In reply to GM (msg # 370):

Titus smiles and speaks softly

You told me to hide your priest.  Not myself.  A magician distracts with one hand and performs with the other.  Your priest is safe and your priest is hidden.

How do you propose to deal with this inquisitor?  I have faced their kind before and it does not end well.  I am operating at a severe equipment and training disadvantage.  It would be a fools errand for me to fight or try to ambush him. 

In reply to Titus Blackwell (msg # 371):

Armory

There is a faint rustling and a glint of embers.

"The Inquisition does not belong here.  Give them what they want and be done with them."

An Alley

The guards alternate standing beside the torch at the door and a half dozen paces away.  There is relatively little traffic in this part of town after dark, most of the area being storage, stables, and animal pens.

Brennan catches a glimpse of a smudged face peeking out from behind a pile of timbers before it vanishes.  A young boy by the look of it.  Brennan is relatively certain the boy was watching the armory, not him.

In reply to GM (msg # 372):

You think they will leave us in peace?  The inquisition has hunted me from Thorngate.  They don't seem to be particularly lenient, what if they take me as well?  Put me to the question?
 I have no reason to believe they won't.  They are holding the other chosen you met somewhere else in the city, and have been for some time.  This inquisitor will be a problem.  Can't you deal with him as you did with the master earlier?

In reply to Titus Blackwell (msg # 373):

Armory

The voice comes back far louder and closer than before, and Titus can smell brimstone and feel a dry heat down the back of his neck.

"You misunderstand the nature of our relationship.  I will set you free from your bonds, then you will get rid of the Inquisitor.

Kill him, chase him off, negotiate with him for all I care.

Make.

Him.

GONE!"

Titus is left alone in silence and darkness after that, only a few flickers of torchlight penetrating the crack around the door.

Titus listens carefully, trying to hear anything above the sound of his own breath.

There is a scream, followed by a shout and the sound of feet pounding away.

"Go, you fool." whispers Jack.

An Alley

Brennan pulls his cloak about himself against the night chill. The air is still and dry, as before a rain.

His gaze strays from the watchmen for a moment, noting the a harsh flickering of the torch despite the lack of wind.

That's when one of the guards gives a shriek, pointing helplessly into the darkness beyond where Brennan can see.  His companion gives a shout and the two charge off away from the armory.

In reply to GM (msg # 374):

The door opens and Titus stalks out of the entrance way not looking pleased.  He neither dawdles nor does he hurry as he calmly disappears out of sight melting into the shadows.

Titus will start making his way towards where Ciryl is kept.  Making sure not to be seen.

In reply to Titus Blackwell (msg # 375):

What have you done?

Brennan takes this opportunity to leave the ally and follow Titus as he heads toward the tower where Cyril is being held. He readies his bow and crouches low, prepared to make another distraction for Titus's benefit if needed.

In reply to Brennan Otthild (msg # 376):

Both Titus and Brennan quickly deduce that it will be difficult to head directly to the tower, instead veering off away from the center of town to avoid the guards and the general traffic of evening.

Keeping to the unlit portions away from larger streets, both pick their way along, Titus moving from shadow to shadow and Brennan sneaking after him.

Both are seen from time to time, but not by anyone who takes particular interest in them.

Eventually, both make their way to the other side of town where the watch tower thrusts up along the wall into the dark sky.  The moon is not yet up, so the only light here comes from torches in the hands of the guards about the door.

There are three guards now: two armed with heavy spears, helmets and thick cloaks, the third sitting motionless, limp, and full of flour against the door itself.

In reply to GM (msg # 377):

Titus pulls up at the sight of the three guards and his shoulders slump.

Damnit

He mutters under his breath.  He stops now apparently out of gas as his plan grinds to a halt.  He holds out his hands making a series of gestures.


He waits in a dark corner.

In reply to Titus Blackwell (msg # 378):

Brennan draws his bow and ignores Titus's command, unwilling to risk capture. Instead he signs back "Flour, fire?"
This message was last edited by the player at 04:08, Wed 06 Feb 2019.

In reply to Brennan Otthild (msg # 379):

"Jack, no help.  Just release."

He pauses for a moment as if thinking

"wants visitor gone"

/ooc I know we did this before but it was like a month ago, what is the window situation on the building?  Or the roofs?

In reply to Titus Blackwell (msg # 380):

From their individual vantage points, Titus and Brennan survey the situation:

The tower is built into the wooden wall of DuckTown, facing out to the east.

A single heavy wooden door faces into town, this is guarded by two men and one brave sack of flour.

The tower is about 3 stories tall, there are no windows, but the top of the tower is open on all sides with a pointed roof above it.  Presumably, there is a ladder inside the tower that goes up to the top.  You can see a guard in the top portion from time to time as he paces about.

In reply to GM (msg # 381):

Three stories. A man can survive a fall like that. Sometimes.

Brennan sighs, closes his eyes, and whispers the name of the wind...

[Name of the Wind: 2x6, 2x7]

A sharp gust of wind billows forth, threatening to toss the rooftop guard from his perch (and perhaps draw the attention of his fellows in the process).
This message was last edited by the player at 01:29, Thu 07 Feb 2019.

In reply to Brennan Otthild (msg # 382):

The wind whips around the top of the small wooden tower.

You can hear the lookout's cloak snapping in the wind.  He gives a shout as the dark shape of hit hat is whisked away from him over to the other side of the wall.

"What's on up there?" one of the ground-level guards shouts up.

"Damned wind!" replies the man from above.  "Blew off my favorite hat... torch is out too..."

Thus, although the wind was not sufficient to knock the man over, he now has no light and all the guards on the ground have their backs to you, except for the flour sack.

In reply to GM (msg # 383):

Titus signs to Brennan

I hate this town.  I hate that demon.

Titus looks at the walls of the town to see if he can find any type of handhold or footing to climb the wall.
This message was last edited by the player at 21:26, Mon 11 Feb 2019.

In reply to Titus Blackwell (msg # 384):

The walls of Ducktown are simple: vertical logs hewn to a point at the tops.  The tower is made of similar logs, but stacked horizontally.

The tower would be much easier to climb (from the inside anyhow) but the tower is exactly what all guards are currently looking at.

Climbing the walls themselves would be very difficult without equipment or help from the top.  It is possible an experienced climber could reach and straddle several logs and shimmy up that way, but it would be both slow and difficult.
This message was last edited by the GM at 13:08, Tue 12 Feb 2019.

In reply to GM (msg # 385):

Titus holds out a hand to Brennan and points away from the tower.

In reply to Titus Blackwell (msg # 386):

Brennan shoots a flaming arrow into the sack of flour at something flammable AWAY from the sack of flour, hoping that will serve as an adequate distraction...

[Aimed Archery: 4, 2x4, 3x3, 3x2]
This message was last edited by the player at 14:08, Tue 19 Feb 2019.

In reply to Brennan Otthild (msg # 387):

Brennan quickly loops some spare cloth around an arrow, lights it with flint, and launches it quickly across the open ground and into a pile of firewood nearby.

It hits with a thunk, catching the attention of the two guards who first look about themselves, then rush over to the flame when they realize it may start the smaller kindling alight.

"Who in the Dream of Hell?" one shouts.

"Someone's here!" shouts the other.

"What's that?" comes a shout from the watchman in the darkened top of the tower.

OOC: we are now in combat rounds:

No guards seems to have spotted Brennan or Titus yet.  The two on the ground have rushed over to the fire.  It will not take them more than a couple rounds to put it out and return, and if you make a lot of noise they will see you from where they are.

The guard in the tower is looking for trouble, but has no light, giving you a bonus to anything hidey/sneakish.

Again, the sack of flour blocks the door, but can be moved in a round by one person.

Ciryl has been listening to the goings-on, and while he cannot know exactly what Brennan/Titus are up to, he can certainly suspect.

In reply to GM (msg # 388):

Titus melts from the shadows and keeping to the wall moves quietly towards the tower

[Stealth: 2x5, 2x2]

At the sound of the yelling Ciryl steps up to the door and tries to peek through any cracks in the wood, "Everything alright out there?  Need a hand?" he offers to the guards.

In reply to Ciryl Fontaine (msg # 390):

Brennan does his best to stay out of sight, and prepares another arrow as he circles around to fire off in yet another direction after the guards have wasted a round on the first arrow.

(Do I need to roll for this?)

In reply to Brennan Otthild (msg # 391):

The pair of guards on the ground get to the wood pile.  One begins to smother the flames with his cloak, the other rushes to and grabs a wooden bucket of water.

Neither they nor the guard atop the tower seem to have noticed Titus move in to the tower, nor Brennan camping with his bow ready.

OOC: If Brennan were doing anything, I'd ask for a stealth roll but since he's sitting still behind cover in the dark, I'm treating it as a static contest for the guards to roll against.

COMBAT ROUND 2

"Is that a fire?" Ciryl's voice takes on a panicked edge, "Oh by god it's the demon!  Get the inquisitor!" he shouts, fear basted across his voice, "It summons fire; it's out to bloody kill me!"

((9,9,1,5,3,7,5,2 bluff ))

In reply to Ciryl Fontaine (msg # 393):

Titus will nudge the team's nemesis away from the door enough for Ciryl to slip out.

Come on Ciryl... move it!

He hisses.

In reply to Titus Blackwell (msg # 394):

Brennan continues to hold his arrow, as the guards are still preoccupied with the first fire and he's not actually trying to burn down the city.