The captain was in thought for an uncomfortable minute as he contemplates the message Nimol gave to him, stroking his chin in thought. One of the free subordinates is looking to the Watch Guard captain and says "You can't be seriously considering this can you?"
The captain turns to the subordinate and says "If you want to fight this elephant on your own, be my guest." When they don't immediately go for the elephant, everyone accepts that he is to be followed on this plan.

The captain turns back to the tamer to propose an idea to him. "We can do this, you better be right on this one. But you need to give me your spear and one of those bottles. I have to have the story straight. From there I can give some time. Do we have a deal?"
He extends a hand, ready to accept the items for the deal, as a hand shake would be hard to do with the horses concerned about this giant gray horse in front of them.
This message was last edited by the GM at 21:59, Thu 14 June 2018.

Nimol is ready to pass over a bottle and his spear... "...What'd'you want the spear for...?" he asks first...

He looks back to the chaos, its still ongoing, but that could change in moments. He had to be quick.

To answer Nimol's question, he says "To have an accurate wound without dying for a struggle, and a weapon to show we are not wholly incompetent and actually attempted to retain you."

"Ouch. Makes painful sense to me..." Nimol hands the items over, and commands Sannang to catch up to the rest of his group.

As the trained elephant strides with pace to leave the situation, Nimol can hear a wince or two of pain, and making a glance back, sees that the watch captain has had himself harmed first with the weapon and is going to do so for his subordinates.

As he saw the tamer leave, there was the small hope that the plan for extra time would work, as he knew there was a chance they could still be found in the dungeons for failing to complete their mission. But to bring real justice, the more time bought, the better.

The evening sun glows more and more gently as it slowly falls to meet the earth. The sky occupied with the gradual gradient of colour that started the ambiguous period of twilight. While Wasat was quite calm compared to many cities this particular moment or place exemplified its sleeping namesake.
In this moment, the group consider the situation in front of them. Allies in the form of sailors, a merchant, a worshipper, a young client, and a cursed mage in training. Their enemies, one - likely several - wizards, goons of a low sort, a kind of giant and a portion of the city if not its entirety and fate knows what else.
The problems, a curse to aid, a bangle to return, a wizard to find and a measure of justice to serve.

With all this and more, the regular adventurers turn to their companions to ask for their thoughts and advice, pointers and what else they had.

Jagga thinks it if they wanted to go to the palace, now might be the opportunity. As some guards are going about the city now searching for Abrisham. But, if they could find the previous court wizard, then his help might just be a boon. A merchant Like Besean could have some clout, but using it on such a strong matter might get attention or lessen how much he could bring to bear.

Abrisham is unsure of herself on which decision to go for, but if she was with them while checking out the previous court wizards residence, she could be of help with any residing magic. She knows she will have to be careful as her counter measure cloak can only work so well against time, her supplies only so plenty. There is the one mercy of the bird activity being a daytime thing. She didn't know Besean to give an opinion on him or his advice.

Zand is feeling pumped for the heroics to be had, the justice to be had no matter what they do. Surely they as heroes wouldn't struggle against the palace, for all this seemed wrong and they all would help end it. To which Jagga reminded the youth that not every fight was like legend, otherwise the word would have no meaning. Going to the palace in success meant avoidance in one fashion or another.

Sai was hoping that among the items moving to the palace, the bangle would be there, but there hadn't been a chance to pick it out, if it was around to be found. This day had gotten quite manic in his eyes and it showed no sign of slowing. He would still help, as this was quite a mess going on that need not happen in a place he loved for the quiet. Abrisham tries to think of something to find the bangle, but struggles. Pondering how she could find that one bangle among everything the birds took from others or had taken from them.
Sai did wonder what Uyame and Kilamu might pull while all this was going and how connected they were.

Whatever they chose to do, now or later, there would be much to handle and a lot in the balance.

So:

 Jagga thinks palace, because so many guards are out in the city, but agrees finding the court wizard would help.

Abrisham wpnders if checking out the court wizard's home might reveal useful information.

Zand feels like going to the palace looking to force a confrontation would be bad.

Sai hopes the bangle is amongst the treasure the birds are bringing to the palace, but isn't sure how to find it amongst all the other shiny objects.

So:

1. Syrio asks if Abrisham can cast a spell to detect magic items, hoping the bangle might be waiting outside the palace.

2. Is the place where the birds are trying to get into one section of the palace right OUTSIDE the walls around the palace, or INSIDE the walls around the palace? Or am I imagining this wrongly?

"I can give it an attempt, who knows, it could be among some treasure that is sometimes lost when they squabble. Just give me a minute or two to make it." Abrisham asks Syrio before she starts on the preparation.
She goes about rummaging through her things, the sound of fabric being taut and relaxed, rope strings fussed with and bottles clinking covering the muttering in a soft voice aimed at herself. Anyone of keen ear might have heard as she tried recalling which ingredient was sensitive to magic again and if she needed to rub it on her eyelid, make an eye drop liquid or use it to draw on the Third Eye she read about once.
From there, she added stems and a pinch of powder added to a goo and mixed with a stirrer. Through this little step, Zand had a look of curiosity, but tried to be polite to the lady and not be seen watching her. The preparations of magic always looked peculiar to an active mind.

When she had a look like she would be satisfied, Abrisham looked back at Syrio and said "I have it ready now, I might help to be a little closer to find a magic item with this spell, or have a spyglass. Assuming you meant to see this bangle among what was dropped along the way."



Syrio looks from a nearby vantage point he finds on top of a building. From there, he can see the birds go over the walls to their destination, presumably to a part of the palace inside the walls.
Sometimes a group of a few covcay by flying in a direct path would cross paths with a messenger bird or two. So maybe that had something to do with the search before? A minor curiosity along the way to his real question. Syrio could see where the birds flew and thus where in the city the bangle could be.

"Uggghhhh I was hoping that the spot where the birds might be dropping things would be OUTSIDE the walls around the palace," says Syrio. "But of course not-- if it was, then every beggar would be there sifting through the glass looking for gold or diamonds..."

He turns to the others. "Well, that didn't help our investigation much. Either we

--fight our way through the walls, where we shouldn't be going, or

--we trick our way inside the walls, which I can see us doing, but not with Sannang, our strongest fighter... And either way, what we're looking for may not be there... or

--we leave the city and head to the court wizard's home... but it'll be hard to get back into Wasat with Sannang... and it might not tell us anything, either... or

--we go ask more questions of the man who sent us on this errand, and that might not help us."

Syrio sighs. "I hate to risk Abrisham's life looking for the bangle inside the walls... And that last option I mentioned doesn't seem like it'll tell us anything... So I guess let's go to the court wizard's place, and see if we can figure out where he is... Keep that seeing-magic potion or whatever ready, though, Abrisham, because I'm sure we'll need it before this adventure is over..."

(Syrio's decision represents the will of all three adventurers.)

Nimol speaks up. "So, my native Wasat residents, what's the best way to get some people and an elephant out of the city? Is there a particular gate you think would be best to use, or what?"

Jagga is quick to state the most obvious facts going around about the gates, as he isn't thinking on deception of good right that moment. "There mainly are the North and South gates, of the two, South is best as that is closer to the old monastery. It really depends on if they are prepared for you to be exiting or suspecting it."

"Which they will," added Sai. "So to avoid that, we could always get on a vessel going towards Huzuz, just south of here. We just need to get off early along the coast line. It would be off road but not much more then a day from morn to evening. I'm sure the captain wouldn't mind."
Recalling that it was evening now, chances are such a boat would be in the morning, something obvious to any who had been on a trade boat before.
He threw in a shrug on the matter before proposing an alternate "Or we try a ratway from in the city to outside and move from there? Wait no, it would likely be too small. Forget I said that."

For those of you so innocent as to be unsure what a ratway is, I will tell you now. See, to avoid the unnerving eyes of the law or nosy neighbors, some will use secret tunnels that lead from one place to another. These are called ratways and are often used to evade a border or to get to a secret place, such as from outside to inside a city or from an innocent building to a hideout. They are well guarded secrets - if anyone still remembers them.  Their users include unseen undesirables and noble thieves alike, if you have the goods to pay of course.

"Yeah, that's gonna be too small. So a boat sounds best... but we can't wait until morning. Let's go look at the south gate... see if it gives us any ideas about how to bust out, or else trick our way out..."

No disagreement is had between anyone on going to the gate.


So the twilight is starting when the group gets close to the South Gate and see it in the distance.
It was quite similar to the one that was near the North gate with wide double doors for carts and caravans and a second smaller door for the occasions where it made sense to only open up for a person. Having a pair of guards and a pair of watchers on the high points, there to inform in case they can see something approaching that was unaccounted for.
Those who worked there looked quite disinterested and a pinch slow, which might be the bored impatience and expectation of a guard switching.

There are some people at the gate, one caravan and a pair of camels ridden by solemn riders. Likely hoping to use the cool of night as their preferred travel time.

So... wait, are the big double doors open right now? Or is the caravan and camels just waiting for them to open up?

At this very moment it is closed. The ones at the front, a handful of travelling types (though specifics are hard to tell form this far away) are talking with one of the guards. The conversation is indecipherable, but no hostility can be seen at this time.

Syrio turns to his Wasat-residing companions. "D'you think they're going to open the big doors for those people soon? How about when they do, we all run screaming 'Monster! Run! Flee the city! A horrible monster! Run! Ahhhhhh!' Figure they'd be confused enough to not try to stop us?"

Sai had a glance and was not hesitant to say "They should be all right to leave in a moment. I think they are the same group, so the gates should open up soon."
Abeisham nodded as she added "I can confirm that they look similar enough to be grouped together. Plus if they are after individuals and not huge swathes of people, then I don't think they will change the rules of entry and exit just yet."
"They should prioritise people's safety, so they might let the group leave in the confusion if they are taxed from their shift." Jagga said to share his word on the matter while rubbing his chin.

"All right, seriously, this seems to be our plan-- when the big gates open up and everyone is almost through, we run to the big opening and run out screaming run run a big monster is attacking the city. Anyone want to try to talk me out of it, or got a better plan? If not, let's do it," says Syrio.

Jagga seemed confident in himself and the situation, having a feel of the common people being quite scared of the prowling and stalking. "I want to say that will work, people do panic when the idea of a monster is afoot. It co-"

"But won't they be angry?" Abrisham found herself interrupting. "I mean, when we are on the other side and nothing happens? Oh no, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to, I'll think of something..." She faded into silence, with a hand holding her chin and eyes flickering as she imagined plans around her predicament.

While she was stuck in thought, Sai turned to the trainee mage to contribute back to her point. "So we just set up something to scare them? Make something go bump in the night and let the mind do the rest? I'm sure I can rig something if I look hard enough."
He then was looking with eyes strained against the fading light to find something. He goes up to Nimol to ponder "Um, Nimol, if you think Sannang can shift that crate there," He points to a few crates, specifically one that is poking out a little. "If you can pull that out just right, it should fall just as we are running and scare them."

Moving up to the leader of the group, Jagga points with his head to a building as he conveys something he sees. "Syrio, see that building there? I had a look and it holds some dusty barrels of powder, a light in there would set the thing to blow if you really want to hold them off. It's dark and not a soul in sight."

"You're all over thinking it, you get them panicked enough, and the guards will be too busy calming them down to think of us. Let's just get moving already." Zand quietly said with exacerbation, feeling that Syrio's way with words might be enough to get people riled up and impatient to do something.

"I'm with Zand, I think we're overthinking it... the other ideas might really backfire on us... except that a magical distraction could really do the trick... Abrisham, it doesn't have to be anything real... just an illusion would do fine..." says Syrio.

"If you don't have the spell ingredients for that, though, I bet using a bottle of the bird-attracting stuff would really distract the heck out of them... how about that?" says Nimol.

(If Abrisham can make a magical distraction, we'll go with that. If not, then as soon as the gates are open, we'll use a bottle of bird-attractant-- unless all the birds are already asleep for the night...?)

With a rummage in her cloak, Abrisham had a look on her face as she looked to her surroundings and the situation at the gate, guards and travelers both.

"I can make an illusion, I presume it will be around my size. It will look a little, um, rough around the edges, but with the low light and possible panic, they might not look close enough. It's probably best I use a demon or something. Would that do?"

Jagga seems to have an "ah ha" moment as he takes out a little book the size of a hand and shows her some pages. Some get a nod of approval from her like she felt dumb for not remembering some monsters that could be scary enough for the job.

So, with some preparation, Abrisham had the material prepared and was ready to go when the rest of the group were as the gates started to open to let the travellers through, taking their time with the large doors for the sake of the caravan.

Okay, when the doors are open and the caravan is just about through, let's time it so that Abrisham's illusion shows up right about then, and we'll all run for the gates, screaming and running.

Do I need to roll a CHR roll or anything...?

Yeah, I think a Cha roll to get people stirred into a panic. Assuming Syrio is going to be the most coherent of the screamers.

(09:28, Today: Syrio rolled 8 using 2d6 ((6,2)), plus 2 for CHA bonus = 10.)

"Run! Run! Flee the city! A horrible monster! Run! Flee for your lives!" screams Syrio convincingly, as the entire party runs for the city gates.

Abrisham had thrown her powder behind them before they turned the corner and the form was there to back up the words of Syrio just on time with their running. The running "panic" from the group helped to reassure the very compelling words of Syrio.

While one or two of the total crowd had seen the illusion, it was Ravnar with his keenest senses that grasped the best picture of Abrisham's false monster.
It looked like a humanoid, but just a little too thin to be comfortable, like it didn't need to have space for internal organs. It was black and white, its grainy coloration constantly shifting like sand along a dune. The sound it left in its wake was like the blending of sizzling with a hoard of flies buzzing.
With the priming by Syrio and the staging by the fading lights, the visage was made out to be a horrifying sight to behold.

Through the screams and panic, the guards attempted to calm the people, but they would not  see sense. So the guards where either swept up in the same emotional panic, had all their efforts to calm wasted on the fight or flight instinct or were gazing in silent horror at what was moving their way. Usually some sort of alarm might happen, to alert more guards, but in their panic it never occurred to them to let another soul in on the situation.

In this chaos, all of the group had an easy time getting out, by the time any calm and rational would return to the gate, they would all be long gone. With not much heat and not that far a way to go, the group would not struggle to get to the monastery at all. They hoped the same could be said for what they would find at the bode of the previous court mage.

I'm considering this now "end of session" as it seems to have been way long enough thanks to dialogue. Feel free to agree or disagree, but I've realised how much has gone on and want to be sure to reward.

End of Session
When you reach the end of a session, choose one of your bonds that you feel is resolved (completely explored, no longer relevant, or otherwise). Ask the player of the character you have the bond with if they agree. If they do, mark XP and write a new bond with whomever you wish.

Once bonds have been updated look at your alignment. If you fulfilled that alignment at least once this session, mark XP. Then answer these three questions as a group:

Did we learn something new and important about the world?
Did we overcome a notable monster or enemy?
Did we loot a memorable treasure?
For each “yes” answer everyone marks XP.

I don't know that any of the bonds have been fulfilled especially...




Yes, lots of things




Hm... I'm... it depends on your definition of "overcome." There was the big guy in the alley...




Um... I don't... think so...?