Thrax looked worried at the thought of the villagers trapped and encircled by the raiders.

”As much as we could use the rest, it doesn’t sound like we have time on our side. My spells are spent til tomorrow, but I can still wield my weapons, and few of these rabble will land a strike on me past my shield and armor.” He says the last part with a pride in his voice, which was an uncommon thing to hear from lizard folk. 

Thia shakes her head and looks around, fully focussing on what is going on around her for the first time in a while.  "A rescue mission is a good idea," she chips in, "but the first issue is, how do we get out of the keep?  From up on the parapet just now it appeared that the whole place is surrounded, by over a hundred raiders.   I don't see us fighting our way out through that lot outside, do you?"  She turns to Yevele.  "Good question," she observes and compliments in one comment.   Looking back to the governor, she continues, "Is there a way to get out of here towards the river?   Without going through the hundred guards outside the gate?"

Looking around at her companions Thia realizes that they are in sore need of rest and recuperation. Just no time right now.  We really need to push on and help whoever is in the temple.  Hmmm.  "Perhaps the people in the temple will be able to help us with some healing," she muses aloud.

(Back from 2 weeks camping in the wilds so back to full daily posting again!)

Nighthill confirms, "I worry that those trapped within won't have the luxury of time."

At the mention of the river, the governor nods, but is interrupted by the boisterous voice that has just entered the war room. Escobert the Red fumbles with a huge ring of keys and says, "There's a narrow tunnel that runs from the cellar to the bank o' the stream. Yer da' helped build it, Rogram. Said if we ever came under siege we'd need a way to collect water. Who knows if we'll need it for that purpose, but it can always be used as a sally port to get to the stream unnoticed...so long as the raiders ain't watchin' it. Only problem is, we ain't ever been besieged 'til now, so we ain't ever used it! This key should get you through it -- er, no, this key."

At the mention of his father, Rogram swallows, half smiling, half grimacing.

Thia reaches out and takes the key from Escobert with a nod of her head, "Thanks.  Very useful."  

I really need to find out if Talis is here, but first things first.  Save the village from marauding raiders this evening and tomorrow find my friend. 

Thia shakes her blonde tresses slightly, letting the lose ends cover her upswept ear lobes, and draws her rapier, taking a quick look down the length of the blade.  It is the first time any of you have seen her draw the weapon.  Satisfied it is still razor sharp and in perfect condition, she slides it easily back into its scabbard.  Then she reaches into a little pouch at her side and pulls out a red apple, polishing it rapidly on her leather trousers.

Looking at the others, she asks, "Who's coming?" before taking a big crunching bite of the now shiny apple.

Smoke takes a step forward I shall join you Thia. He adds a nod at the end. 

He will then quickly take a look at the map to make sure he knows where he is going. 

To the tunnel it is!

Smoke will keep an eye on Rogram. Since his family is involved this is all personal for him. Which ment he might take actions that would not be in the groups best interest. 

Rogram addresses the red-headed dwarf. "Will you lead us to the tunnel?"

Thrax steps forward without saying a word and stands by Thia’s side when she asks who will once again venture  outside the city walls. 

Escobert walks with you to the courtyard, but leads you no further. "I can't be babysittin' ye, I got guards to babysit," he says, pointing across the yard to a doorway. "Get ye down there, ain't much else but the tunnel, ye can't miss it."

The faces of some confused, wounded, and terrified villagers watch you closely, while others are too busy calming their children or children of their missing neighbors. Above, the sky has taken a cloudy appearance for the night, to match the grim prospects facing the small town.

Yevele stepped forward toward the doorway, trying to show a more confident appearance than she felt. These villagers needed to see someone stepping forward and acting strong, even if most of the people in the keep had no idea who this mottley group of strangers was. Once through the door, the young woman will slow slightly and allow Thia to lead the way to the gate. 

Thia takes a quick glance around the courtyard for any random signs of Talis.  Assuming she sees none, she will take her cue from Yevele and stride confidently across to the doorway.  Putting her hand on the handle, she takes a deep, steadying breath and opens the door.

Maybe I should have let someone else grab the keys.  I hope they are not all looking at me to lead...

As they cross the courtyard, Rogram takes one last, desperate look at the crowd, hoping to catch a glimpse of his family as his heads toward the doorway. He enters the door last, his face falling (whether he sees his father, uncle or aunt) before closing the door behind the party. Once behind the closed door, he pushes his selfish desires from his mind and prepares for the coming trial.

OOC: Does Rogram know anything about the river, the woods, and/or the temple that would be helpful to know with the idea of us trying to get into and out of the temple without encountering trouble?

For Rogram:

The door opens to a smaller spiral staircase that descends to a cramped and dusty storage room. There is only a small semblance of light from the Keep above, making it nearly impossible for Thrax or Yevele to see past a few feet.

In the cellar below, another door is blocked by a large number of crates and barrels that have been piled in front of it. The musty smell and layers of thick dust suggest that this room has not seen use in quite some time.

 Yevele will look around in the dim light to see where it might be possible/practical to move the crates and barrels to, so they would be able to get to the door. If it is not possible to relocate them within the room, then she will look to see if they can be placed in the hallway. If the hallway seems like the best place to move the crates and barrels, she will suggest "Perhaps we should create a line and pass each crate or barrel from person-to-person until we have the door uncovered."

Thia nods once, curling a strand of her hair over one ear.  "I can help," she says simply.

Smoke nods reluctantly, not really a fan of manual labor he pouts a bit but starts helping out. 

After the first barrel passes their hands Smoke cant help himself and starts to speak up. His voice not too loud but enough for those near him to hear him. 

This reminds me of a dwarven party trapped within their own outpost. He stops moving the barrels for a moment as he stares in front of himself remember the tale. Then springs back into action as his holding up the line and starts passing the barrels once more. 

Deep in the Greypeak Mountains the dwarves had an outpost that was caught by surprise by a large host of orcs. He looks left and right adding a shocked expression to his face.

Unprepared for an assault they were quickly overrun by orcs. One party had hid themselves in the storage area, out of sight of the orcs in a room much like this one, but larger. 

He bends through his knees as he emulates hiding behind a barrel that he is passing. 

For days they hid, unsure if they would ever get out of there alive. They finally thought of a plan.. he pauzes for dramatic effect .. one that would scar their dwarven hearts for the rest of their lives. He says slowly and with a slightly deeper voice than normal. 

They lured some orcs to the storage section containing the barrels of ale. The finest of the entire mountain by their claim. He licks his lips and swallows at the thought. 

The orcs found the ale and found it a fitting reward for their victory and made sure they celebrated by drinking all of it, down to the last drop.

He shakes his head with a sad face for the dwarven sacrifice.  

With many of the orcs passed out or to drunk to know whats was going on they managed to escape! Raising a fist in the air for their triumph

Their return to the rest of the dwarves was with mixed feelings. The dwarves were happy the group survived ofcourse.. He voice once again lowers in pitch .. but after hearing the cost... The group would be known by the name 'The Empty Keg' . He pauzes to let the name resonate with the group. For a dwarf, a name that no insult could match. But one they would have to bear for the rest of their lives. 

With this tale his urge for storytelling is satisfied again for the moment. Hoping it helped pass the time and get their minds off the situation at hand. 

One who spends most of his day performing manual labor, Rogram happily takes the hardest job of lifting the objects so they may begin their short journey to the other side of the cellar. He listens intently to Smoke's tale. He always enjoys the tabaxi's storytelling, but the ones involving dwarves are particularly interesting to Rogram. He raises an eyebrow when Smoke declares "The Empty Keg" to be an insult.

When the door has been uncovered, Rogram stands back to give Thia access to the lock.

"Once we're outside," the half-dwarf says, "we'll need to hurry southeast down the hill to the river. Following it east will take us to the temple. Unfortunately, it is bordered by a wall, so we may need to get creative if we're to avoid entering from the front."

It takes only a few minutes of work to clear a path through the cellar. The door is visibly older than the architecture of the first floor of the Keep.

"Good work, everyone.  So, the plan is to open this, slip into the river bed and try and access as close to the temple as we can, unseen, right?  One thought is that we need to make sure that the raiders don't find this entrance.  So we need to make sure we hide it from the other side and cover our tracks.  Everyone ready?"

Looking around Thia will wait until everyone gives their assent and then use the key to open the lock.  Once the door is unlocked she will step aside letting other more capable and stout fellows take the lead.

While wiping himself down to get rid of the dirt from his clothes he responds to Rogram I can always climb the wall he stops wiping his hands to display his claws with pride. Perhaps if someone has a rope i can create a way for the rest of you to climb up. 

After wiping off all the dust he checks himself again satisfied he is clean again. He then nods to Thia I'm ready .

Smoke will not mind going out first or one of the first few, he will try and be stealthy to avoid drawing attention to this backdoor into the keep.