At some point between Waterdeep and the monastery, Carrhae takes Strife aside for a private conversation. "Strife, I know that you have that wonderful mind altering substance and how you occasionally use it to take the edge off. I'm certainly not condemning you for using that from time to time, but this is a time when we'll need your wits. I believe that you're more of a fighter than you give yourself credit for and that you can keep your calm without the pipe. And to further inspire you towards heroism and sobriety, I'll show you that birthmark I spoke of if you can do it."

Once the party has arrived and taken their position outside the monastery, Carrhae whispers a quick prayer over her less stealthy comrades while they're huddled together. "Sune, I ask that you be with my comrades today as they put themselves in danger once again. May your divine power bolster their fortitude so that they might withstand the attacks of our enemies." For the next eight hours, Trini, Strife, and Zephyr all have their hit point maximum and current hit points increased by 5.

Returning to the Monastery at night reveals a different situation. Even at late evening, the entire place appears to be on alert. Specifically, there are four heavily armed Earth cultists patrolling the corners of the temple. It’s difficult to tell, but it does not look like the inside of the Monastery is lighted, but the guards outside are walking around carrying torches.

Obviously, you park far away enough to look over a small hill and remain hidden. The Monastery’s surrounding hills are dark with night, but you are still about 60’ away from the temple. The guards are spread at each corner around the temple and a loud commotion would be heard by the other guards. 

If you are planning to stealth as a group to sneak up on a guard, it’s going to be a DC15 to reach one but you can help each other be quiet. Failure would mean you alert the guard youre trying to sneak up on, and the other three. They just had over 15 prisoners vanish, so you can bet they are edgy and on high alert. Thus, i’m not going easy on you guys.

Back at the carriage, after relaying what she and Daewen had seen Mercy looked at Carrhae, as the one with the most battle experience. "Any thoughts?"

"I'm quite sure that the five of you wouldn't have too hard a time sneaking past the guards, but even with my bells stowed away, I'd still have a hard time being stealthy in this armor. It's beautiful and it keeps me safe, but unfortunately it's rather noisy. In my opinion, we should go with Strife's plan of using disguise to infiltrate the monastery. It seems like it would require us to burn the least amount of resources and has the smallest chance of ending poorly. Daewen could disguise herself as Bruldenthar and the five of us could disguise ourselves as his captors who have managed to re-capture him and are bringing him back to the monastery. If I understand your skills correctly, the two of you, Zephyr, and Strife are capable of using magic to disguise yourself and I'm sure that the four of you could disguise Trini and I as cultists." 

Daewen casts Disguise Self on herself, changing her appearance to match that of Bruldenthar the Dwarf, and then hands off her guilded mask of the Order of the Sacred Stone to Mercy.

Mercy had been struggling to come up with an idea of what appearance to take, but when Daewen handed her the mask, she smirked and used Disguise Self to change her facial features and horns to match the basic outline of the mask, her cloak changing to appear as the cultists' garb. She raised her hood and pulled it forward, so that she appeared to be wearing the mask. She then passed the actual item to Carrhae. "You're going to need this."

Carrhae places the mask over her face as her comrades help with the rest of the disguise and if Daewen allows her to do so, she'll help her look the part of a captive Dwarf by placing a cloth in her mouth to serve as a gag and tying her hands back in a knot. "Sorry about all this, but if we're going to get in here, we've got to make you look the part. We'll be with you the whole time, but this isn't the tightest knot I've ever tied and you seem like you'd be able to get yourself out of these without much trouble."

While waiting for the others to prepare, Mercy went ahead and loaded Dark Magic. Just in case.

Insight: 10

You feel like something might be missing or off from this disguise, but you have no idea what.

(OOC: ...)

Mercy pulls her hood even lower, worried now.

As we draw near to the guard (pick one...not sure which direction we’re approaching from...), Dwarfwen will examine the cultist guard from a great distance (Perception: 25) looking for anything out of the ordinary of the guard. 

Mercy squints at what the guard is wearing.

Perception: 14

Back at the tower Zephyr had studied the lich Mercy disguised into, never seeing if he could possibly actually shift into an undead. It went... Decently well, he would say, but could definitely use more practice. He would try it on the way to the monastery, seeing if he could pull off the evil warlock vibe (he didn't).

When looking over the keep now, Zephyr grew a tad bit worried. Of course they would have strengthened their defenses since the last time, he just wondered if they could actually pull this off. As everyone got prepared, all Zephyr had to do was put on his face, looking like the monk that they had stumbled upon previously. He just hoped they didn't know of their comrades passing as of yet. Just as they were about to head out, Zephyr casts Guidance on everyone, saying with a smile: "Just a little boost, if need be."

Earlier, on the way to the monastery:

"Oh, Carrhae, my gorgeous champion of beauty, my valiant and brave bundle of delicious temptation, that is such a sweet thing to offer. I know you want to ensure the safety of our group, and that you care for me, but you know I am weak sometimes. You want to induce me to do the right thing and for the right reasons, and though I love you, my answer is a firm no.

"This world we live in can be an ugly and lonely place, so we take special note when we encounter beauty, and by any standard, yours is the sort to really ignite infatuation and desire. To see our concept of the ideal so closely mirrored in an actual living and breathing person is a rare treat. I am glad that, like me, you welcome the attention and interest of others, and I hope that being the target of lust and longing does not serve to deceive you into thinking that is all, or even most, of what you have to offer. What it has done, however, has been to get you in the habit of thinking transactionally, to seek to trade on your appearance for the things you want, whether that is a free drink, information, or cooperation.

"That's okay, that's how the world works, and I do it too. But I'm not going to have a transactional relationship with you. And that's at least in part because doing so treats your beauty like a commodity, when in reality, it's like an amazing sunset with spectacular clouds and a breathtaking rainbow. You count yourself lucky to be in the presence of a natural miracle, and you don't try to bargain for it, or appraise it, or ever compute its value. Because you can't.

"I will refrain from calming myself artificially, but only because you asked me to, and because I know you're right, and not with any expectation of seeing your birthmark. If that ever happens, it will be simply because you want to show me, because I am constantly frolicking in your thoughts, distracting you in delightful ways, but you find you need more. Though you can't buy, sell, or trade Carrhae with me, you may find that you can offer rare and very personal gifts, just like a stunning sunset.

"But I must tell you that there are some dark clouds, too. My Zhentarim association isn't the only thing I didn't volunteer. Everybody has secrets I suppose, but some of my own tell me it would be wrong to invite your affection while you are still unaware. You might find your regard for me lessened to perhaps a great degree. I may fail to measure up to the incomplete picture you currently have of me."

Later, at the monastery:

With all save one of the group transformed and disguised as members of the cult, Strife took a deep breath and hugged the image of the cantankerous Dwarf who had been a rather disagreeable conversationalist. "I much prefer you over the original model!"

It’s now or never, I suppose, Strife thought. Though she appeared indistinguishable from one of the cultists who had originally shut the door on them, she worried about the possibility she might run into that very same face in the group of guards they were going to approach. Not super likely, given the overall number of cultists, but not out of the question. Or what if he had left the cult somehow, maybe died in a lich experiment gone wrong - or right?

Marching up boldly to the closest batch of guards with a confidence she did not feel, Strife spoke first, hoping to wipe away any questions before they could be asked.

“Look what we caught! This dumb ass Dwarf is far too loyal for his own good. We managed to ambush him because he and a couple of the other escapees had obtained weapons and turned back this way to try to do something for his colleagues who were not so lucky to escape. Honor at all costs, I guess, and this will surely cost him all. He's not too happy now - he intended to fight to the end like his two friends, but he tripped and we disarmed him. I guess they thought they were commandos or something - more like commanDUHS, am I right?"

Strife turned her attention to the Dwarf and as she spoke to him, she resumed leading their group back to the same door they had used on their prior raid. She figured it would likely be easier to obtain forgiveness than permission. "You just couldn't stay away from our hospitality, huh? Well don't worry, I'm sure you will find our luxury accommodations just as welcoming as you remember! But unlike last time, we are prepared and ready, so allow me to dissipate any whiffs of hope you are clinging to."

Deception (+10, with Advantage): 27 (1st), 13 (2nd)

(Bardic Inspiration and Guidance may still be forthcoming.)

.

Bardic Inspiration (+1d8): 6

Guidance (+1d4): 3

Having no particular way to disguise herself Trini will suggest taking her in as a prisoner too. Maybe they found her snooping around or something. If she can she will also inspire Strife or anyone talking to the guards. 

Earlier:

"I have been using my beauty as a commodity lately, haven't I? I've been walked up to various strangers wearing provocative clothing in the hopes that lust might loosen their tongue. But you're right. We aren't strangers and it would be wrong for us to act like what we have is a commodity to be bought and sold, instead of a gift to be given to those dear to you."  Carrhae sat by herself and spent a great amount of time thinking about Strife's words, particularly what she said about her secrets. Carrhae had an inkling that there might be some less than savory aspects of Strife's past that she didn't know about that. Admittedly, Carrhae had assumed that not all of her party members had the benefit of being born in a body that society found conventionally appealing and that surviving on the margins of society might require them to do some less than ethical things. But with Strife airing her concerns to Carrhae, she now wondered for a moment if she should have feelings for her bard companion. But she also didn't think that she could stop herself. Strife had been a help to everyone in the party and showed nothing but love to the other members of the party. Plus, Strife had never failed to let Carrhae know how she felt about her. How many times has Strife told me how she sees me as something beautiful? And yet I continue to hide my feelings for her, like I'm ashamed of them. I shouldn't do that any longer. It's time to let someone into my heart again. I'll tell her how I feel after this.

Right now:

As the group marched up to the monastery, Carrhae silently said one last prayer to Sune and mentally prepared herself for battle in the event where something went wrong and she needed to protect her comrades.

Mercy/Daewen: Mercy had a gut feeling something might have been off. As you both monitor the guards from your vantage point, Daewen spots it first. Your disguises are nearly perfect..but..the guards outside are wearing..pins? You can see them in the torchlight. Could this make a difference in your tactics? Maybe they're pins of rank, or a representation of something else? Daewen opens her mouth to try and communicate but Strife and the others were on the move. No time now. 

Led by Strife, you intercept a guard by the front door. He notices you approach and holds up a hand in warning, gripping a viscous javelin type looking weapon.

A larger number than 16 and a higher number than 14 in deception. 

He listens to your deception, looking you all up and down as you talk. After an awkward pause, he steps back a few feet, and uses the butt of his javelin to knock on the door, twice, loudly. The door creaks open by two more guards. He asks you to wait for a moment by holding up his hand, and two additional guards who were patrolling outside stand behind the group. You are flanked by six guards as you are escorted inside.

You're in the room with the arrow. This austere hall is finished in irregular blocks of dark basalt that form natural columns along the walls. The doors of the monastery’s front entrance face south, while interior doors lead east and west. An interior courtyard lies just to the north of this room, visible through a pair of narrow windows.

As all of you are escorted into the room, the door behind you closes and is locked. The guards form a circle around you all, and the guard behind "Bruldenthar" sticks the point of his javelin into "his" neck.

"You know..." The guard who you talked to first, says, slowly turning around. "It's been SUCH a boring day. We haven't had ANY unruly prisoners to punish today. You wouldn't mind if we gut your little..friend..here would you."

The javelin point pokes into DAEWEN'S neck harder, drawing blood. It hurts. 

Your move.