((There are the two entrances but also the courtyard. All of which will likely be observed. She does remember a fourth option - there was a side door they used when they went with Korda to empty latrine buckets - it's on the western side with some open ground between the prison and a guard tower - she might be able to transform without being seen there))
If she receives a negative response, she'll move towards Sorin and Geoffrey and wait for Ava before heading out to see the situation with the black armored guards.
If yes, they will escort Ricky to the...mess hall?
"No, I'm here now. I'll deal with him," the warden says.
Down the hallway, towards the south, you can here the booming voice of the senior Hargrove. You remember that loud showman's voice from the gladiator pits. The precise words he's using can't quite be made out but he does sound like he's yelling loudly at the soldiers that presumably came with him.
Ava snarls at Godrick, his smirk baiting her easily. "Yes warden, but please, let me help you escort him to where you find most beneficial. I would recommend an empty cell. Not sure what trick he is playing right now, but his body is growing cold. Some magic he is using to try and get me to let go of him."
She continues to hold on to the man, waiting the warden's response.
"He is not a prisoner but a guest of a Lord of the Sea of Fallen Stars who own and fund this prison. He may have wandered off course but from what I can tell has committed no offense here nor has he done anything to warrant a cell," the warden says. "You on the other hand are a guard employed to guard the prison and prisoners."
She waves her hand, dismissing Avaria.
Godrick smiles broadly at her.
------------------------------------------
((As a reminder, the warden has only interacted with the 'dwarf' crew about what to do with Korda and what the Hargroves might be up to. The 'guards' are still just guards to her. She has to tread a fine line between opposing lords.))
Jarrin gives Ava a pat on the shoulder as they head out towards where the guards and black armored soldiers were tussling, quietly saying when they are far enough away to not be heard,
"We'll get them yet. Now let's go see what ma and pa are getting up to."
Geffroi leans in and adds to Avaria and Jarrin “Do you think Korda made a deal with Godrick? He had time to talk to her before you discovered him.”
Soren lags slightly behind, looking back and watching Godrick and the warden talking. He trots to catch up but doesn’t say anything.
Coming down the southern tunnel, where the senior Hargrove went, the guard group can now see William Hargrove in the middle of the fray, calming the black clad soldiers down.
Looking east, the group locks eyes with Team Dwarf, peaking around the corner.
”Well, everyone is already in. Why not just let them stay and warm up. Stick them in a storage room or something.” William Hargrove says to the captain of the prison guards. She doesn’t look keen on the idea but she also doesn’t look like she wants to get back into a tussle with soldiers already in the prison.
Avaria's back straightens even further at Geffroi's words as he voices her own concern, but what could they do about it? Maybe talk to Korda later.. turning to her team, "One or two of you go and tell those guests that it isn't safe here and they need to move along" then in a whisper, "see if they can get to Korda by that side entrance we used to see if she has anything to say about Godrick."
She then marches up to the captain of the prison guards, "Come on, we are to get these men out, warden's orders. No storage room available." she adds towards William Hargrove.
And as long as no one physically stops her, she starts directing the black clad soldiers out the gate.
Jarrin catches Soren's eye and cocks an eyebrow at him questioningly but turns and listens to Ava and nods along.
She then moves up behind Ava and hides the surprise from her face at Ava's interpretation of the warden's desires. It is probably what the warden wants, after all. She gives a supportive nod and starts rallying the guards to get the soldiers moving towards the exit.
The head of the prison guards, Yula Dargeria, looks over at Avaria and frowns.
As she looks Avaria up and down, the alarm final stops and the lighting returns to normal.
"Well that's something," Yula Dargeria says. Then to Avaria "Return to your patrol duties. We still have a prison to run."
While ignoring Avaria's 'orders', Yula Dargeria still looks like she's not too pleased about having the soldiers in the prison.
"And what are you doing?" she asks Jarrin - believing her to be Jan. "I gave you and your friends a job. I didn't give you mine."
She gestures to the guard room next to the entrance.
"Through there. That will put your lot in the mess hall and keep them out of the way of the rest of the prison." Dargeria says to William Hargrove. "If we see even one of them wandering the halls, they're all out in the cold again."
William Hargrove gives her one of his exaggerated showman's bows and barks orders at the soldiers to go where they're directed.
As the black armoured soldiers filter through the guard room and to the mess hall, William and Gillian Hargrove look over at the 'guard' team before moving past them to return in the direction of the meeting room.
"I hope we can catch up later," William Hargrove says to Avaria as he passes by.
Jarrin rolls with Yula's comments with a small shake of her head and says quietly,
"I know those people, this was only the beginning."
She does give a nod of her head at the order and joins Ava and the rest to continue the patrol, looking to follow someone that has any idea of what that should look like.
MarJan is able to slip in behind Avaria, Jarrin, Soren and Geffroi as they move with the other two guards along the passage way to the western side of the prison.
Ula, Ethel and Hammerdasher head towards the Mess Hall to see if they can keep an eye on what's happening with the Hargrove affiliated black armoured soldiers.
The 'guard' team patrol route continues up the hallway, taking them to the doorway to the meeting room where the Hargroves are supposed to be waiting before being taken to talk to Korda.
About 70' before that room is the doorway to the outside. It's bolted shut, but it's simple to open from the inside. Though unbolting it might be noisy (Stealth roll for MarJan to open the door without the other guards noticing - DC 10. Likewise a DC 10 stealth roll to change without being seen once outside).
MarJan finds herself outside in the bitter cold, but the low light level favours her movements and know one raises any sort of alarm or signal from the guard tower at the end of the path.
MarJan shrouds herself in the guise of an aarokocra with plumage and clothing that matches the snowy surroundings, attempting to give nothing to easily spot by any who might glance outside with all the commotion going on within. She rubs her ring and mutters through teeth clenched against the cold as she skims along the courtyard and off the edge before dropping and putting some distance between herself and the prison before rising up into the air high above, circling back descending on the top of the tower with the stairway, huddling gratefully once she's able to get out of the wind and alight on the stairs.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
DM:Forged in Chaos, Spiders of the Abyss, The Sundered Way, Champions of the Citadel
To remind everyone of where they currently find themselves:
The Prison
JAN
The dark winter sky provides the perfect cover for Jan, disguised as an aarokocra, to fly upwards. There are a couple of moments where the fierce, icy winds blow her off course, and she nearly slams into the dark stone of the prison’s central tower. But she quickly gets the feel for the gusts and finds the side of the tower facing Icelace Lake to be the calmest.
It is only after she lands safely on the roof and huddles against the closed tower door that Jan has a thought. She realizes that whether the guards saw an aarokocra or an elf flying in the wind and alighting on the roof, the alarm would have been raised.
But luckily no alarm blares through the prison and she can focus on the door. It’s not the strongest of doors, and it looks to be made of wood, rather than steel. It is as if the warden thought the doorway being 100’ above the roof of the prison would be enough protection from intruders.
Jan tries the door and while the handle moves, the door does not open. She can see through a crack along the edge of the door that there is a simple bolt that has been engaged as a lock, likely as much to keep the wind from blowing the door open as it is to keep anyone out.
It shouldn’t be terribly difficult to open with her Thieve’s Tools, however the icy cold makes even the nimblest of fingers sluggish and clumsy (DC15 to open the door - Thieves' Tools).
Solomona and Vonth have only recently become cell neighbors. There was a shuffling of inmates that resulted in them now bunking in adjacent cells. They have not had time to learn much of each other. Though they have both gotten the impression that they are quite dissimilar.
The cells are the same as always though - each cell is enclosed by formidable steel bars. Bolted to the back wall are iron bunk beds, each with a thin mattress. A waste bucket sits near the beds. The only light comes from lights outside the cells - lights you’ve long suspected are magic in nature.
The guards and warden wanted to isolate that dwarf prisoner. What was her name again? The guards always try to refer to the prisoners just as numbers but they’re usually hopeless at that and end up just using names. Korda. That was it: Korda.
The pair now find themselves on the opposite side of the large panopticon from Korda’s cell (she’s in the northeastern corner and Solomona and Vonth are down along the southern side, just next to one of the passages leading out of the panopticon - see map above).
They know the panopticon well - the hexagonal chamber is a large open space at the center of the prison. Cells line the chamber walls, and a smaller hexagonal room occupies the center of the space. They know that room is the guard surveillance center, where there is always someone watching.
Today has been especially interesting as both Solomona and Vonth have witnessed multiple groups question Korda. They’ve also seen a guard patrol race in and somehow identify an invisible intruder: a bald, but bearded, pale human in black robes. And while it looked like a fight might break out, it turned out that the invisible intruder is actually either a visiting lord himself, or someone favored by a visiting lord. The prison alarms blared for several minutes, Warden Marta Marthannis arrived, two more visitors arrived. Harsh words were exchanged by some of the guards, though you could not quite make them out. From what you can piece together though, the bald, bearded, black robed one is the adult son of the other two - a heavy set, also balding human, and a red-headed woman. The parents head off through the southern passage right next to your cells. They’re followed shortly by the group of guards.
The warden and the bald, bearded one stay and continue talking to Korda.
From the southern passage you’ve heard the sound of fighting and shouting and you’ve heard that somehow soldiers have forced their way in through the southern entrance of the prison.
But you’ve no real idea what is going on outside of your field of vision.
Avaria, Jan (disguised as Marrin), Soren and Geffroi are in the western hallway of the prison, having just provided cover for Marrin (disguised as Jan) to slip out the side door. That having been successfully accomplished, find themselves, with the other two guards in their patrol, right outside the meeting room where the Hargroves are supposed to be waiting.
Are the ‘guards’ doing anything or are they continuing on their patrol circuit?
((There are the two entrances but also the courtyard. All of which will likely be observed. She does remember a fourth option - there was a side door they used when they went with Korda to empty latrine buckets - it's on the western side with some open ground between the prison and a guard tower - she might be able to transform without being seen there))
Jarrin nods to the warden,
"Yes ma'am. Should we take this one out?"
If she receives a negative response, she'll move towards Sorin and Geoffrey and wait for Ava before heading out to see the situation with the black armored guards.
If yes, they will escort Ricky to the...mess hall?
The warden shakes her head.
"No, I'm here now. I'll deal with him," the warden says.
Down the hallway, towards the south, you can here the booming voice of the senior Hargrove. You remember that loud showman's voice from the gladiator pits. The precise words he's using can't quite be made out but he does sound like he's yelling loudly at the soldiers that presumably came with him.
Ava snarls at Godrick, his smirk baiting her easily. "Yes warden, but please, let me help you escort him to where you find most beneficial. I would recommend an empty cell. Not sure what trick he is playing right now, but his body is growing cold. Some magic he is using to try and get me to let go of him."
She continues to hold on to the man, waiting the warden's response.
The warden's face turns stern towards Avaria.
"He is not a prisoner but a guest of a Lord of the Sea of Fallen Stars who own and fund this prison. He may have wandered off course but from what I can tell has committed no offense here nor has he done anything to warrant a cell," the warden says. "You on the other hand are a guard employed to guard the prison and prisoners."
She waves her hand, dismissing Avaria.
Godrick smiles broadly at her.
------------------------------------------
((As a reminder, the warden has only interacted with the 'dwarf' crew about what to do with Korda and what the Hargroves might be up to. The 'guards' are still just guards to her. She has to tread a fine line between opposing lords.))
Ava glares at Godrick, thinks of saying something more, but changes her mind and lets go of him.
Then with her head held high she follows Jarrin, Soren and Geoffrey out.
Jarrin gives Ava a pat on the shoulder as they head out towards where the guards and black armored soldiers were tussling, quietly saying when they are far enough away to not be heard,
"We'll get them yet. Now let's go see what ma and pa are getting up to."
Geffroi leans in and adds to Avaria and Jarrin “Do you think Korda made a deal with Godrick? He had time to talk to her before you discovered him.”
Soren lags slightly behind, looking back and watching Godrick and the warden talking. He trots to catch up but doesn’t say anything.
Coming down the southern tunnel, where the senior Hargrove went, the guard group can now see William Hargrove in the middle of the fray, calming the black clad soldiers down.
Looking east, the group locks eyes with Team Dwarf, peaking around the corner.
”Well, everyone is already in. Why not just let them stay and warm up. Stick them in a storage room or something.” William Hargrove says to the captain of the prison guards. She doesn’t look keen on the idea but she also doesn’t look like she wants to get back into a tussle with soldiers already in the prison.
Avaria's back straightens even further at Geffroi's words as he voices her own concern, but what could they do about it? Maybe talk to Korda later.. turning to her team, "One or two of you go and tell those guests that it isn't safe here and they need to move along" then in a whisper, "see if they can get to Korda by that side entrance we used to see if she has anything to say about Godrick."
She then marches up to the captain of the prison guards, "Come on, we are to get these men out, warden's orders. No storage room available." she adds towards William Hargrove.
And as long as no one physically stops her, she starts directing the black clad soldiers out the gate.
Jarrin catches Soren's eye and cocks an eyebrow at him questioningly but turns and listens to Ava and nods along.
She then moves up behind Ava and hides the surprise from her face at Ava's interpretation of the warden's desires. It is probably what the warden wants, after all. She gives a supportive nod and starts rallying the guards to get the soldiers moving towards the exit.
The head of the prison guards, Yula Dargeria, looks over at Avaria and frowns.
As she looks Avaria up and down, the alarm final stops and the lighting returns to normal.
"Well that's something," Yula Dargeria says. Then to Avaria "Return to your patrol duties. We still have a prison to run."
While ignoring Avaria's 'orders', Yula Dargeria still looks like she's not too pleased about having the soldiers in the prison.
"And what are you doing?" she asks Jarrin - believing her to be Jan. "I gave you and your friends a job. I didn't give you mine."
She gestures to the guard room next to the entrance.
"Through there. That will put your lot in the mess hall and keep them out of the way of the rest of the prison." Dargeria says to William Hargrove. "If we see even one of them wandering the halls, they're all out in the cold again."
William Hargrove gives her one of his exaggerated showman's bows and barks orders at the soldiers to go where they're directed.
As the black armoured soldiers filter through the guard room and to the mess hall, William and Gillian Hargrove look over at the 'guard' team before moving past them to return in the direction of the meeting room.
"I hope we can catch up later," William Hargrove says to Avaria as he passes by.
Jarrin rolls with Yula's comments with a small shake of her head and says quietly,
"I know those people, this was only the beginning."
She does give a nod of her head at the order and joins Ava and the rest to continue the patrol, looking to follow someone that has any idea of what that should look like.
Marjan will make her way towards the latrine exit, swapping out her face as the opportunity or need presents itself.
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
Ava bristles as Yula looks her up and down. "I was just delivering the message. You're going to regret keeping them in this prison."
And with those parting words, she ignores William and heads out with Jarrin, anger rippling off of her.
Jarrin will also give her absolutely most apologetic look to Yula as Ava departs before hurrying after the shifter!
MarJan is able to slip in behind Avaria, Jarrin, Soren and Geffroi as they move with the other two guards along the passage way to the western side of the prison.
Ula, Ethel and Hammerdasher head towards the Mess Hall to see if they can keep an eye on what's happening with the Hargrove affiliated black armoured soldiers.
The 'guard' team patrol route continues up the hallway, taking them to the doorway to the meeting room where the Hargroves are supposed to be waiting before being taken to talk to Korda.
About 70' before that room is the doorway to the outside. It's bolted shut, but it's simple to open from the inside. Though unbolting it might be noisy (Stealth roll for MarJan to open the door without the other guards noticing - DC 10. Likewise a DC 10 stealth roll to change without being seen once outside).
Stealth to open door: 14
Stealth to change face: 24
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
MarJan finds herself outside in the bitter cold, but the low light level favours her movements and know one raises any sort of alarm or signal from the guard tower at the end of the path.
MarJan shrouds herself in the guise of an aarokocra with plumage and clothing that matches the snowy surroundings, attempting to give nothing to easily spot by any who might glance outside with all the commotion going on within. She rubs her ring and mutters through teeth clenched against the cold as she skims along the courtyard and off the edge before dropping and putting some distance between herself and the prison before rising up into the air high above, circling back descending on the top of the tower with the stairway, huddling gratefully once she's able to get out of the wind and alight on the 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
To remind everyone of where they currently find themselves:
The Prison
JAN
The dark winter sky provides the perfect cover for Jan, disguised as an aarokocra, to fly upwards. There are a couple of moments where the fierce, icy winds blow her off course, and she nearly slams into the dark stone of the prison’s central tower. But she quickly gets the feel for the gusts and finds the side of the tower facing Icelace Lake to be the calmest.
It is only after she lands safely on the roof and huddles against the closed tower door that Jan has a thought. She realizes that whether the guards saw an aarokocra or an elf flying in the wind and alighting on the roof, the alarm would have been raised.
But luckily no alarm blares through the prison and she can focus on the door. It’s not the strongest of doors, and it looks to be made of wood, rather than steel. It is as if the warden thought the doorway being 100’ above the roof of the prison would be enough protection from intruders.
Jan tries the door and while the handle moves, the door does not open. She can see through a crack along the edge of the door that there is a simple bolt that has been engaged as a lock, likely as much to keep the wind from blowing the door open as it is to keep anyone out.
It shouldn’t be terribly difficult to open with her Thieve’s Tools, however the icy cold makes even the nimblest of fingers sluggish and clumsy (DC15 to open the door - Thieves' Tools).
—--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
THE PRISONERS
Solomona and Vonth have only recently become cell neighbors. There was a shuffling of inmates that resulted in them now bunking in adjacent cells. They have not had time to learn much of each other. Though they have both gotten the impression that they are quite dissimilar.
The cells are the same as always though - each cell is enclosed by formidable steel bars. Bolted to the back wall are iron bunk beds, each with a thin mattress. A waste bucket sits near the beds. The only light comes from lights outside the cells - lights you’ve long suspected are magic in nature.
The guards and warden wanted to isolate that dwarf prisoner. What was her name again? The guards always try to refer to the prisoners just as numbers but they’re usually hopeless at that and end up just using names. Korda. That was it: Korda.
The pair now find themselves on the opposite side of the large panopticon from Korda’s cell (she’s in the northeastern corner and Solomona and Vonth are down along the southern side, just next to one of the passages leading out of the panopticon - see map above).
They know the panopticon well - the hexagonal chamber is a large open space at the center of the prison. Cells line the chamber walls, and a smaller hexagonal room occupies the center of the space. They know that room is the guard surveillance center, where there is always someone watching.
Today has been especially interesting as both Solomona and Vonth have witnessed multiple groups question Korda. They’ve also seen a guard patrol race in and somehow identify an invisible intruder: a bald, but bearded, pale human in black robes. And while it looked like a fight might break out, it turned out that the invisible intruder is actually either a visiting lord himself, or someone favored by a visiting lord. The prison alarms blared for several minutes, Warden Marta Marthannis arrived, two more visitors arrived. Harsh words were exchanged by some of the guards, though you could not quite make them out. From what you can piece together though, the bald, bearded, black robed one is the adult son of the other two - a heavy set, also balding human, and a red-headed woman. The parents head off through the southern passage right next to your cells. They’re followed shortly by the group of guards.
The warden and the bald, bearded one stay and continue talking to Korda.
From the southern passage you’ve heard the sound of fighting and shouting and you’ve heard that somehow soldiers have forced their way in through the southern entrance of the prison.
But you’ve no real idea what is going on outside of your field of vision.
—---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
THE GUARDS:
Avaria, Jan (disguised as Marrin), Soren and Geffroi are in the western hallway of the prison, having just provided cover for Marrin (disguised as Jan) to slip out the side door. That having been successfully accomplished, find themselves, with the other two guards in their patrol, right outside the meeting room where the Hargroves are supposed to be waiting.
Are the ‘guards’ doing anything or are they continuing on their patrol circuit?
—---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
THE OTHERS:
And as a reminder, Ula, Ethel and Hammerdasher all headed towards the Mess Hall to find out what the soldiers were doing.