Maybe it was the courier being brought in a few hours ago, but the thugs don't seem surprised or inquisitive about your party. The few that ask your business point in the direction of the Tower of Seven Woes when you mention "prisoner" and gesture at Quillary (disguised as a drow, but all elves look the same to these guys). "Report to Commander Sundeth inside."

The Tower of Seven Woes is formed from a 120-foot-tall natural stone pillar, hollowed out and windowless. From the map shown to you earlier by the Bregan D’aerthe rebels (in post 4063), the tower is 50' by 50', kinda "L" or square shaped. There is a large iron door, northern facing on the east wing of the tower, heavily rusted by the spray from the water around the island.

There are guards roaming around nearby, but none are currently near the door. You have a short amount of time to do something or look around, before heading in (but too long would be suspicious).

Figuring it's not out of place for the prisoner to be curious, Quillary takes a good look around. She's looking for anything out of sorts, and for where the Bregan D'aerthe might come for them once they blow the whistle, and trying to assess where reinforcements might come from when the battle is joined (so we can avoid those areas, like the barracks and such).

All of that in one Perception roll? 26

Jorin will pretend to fiddle with the door, as if his door opening troubles continue, to give us a little extra time to look around.

Drusk will deliberately stand between any guards and Quillary, to let her move a little more freely.

For the (magic) whistle, it can be blown inside the tower after all prisoners are found, even with the doors closed. The party can wait a few minutes, until it seems like any nearby guards have left the area or are distracted.

For Quillary only:

Quillary indicates the door to the others, but mostly Hildigrim. "Will be noisy, we can't sneak in unless one of you have got oil or magic."

Hildigrim picks an inconspicuous time and calls Volo into existence, sending him to perch nearby while they go inside. "So we can have some eyes out here," he explains to the others. He telepathically asks Volo to alert him if anyone enters the tower after they do.

In response to Quillary, Hildigrim offers, "I have ink, a bottle of wine, and a vial of dragon's blood."

She shakes her head. "Then we will have to play at pretend some more, like when we were children." Her eyes go distant a moment, then she blinks and she's back. She nods to the others and indicates the door.

When the group is ready to go, Jorin will open the door and say, "Time for a cage, enemy of mine!" and drag Quillary through.

Quote from Mingofaust >>

She shakes her head. "Then we will have to play at pretend some more, like when we were children." Her eyes go distant a moment, then she blinks and she's back. She nods to the others and indicates the door.

Drusk volunteers: "If it would be useful, I could cast Silence , maybe aiming at some point inside the tower that would cover the door... It would be suspicious for anyone inside the area of effect, and it would limit what the spell-casters could do while in that zone... But if anyone was expecting the door to make noise to alert them, our group would be sneakier."

Shrugs in uncertainty. Waits to hear what the group thinks would be best.

Quillary looks over at him, stopping her approach to the door. "I can also bring a shroud of quiet and shadow about us, but I don't think it would silence the door itself. If we are going to assault this tower sneakily, we should use Drusk's way and mine, both, and make our way as quickly as possible to the top floor."

OOC > She's talking about Pass Without Trace, +10 to stealth rolls.

"Are we assaulting the tower?" Hildigrim asks. "I thought we were going in, knocking out Sundeth and his pet, and then freeing the prisoners before escaping."

Quote from DirtyDogP >>

"Are we assaulting the tower?" Hildigrim asks. "I thought we were going in, knocking out Sundeth and his pet, and then freeing the prisoners before escaping."

"Sundeth and his pet are inside the tower. The question is whether we will have an easier fight if we try to sneak up on them, or boldly confront them."

"I vote for stealth," Hildigrim admits.

(OOC: I am trying to figure out how to rule on the Silence 20' radius sphere of effect. It would be strange to be able to cast it on one side of a wall, and be able to silence things on the other side despite the total cover. I'm going to treat it more like Darkness, where the magic is like smoke filling a room.)

After Quillary has cast Pass Without a Trace (which also aids in blending with the darkness), Drusk will cast Silence on part of the wall 10' over the door. The idea is that the door (and rusty, squeaky hinges) will be completely covered by the spell, but people walking nearby won't be affected unless they are approaching the door. The spell will muffle any noises that are made inside (like fighting Sundeth and his pet) from being heard outside.

If the door is open, the silence will "spill" into the room, but if the door is closed, the spell won't affect those inside. (The door itself will still be silent.)

Although the door is big and heavy, Jorin is able to open it slightly. Just wide enough for Hildigrim to look inside. Since the Silence spell is active, he will have to mime to indicate what he wants the group to do next. (Hildi could write in the dirt for others to read. Just don't spend too much time, as you don't want the patrols to get curious what you are doing.)

For Hildigrim only (unless you want to open the door wider so everyone can look inside):

How big is the tower? Would Hildi assume it's one area? Are there floors? Rooms/compartments? I know I can't see anything, but is there anything Hildi would assume?

Quote from DirtyDogP >>

How big is the tower? Would Hildi assume it's one area? Are there floors? Rooms/compartments? I know I can't see anything, but is there anything Hildi would assume?

(I mentioned the exterior width of the tower in post 4108.

From the map on post 4063, he knows that the first floor in one big room, and there are stairs up in the northeast corner. So at least a 2nd floor, more likely 3 or 4. He wouldn't know if there are any hidden panels for any floors below.)

(I will mark the casting of Pass Without Trace.)

Quillary, impatient, prods Hildigrim forward a little.

OOC: I just realized I can't do what I was contemplating anyway. No sound, no verbal components.

Hildigrim turns around, puts his hand over his eyes, and shakes his head.

Quillary shrugs and moves forward, bringing her "captors" with her unless they want to lose their prisoner. She is trying to be quiet. Yes, even in the Silence.

Everyone roll for 3 checks: Stealth, Perception, and Initiative.

No advantage or disadvantage for any of them. If I think those apply, I will add or subtract 5 to your result. (You still get the +10 from Pass Without Trace for the stealth.)

Drusk rolls:

It is pitch black inside (which is why Hildi waved a hand in front of his eyes just now). Only Quillary and Drusk have darkvision. It is "silent", but you know that when the door is closed, the magic will no longer affect the inside of the tower. (So if you plan on talking to whatever is in the room, close the door first.)

For Quillary (and Drusk) only:

Let me know what you all are doing next.

(You might be able to avoid combat, depending on what happens next, but safer to have those Init rolls handy.)

(OOC as a player: It occurs to me that Pascal has been eager to use his elemental-summoning brazier, it is dark inside (he doesn't have darkvision), and the group hasn't told him not to use it. If Pascal fires it up, which I think would be amusing, that would commit the group to fighting whatever is inside... But that is a random thought, and you all should chose to do what you think fits the situation.)

(OOC2: Happy new year!)