With a sigh of relief, the Sally Port is repaired! Back to the center of the keep!

MISSIONS:

These missions can be done in any order, and you can do as many or as little as you like.

THE OLD TUNNEL:  A narrow tunnel runs from the cellar beneath the keep to the bank of the south stream just outside town. The tunnel is wide enough to allow warriors to pass through it in single file. In the keep, the tunnel is sealed with a locked ironbound door, and the stream exit is covered with a locked iron grate made to look like a sewer outlet. The tunnel’s main function was as a secret means of collecting water from the stream during a siege, but it can double as a sally port. Since the keep has never been besieged, the old tunnel has never been used. Barrels and crates are piled in front of the door. The keys for the locks are on the ring that Escobert carries with him everywhere. Escobert recommends the tunnel as a means of sneaking townsfolk into the keep without running the gauntlet of attackers watching the gates. You guys can clear the cellar door with a few minutes’ work. TASK: Open the lock with a successful DC 10 Dexterity check and a set of thieves’ tools. The disused tunnel is choked with webs but is otherwise clear.

THE SALLY PORT:  The keep has a sally port along the west wall for counterattacking foes who bring a battering ram against the gates. During the night while you all are in the keep, raiders approach the old gate, force it open, and rush through. Escobert discovers them and races into the courtyard to sound the alarm ahead of the infiltrators. Enough defenders are available to deal with the immediate threat from raiders loose in the keep, since it’s more a probe that got out of hand rather than a full-scale assault. Escobert is most concerned about resealing the sally port, and required your aid for that job. TASK: A town mage knows the mending spell and will need to be defended while she casts it to fix the sally port. You will need to survive three rounds of combat and protect her until the job is done. Cultists and kobolds are attacking!

DRAGON ATTACK: The adult blue dragon, Lennithon, is making passes attacking the town with it's breath weapon. During these attacks, Lennithon flies over the keep and uses his breath weapon without moving closer than 25 feet from the parapet. The defenders on the walls have mastered their fear of the dragon’s Frightful Presence from earlier attacks. There are twenty NPC defenders on the walls at the beginning of the mission. Lennithon is not targeting you guys, but the NPC - each pass he makes kills NPCs with his lightning breath. TASK: After each attack, Lennithon swoops away until his breath weapon recharges, then swings in for another attack. He repeats this pattern until it has taken 24 damage or more, or a single critical hit. After that happens, Lennithon will flee.

PRISONERS: Governor Nighthill would like to interrogate some of the raiders. "I’d give anything to know what we’re up against, and why. For that, we need prisoners. A commander, even a low-ranking one, is best.” Nighthill takes you onto the parapet and points out what he means. This is an ideal time for everyone to catch a glimpse of Frulam Mondath in her purple robes, accompanied by a dozen guards. Even the governor cautions you all against attacking such a formidable force, especially when any lower-level officer can answer his questions. TASK: During any of your missions, try and capture a low ranking commander of some sort. I'll let you guys know when you see one during the missions.

SAVE THE MILL: “The guards have spotted a new threat. Raiders are trying to set fire to the town’s mill. If it burns, we’ll lose our stockpile of flour and we won’t be able to grind more for months. I’m trying to assemble enough defenders from here in the keep to defend it through the rest of the night, but that will take time. You’d do us a great service if you could get to the mill quickly and drive away the raiders before they can set it aflame. You’ll need to defend it until our force arrives to take over, but it shouldn’t be more than fifteen minutes behind you.” TASK: Raiders are trying to burn the mill! Intercept and kill the raiders. There appears to be about 10 of them. 

SANCTUARY: Dozens of townsfolk have barricaded themselves inside the temple to Chauntea, but raiders have it surrounded. The attackers tried setting fire to the stout structure but had little success. Now they’ve deployed an improvised battering ram. It’s only a matter of time, possibly minutes, before the temple’s main doors crumple under the assault, leaving the villagers inside helpless. The temple is a large building, made of fieldstone with a peaked slate roof, and square in shape. It is taller than most other buildings in town. Inside, the altar occupies the middle of the temple, with other worship areas arranged around it. TASK: The force outside the temple is split into three groups. One (A) is battering at the front doors, another (B) is circling the temple in a screeching mob, and the third (C) is heaping burning straw against a rear door. All these groups together would overwhelm you all, but you might devise a plan that gets you inside the temple by dealing with one group. There are about 30 total raiders at this location. This mission involves heavy strategy.

Li'riya stands still, staring at the scimitar in her hands for a long moment before replacing it in its sheath. Closing her eyes, she begins taking deep breaths, slipping into old patterns as she reclaims the calm, capable frame of mind she had earlier. She gives Camilla a brief, weak smile. "Thank you," she says softly, her voice so quiet it's almost a whisper.

Once she's calm, she carefully thinks back to her grandmother's lessons, trying to remember if she was taught a particular weakness for blue dragons.

Int check because dragon Favored Enemy should be used at least once in this campaign: 18

Astrid stands in the middle of the battlefield, blood oozing out of a huge gash on her right shoulder, and begins to weep at the loss of so many innocent victims.  Why are they attacking her little village?  The people here are lovely!  They never hurt anyone.

Rage begins to boil up from deep inside her, and she starts to growl.  As the adrenaline of battle thins, however, she starts to waiver and looks like she's about to faint from massive blood loss.

As the Sally Port is saved Edward quickly cleans his blade some before putting it back into its sheath. “You should go back inside.” He tells the young Mage before turning to the rest, “I think we have a mill to save.”  

"This isn't the time to die, Astrid." Messalina tosses a Healing Word restoring 6 HP.

She pulls Camilla aside to a secluded area before they get going to the mill. "I'm going to change. I need you to keep watch and make sure that no one gawks at me while I do so." She unstraps her sandals and puts them aside before stripping out of her dress. She then opens her bag and pulls out a set of clothes that look more suited for an adventurer and puts them on. They look loose on Messalina's frame, as if they were intended for someone taller than her. Messalina lovingly puts her sandals and dress in the bag, before taking out her rose and putting it in Camilla's hair. "I know how you liked this, so you can hold on to it. Just for a little while." Then she shifts into an Air Genasi with silver hair, whose body perfectly fits into Messalina's new outfit. This should provide me with a little bit of stealth. "I probably should've told you earlier, but I'm a changeling. The form you saw me in earlier is one of many that I have. But it is my favorite. We should get back to the others." As Messalina departs, she remembers that she's barefoot in her new form and searches her bag. "Blast, I forgot that this body has much larger feet than my other one. You wouldn't happen to be carrying a pair of size 12 shoes, would you?"  She says as she returns to the rest of the party. 

Camilla looked over the immediate area of the sally port, and patted the Greenest mage on the back for a job well done as Edward saw to her dismissal. She smiled and nodded to Li'riya, with a look of appreciation and glad she was ok.

Messalina pulled her aside. "Sure." She said, "No prob..lem."

Camilla was the one doing the gawking. Medically, of course, for science. As Messa undressed, she had a very nice figure. And Camilla had to look away quickly, pretending she wasn't openly staring at her. Medically. Yes. "Oh!" she swallowed, "The rose! Ok! Thanks!" she smiled. It contrasted nicely with her pale yellow hair. Then she shifted, and she gasped. "You're a changeling! Huh!" she smirked and nodded. "I don't meet many of your kind - you are a natural shapeshifter? Back home, some of the dev-..uh." she caught herself, and quickly changed the subject. "No, i'm sorry, I don't have extra shoes on me." she laughed, somewhat nervously, when they returned to the group. She soured up and made a frustrated face at herself.

Wow, you idiot. Nice. Just tell her you're from Avernus. In case you didn't remember, most people don't like your kind, much less like Hell. You dumb *****. By the way, just to add fire to the flame, you're a defector. You'll be lucky if you don't cause these people harm cuz they might be looking for you.

"Yes, I'm a natural shapeshifter. If I spend enough time around someone, I can adopt their appearance, size, body shape, and voice. Don't worry about not having shoes, I was mainly joking about that. But perhaps I might acquire a bag large enough for me to hold clothes for all of my various forms." 

Li'riya speaks quietly, a flash of surprise making its way across her face as Messalina comes over. "I...um...I may have some ideas on how to handle the dragon if we decide we want to," she says softly.

6

SAVING THE MILL

Three cultist guards and 1 acolyte are trying to set the mill on fire.

DC 15 Wisdom (Insight) or Charisma (Performance) checks: ??????

The mill is a simple rectangular barn, about 40 feet long and 20 feet wide, with an attached, exterior office. The long side of the building away from the stream has barn doors and a two-part door, and the two short walls have windows. All these openings are closed.

 I don't know what Performance has to do with a burning barn, but I am a Bard and this is what I do: 23

Messalina, you realize that the raiders are making a demonstration of starting a fire, but it’s for show. A few fires are burning around the building, but they could be extinguished easily. You are convinced that this is a ruse, and a trap - as if someone important knows you are here and trying to get you to fall for a deception that would place you all in great danger.

"Stop. These fires look worse than they are. The cultists are trying to lure us out in the open so that they can spring a trap on us." Or me. Do you know that I'm here already, Frulam? I'll get to you soon enough, no ruses needed. Messalina silently thanked the gods that she had taken the time to change clothes and shift into a form that her enemies weren't familiar with while she was still in the tunnel.

"Or.." Camilla squints, "Perhaps INTO the barn..?"

"Yes, that too. Either way, it's a trap."

"Then we shouldn't go in," Li'riya says softly. "We can stay at a distance and pick them off." Thoughts begin to come together in mind. The dragon...this cult...surely it can't be what she always spoke about...

Camilla nodded. That sounded good. "They might try and lure us in, but we could pick some off from here, as you suggest."

Edward takes out a crossbow and says, "I'm not the best with it but I can shoot. I prefer my sword a lot more though." 

"I have a crossbow that I can use as well."

You guys would have a surprise round if you want to pick them off from a distance.

Attack: 18 Damage: 7

Initiative: 16