“Why yes, Carrhae, I do indeed have the wine you very generously provided, and I imbibed but a single glass in my study of the Dwarven tomes. So, let us have a few toasts to celebrate our triumph! Everyone, hold out your canteen, waterskin, or whatever you use for a cup, and I shall pour equal measures as best I may.

“First, to Barry and his masterful disguises and impersonations! You were such a huge help getting us both in and out. Let the record show that all of my many failings and shortcomings were really from Barry appearing to be myself but making a mess of things! But seriously, you are the best non-husband I have had the pleasure of not marrying.

“Which brings us to our magnificent daughter Dawn, who embraced the madness I threw her way and helped provide vital distractions. And when the weapons were drawn, oh did my heart flutter with pride! Daewen, you are a superb combatant and we are so blessed to have you fight at our side. Thank you, and much love to our regal Raven Queen, may she smile upon our deeds as we send cultists before her to meet their final fate.

“Mercy, we owe the success we had to you for obtaining the map of Rivergard in the first place! You also distinguished yourself in the bloody fray, and I think you left an indelible impression upon Grimjaw, may he rest uneasy knowing you have him in your crossbow’s sights.

“Carrhae, you have proven your worth in so many ways on so many occasions that I almost forgot your true avocation as Sune’s armored advocate. I felt far safer in that carriage having your sword and shield so close by, and those who witnessed your martial prowess saw the the grim toll your fearsome righteousness doth exact. Our many thanks too for extending Sune’s loving warmth to restore the health of our wounded. And for indulging me and putting up with me and bringing us this wine!

“And Trini, thank you for safely steering the carriage through the hatred of our foes toward a successful escape, and bolstering our morale with song, verse, and random jingling.

“We have been through much together and I feel more closely bonded to each of you as our quest continues to unfold. There’s something, however, which is bothering me. Already, I feel I have waited longer than was warranted to clarify a misconception. My benign silence at the outset has led many of you to suppose that I am a member of The Harpers, but in fact, I have an affiliation with The Zhentarim. I regret I didn’t find an occasion sooner to tell you all this, and I hope you will forgive me for that misstep.

“But I am here to help in every way I am able, and what began as a simple effort to engender some goodwill toward my organization has evolved into something far more personal. I find I am deeply committed to you individually and collectively, and the thought of not sharing in this adventure with you is abhorrent, and I look forward to contributing all I can to aid this effort. Which is a bard’s excessively verbose way of saying I love you guys!”

Later, as the monastery came view, Strife asked Carrhae, “These people are members of your order? What do you know about them?”

"I can't speak for the others, but you have my forgiveness and my trust. To me, you have more than proven your mettle as one of us. You've spent the last few weeks with us searching for the delegation and I don't think we would've survived those cultists if you didn't play as the Stella to Barry's Shoalar. And you also comforted me when you saw me at my lowest point. Perhaps I'm blind when it comes to those who are closest to me, but I still believe that you have a good heart. You're too wonderful to hold a grudge against.

As the monastery came into view some time later, Carrhae would respond to Strife's inquiry. "I am not a member of this order and judging from the concerns of my comrades at Summit Hall, I don't think that they will get along too well with me or the other members of the Order of the Gauntlet. All I know is that these people are part of an earth worshiping cult and that they aren't good."

Daewen giggles silently as Strife does her toasts, smiling broadly when she came to her personal toast.  :-)  Surprising everyone, she downs her glass of wine in one swig....definitely not the teenage lush everyone thought she was!  Although you can tell that the wine went straight to her head, as she became quite snugly with everyone during the long carriage ride to the monastery, and rapidly fell asleep and snoring loudly (as I'm sure Mercy was as well).

Mercy did not partake in the alcoholic revelry of the others. Instead, she opted to sip on what water was left in her waterskin before retiring below to rest up before the next leg of their journey. She most certainly did not want another embarrassing moment like the one at Rivergard.

Zephyr had indulged himself in joining them for the toast, not having had any bit of alcohol before. The taste was awful and bitter on his tongue, but the warmth it provided was welcoming and soothed his nerves. Eventually he had gotten use to the taste as he thanked Strife for her kind words with a smile and asked for another glass. Or two if there was still any left.

It wasn’t soon til they all retired to sleep. When the changeling awoke, and waited for everyone else to rise, he started thinking of plans, but then grew anxious as he remembered how well their planning had gone before. Maybe they could agree on something without any heated debates.

Earlier, in the carriage departing Rivergard:

"Thank you, Carrhae. You know I tried to speak to you of this before, but it seemed as if it would cause a diversion from our focus on the delegation. But I don't want to carry this pointless secret any longer."

As an increasingly drowsy Daewen slumped into her neighbors, Strife's maternal yearning led her to awkwardly cradle Daewen's upper half. Strife began to gently arrange and straighten Daewen's hair while singing a lullaby, though she hadn't reached the second verse before the potent snoring began. Based on the wincing and ear covering, there seemed to be a serious desire to exile Daewen to Mercy's hammock, but with Trini adding her voice to the song, and by shifting Daewen's position slightly, they managed to make it tolerable.

Later, at the monastery:

The group had debated various possible approaches, and none of the options won universal support. They knew so very little about the earth cultists, it was hard to predict what might work best. The imperfect plan they opted to try first was to pose as potential converts. When they were met at the front entrance to the monastery, Strife spoke.

"Hello. We are travelers just passing through these hills. Last night, camped not far from here, I had a vivid dream of a great conflict, tremendous suffering, and magnificent cities and castles reduced to rubble by powerful earthquakes. I have an intense foreboding that somehow these events will unfold, and that as terrible as they may be, I feel certain they are vital and essential.

"Describing this dream to my companions over breakfast, we were astounded to realize that we had all shared this same searing vision of struggle, of fundamental forces ripping apart what is to bring about what must be. This can't be an accident. Since we had the dream in the same place, we wondered whether something about this area is trying to communicate with whoever might be nearby, and we decided to ask the first people we ran across if they are afflicted by the same dream. And it so happens your building is the first structure we've encountered since resuming our voyage.

"Is it just us, or has anyone here experienced anything similar? Is it something based on proximity to the hills? What does it mean? Do we have any role to play should these momentous events begin to take place?"

Deception (+7): 20

The two monks who open the door wait for you to finish your greeting. When you do, they both look at each other with a curious glance, but they have their orders.

”No visitors. Please leave at once.”

And with that, the front door clicks shut and locks.

Mercy sighed and shook her head. “Plan B it is. Wake me up when the sun sets.” With that, she returned to her hammock, determined to be wide awake when it came time to sneak about. No more blunders. She needed to up her game.

At sunset...

A thump to the side of the carriage woke her. Rolling out of the hammock, she crawled from below and headed into the shadows without a word.

Stealth: 13

You tried to be as quiet as possibru, the rocks were a bit crunchy around this area. Luckily, no one seemed to notice just yet. Earth cultists and the rocks. Something inside you tells you to be careful. Where do you head?

As Mercy crawls out, Carrhae casts Shield of Faith on her. "May Sune watch over you and protect you against those who would do you harm." She whispers as she clutches at her holy symbol and holds an arm out. 

Zephyr follows along with Carrhae’s prayer with one of his own, for both of them. “And may the Traveller guide you to what we seek and aid in keeping you hidden in the shadows.” He grabs Mercy and Daewen both by the shoulder and with a faint blue glow, casts Guidance.

Watching Mercy and Daewen ready themselves to infiltrate the compound, Strife felt helpless and inadequate. She didn’t have potent spells to cast on her friends other than healing, and she very much hoped there wouldn’t be any need for that. She and Trini could, however, at least provide Bardic Inspiration as a modest aid, and Strife did so with verse.

Mercy and Daewen shall sneak with great care,

Let none of the cultists take notice or beware,

Our rogue and our ranger we love and do bless,

Guide them, protect them, and then get them out of this mess

“Be extra careful as best you can, because cultists are apt to do crazy stuff like put traps in the middle of their main hallway, and so on. May Sune, the Traveler, the Raven Queen, and any other force that supports us or dislikes them, may they all lend help and comfort to you both this night.”

Here's a picture of the complex.

Mercy had never put much stock in gods. Sure, their influence was pretty clear at times, but they'd never really shown any actual interest in the affairs of mortals. Yet, as she listened to her friends' prayers and heard the crunch of earth beneath her feet, she figured it couldn't hurt to ask for help every now and then. Lord of Shadows, walk with me tonight. My deeds are thine, though the reasons be mine.

She felt a little silly, praying to a god named Mask, but he was the patron of thieves. If any deity would have interest in helping her move about unnoticed, it'd be him. Shaking her head to clear it of those thoughts, she slipped deeper into the shadows, moving around the East side of the large building.

Stealth: 12 (Guidance: 3)

Daewen places her black cloak on over her armor (gotta remember to put away her bright pink traveling cloak this time....), and steps out of the carriage and silently follows Mercy to the castle.

Stealth: 18 + 3 Zephyr guidance

Since it's pitch black outside, and there are no lights on in the monastery, Daewen is effectively invisible....to sight.  However, Mercy can hear the crunching sound of rocks behind her.

Creeping as silently as you can, you guys crunched on a couple more rocks but proficiently enough that you didn't alert anything nearby. You pass by steps leading to a door, and around the back towards the north side of the west wall, find another door.

Be careful!

Daewen approaches the door, and quietly turns the knob to see if it's unlocked.  If locked, she'll turn around and step back, giving Mercy room to pick the lock.

With no further ability to help her friends at this point in time, Carrhae just kneels down and begins to quietly pray for the safety of her two friends. She first prays to Sune, the god she's known for her entire life. Then she prays to the Raven Queen, who while Carrhae doesn't worship her, Daewen does hail from her realm and Carrhae prays that she watches over her servant tonight. She stops for a moment when she thinks about Mercy. Who does she worship? I don't think she's really spoken too much about her feelings towards the gods. Unable to figure out which god watches over Mercy, Carrhae just goes back to praying to Sune.

(The door is indeed locked)