Loukas takes in the wall itself. He has certainly climbed more difficult surfaces, so he feels confident as he puts rope and grapple over his shoulder along with his bow and shield.

Looking at his companions he pauses, "It appears as if we should move quickly here. I shall see you all at the top!" So saying he begins to climb.
This message was last edited by the player at 21:27, Sat 06 Feb 2010.

Dyanna laughs, and with a swift gesture and quick word disappears.  A disembodied voice says, "Not I...but I shall see you."

The voice fades quickly, receding above, "I shall have a rope down shortly!"
This message was last edited by the player at 20:49, Sat 06 Feb 2010.

Not wishing to be shown up by Loukas, Barmak begins his ascent of the wall without the aid of ropes.  Finding cracks and crevasses in the stony bulwark, he swiftly moves up the wall, scaling it like a monkey.

Pyotr watches in amusement at the race up the wall, while he pulls off his shoes, and wriggles his toes in the floating grass. Reaching into the grass, he pulls out a small spider, then rolls it into a small ball of sticky tar.

"Yummy, yummy, in my tummy!"

Popping it into his mouth and using his picnic grounds as a launching point, he leaps up to a point about 10 feet above the ground. With un-natural dexterity, he the proceeds to climb up the wall, while his little picnic ground collapses to the ground, discarded.

Balthazar murmurs to those around him, "Magic-user, definitely magic-user like myself.  We must not make the mistake of underestimating little Pyotr."

Jaleh got to the wall and dismounted again. Then positioned herself near the base of the wall to prepare for a climb as soon as the rope was lowered.

            Gultunga patiently awaits the dropping of the rope.

Dyanna reaches the top, and secures 50' of rope and grapnel to a likely lodging spot.  Giving a quick tug she throws the end down to those below.

Those who reach the top see the rope moving mysteriously around as if of it's own accord, then see it drop, and hear footsteps quickly moving down the wall.

"Wait here!" drifts Dyanna's voice as if on the breeze.

Dyanna, Barmak, Loukas and a few seconds later Pyotr all make it to the top of the wall without any problem.

Seeing the first party make it up the wall safely in the dim light of dusk Miroslav calls to the remainder..."There may not be many of us but let us head to the wall to be ready when the gates open. I am unsure of what we will find once the gates are open but I think we will have to make the decision once we see...at the least we must try and hold the gate area open."
The small group consists of Miroslav, Jean, Roderychus, Michael, Balthazar and Conn.

Barmak leans over the side of the wall and looks down at those waiting on the ground.  "The gate is deserted," he informs them in a hissed whisper.  "Once the others are up and over, we shall make for it.  Jaleh, cover us with your bow from the parapets.  Quickly now - it appears Fate smiles upon us, but I do not wish to test her patience."

Having helped Gultanga and whomever else joins them atop the walls, "So, what is next? It appears as if we move now we can quickly gain control of the gates and let the Knyaz's troops in once they arrive."
This message was last edited by the player at 00:14, Tue 09 Feb 2010.

Gazing outward, Pyotr was entranced by the fires, unable to grasp the horror they represented.

Analytical to a fault, he ponders the fatal flaw of trusting those you cannot trust to defend you against those you cannot bribe, befriend, or befuddle.

Glancing at the others, he wonders if he has made the same flaw as the citizens of this town, now paying the price for the machinations of the high and mighty, most if not all of which will escape.

Would these rough folk turn on him?

He had to assume they would, eventually. They were, for the most part human, after all; betrayal was the defining characteristic of their kind.

Slipping his shoes back on, he looked about at his surrounding with a different eye, an eye to escape, or at least a good place to hide.

       Gultunga makes his way up the wall once the rope finally becomes
available to him.

Jean guides his horse close to Miroslav as they approach the gates but seems to have nothing to say.

Dyanna rushes back when she sees the sparsity of guards at the gates.

"Come, it's deserted!  Quickly now," her voice calls out, though she remains invisible.  "This way," she says so that they can mark her distance as she leads toward the gates.

With everyone's arrival at the wall, A'kos decides to stay with Storm's Wind and the rest of the riders, and head's to the gate.

In reply to Dyanna. (msg #65):

Turning, yet not seeing the body from whose voice comes the shout that seems to be repeating his own words, albeit with greater enthusiasm Loukas chuckles and begins to move to the gatehouse, "Well, shall we?"

Barmak, seeing A'kos ride away to rejoin the others, shakes his head in annoyance.  Still, the way does seem to be clear, and so long as they move quickly, the Persian reasons it will be better for the Magyar warrior to remain mounted.

Besides, he thinks, there is still Gultunga on this side of the wall.  We shall be enough.

Barmak, Dyanna, Gultunga, Jaleh, and Loukas all quickly make their way to the gate. The mechanism is strong but simple to operate...in a moment the gate begins to lift. Revealing the rest of the party waiting just outside.

A'kos, Balthazar, Conn, Michael, Miroslav, Roderychus and Sir Jean get their first look into the city. The area near the gate is deserted. But in the distance you all can see that several running battles are taking place between the city guards and the Pechenegs.

Miroslav nods to the Frankish knight then urges his mount forward through the gate.

Assessing the situation he calls out..."The gates are deserted for now but I do not imagine that will last very long.

He looks at the two empty guard towers, on at each side of the gate and says..."We need to take these and hold them before worrying about anything else. Once taken we can look further into the city and see what can be done to ease the suffering of the citizens. So please, archers, to the towers!"

Loukas turned to follow Miroslav's orders, but pauses before taking his place above, "We ought to be able to hold the gate against them for a time, and they may not notice what we have done for a while if we are lucky. That said, how long before the warriors coming to meet us arrive? Should we send a rider to them and ask them to hurry?"
This message was last edited by the player at 16:40, Tue 09 Feb 2010.

Jaleh had actually gone over the wall behind Dyanna once she had lowered the rope. Finding the towers and gate deserted was a bit of a surprise, albeit a pleasant one. Not worrying too much about why things were deserted, Jaleh descended to the ground and began scouting ahead toward some of the buildings and such. While certainly not invisible like Dyanna, Jaleh tried to remain unseen.

       Once atop the wall and having found some cover, Gultunga readies his
mighty bow.  The Stridesmans icey blue orbs begin to flit this way and that
in an attempt to discover the approach or positioning of any adversaries or
threats.

Balthazar says to Miroslav, "Time to take a look inside that chest."  He mumbles, "Gosh, I wish Alyna was here when I said that."
This message was last edited by the player at 15:24, Tue 09 Feb 2010.