OOC Aargh! I accidentally hit "quote" with my big clumsy fingers. Disregard previous post. Currently going through those 2 pages of dialogue. Stand by for more...

OOC: Okay, I'm caught up. Wow, this little piece of role playing was simply amazing, guys...so many worlds and storylines just came together beautifully...after months of saving the Three Peaks on different fronts, the Knight Protectors and the Knight Inquisitors join forces. This should be awesome!

Alright, here we go...

As Saerrira flashes her symbol of Meryn to Zyman, he feels a horrible burning sensation deep inside of him. As if her powers were in direct opposition to his...within his very Soul, he feels (but doesn't hear) Plague bursting with a melange of fear and undying hate...luckily for him, the happy voice in his head keeps singing, and keeps the Warlock from outright freaking out.

Rosri finally finds closure with his past theft from a fellow Knight of the Hanging Chicken, as Sir Uther of Dastarus, TPWF Heavyweight Champion of the Three Peaks, immediately forgives him, towering over him like a Mountain, still covered in dirt and blood. The Half Orc doesn't speak much, but his heroic reputation on and off the Battlefield and Ring has become unquestionable around the City and its surroundings. 

After meeting at the Bard's College, the newly united Team makes its way back to the good old Midle Bridge, and its now World Famous Hanging Chicken.

As they all walk in (in slow motion), they immediately bask in the familiar atmosphere of drunken partying, which is currently going full blast. A band of Dwarven bards with long bushy beards is playing a wild tune, which the crowd seems to revel in

https://youtu.be/X9bOsdHckhg

They then sit down at their favorite private booth, where a bottle of their favorite beverages is already waiting for them. Except for Elixisys...but within seconds of sitting down, Gavin Mc Culick shows up to greet them all.

"Ay, Elixisys is it? Any friend of the Knights is a friend of mine...what'll it be, lad? Name it, I've got it...So, what's the plan? Old Gavin's still got a few aces up his dirty sleeves"

"Well, Gavin, we are on our way to attempt to free Sir Pebbles the Brave from Wrathmaw Keep," says Edeleth, knowing there is practically no chance of being eavesdropped on  in the riotous din."We had hoped the Air Force would take us down, but there have been a couple of difficulties. Firstly, they do not have enough eagles to carry all of Sir Pebbles's Dwarf Dogs. Secondly, the military bureaucracy. It is taking so long to get flight clearance that I am beginning to believe that they have been specially hatching, breeding and training an exclusive squad of eagles just for our personal use. Of course, I could summon owls again, but apart from the hazards, I would prefer to save my efforts for use during the actual mission."

"Do you have any alternative suggestions for quick travel? I don't suppose there is a large, friendly and very roomy dragon among your allies."

"Thank you my good man. Do you have any Lily in a Well? It was always a favourite of mine, at the end of the night of course. 

And I believe we're taking your father to find a friend of his and my friends here. Best to make sure those Gnolls don't get their hands on anyone for too long." 

(What time is it by the time we arrive at the Hanging Chicken?)

Rosri looks at the bottle of Saerloonian Special Vat. At first he is eager to take a glass of it to loosen his nerves, but the he remebwr the last time he had a drink and just push the bottle aside. 

“uhm, Lady Saerirra, sir Uther.. This is what we have planed so far. The air force is taking us most of the way to Wrathmaw keep. When we arrive, we will start by walking close, then Edeleth will call his badgers to dig tunnels under the keep.” He looks at Edeleth for confirmation. “Now it get tricky.. you see from the tunnel our plan was to have Ozymandias to transport himself and one other in to the dungeons and perform a stealth rescue. In the meantime the others were to meet up with the dwarfs, get them up to speed and launch an attack on the city.” This time he looks at Ozymandias. “We have also gotten word of a conflict between Gornar Blackhorn and Artarxes of Emberdark. Two of the leaders inside the city.” Now he turn his gaze upon Saerirra and Uther. “One of the major problem we’re facing is that Ozymandias can only take one prisoner with him out of the keep. This was supposed to be Sir Pebbles, but the rest of the prisoners will have to wait until the dwarves can take the city... so what are tour thoughts on this?”

"Well my first thought is to learn of Wrathmaw Keep's location first. Without that information, any plan we come up with becomes irrelevant. But I like the tunnel plan. We should bypass what forces whoever among them has been able to claim Wrathmaw for themselves, should this divide among the dragon clans be true. I also have another idea. If Wrathmaw cannot be found soon, perhaps we try to reclaim Pinekeep first."

“Alternatively, I can try to fight my way out with the prisoners, but that seems riskier...”

Uther takes a sip and is pleasantly surprised.  He tastes a mixture of fermented cheese, pungent slime with a smokey after taste, and very very powerful alcohol. "Wow, haven't tasted orc mead this good in years!" He raises the cup to Rosri and takes another deep chug. 

Quote from Grotex >>

 

"There...Wrathmaw Keep...I know where it is, on my Ancestors' graves, I can lead us to it. After the Battle of the Grey Valley, those Kobolds turned this whole area into an Ant Hill. But at the end of the tunnel, there's a nest...If we destroy the nest, then we can win this War once and for all!"

Hunar seems shocked....

"And how do you suppose we destroy it?"

Gaston looks at Edeleth...

 

 Ooc: so did Gaston ever show Edeleth where Wrathmaw keep is?  Otherwise we should immediately go find him. 

Did Chernbog scout Wrathmaw keep out? You mentioned it in an other posts 

Quote from Sidewinder51 >>

"He said to go to the Jarl's war council, though he's hoping to be back by then. I can keep tabs on them with Chernobog, on the bird is back from scouting Wrathmaw Keep." 

 >>

Rosri smiles “it is an amazing thing isn’t it?”

He turn to Zyman. “Yeah. I guess it would be I who accompanies you in to the keep, since I’m the most capable at sneaking. But to sneak more then a few out of the keep will be close to impossible.. I even doubt I could do it alone.”

((Nope, we definitely need to talk to Gaston.))

Zymanlooks at Rosry with surprise: “Precisely because you’re the best at sneaking into places, I thought I’d take someone else. You and Edeleth, thanks to his animal forms, might very well be able to get inside unaided by my magic. Roscoe and I might fare worse there. But by using my magic, we might then already have four people inside.

“Oh.. yeah that is definitely a better option” is all Rosri gets out, a little embarrassed that he didn’t think of that.  

((Chernobog never managed to find the keep. We'll need Gaston))

"I could go with either group. I have spells to make us more stealthy but the less of them I use the more I have available if we decide to assault the keep with the dwarves later." 

"I had imagined so, and wanted to keep you around as our arcan artillery, in case we needed busting out, and my spells were tapped."

”But what do we do about the locks on the cells? Do you have a way to open them?”

"I can handle locks with a spell, should I be among those delving into the dungeons. However, if there are many locks and I become tapped for spells afterwards, I am afraid I would be close to useless at that point, at least in a battle."

”I can pick locks no problem as well. I ment if Zyman and one me goes alone, how are thay to open Sir Pebbles cell?”

Edeleth nods and says, "I am all for taking Pinekeep after the rescue, especially if we succeed in blowing up Wrathmaw Keep.  The Pinekeep enemies will not be able to expect reinforcements from the keep, then, and will have no safe place to retreat to. If we were to successfully assail Pinekeep first, any who escaped would increase the numbers at Wrathmaw and be much more on alert, both of which factors would make a stealthy incursion much more difficult. Sneaky mission first, all-out war after they know something is wrong."

"If we are to walk near to where the keep is, we will need to take the mule wagon for the black powder. We can then easily tunnel to the keep with a single summoning of the badgers, or two if we need to dig further after locating Sir Pebbles. That will leave Zyman free to use his spell to get Sir Pebbles out. In addition, I could shape the stone wall to form a hole through which any number of us could enter, all the prisoners we can free may leave, and the powder might be carried in for later detonation.  However, if I am to cast the spell to locate Sir Pebbles, I would not be able to seal the stone wall behind us, without first taking an hour or so to meditate and recover my energy...perhaps that could be done while the black powder is being carried into the keep, though that seems a long time to push our luck. The Dogs or any dwarves that choose to accompany us could help with the carrying."

"Once Sir Pebbles is freed, I can turn my efforts to the much easier task of locating his sweater...which should lead us to the Dire Wolf we have heard rumors of...if the monster has not yet made its presence known. If it is in Pinekeep, that will make our assault on the city even more imperative. If we accidentally blow him and the sweater up with Wrathmaw, we may simply have to hope that Pebbles's master can knit another such garment. It will mean we are missing a very inspiring hero at the battle of Pinekeep, though."

He turns to Saerirra. "Do you have any spells that would be useful for concealment or silencing of our passage, sealing or opening a hole in a stone wall, or further ideas for the mission? Being familiar with Sir Pebbles, I believe I may be the only one able to locate him, but if you could handle making or sealing our entrance, we would have more room for error."

"And that leaves one final and most vital question...how is the black powder to be detonated after we leave?  I don't much care for the thought of leaving some hapless volunteer to blow himself up with the enemy castle."