"Alright, let's tie them up and put them in the cells. We can gag them so they can't yell," Eya suggests to the group. She rips the rope patch off her magic veil and hands the 50 ft. rope to Jesla. "We can make gags out of the linens and sheets in this room. In the meantime, Grumblejack, can you help me with something please? Follow me, big guy."

Respar exhales in relief.  He is obviously still hurting from the wound he has taken in this fight.  He says to Jesla and Kiven, "If you can handle dealing with the prisoners, I'll get the armory open."  He shows the keys he has to their prisoners.  "Do any of these open the armory?  If not, is it trapped?  Where would I find keys?  And remember, if you lie, even if I die, my friends here will finish you off."

  Jesla grins as the guards surrender . Taking the rope from Eya she nods at her.   She then strides over to them and kicks the dropped weapons away.  Remembering her promise to kill everyone in the prison as she leaves causes her hand to tighten on the sword hilt . Respar questions the guards before she can act however.  The barbarian watches them with predatory eyes as she awaits an answer regarding the armory.  

Reluctantly, one of the guards tells Respar that the keys he has only go to the cells and manacles found upstairs. If he wants a key to the Armory, he will have to get it from the warden, the sergeant, or someone he calls Lieutenant Alphonse. The warden, as already told to you, is most likely in his Tower. The other two are at the Sergeant's card game. They don't know about any traps.

  Jesla begins tying up the prisoners with the rope Eya gave her.  She cuts up the sheets and gags them as well. " Let's go  lock them up now. " She will follow them up the stairs and have them enter the cell.  Jesla will tie their legs up and lock them in the cell.  

  She rejoins the others after finishing this.  " Now for the armory.  We need weapons and  armor . "

Respar approaches the door to the armory and gives it a quick once-over to search for traps, then does his best to open the door.

Speaking plainly and with a simple gesture with his hand, Kiven requests of Grumblejack "let them up please, my astute goliath."

"You all remember who showed you mercy when others would have your heads.  I assure you the other Aloro who is in charge of this place cares nothing about you, and allows your Sergeant to steal from you as well.  When the day comes that you hear of my return, remember which Aloro was merciful and honest with you."  At that he throws the papers Eya gave him at the feet of a few of the men for them to retrieve and inspect during their imprisonment, nodding towards the documents to indicate that they should do so.  At that he swiftly turns in his spot and strides out of the room.

Kiven then moves to the dining room door, back to the dining room wall, to watch the main hall and the kitchen door once more.  He pulls out his newfound magical rod and gives it a cold smile as he looks at it with intrigue.  The Prince holds it out so that the ends face to his left and right, and pushes the second button.

As the magical rod turns into some sort of grappling hook on one end, then both, and Kiven continues to play with it, his eyes grow wide.  After a bit more fiddling around grappling hooks fire out of both ends of the rod with immense force and stick firmly into the walls of either side of the dining hall (kitchen wall to his right, barracks to his left).  The tall elf's eyes grow as large as one would think possible and the widest grin the party has seen yet slowly curls it's way across his face.  After a moment the rod retracts back to it's original state and the elf tucks it back into his armor up near his neck and chest.  The grin takes longer to fade, however, as the elf seems to forget most of what is happening around him for a few brief moments.

Soon enough, the guards have been stripped of what little they had, marched up to Grumblejack's old cell, and locked within.

Respar finds no traps and soon enough manages to pick the door open. It swings in to display half empty racks of armor and weapons. Mostly its a collection of studded leather, shortswords, longswords, and light crossbows. Several daggers, short and longspears, a couple of shortbows, two glaives, and a single longbow complete the picture.

None of the equipment is particularly well cared for, but most of it is serviceable.

After the healing she just gave him, Grumblejack is quite willing to follow Eya for now, but he looks rather puzzled.

Eya pulls Grumblejack to the side privately and asks, "How are you feeling, Grumblejack? The magic of Asmodeus should be helping a bit more now with your wounds." She inspects his wounds to see if she can judge the damage. "You did very well in there you know. Those blue men are all bad for locking us in here. Always remember Grumblejack, if you listen to me, then I will take care of you when you get hurt. If I can get supplies somewhere, I will try to cure your poison. But our first priority is escaping. We only kill who I say to kill for now, understood Grumblejack? Just trust me and I might be able to get you out of here too big guy."

Suddenly, Eya and Grumblejack's conversation is interrupted by loud clanging noises coming from across the room. Eya turns to look and witnesses what can only be described as the beginnings of a narrative tragedy. She sees the Prince of All Elves standing there with a grappling hook rod. She rolls her eyes, hard. 

Eya grabs a light crossbow, a cluster of bolts with a quiver, and one dagger from the armory. She also grabs the largest polearm she can find and gives it to Grumblejack. "Try using this weapon. It might still be a bit awkward for you to use right now though." Then, she walks out of the armory and points straight down the only path left. "Only one way left to go now." 

Still standing in the dining room looking very, very pleased with his new toy, Kiven starts to pay attention to the situation again.  He watches as all guards shuffle out of the barracks and upstairs, checking the barracks quickly for anyone hiding, or any magic or other valuables.  Returning to the dining room he looks at the kitchen door once more.  When Jesla and the others are almost done marching the other soldiers out Kiven simply says "wait".  He goes to the kitchen door once more, opens it, and gestures for the staff to exit into the dining room and be ushered upstairs to the cell with the rest.  The elf watches attentively to ensure no one strays, ready to Daze them if need be.

Once he is finished supervising, The Prince joins Respar in the armory.  At first he looks pleased, ducking his head a bit as he enters the room, but his demeanor quickly changes.  The elf's expression is one of disgust as he touches the less than perfectly polished bows, which of course are not to the level of craftsmanship he is accustomed to.  He rubs his fingers together, inspecting the bit of dirt and tarnish he has found on the weapons thus far before closing his eyes and shaking his head briefly.  With a sigh the elf almost appears to be talking himself into carrying on at all, but he then opens his eyes once more, takes a deep breath and grabs a short bow.  He slings it over one shoulder, grabs a large quiver of arrows, stows a short sword, trades his kitchen knife out for three daggers, and finally equips himself with a longbow.

Finally focused again, Kiven hears Eya's words regarding the next step in their escape.  "How do you propose we get past the guards outside with your brilliant friend here?  I'm not sure being disguised as the help will cut it.  Let me guess, more brute force?"  Although listening for a response from anyone, really, The Prince is also very busy cleaning himself and his new weapons up further with magic, starting with his longbow and short sword, then continued work on his 'new' armor.

Respar takes a short sword and short bow.  He mutters something about, "One day I need to learn the long bow..."

Upon exiting the armory, Kiven sees the box Respar had dropped out in the main room.  He does not sense any magic but opens it with his cold, spectral hand anyhow.  Suddenly The Prince is almost blinded by the aura of a strong magic and the spectral hand rises from the box holding the branding iron that had been used on the party only hours before.  "I imagine one of you will want this for your sinister fetishes.  I will simply be pleased to deny this place further use of it."

At that The Prince looks at both Jesla and Eya, seeing who is more intrigued by the item.

Regarding the branding iron, Eya thinks for a moment then says, "I might be able to study it and find a way to remove our brands. It might be good to hold onto for that one reason alone." 

--

"We have two paths to escape that we know of. First, the servants mentioned swimming being the fastest option, though they also felt it was suicidal. Perhaps they are wrong however and there is some safer way into the water. I can summon a dolphin to help us with the strong water currents. Second, there's the direct path of cutting through the gatehouse. There's probably going to be a lot of fighting if we choose that route, though with Jesla and Grumblejack we might be able to do it. Once we start moving though, we are committed to getting past that bridge as fast as possible."

    Jesla studies the weapons and armor with a seasoned eye . Seeing the Prince take two bows she laughs. " You are taking two of them but I doubt that you even have the strength to draw either one back . " She laughs and begins picking through the items . She takes two short Spears and  hefts them. " None of these weapons compare to the sword I already carry .  " The barbarian finds some straps and attaches the short spears to her back so as to avoid any noise while making their escape. 

  She nods at Eya's words regarding the brand . " If there is a possibility of removing our brands then feel free to study that brand. I would have mine gone.  As to which option to choose to escape .. I don't mind rushing the gatehouse. You know I enjoy fighting.  It might be smarter to escape by swimming if at all possible however . I want to get away and never return here.  Whatever gives us the best chance of that is what we should pick. "

Soon enough, newly armed and armored, the would be escapees move to the last door. A peek through shows it to be night outside. There is not much to see from here save for an open expanse of ground, and then a thirty foot wall. A better view of the surroundings will require stepping out.

Kiven goes to the office room quickly and finds a scrap of paper and a quill.  He writes "Dear brother, you begged me to show weakness akin to your own.  Instead I show you strength.  See you soon!"  He takes the note, returns to the center of the main hall, places the note in the box the brand was in, and shuts the lid.  He makes sure the box is placed neatly in the center of the room.

At that Kiven returns to the main exit doors and peers out just a bit.  He begins to slip through to the outside but stops and turns to Eya.  "You still owe me a debt, so I will be back for you in a moment.  Bring your friends if you like, but only if they will continue to serve."  At those words he is gone, slipping out into the darkness.

The lithe elf casts a spell on himself as he exits and goes to look for a means of escape, whether it be a way down from this place, a spot where they can go over the wall out of the view of the guard towers, etc.

Stealth (w/ 'Blend' spell): 26

Perception: 20

Kiven's form blurs as a wash of slowly changing muted colors covers him, making it a little more difficult to distinguish him from his surroundings. He steps out, and surveys the area.

A crescent moon hangs low in the sky, giving only feeble light to the area. Fortunately, the former noble has eyes even more suited the dark than most of his race, and he has no difficulty in seeing what he needs to

It looks like the outer wall is constructed as a simple four corner square, with a tower at Each corner. To his left, is a small Watchtower. There is a light at the top, suggesting that someone is there, but no one is visible.

To the right, is a much larger tower, at least a hundred feet in height. A faint blue light, probably magical in nature, can be seen through an arrow slit at the top. The smell of dogs and horses is in the air

  Jesla grips her sword tightly as Kiven speaks.  She shakes her head as he heads out.  She scoffs quietly, " As long as we continue to serve? That is laughable.  I serve none here.  If it wasnt for us he would not have made it this far.  He best be careful to not prod too much.  I do not suffer fools well . " Her eyes glitter in the dimly lit area.  

Kiven sticks his head back inside and says to Eya "clear so far if we mind the one in this small tower."  "I'm going to look further.  Your talented friend with the nimble fingers can come along if he likes."

Kiven slips along the outside wall to his right, hoping to reach the corner of the building and see what is there.  All the while he takes glances at the small watch tower and only the occasional glance at the larger tower.

OOC  Don't want to step on the rogues toes too much.  Let's do this, if you like, Respar!