Ranger | Kathryn, Wood Elf Rogue/Ranger | Kroshav, Dragonborn Paladin | T'laren Farsiel, Wood Elf Fighter | Trill, Kenku Bard | Val "Janellae", Mark of Shadow Elf Warlock
Avaria's rage burns deep and she shifts to her more wolf persona as Ula takes the guard down that she had attacked first. She then turns to the one closest to her friends (unless she can't get to them, she'll go to the one closest in her rage state)
Using her borrowed longsword, she attacks recklessly again (but with being shifted, now no attacks against her can be at advantage)
Attack 1: 22, Damage 7 + 2
Attack 2: 23, Damage 6 + 2
IN THE TOWER:
Jan feels the vibrations of the tower and the desk through her attunement with K'. They're barely there as the prison sits on a solid granite shelf. But they are still there. The faintest movement in the world around them. However, this is a fairly simple lock, with no tumblers. It just needs to be turned, and Jan does that quickly and easily.
Click.
The drawer slides easily outwards. Inside are ten ledger books. Jan quickly grabs the top one and flips through the pages. Then the next.
These aren't the prisoner records. They're financial ledgers, detailing the operating costs, budgets, member lord contribution payments. Everything, down to the cost of ink and quills for the ledgers themselves are recorded in neat columns. The Warden is definitely not skimming anything off the top here.
Jan doesn't know how long this prison has been here or how many prisoners have passed through, but she'd guess that there would have been far too many to have fit all in the side drawer of the desk.
That leaves the five cabinets.
(roll one DC 12 for all the cabinets).
-------------------------------------------------------------------
IN THE KITCHEN:
Avaria is able to move down the empty side of the workstations closest to the doorways on the western side of the kitchen. She can't get into melee next to her friends but she can get to the flanks where the real prison guards are.
Both slashes of her longsword connect with the soldier closest to the western wall. She can see the bloody wounds appear where the soldier was too slow in getting their shield up. But while she caused damage, there's a lot of fight left in him.
The injured soldier hacks back, twice at Avaria, but her sudden ferocious appearance left him slightly off balance and both blows glance off her armour. Two other of the soldiers are able to get hits in on one of the guards and on Ula. The guard grimaces but doesn't fade. Ula on the other hand is hurting badly. She's taken the brunt of the soldiers attacks so far and won't withstand another.
Hammerdasher, seeing the state Ula is in, shifts over and places himself directly in front of the seriously injured dwarf, providing some cover for her. Unfortunately the movement and worry for Ula, throws his own balance off and his swing with the meat tenderizer misses the other soldiers completely.
Jarrin cuts the last strap of her armour and it falls to the floor around her.
Jarrin/Marrin is up (then the other three soldiers and the prison guards).
-------------------------------------------------------------
IN THE PANOPTICON:
Solomona and Vonth are up.
Vonth...
A shiver ran through Vonth as the answer to his prayer came. Warmth crept beneath scorched skin, easing the worst of the damage. He did not know the power’s name, only its weight—and that it was divine. That was enough. He accepted the gift without reverence or doubt. Gratitude did not require ceremony.
He opened Culver’s pouch with quick fingers. His eyes catalogued the contents in a heartbeat: a worn pipe, a tarnished brass ring, a metal-stoppered bottle. Personal things, most likely. Useful things, perhaps. No time to decide. He tucked the pouch away and lifted his gaze.
The spellcasters stood near the western hall, herding no one, threatening no one. That gnawed at him. If chaos was their aim, why strike only him? He did not like unanswered questions—especially when they came wrapped in pain. For now, he wanted nothing more to do with them.
The other guard had vanished into the Hub.
Vonth looked down at Culver. Unconscious. Breathing. Alive, maybe. He could carry him. Could trade the guard’s life for access, for mercy, for order.
And remain a prisoner.
His gaze shifted north. Solomona was already moving, drawing the other prisoners with them. No resistance. No hesitation.
That was the open path.
Opportunity did not wait.
And Vonth had already lingered too long.
He turned north and moved.
_____
Movement: Towards the North and towards Solomona.
Action: Dash to move 30 more feet in that direction.
Bonus Action: Harness Divine Power to regain a used spell slot.
Jarrin emerges from her armor like a furious butterfly, pulling her flute out of her pocket and focusing on the soldiers clustered together.
She blows a short note and targets as many of the soldiers as she can get in a 10ft sphere without hitting an ally.
Shatter (DC 16 con save, half damage on save): 15
((If they are too mixed in to get at least two, she'd like to do something else though.))
After skimming through the ledgers in the desk and finding them not fitting the description of what she's searching for, returns them to the desk and quickly locks them before gliding to the cabinets.
Thieves Tools: 15
DM: Forged in Chaos, Spiders of the Abyss, The Sundered Way, Champions of the Citadel
Active Characters:
Breldo, Halfling Ranger | Kathryn, Wood Elf Rogue/Ranger | Kroshav, Dragonborn Paladin | T'laren Farsiel, Wood Elf Fighter | Trill, Kenku Bard | Val "Janellae", Mark of Shadow Elf Warlock
The bulk of the prisoners were moving out the northern access, unimpeded by the absent guards. Solomona had no idea if the ice skiff was there or not. That wasn't his concern.
Godrick and Korda were moving out the western access, also unimpeded. Perhaps they had transport, but from what Solomona had seen, it was unlikely they were inclined to share.
The sounds of fighting from the kitchen were of more interest. Few of the prison guards had been as cordial as Culver, but Solomona felt he owed it to the man to aid them. Besides, they might have a more reliable means of departing the region.
Seeing Vonth running his way, Solomona leaves the northern access and approaches the goliath.
Hey neighbour! You heading out then? Might get a bit crazy out at the docks, eh. Probably lots of fullahs all trying to get on one little boat. Good luck to ya. Me, I'm gonna go see what's goin' on in the kitchen, eh. Might be some fullahs who be grateful for some help and give us a ride out. Maybe even get us a good feed.
And with that, Solomona heads east toward the kitchens.
------------------------------------
Only Move and Action: Dash for this round, first toward Vonth, and then toward the kitchen. In fact, Solomona doesn't even need to move toward Vonth if not necessary... if he can talk to him across the panopticon. He has 80' total, and doesn't want to enter the kitchen this round, but hopefully be within 40' for next round. Sorry, I didn't count the squares.
How does a red dragon blow out the candles on its birthday cake?
IN THE TOWER:
Jan puts the financial ledgers to the side, no longer interested in the price of privy buckets, and sets to work on the wooden cabinets. She notes the wood of the cabinets, especially around the handles, is very smooth, likely from years of fingers and hands touching them. The locks, while simple still take a few moments to master. But once she gets the first one, Jan finds getting the rest open quite simple. She manages to get all five cabinets open.
Looking through what's in them, she find all sorts of different prison records. There are folders full of ship cargo manifests and records of past deliveries, many cross-referenced to the financial ledgers she had just tossed aside. Prisoner transfer orders and initial sentencing deliver receipts are carefully stored in a alphabetical order, cross referenced with a separate duplicate set of books ordered chronologically.
Jan is beginning to wonder whether or not the warden is incredibly efficient and precise, or if the long winters in the prison leave her with nothing else to do but keep an incredibly well ordered filing system.
In the final cabinet she finds a thick ledger documenting the names, crimes, sentences, and commutations of every prisoner who has been incarcerated here. The records include death certificates for prisoners who died while incarcerated. The cause of death is always given as “natural,” “accidental,” or “unnatural,” with no details.
The room behind her remains quiet. But suddenly the lights on the walls flare red and the prison alarm sounds.
Did Jan miss an alarm trap on the locks?
But then she hears over the speaker system "Cell breach. Prisoners escaping. All cells breached."
IN THE PANOPTICON:
Vonth heads towards the northern passage while Solomona cuts towards the eastern hallway that leads towards the kitchen. The pair pass close enough to speak without having to shout.
Solomona can get to the eastern end of the passageway, and about 20' from the doorway to the kitchen. She can see one of the prison guards - one of the new guards, the thin, bookish looking one who looks like he's wearing armour for the first time and that it's always too big for him. The guard's eyes go wide when he sees Solomona approaching.
Vonth can either continue north towards the hall leading to the exit, or turn and follow Solomona (ending up about 20' behind the monk and 40' from the kitchen doorway).
The released prisoners continue out of sight.
Neither Vonth or Solomona can see Godrick or Korda any longer, with the Surveillance Hub in the way.
The prison alarm system starts again - the lights flare, and then change to a darker red and an alarm starts sounding again. A voice calls out over the speaker system "Cell breach. Prisoners escaping. All cells breached."
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Vonth and Solomona can act as they like until they enter into combat or find a hostile again.
IN THE KITCHEN:
Jarrin hops on one foot to get out of the last of the scale mail mess she's created, and quickly lines up the opposing soldiers, finding that at best she can line up three of them (the ones faced off between Avaria, Ula and one of the prison guards), and keeping her fingers crossed that Avaria, in her heightened rage doesn't push forward at the wrong time, plays the quick melody.
A pewter pitcher sitting on a table just within the range crumples in on itself, and a large crack appears in the table top itself as a piercing thunderous wave of noise explodes in the circle.
With some satisfaction Jarrin notes that two of the guards stagger slightly, blood seeping from their ears. The third is not as affected but still grimaces slightly.
The other unaffected soldiers go to work on Hammerdasher and the other prison guard. A whirl of longsword strokes find Hammerdasher a more than capable defender. He blocks one with the kitchen meat tenderizer he's been wielding as a hammer, and the other with the pot lid he's using as a shield. The prison guard is not as adept and takes two savage blows to his shoulder and chest.
The prison guards, while energetic and seeming to understand they're fighting for their lives are not as skilled and while they make contact with their swords, they glance harmlessly off the thick black armour the soldiers are wearing.
Near the doorway, Soren also cuts through the last of the leather straps on his armour and quickly begins pealing the pieces off.
Geffroi sticks his head back into the kitchen and shouts. "Someone is coming this way. Big guy."
He no sooner finishes speaking when the lights in the kitchen flare red, the prison alarm sounds and everyone hears over the speaker system."Cell breach. Prisoners escaping. All cells breached."
-------------------------------------------------------
Avaria's up.
Vonth...
As Vonth moved north, Solomona angled toward him. Vonth slowed, pausing just long enough to hear them out. He watched closely. He had measured Solomona before and found worth there—but chaos stripped masks away. And after being struck without warning by spellcasters, trust was a thinner thing.
“Hey, neighbour,” Solomona said easily. “You headin’ out then? Might get a bit crazy down at the docks, eh. Whole mess of fullahs fightin’ over one little boat. Good luck to ya. Me, I’m gonna see what’s goin’ on in the kitchen. Might be some folk who’d appreciate help—and maybe give us a ride out. Might even get a decent feed.”
Vonth listened. No interruption. No questions. He weighed the words like stones in his hand.
He disliked turning back. Going backwards ran against his grain. But letting Solomona move alone felt wrong. Foolish, maybe—but not weak. And Solomona had already proven they did not fold under pressure.
Vonth squeezed his eyes shut for a heartbeat, irritation flaring and settling just as quickly. Then he nodded once.
He turned and followed Solomona.
Jarrin glances over her shoulder at Geoff,
"Shut the door! We can't get surrounded in here."
(furious butterfly - love it!)
Avaria doesn't even register Geffroi's call or Jarrin's response. She only sees the soldiers in front of her, the ones that are overpowering the others and the anger she feels towards the situation and towards the Warden is palpable.
Continuing her onslaught on the one she attacked earlier, she attacks recklessly again.
Attack 1: 21, Damage 8 + 2
Attack 2: 22, Damage: 13 + 2
IN THE KITCHEN:
Avaria, losing herself in the heat of battle, slashes outwards, her sword almost becoming club-like with the strength she puts behind each blow, cuts deeply into the soldier she's facing.
While, bleeding heavily, the soldier still has fight left in him and his training and seeming devotion to his comrades means he doesn't step away from guarding their flank.
Ula, whispers a short prayer to herself, bringing some colour back to her skin that had been dangerously pale. She still doesn't look great but now at least she doesn't look like a strong breeze will knock her down.
She swings out with a frying pan but just misses the soldier in front of her.
The enemy soldiers to the eastern side of the line press their attack against the prison guard and Hammerdasher. One is able to get through and leave a cut on Hammerdasher's arm, but the others press against the prison guard and a series of devastating blows brings him to his knees and then to the floor.
At the entrance to the mess hall, the group can see more fighting with what looks like a group of prison guards getting pushed back by the soldiers. There's still no sign of Ethel, nor the Warden, or the Hargroves for that matter.
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Jarrin/Marrin is up.
IN THE PRISON:
Vonth follows after Solomona. The monk can see the guard ahead looks distressed by the sight of both him and Vonth and is moving to close the kitchen door on them.
Jan mutters some choice elven curses under her breath. Tucking the ledger under an arm, she swings closed the cabinet doors, but doesn't take the time to re-lock them. If the prisoners are escaping, she can only assume that includes Korda, and that Hargrove is involved somehow... the ledger's value as a bartering chip for Korda's cooperation probably just plummeted, but if she was interested enough to request it, then keeping it safe from her might be worthwhile. For all Jan know's Korda is on her way up here for the ledger right now... though escape is probably more her priority.
<K, be a dear and make sure no one's coming, would you?>
She sends and invisible K'oshash into the council room and hallway to scout, before moving after them. As long as the way is clear, she will follow out to the exterior stairs.
DM: Forged in Chaos, Spiders of the Abyss, The Sundered Way, Champions of the Citadel
Active Characters:
Breldo, Halfling Ranger | Kathryn, Wood Elf Rogue/Ranger | Kroshav, Dragonborn Paladin | T'laren Farsiel, Wood Elf Fighter | Trill, Kenku Bard | Val "Janellae", Mark of Shadow Elf Warlock