Hau'dn nodded as he took in the surroundings, "It would appear that we have a dilemma.  We can either attempt to run all over the town to locate this guy and pray that the fates are with us or we can presume he will eventually be here and wait for his return, hoping that we can catch him before he is able to finish whatever nefarious deed he has in mind."

Shaking his head, he strokes his chin for a moment, "How familiar are either of you with the town?  He has to have a staging area somewhere nearby, perhaps an abandoned building?"

After providing Garryn a quick debriefing, Villhalas adds (in response to Hau'dn's remarks) - "Aye - the stables and the town hall roof may prove to be suitable staging areas.  I would suggest we move out of sight quickly - we're a pretty conspicous crew loitering about as we are.  My recommendation would be to have Caylin posted on the roof of the City Hall - as he is our best Archer - w/ the rest of us posted in the immediate vicinity.  Perhaps split up into two's? Once Caylin is posted on the roof, that would leave us 3 teams of two.  Your call.."

V

OOC:  Bruce, just read the post about your back.  hope you're recovering alright..

Regarding the situation at hand, I need to make a correction - I've asked Aine to stay posted at point #3.  I could either send Mal'ach to retrieve her - or leave her in place.  Thoughts?   Here's my vote for what will hopefully be the endgame for Barbaras:

Scenario 1:
Caylin - post on the roof of a centrally located structure (eg. the town hall) - bow at the ready
First team of 2 - Posted in the vicinity of the Prison (#10)
Second team of 2 - posted in the vicinity of the Stables (#14)
Last party member - posted in the vicinity of the Town Square / Fountain (#32)

Scenario 2:
Add Caylin to the Town Square vicinity to keep from breaking the 'team's of two' principle

Scenario 3:

Same as Scenario 1 - w/the exception of the last party member.  Have him attempt to make entry into the Manor (a bit risky - but may give a much needed inside view of the situation (eg. what if Barbaras or one of his cronies has already made their way inside...)

Jas

"The priest and I could cover the Northwest from the abandoned building. Perhaps someone could cover the North and Northeast by seeking cover near one of these stable buildings. Asher nods towards the buildings south of the stable, "And Caylin will have the Manor covered from the South. But if this be the plan, I suggest we do not take direct routes to our posts, to avoid being spotted by the villian."

Asher addresses Garryn and Haud'n "What say you?"

OOC: I must have been writing this as you posted Jas,

I think we are in agreement, my suggestion that Asher and Dom hit the abandon building would make us team one posted "in the vicinity of the prison".

Bruce, Brett, although Jason and I agree, I'm still open to any suggestions from Haud'n or Garryn.
This message was last edited by the player at 21:46, Tue 21 Sept 2004.

Asher adds, "Where is the Girl fighter? I would prefer she were here with us."

OOC: Can the owl deliver her a note to return? Asher would feel safer if we stuck together, in pairs.

At Asher's suggestion, Villhalas releases Mal'ach into the air - w/orders to recover Aine (via a quick landing on her shoulder - followed by a low, slow flying return to our location..)

Jas

Hau'dn nods slowly, "Given what has been hit then, you are certain this forms the final point of the star and that the Burgomaster is actually here and not elsewhere?"

OOG: Thanks, the recovery is coming along better then I figured it would though I am still light-headed and will probably follow more often then take the lead for the next couple of days.  My posts will likely be short for the next bit as well.

"Well, I would be nearly certain that this was the next target but the last two failures may have changed his plans. I still think this is our best hope. We should remember that with the setting sun so goes much of our visibility, excepting Aine and you, Vil, of course. We should keep that in mind when it comes to splitting up. The real question that I have is what are we looking for? We probably won't find Barbaras this close to the action and the possiblity exists that his victim is already inside. Where do you think the fire will be set? My guess is on the inside and we will be hard pressed to prevent it unless we are there or we notice someone suspicious. I'm not sure how kindly we'll be treated for harrassing visitors to the manor if we guess wrong, but that is a more pleasant thought than the reverse," Garryn replies outlining his view of the situation without realling stating his possition on matters.

"We are clearly sure of nothing." Asher shrugs before addressing Garryn, "except, as you wisely point out, the impending sunset."

Asher thinks a moment and then speaks to Vill and Dom, "each of you know something of these forms of magic trickery; Do you know how Barbarass is influencing his victims? Does he need to be in the area to do so?"

OOC: Jason, how about a know arcana check?
This message was last edited by the player at 22:37, Wed 22 Sept 2004.

"Hmm.." Vil considers Asher's question a moment..

22:47, Today: Villhalas of Cameron rolled 18 using 1d20+3. Know Arcana Check

I'm along for the ride on this one gang - let me know what you're thinking.  However, I would *highly* suggest we move quickly to reduce our footprint here - loitering around the Manor..

Jas

OOC:  BTW, due to the flood of emails I've received protesting my use of C. Manson's image - w/o his permission - has left me with no choice but to change out Vil's appearance a bit.  <sigh> too bad too.  It was such a good match for old Vil.

Jas

Oh yeah - and Kevin, the new picture is actually me this time - so no wise-cracks ok?   hehe

OOC: I have to agree with Jason, our loitering here can't be helping our odds of finding Barbarass and could jepordize any attempt to approach him without raising suspicion, should we have the opportunity.

I'm not sure of what we should do next; it seems we either split up and wait, or we send someone inside to look around. I agree we need to split up Vill and Aine for the nightvision. I would like to take Dom with me. So, how do we divide the troops? And, are one of you rogues going "over the wall" to check out the Manor?

"I do not mean to plant the seeds of distrust," Asher ponders aloud, "but, the girl fighter has been out of our sight for some time now, and I might suggest that those of you who know her well keep an eye on her behavior. Just in case."

G-Mony,  you probably have better reconning abilities than Vil by now.  Although Vil's recon would be augmented by his spell base I suppose.  Anyway, deferring to you - would you like to make the recon of the Manor?

V

"Then let us get off the main street here and into a cross-street where we can at least appear to be a group of friends reuniting while keeping an eye on the manor until we figure out what the plan is and await the arrival of your friend." Hau'dn states, looking around for just such a street and looking to see if this place has any form of night lighting that he had seen in other places.

IGA: Kev, does the bordertown have an equivalent of some type of night lamp/street lamp system?

":Yes, lets move," Garryn says moving off the street. "I don't know much about the magic used. The victims wake up as if from a sleep and cannot recall what they have done. I believe that Barbaras was in the area of the second fire but nobody has seen him since."

OOC to Vil: I was always better at recon than you, (I maxed out those skills and you spread your points around more skills) but I think the manor may be beyond my skill level. Lots of edgy guards and no easy access point spell disaster to me. If you can magically conceal yourself then you'd be the better choice.

The small group of unlikely companions moves away from the front of the manor and the watchful eyes of the guards, skirting the northern edge of the fountain square, and moving to the relatively quiet lane just south of the city stables.  As they do so, a dark shape glides silently down from the evening sky to alight on Vilhallas' shoulder.  In the dim twilight, Aine trots up to the group and glances from face to face, eyes a bit narrowed.  The female ranger has her bow in hand.  "No sign of this guy...Babar, or whatever that crazy fucker goes by.  The two guardsmen are still watching the stables.  What's going on?"

The sun has set, and night is coming on.  The smell of horses and manure are wafted to them on a night breeze from the northeast, and the group is alone for the moment.


Thirty turns of the minute glass past seven bells.

"Naught, lass."  The halfling answers Aine's question.  "We're tryin t' come up wi' some'at o' a plan."

The companions continue their conversation, and the sight of lamps being lit by a couple of guardsmen catches their collective eye.  Borderton's municipal lighting is largely non-existent, except in the immediate vicinity of the square, the municipal manor, and the town hall.  A shuffling old man emerges from the municipal theater and community hall, and lights two large lanterns that flank the steps to the building.  A cassocked priest steps out of the front door of the rectory, and proceeds to a wooden post and inserts a glowing circle into slot at the top of the post--clearly, a simple Mithran device to provide some light to the rectory and library grounds.  The lights act as small islands of illumination amidst a rapidly dimming ocean of surrounding darkness.

Forty turns of the minute glass past seven bells.

OOC:  Some representation of lighting and your positions on the map.

"I would think that the person enspelled to do this wizard's bidding or the wizard himself would approach from the shadows, so those that have some type of night vision, should be positioned to observe the rear of the manor where it can be approached in darkness." Hau'dn comments.

OOG: Kev, what is it like at night here for the stars and moon's illumination?  What type of cloud cover are we looking at as well?

"His puppets usually seem to be people who should be there so I'd expect them to use the front door, actually," Garryn replies to Hau'dn.

"Unless someone has an idea of how to find Barbaras, or even where to begin looking for him, I feel we are going to have to be ready to react to his next move by watching the entire manor. I don't know that we have enough information to prevent his plan. I think that our best hope for finding him is to capture an enchanted servant of Zante's and try to interogate him."

Asher looks around, puzzled, "who has our fire wagon?"

"My thinking is the same as yours, Asher. I had been hoping for a more creative mind to come up with a better suggestion, but it looks like we are stuck with waiting around again. Your right though, where is that water wagon?" Garryn asked a little concerned.

The companions continue to talk, discussing possible strategies and different approaches to apprehending Barbaras or one of his unwitting allies.  No clearly superior approach presents itself, as the moments slip by.

Forty-five turns of the minute glass past seven bells.

Please roll Spot checks for me, everyone.

Garryn keeps his eyes on the manor and the surrounding area as he voices his opinions.

While he is intently listening to Garryn, Asher is clearly keeping his eyes peeled as well.

12:39, Today: Asher Willbourne rolled 27 using 1d20+7. spot roll.

13:07, Today: Villhalas of Cameron rolled 20 using 1d20+5. spot.