"What ya want me to do? Plug hole? Infiltrate?" Korkas asked of the others. If the plan was to wait for Tealon to return with intel that is fine, but it seemed they would all be doing multiple attacks at the same time.

"What ya want me to do? Plug hole? Infiltrate?" Korkas asked of the others. If the plan was to wait for Tealon to return with intel that is fine, but it seemed they would all be doing multiple attacks at the same time.

In reply to Korkas (msg # 720):

Do you think you may be able to find a concealed door in the wall?  There has to be another way in an out with the size of the place.  Maybe a cave a little ways out!  It was a long shot but it would give others something to work on if the plan didn't go exactly how they hoped, plus, if they got caught but had found a way in/out that wasn't widely known, this could aid in their escape.
This message was last edited by the player at 10:06, Wed 14 July 2021.

"Is good idea, Wingboy!" Viktor declares. "Me and Fluffy we go look for tunnel. If it be me, I have tunnel go way beyond possible battlefield. Look for natural terrain that let me get far away and not be seen!"

"Think you can spot terrain from sky, Wingboy? Give us better starting point."

In reply to Viktor Kuryalev (msg # 722):

Tealon nods and heads away from the Fortress before flying high and circling around it.  On the Fortress, he looks for figures, heavy weaponry (Ballister Crossbows and Catapults as well as anything else he can spy).  Around the grounds, Tealon looks for rocky outcroppings and disturbances in the woods.

Tealon once again takes to the sky, and, once airborne, makes it a point to try and fly the way he's seen hawks and eagles fly. It makes him look like he's hunting prey down on the ground.

There's the usual siege weapons on the top of the fortress, but it looks like there are more than before. Extra ballistas, for sure, half a dozen springals, and a couple of catapults... clearly meant for him, since the larger trebuchets wouldn't have the speed or accuracy to take out a flying person.

There are two makeshift barracks on the room that weren't there before. These are mostly just lean-tos--a roof on some upright poles, meant to keep the sun off the guards. There are half a dozen cots in each one, currently occupied.

He also counts an extra two dozen soldiers on the room, presumably half assigned to each barracks. And there are regular patrols. Two types of patrols, apparently. One marches to a watch station, relieving the guards there who then march to the next watch station, and so on, until those from the last station march back to the door into the interior and vanish from sight. The second patrol makes a complete circuit of the roof, going from one barracks to the next.

And they definitely march, rather than just walk. Clearly, more discipline has been enacted. When the second patrol reaches a long section of parapet, they all spread out and look over the parapet at the surrounding countryside. This lasts about a minute before they resume their marching patrol.


The fortress was built against a rocky cliff, which Tealon now sees is a kind of small mountain... a jagged protrusion of rock out of the ground. Three sides would be considered unscalable... certainly by an army, though a few expert climbers could conceivably do it as there innumerable handholds; none of the faces are sheer rock faces. The fortress was built against the least steep of the three. The fourth side is a diminishing ridge to the south that extends down half a mile in length. Probably not hard to climb at any single point, but trying to navigate across the jagged top to reach the fortress would be impossible.

Given that there is plains to the east and west of the fortress, with forest just beyond the fields, and forest to the north, an escape tunnel would most likely have been dug to the north into the forest or to the south under the ridge. Under some circumstances, the forest would be the most likely direction. Shorter distance and you'd have the cover of the forest. The problem there is that there'd be no place else to go after that. No, Tealon thinks that the ridge is the most likely way to go. Longer tunnel, harder to dig, but the possibility of several exits. And, after all, the Promaxim wasn't the one that was going to do the digging. So, somewhere along the ridge, probably to the west. Far more places to go to and disappear into.


Finally, heeding Khuno's parting words to him before he took flight, he flies over the road that the Promaxim and his little army took. As near as Tealon can tell, the group is still marching forward at a good clip, and the Promaxim is still in the lead... well, behind his guards.

Swooping back to the fortress, Tealon dives as if he's finally spotted prey and is quickly out of sight of the watchers on the fortress. He makes a circuitous route back to where the others are waiting just in case the guards on the fortress are watching.

In reply to GM StarMaster (msg # 724):

Being both impressed and disappointed at the same time gave Tealon a queasy feeling, this could have been the dive too but he ignored that point.

Reporting his finding to the group, Tealon added I'm impressed with the new discipline shown and dedication to improving defenses, I'm disappointed that not even a single arrow came my way though, perhaps they had been informed to only fire if they sensed an attack!

Fire on the roof wouldn't go amiss, a large magnifying lens or focusing mirror wouldn't go amiss for that.  Would  even have considered my granades, exploding or incendiary.

The cliffs around the place will hinder greatly any approach, less so at night, secret entrance via the Ridge may prove the most effective assuming there is one and that there may be less obstacles guarding it or them.
This message was last edited by the player at 09:34, Sat 24 July 2021.

"That's good scouting, Tealon," Viktor said. "Fluffy and I will go scout this ridge looking for a secret entrance. I believe Fluffy's senses will be able to detect such a tunnel. It is I, then, who will figure out how to enter it."

"Keep in mind, that if  I do find such an entrance, it may still only be a one way passage. You can exit it but not enter it."

"What do you wish me to do if and when I find it?"

"We don't have any good way to communicate over any great distance," Katrin replies.

"I don't think it's advisable for any of us to go with you. We would be spotted. If you can get back before midnight with what you know, it may change our plans."

In reply to Katrin Eason (msg # 727):

Tealon decides that if he is to be flying high again for any length of time, he needs to get some rest, so settles down for one and maybe drops off a little.

"Korkas, you think you can breach the wall at some point?" Danyka asked. Although she was the defacto leader, it was Katrin's plan so it was up to her to lead the team.

"do you have any idea where the best place to breach the wall might be? Do you know if there's a weakness to this type of defense?"

"My concern is that if we make a breach, we'll have a hard time sealing it back up and defending it. Could you patch it back up once we make a breach?"

Korkas looked to Danyka as he considered his options "Given enough time, perhaps I could get through the wall. Though I would be better at climbing over it and then dealing with any of the guards on the other side. Should someone be able to cause a hole quickly I can get in there and hold that hole until everyone else is in."

In reply to Korkas (msg # 730):

As Tealon was dropping off, he heard Danyka's voice and, eyes still closed It may be possible but we'd need a LOT of prime mixed powder, not just red of black.  Best place would be near a door, the walls are very thick.

Would actually be better blasting the rock UNDER the wall rather than in the wall.

"With houses, it's usually easier to breach a wall than a door because the door is reinforced to withstand breaching," Katrin suggests.

"You may be right, Tealon, about blasting the rock under the wall, but it might not lead to the interior. At best, it would weaken the wall above it, though I doubt that'd be enough to breach the wall."

"So, our possible entry points: one, the main entrance. It'll be heavily defended and may have been reinforced since our last time."

"Two, the roof. We already know it's heavily defended. It might be reinforced, too."

"Three, breach a wall. Not defended, probably not reinforced beyond the wall itself. However, there's another possibility. We only attempt to make a breach to pull guards away from the other areas."

"Four, the secret escape route. If we can get in that way, I think that's our best bet. I know if it was me, I'd have reinforced that entrance, but probably not put any defenders down there."

"Anyone have additional thoughts on these routes?"

In reply to Katrin Eason (msg # 732):

Walls are usually put on top of rocks, not into them, rocks are not always solid either, only not crumbling because the weight of the walls are spread out.  If we make enough noise or even crack the walls, that is sure to bring attention, they may even pull people from the roofs.  Also and this may not make a difference, just walking in?  Traders!
This message was last edited by the player at 21:51, Sat 14 Aug 2021.

"Either a distraction on one side with explosives with no real intent to get in and we breach another side. That will alert everyone though. Or we try the back route and see if we can get in there without alerting anyone." Korkas states as he listens to the ideas.

Maybe a half hour before sunset, Viktor and Fluffy return.

"We found what we think is probably the escape tunnel," Viktor says, "right where you said it would be. Actually, Fluffy found it. His sense of smell detect the odors coming from a narrow crevasse in the rocks. We could discern the outline of a door but could not figure out how to open it."

"I think it may only be opened from within, though perhaps a bit of explosive might encourage it to open. However, there may be a series of traps within it to prevent anyone from getting in that way."

"I was considering that option, Korkas," Katrin replies to Korkas.

"With the added security, I'm not sure it would draw enough guards away from either the front or the roof."

"I'm also thinking the defenses at the front will be reinforced, since that's how we went in the last time. So, it's either the roof or the secret escape route."

"Right now, I'm leaning toward the roof. It'll be hard to spot us from the roof after dark. But we could still probably use a distraction or two."

"I know this is your plan, Katrin, but when it comes to assaulting a fortress, I may have a few ideas," Danyka responds.

"I agree that the roof is probably the best option. If we climb up near where the guards reach the roof, we can cause a distraction on the opposite side that'll draw them over to that side, letting us finish climbing to the roof and enter by the guards' door. We should be able to bar it from within to keep the roof guards from getting back in."

"I'd really prefer if we didn't have to kill a lot of guards. Some will be bad, but I suspect most of them are here against their will. Besides, in order to take over this place, we'll need to get most of the guards on our side. The fewer of them we kill, the better."

"Also, someone inside is in charge... the Promaxim's second in command. If we can get him to surrender, that'll make it easier. I'm guessing he'll be the only one that knows where the secret exit is."

"So, do we have anyway to render the guards unconscious? Is there something we can make? How about you, Khuno? Is there anything local that might do the trick?"

Tealon wracks his brain, he is certain there is something he could make if he could get something to heat plants in and the fire without being seen.

Danyka, if I can brew something that travels via smoke and we set it in the secret tunnel, it may go through the castle without anyone realising.  Some kind of sleeping draft but it may take time.  Or some kind of thing I can drop on the roof so it spreads and put the guards to sleep perhaps.

"I may be able to help you with that, Tealon," Khuno offers.

"I know of one or two wild plants that can have that affect. It may depend on how much of it we can find in the short time we have."

"Maybe Fluffy can help us find it."

"If it's heated, it should rise up through the passages... if there isn't an actual blockage," Jheridan says.

"It would seem as if there's some sort of down draft through the place, though, since Fluffy was able to pick up the scents down at the bottom."

"It may not affect everyone in the fortress, so keep that in mind. And it won't reach the guards on the roof. It'll also be a timing issue... we've got to give it time to affect people but not so long that the others realize what's happening and go on alert."

This is what I'm aiming for. If we block the escape tunnel except for the tube for the fumes, which I'll have, then any draft would draw the fumes up rather than down as there would be no escape point.

Once enough time has gone, even if it is at night, put some on cloth and drop it, if what I'm hoping to find helps make the stuff I'm after, picking the cloth up and sniffing it will put them on their backs {{Chloroform}}  It will also dissipate quick enough for us to head in after 30mins or so.
This message was last edited by the player at 19:57, Wed 15 Sept 2021.

"Could we also use something like that more locally on the guards on the flank we are attempting to enter by? Would it work better?" Korkas asks as he listens to the others plans.

In reply to Korkas (msg # 742):

If you get close enough, yes, could use little clay containers to smash on the floor at their feet, it's a hope and could work, certainly better than storming a fortress without an army and siege weapons.  He could cast small clay balls, he'd done it before for grenades' before he leant how to make them better.

I'll need about 3-4hrs tops if I have the ingredients.  Is this a go for now?  He informs of the ingredients he requires.