Eberron: Rising from the Last War

Whoever's best at Deception is the right one to talk.

"Assault?" Elero looks surprised. "Who's assaulting the place and why?" He'll hesitantly reach toward the cut on his forehead. "I may be able to heal that if you'd like."

I suppose you’re not trying to deceive at all with what you’re saying, so Persuasion is more appropriate. Elero Persuasion check: 7

Vishtai pushes your hand away, “Tell me now. What are you doin in here? Do not lie to me.”

Quote from drumdigby >>

I suppose you’re not trying to deceive at all with what you’re saying, so Persuasion is more appropriate. Elero Persuasion check: 8

 Nope, Just avoiding the question.  :)

Elero shrugs, trying to stall as long as possible until someone comes up with a story. "In truth, we're hiding from whatever battle is happening in your home, and we're glad we found this refuge."

Mark will flash his badge, “We got a tip that the woman’s crew who kidnapped your son, planned on doing a heist. I am a part of the advance security department of the bank and me and my constituents here were checking the level of security of your prized possession. It is standard procedure to not in form the owners of the property until after the report is finished so you know exactly where your security weak points are.” Mark hands them an old report he has done for the bank to help proof his story. “As you can see here I am very good at this what I do and as you remember we are extremely professional and discreet. The commotion has nothing to do with us. Apologies if all of this is overwhelming, we value the protection of your valuable and it is our top priority.”

Mark DC 20 Deception Check with Advantage due to Elero's Help: 411

Vishtai's eyes narrow, "That's a lie. You've broken into the vault to try and steal the treasures here. You're just unlucky that someone else had the same idea that you did." He pushes past you all and walks towards the glass on the far wall. "I don't have time to deal with you all right now, I have to get an idea on the situation happening out in the manor." He reaches behind the screen, pushes a button and puts his hands on either side. Slowly an image begins to reveal itself.

You see on the screen a picture of the ballroom you were in before, but now instead of labourers setting up, you see bodies of guards on the floor, and figures breaking thorugh the door to the far west of the room. In the centre of the room you see three figures you recognise: Zaerun the werewolf, Kliz the goblin boss, and the black haired woman that ran the dark church you were in the other night. The woman speaks to the other two, "Once we're done clearing out this part of the manor, it will be on you two to grab the Dragonmarked leaders from the east end of the manor. I'll wait here and hold this postion for a while longer, then retreat. We can't be here for too much longer, the Kashtar Vishtai will likely inform the Watch that we are here." Zaerun spits back at her, "The Dragonmarked leaders? Have you forgotten our mission here Ash? We are to get this Helm of Comprehension. Daask wants it to decipher the runes once we find them, we care not for Dragonmarked slaves for your dark god! We should all be looking for the Helm."

The woman looks ready to escalate the issue with the werewolf, but is interrupted by one of her dark cultists who's brought forward a prisoner: the young son of Alden d'Orien, Caden, whom you rescued a few months ago. Vishtai gasps, as the woman Ash smiles and puts her hand to Caden's head and casts a spell. The boy convulses as she casts the spell, and then falls unconscious, Vishtai closes his eyes in horror. Ash goes on, "I've retrieved the information we need from the boy's mind. The Helm of Comprehension was moved into the quarters of the Kalashtar upstairs beyond the greenhouse a few weeks ago. Zaerun, you go up there and get your precious Helm for Daask. Kliz, you head to the east side of the manor and capture the Dragonmarked leaders. I will stay here with my flock and hold the ballroom, then leave with the boy. We leave the manor in 10 minutes!" The goblin and the werewolf nod and go to complete their missions.

Vishtai puts his head in his hands and the screen turns off. He cries to himself, "Caden. The poor boy."

"Ok, full disclosure," Elero points at the mirror. "That is amazing.  How does it work?  Can I just--"

He grimaces and shakes his head. "Sorry.  Another time.  We're actually here to make sure the Helm doesn't fall in the wrong hands, as my colleague said, which it appears it's about to do.  Can you point us toward those quarters, quickly?  Time is of the essence."

Mark will say, "Whether you believe us or not does not matter, we are here to help and you know our work. What can we do?" 

Mark Persuasion check with Advantage from Elero: 19

Vishtai looks up from his hands, "Of course, you could actually help! Clearly you're here to steal the Helm of Comprehension. To be honest, Alden has lost interest in the Helm, he bought it to try and help his ex-wife Kwanti get the Lightning Rail business back on track but has long since decided it won't work. I put it in my quarters a few days ago after I heard that Daask may be after it, just as a precaution." He thinks to himself, "I need to you rescue the boy, Caden, from the ballroom, he truly is an innocent and doesn't deserve whatever fate that woman Ash has in store for Dragonmarked captives. If you rescue him first, you can go and take the Helm from my quarters and get out of here before the Watch arrive. We can call each other even after that, I won't tell anyone you were here, and you can have the Helm. That will be the end of our relationship of course, I won't work with anyone with scruples such as yourselves. Do we have a deal?" 

(OOC: Just so you all know. If you rescue the boy and take the Helm, you won't be able to rescue any of the other Dragonmarked nobles. This scenario is designed so that it is close to impossible to complete all three objectives.)

"what dragon marked nobles are already here that they might be after?" Erix asks, knowing it might be his family they are talking about. 

(Good question, but I am sad about the bad roll)

(Bad roll? Does everyone else see an 18 like me?)

I see an 18 for the Persuasion check w/advantage.

(I meant the first lie haha)

Vishtai responds to Erix's question, "Alden invited the heads of three other great houses in Sharn: Vadalis, Kundarak, and Medani. Additonally, the overall head of House Vadalis, Delani d'Vadalis is also in attendance at the meeting. So there are 5 heads of houses in the meeting room, while the others are currently in the guest rooms on the ground floor. It seems like Daask isn't interested in the guest room nobles, only the 5 heads upstairs. They know they are running out of time... Oh! That reminds me." Vishtai reaches over and pulls a switch near the console. "That will call the Watch, they'll be here in 15 minutes or so. We need to rescue Caden before then though, Ash said they're retreating in 10 minutes."

"Sounds like we'd better move fast if we're going to save your boy and get the Helm," Elero says. "Let's go, and let's stay together."

Hearing that the leaders of his house are here Erix wonders what he should do

"Shouldn't the leaders be more important than the helm, we can always try to get the helm back from Daask. Or one of us goes for the helm, maybe me as an animal, the rest go save Caden before we move on to save the leaders of the houses?"