Tesseryn places a hand lightly on Brindle's shoulder "I've never before adventured with allies." his practiced sneer replaced by a grin that lights his golden eyes.

He nods for Wrukaog to proceed with opening the door, then he steps straight through and confronts those beyond, "You're here, all three, good.  Come, there's someone you'll want to meet.  The tide has turned in our favour!  And bring the prisoners.  They are to be sacrificed ..." he gives a derisive snort, "... right after we kill Avvakris and Merth."

"After you've eaten the Sheriff and the Mayor, there's a whole town for you to loot.  Gold for the taking!  And you'll eat what you please." Aurion gives the giants a conspiratorial leer. "Do you prefer chicken or horse?"

"Horse !" Goom replies, enthusiastically.  "Good meat onna horse !"

"Der chickins are very crunchy," Golgant adds, though neither Aurion nor Cogwitz can tell from his tones whether that's a good or bad thing.

Outside the prison cells, Brindle's sensible suggestion that reinforcements might be in order before anyone does anything precipitous fall on ears that are not deaf, but perhaps just not listening.

Wrukaog opens the door, with definite anger, but it is Tesseryn who is first through the opening ...

The cell block is long and narrow, with eight barred cells to the north, some of which you can see are occupied, and what is little more than a passage running alongside.  To your left a big but very fat man stares at you, while to your right two other men lounge at a table, one filthy and ugly, the other, obviously their leader a rather handsome fellow, tall, strong, but with a glint in his eye that suggests he's not a very nice man at all.

"What are you talking about ?!" that one demands, lowering his feet from the tabletop, but not budging from his seat.  "And who in the Nine Hells are you ?!!"

OOC: Map of the proceedings updated ...

"So, the message was not delivered.  That would explain why you're late."  With an impatient sigh, Tesseryn circles the table and sits on the vacant chair, placing himself at their level.

He  addresses the handsome one directly, ignoring the others, as he delivers the biggest whopper yet in his recently re-born diplomatic career.  "Tesseryn Gold in the Eye." he announces proudly, sticking his thumbs in his goblin-faced belt, leaning back comfortably and raising his chin so his eyes catch the light, glinting golden above the black soot stripes and the ghost of a self-assured smile.  "The colour of my eyes marks the promise of my fee!  Perhaps you've heard of me?"

Without waiting for a reply he leans in conspiratorially and lowers his voice.  "Berkam-Shem hired us."  A nod to include Wrukaog and Brindle.  "He is making his move, now, against the mayor and the sheriff.  His imp was to deliver the offer of alliance to you, which it will, no doubt, in its own good time.  Never mind, we're here now, and its not too late.  You should come with us now and meet the elf, he's with Gorant and Goom."

His gaze sweeps the cells, taking in details of the prisoners and equipment that may have been missed at first glance, then fixes the handsome man with an appraising stare.  "Avvakris has ordered the sacrifice of your prisoners.  Bring them.  He and the sheriff will suspect nothing until it is too late, for them."
This message was last edited by the player at 04:56, Sat 15 June 2019.

"Goog, good." Aurion encourages the giants, "Mister Haffrung will be pleased when his special guards have eaten that bothersome sheriff and mayor, and their delicious horses. Won't you have a story to tell, eh?! Haffrung will reward you with all the gold you can find. Which do you suppose will have the most, the sheriff or the mayor? When you take it, its all yours!"

Wrukaog steps inside and turns to the big man at the other end of the cell block. He looks the fat man up and down then grins.

"Mate! You're even bigger than they said you were! You been eating the carking prisoners or something?"

His tone of voice makes it sound like a compliment, not an insult.

Brindle follows Wrukaog through the door but stops close to the doorway, watching Tesseryn and the two guards at the table. He nods agreement at each of Tesseryn's statements but doesn't speak.

"Der mayor is der richest, I'll bet !" Golgant avows, Goom nodding his agreement.  Indeed, it seems the giants are quite worked up by all Aurion's talk of gold and food.

In the cell block the handsome man stares suspiciously at Tesseryn, but by the conclusion of the former Paladin's most duplicitous tale he is all smiles.

"The wizard's imp is fickle," he agrees, offering a hand to Tesseryn. "I am Ishpemo and these are Onoch the Belly and Mrdod the Filthy," he nods towards the fat man and the ugly one in turn, looking questioningly at the Orc and Halfling, expecting them to give their names in return.

"It's about time !  Though I'm surprised Berkam-Shem has the nerve.  Whenever trouble is to be found he's usually somewhere to the rear, hiding behind your lot," he nods to Wrukaog.  "Still ... to the victors, the spoils, eh ?"

"Bring them," he tosses a bunch of keys over to Onoch who looks rather less enthusiastic about the whole thing but who hastens to comply, though he does spare a small smile at Wrukaog's jest.

"We'll look after these three," Ishpemo gestures towards the two men in what appears to be the garb of caravanserai in one cell, and the woman in tattered robes with an eight pointed star upon them.

"You can see to him," he jerks his thumb towards the cell at the eastern end, though you cannot see the occupant from where you stand.  "Keep an eye on him - he's some sort of holy warrior dedicated to their god.  Blessedly the fool won't even talk to us - the priestess says it's because we're unclean !"  He roars with laughter, kicking Mrdod under the table, eliciting an evil smirk from that decidedly dirty and smelly individual.

Tesseryn laughs along with Ishpemo's joke and shakes his hand but ignores Onoch and Mrdod.  He points to massive orc, "This is Wrukaog!  He kills who he’s paid to kill.  And Brindle the Quick..." he points to the garrulous halfling, "are you the mute or is it the other one... I can't tell 'em apart!" He laughs and grins at Ishpemo, letting him in on the joke.

"Berkam-Shem won’t be anywhere near the front!"  Tesseryn looks amused.  "He’ll be keeping well out of sight until it starts.  The Mayor and Sheriff will be taken completely by surprise!"

He rises and strides along the cell block, looking in at the prisoners and stopping at the last cell.  He tilts his head letting the captive see the colour of his eyes.  "A Lion of Mitra, they call 'em.  Best he holds his tongue for now, he'll have his say before this day is done." Turning back to the others he strides briskly to the door.  "We'll fill you in on the plan as we go, but we should not tarry, it starts soon."  He gestures for Ishpemo to accompany him.

He leads off along the passage, retrieving the package from the niche as he passes, the movement masked by turning to check that the others are following with the prisoners.  On the long walk he keeps Ishpemo's mind busy with questions.  "Berkam-Shem expects that a quarter of the sheriff's men are ready to join you.  What would be your estimate? ... And what of Ollem?  That one seems undecided, but close to joining you. ... And how will you style yourself once you're in command of the town?  Sheriff, mayor, or some new title of your choosing."

Coming in sight of the pool Tesseryn comments, "The giants were not forthcoming with the pass for the pool, but our friend has a most charming way about her."  He gestures ahead to where Leisha stands.  Drawing near, Tesseryn calls ahead to her, "This is Ishpemo, soon to be the new ruler of the town above.  He and his men have joined Berkam-Shem's revolt against mayor Avvakris and sheriff Merth.  We're going to discuss tactics with the elf.  Will you join us?"  Stopping in front of Leisha, one golden eye, above its stripe of soot, gives a most uncharacteristic wink.
This message was last edited by the player at 01:58, Sun 23 June 2019.

Along with the giants Aurion nods his agreement, the topic of gold well-reinforced in their minds, just time for one last tweak for their stomachs. "Human on a rotisserie... arms on or off?"
This message was last edited by the player at 07:03, Sun 23 June 2019.

Brindle strides purposefully down to the end cell and enters to see the Lion of Mitra. When out of sight of the guards he bows slightly to the prisoner, puts a finger to his own lips in the signal for silence and sweeps his other arm toward the cell door, indicating for the prisoner to precede him out of the cell.

Krukaog will stand back to let everyone else pass then will follow behind Brindle and the prisoner from the end cell.

If they get as far as Leisha's position without any trouble he will pick up the silver statue of Mitra again and carry it under his arm, the same as previously.

Onoch soon has the cells unlocked and the prisoners are herded out.  All of them are in heavy manacles and do not struggle much, though the hate in their eyes is obvious. From their appearance they have not been treated well by their captors.  Ishpemo pushes the woman before him, while his companions take charge of the two men.

The man in the last cell wears heavy cloth armour, with a tattered robe atop which bears the same eight pointed star as the priestess, and looks upon Tesseryn and Brindle in turn with the same contempt that he shows for the guards, though the Halfling's surreptitious bow causes his brow to furrow.  Nonetheless he too leaves his cell when told, albeit he is slow to comply. 

Ishpemo's men do not seem share their leader's enthusiasm for the promised confrontation, but they seem to be bowing to the inevitable and making the best of it.  Indeed the handsome man appears to be enjoying the prospect, conversing with Tesseryn with no little enthusiasm, the ploy and the poor light enabling the ex-Paladin to recover his hidden bundle unseen by any of the guards.

"You think Halflings are bad, wait till you meet those cursed gnomes that hide in the White Tower !" Ishpemo complains to Tesseryn.

"Lion, you say ?  Unlike any I've ever seen.  They're usually hard to shut up.  Maybe we let the Mayor spill his blood before we start all the fun, eh ?" he snorts with laughter.

"The constables will come round soon enough once Merth is dealt with.  They don't like playing second fiddle to the mayor's chosen guards ... we might do better than half.  Ollem, no, he'll side with the mayor for sure.  Besides he's a shape-changer.  Not to be trusted."

"I've always wanted to be a Duke ..."

His frown upon seeing Leisha with the water-snake in thrall is soon replaced with a thoughtful smile.  "Such as she will prove useful to our cause.   The giants are idiots.  I've a copy of the mayor's wax seal which allows safe passage past the guardians."

As Tesseryn speaks with the trying-hard-to-concentrate Leisha, Ishpemo stares in puzzlement at the silver statue of Mitra, but before he can give voice to any question as to what it is doing there, Wrukaog has it tucked under his arm once more, eliciting more amusement.

"Leave me some of the treasures," he urges the Orc laughingly.  "I'll have need of them once we're done !"

At last Tesseryn re-enters the giants' chamber with the rest of you and the prisoners trailing in his wake, just in time to hear the pair answer Aurion's final question. 

"On !" Goom asserts with certainty.

"Off !" counters Golgant, equally assured.


OOC: Map of the proceedings updated ... Ishpemo's icon is outlined in purple, his men in black and the prisoners in green, and Tesseryn's new semblance is now uploaded  ;>

"Wrukaog demanded his weight in silver, and payment up front." Tesseryn laughs with Ishpemo as the orc picks up the statue.

Drawing near to the giants, Tesseryn calls ahead to the remainder of the party, "Aurion, Cogwitz, this is Ishpemo.  He and his men have joined forces with us as Berkam-Shem predicted they would.  Together we shall overthrow mayor Avvakris and sheriff Merth, and install Isphemo as the new ruler of the town above, as duke or whatever title he chooses."  Stopping in front of Aurion and Cogwitz he continues, voice still raised enough to carry to everyone present.  "We have little time to waste.  Isphemo did not get Berkam-Shem's message, the imp has not yet delivered it.  So they are late, but arrived just in time to strike a fatal blow upon the unsuspecting mayor and sheriff!  And they have news that once the sheriff falls then fully half of his constables will join us!"

Turning to Ishpemo he continues "We have little time, for Berkam-Shem is already in position, and will begin his attack the moment we arrive with these prisoners.  It would be best if the prisoners did not overhear our plan, or their part in it."  He looks dispassionately at the woman held by Isphemo.  "Perhaps, Brindle and Wrukaog should guard them while we brief you and your men."  He looks to Isphemo for approval, then towards Aurion with raised brow.

“Ah yes, Isphemo The Terrible. I’ve heard such promising things about you from those higher up.” Aurion waves an arm loosely in the air above his head, a tiny viper revealed coiled around his arm as the sleeve falls back. “The mayor and the sheriff have been such a disappointment. Those who sent me are confident that you can sort things out.” He gives Ishpemo an appraising stare then leaves the thought hanging.

“The giants are such excellent guards. Gogant, Goom, take the prisoners over there.” He points towards the far corner, “But don’t eat them. We’ve already decided who you’ll get to eat, haven’t we? Tell Mister Isphemo who that’s going to be, then take the prisoners and guard them.”

"Yes, let the giants guard them while the rest of us put our heads together to refine the details of the plan," Brindle agreed as he helped Wrukaog herd the prisoners forward.

"Shiny man mine!" Wrukaog agreed happily.

He was more than happy to use the statue's head to give the prisoners a prod from behind if their steps slowed at all. Not too hard though - don't want to damage the statue.

As the group pass her, Leisha favours them with a smile indicating vague amusement, but continues to hold the water-snake entranced, for the moment unwilling to release it in case things take a turn for the worse as oft they do.

Ishpemo nods a respectful greeting to Aurion, neither afraid nor wary of the Elf's pet snakes, rather surprised and not ungrateful that one so obviously aligned with Set would choose to ally themselves with his ambitions.

Tesseryn's suggestion (and Aurion's amendment) also meets with his approval, garnering another nod, this time of agreement, and a wave of the finger besides in permission.

The two giants, on the other hand, are extremely wary of the three guards, their exuberance immediately quelled.

"We're gonna eat der Mayor an' der Sheriff, Mister Ishpemo," says Goom, eyes downcast.

"An' take der gold," Gogant adds hopefully.

Ishpemo smiles and the giants seem somewhat relieved shepherding the prisoners away to the far corner, pushing and shoving them (and depriving Wrukaog of that pleasure), Goom scooping up their bottle, leaving the rest of you alone to talk.

"So," Ishpemo licks his lips.  "Berkam-Shem is in position and committed.  He'll undoubtedly mess it up, but with you at my side I've no doubt we can pick up the pieces."

"What is the plan then ?  Where will the attack take place ?"

OOC: Map of the proceedings updated ...

Tesseryn chuckles at Ishpemo’s reaction to Aurion’s performance, and draws inspiration from the spectacle.  “Yes, Aurion plays the part of the Grand High Inquisitor well, does he not?  More importantly, the mayor will believe the ruse and open his gates to the inquisitor allowing yourselves to enter in his retinue, and bringing the prisoners for sacrifice so as to avoid suspicion until the last.  Berkam Shem is hidden at the mayor’s manor house, and will attack with his wizardly powers once we initiate combat at the manor house.  That leaves a few finer details to fill in."  He looks from Ishpemo to Brindle then continues, "Shall we neutralise the sheriff first, or fall with full surprise upon the mayor and deal with sheriff Merth after?  And the giants … how do we get them up to the town unseen?  We entered by the stairs from the Inn.  Berkam Shem said you would know of other ways.  And how may we detect Ollem?  A shape changer, as you mentioned, and loyal to mayor Avvakris.”
This message was last edited by the player at 14:30, Sat 20 July 2019.

"I can make people invisible for a few minutes, but not giants," Brindle murmurs thoughtfully. "Giants are far too big for that."

"Shape changers can be unpredictable." Aurion appears thoughtful. "What forms does this Ollem usually take... is it likely to impersonate Avvakris?"

The elf paces around the oversize dice while he listens to Brindle and ponders...

"Avvakris is your greatest threat, do you agree Ishpemo? We should deal with him first, sheriff Merth after. My inquisitor act will get our group into the castle, then our warriors can surround and strike Avvakris with surprise. Brindle, could you scout the manor house invisibly while our parade arrives? Find this Ollem or mayor Avvakris and confirm who's who when they are roused to answer our call?"

Brindle brightens up immediately at Aurion's suggestion.

"Certainly! That would be right up my alley, so to speak," he answers enthusiastically.

Wrukaog frowns in thought.

"Gonna have to leave Tessy Junior somewhere safe when we get up there," he mutters, patting the silver statue on the shoulder. "He ain't go no invitation to this party."

"The Mayor's the reall danger, so we go for him first.  If we're taking the giants, then we'll have to go through the Inn," Ishpemo muses. "The bartender won't help us but he won't hinder us either - just have to watch out for Malicia - she generally spends her time drinking in there and she's got an arrangement with the mayor."

"We can get into the cellars of the mayor's manor directly, but those stairs are too narrow for those two lumps."

"Ollem will be in his smithy until trouble starts," he explains, snorting at Aurion's question.  "He's a lycanthrope.  Thinks only the Mayor and Sheriff know, but it wasn't hard to find out.  Prisoners talk."

"Might be worth bringing that with us," he suggests to Wrukaog.  "It'll certainly provide a distraction and it's not like anyone's going to run off with it," he compliments the Orc.  "Where did you find it ?  Doesn't matter ... we'll just brag about how many gnomes we killed to take it."

"There's always three guards on duty, patrolling the grounds with dogs," he tells Brindle. "Barracks at the rear of the premises.  I've only seen the lower level of the mansion - reception room, dining room and kitchen - not the rooms on the upper floor."

Tesseryn purses his lips as he considers this new information from Ishpemo.  Deception is turning out to be much more complicated than truth ever was, and he is gaining a new appreciation of the wiles of evil.  He decides to simplify his ruse and try out his first ever betrayal, albeit of an imagined agreement.

"Berkam Shem told us nothing of a passage to the Mayor's cellar.  He suggested a distraction at the Mayor's gates and letting the giants run amok at the constabulary, whilst he, unseen on the rooftop, destroys the Mayor with his spells.  He said he would take his prize, a single item from the dead Mayor's chambers, then depart, leaving Ishpemo in charge and no one coming after him.  He was well funded, having kept the books for Haffrung Helleyes for some years.  We've been paid up front, and we have no expectation of speaking him again before he leaves."

"As long as dispose of the Mayor and Sheriff and instal you as ruler of the town then our agreement with Berkam Shem is settled.  And we always honour our agreements."  He nods sincerely as he looks to each of his companions.  "But I see no reason to execute the plan exactly as Berkam Shem described.  Perhaps we should all take the passage the the Mayor's cellar and deal with Avvakris without raising alarm in the town.  The giants could be difficult to control, but a useful backup if required."

He gives Ishpemo long stare.  "So Ishpemo, we have options for stealth, distraction and brute force.  What do you consider would work to your advantage."