~~Well now, that is interesting,~~ Alleycat thought to himself as he heard Sora translate the head Kobold's boast that he knew exactly how much money was in the local treasury.

~~I don't suppose there is any way to know whether that is truth or a falsehood. But if true, 'twould seem that there are a spy or spies within the governor's household. I wonder who would be willing to ally themselves with the likes of Kobolds?~~

~~Ah, who am I kidding? There are no doubt some who would be more than willing to ally themselves with the Kobolds' golders.~~

As the Waterdhavian looked on, the governor gave orders to empty the treasury into chests and to transport the wealth to the gates of the keep. ~~I give Nighthill high marks for being willing to empty his treasury to save the lives of his people. I feel certain that some nobles would have decided differently.~~

~~I wonder whether the head Kobold -- Ichthriss, was that the name that the Half-Dragon had mentioned? -- will honor his bargain, once he has his hands on the loot?~~

~~I suppose that we will find out before too much longer.~~
This message was last edited by the player at 03:27, Mon 24 Jan 2022.

Sora, a grim look on her face, simply nods at the man. "For my part, I'm glad I could help...but later we need to talk."

She turned and went to the gate, ready when it was opened....she too would see it through, just to see who this kobold trusted.

Antru follows Sora down to the gate once all is said and done. [Language unknown: "Ur ur ureei wassanenc allverast? O itropa latho ec mi asunouad ll roera peilutwe."]

Sora, still grim, answered her Elvish cousin without looking. [Language unknown: "Conousncethi. Andiv tiaian pous ekss ntitradin t semeom toon illconhat ma uspre ss an st ant plent utitpa, oules linyining p onsntedin som nd ncas astndeyin ere."] She looked at him and her bravado dropped in a weak smile. [Language unknown: "Ce esalro nc toomwi n tradayder, teher u intherwil estel i atiichyin...."] She left the comment hanging.

She sighed as she walked. "...but the govener has made his choice. I'll stay to see the people safe."

Seeing Sora make her way to the gates of the keep, Alleycat suspected that the magicker intended to venture outside the walls.

~~Ah, Mekkar, you know better than to do what you are thinking,~~ he thought to himself. ~~But methinks that Tymora must respect those who are willing to roll the dice with their lives hanging in the balance.~~

And so it was that the Waterdhavian joined Sora at the gates.

"Do you mind if I accompany you?" he asked.

"I respect bravery in others when I see it, and I think you quite brave to venture out there."

He smiled an honest smile. "There are many back home in Waterdeep who would be convinced that I have lost my mind -- and who would find the idea outrageously funny, coming from the likes of me."

"But, if you will have me, just think of  me as your Honor Guard."

His smile broadened when Antru joined them. "Welcome, brother Elf. Let us hope that the Kobolds are not overly fashion-conscious."

---

OOC: As sometimes happens, Antru cross-posted with me, so I added in a greeting for him at the end of AC's post. :)

PS. I see that Sora has cross-posted, also. :)
This message was last edited by the player at 04:03, Mon 24 Jan 2022.

Sora smiled as Alleycat came up and spoke. "Many would say foolish with what i suspect we face." she mumbled. She looked forward and continued. "...but come if you wish. The more, the merrier, i say."

She looked back at Alleycat And Antru and cracked a wry smile. "First time with an honor guard - have to say i kinda like it." Her gaze went back to teh gate, and all hints of humor left her face. "Stay on your toes...and if you must, run." Then she spoke in elven. [Language unknown: "Ssiten ng ereratovepro eipohe hofola.....ous anyil elolha ittiei."]

Antru give Allycat a nod when he joins them. ”Glad I am to have companions who have clear heads in their shoulders.”

He gives Sora a brief smile. [Language unknown: “Whese dios thaai ble? Ureandred un il osistr ncete”] It’s clear he was making a joke, lame as it might be. [Language unknown: “Ieon ortdinstaectain No’i hi me t ithratyinion itngne et. Korhisith ing’nt thahisart stiprethu ai to reaherles yin se linhi menlo. Ti thowh atiad le allwheven ec. Allaveonemaneve Ek’no vertheugh adbepe is.”]

”Guess she will have two escorts to watch her back then.” He says to Allycat

Left to his own devices, Bross makes himself useful.

~~Shouldn't be too hard to find the Governor~~ he thought, seeking him out.

His plan was to first offer to throw his strength in toward loading the ransom. It wasn't what he would ideally want to do, but it's what the Governor wished.

Next thing would be for Bross to volunteer to cart it there [Animal handling; Proficiency: Ground Vehicles] (Preferably one they didn't mind not getting back, if things went sour. )

Tallcut didn't think the gods graced them with enemies dumb enough to let him go all the way to their stash and back, but he also saw what they did to GreySky's offer of honorable combat. They might not respect 'don't kill the messenger' either. So he liked his chances of getting back safely more than some poor village coachman's. And if they lied and simply didn't return the prisoners...
This message was last edited by the player at 05:17, Mon 24 Jan 2022.

With the display of mystical power, Taria began to make some calculations. She believed she recognized the magical expression. It was one that she had begun to formulate in her own workbook. However, the energies that she believed she could evoke was a mere fraction of the power the half-dragon conjured with a simple gesture. Scholars posited a number of theories about dragons, including them being a node of pure mystical potency. It was entirely possible that Half-Dragons shared a similar well of power or perhaps a connection to the potency of their sire.

While she calculated and notated, she calmly maneuvered herself into the orbit of those seeking to play a role into any discussions of following steps and actions. She did not want to make herself to prominent lest the Governor recall the festival she ruined herself as her powers began to develop.

Things continued to to move fast. Of course I will go, though I prefer to leave my own cart here. It's what holds my stuff. But if another cannot be mustered. But I expect Nighthill will take care of that. In any case..." Faim heads to the front gate, and waits for the opportunity to join the recovery party. <goldenrod>"I think if we go out there, and don't blink, we can make a noble spectacle of ourselves, and saviors to the prisoners. If not, well..."

The large chest with the ransom is loaded into a cart by 3 of the strongest guards and Bross. They hitch a mule to the cart and lead it to the gate. Sora, and the rest of the party ,with the exception of Catrina, stand near the gate with Govenor Nighthill. As soon as the gate opens and the halfdragon can see the cart, he nods to the thugs guarding the Chamberlain, he is freed to enter the Keep.

Alaric closes the gap between his captors and his freedom with dignity. He walks to the gate and enters. When he reaches the Govenor, Tarbaw extends his hand in friendship. The Chamberlain takes it with both hands and holds back tears as he apologizes.

Sora focused on the half dragon, ignoring the interaction between the govener and Alaric. she spoke clearly to the half dragon. [Language unknown: "U ouneenset. Acel hasureous as riletr. Our red wil ent and er ca isinac miica nirotrel?"]

The halfdragon nods, All in good time. I will release half now and the other half after we count. I will back away and leave these two to do the counting. Once they reach the agreed amount they will move the coins out of the range of your archers and then release the rest.

The man is stricken with shame as he reaches for the Govenor's hand, "Govenor, I am so sorry, they questioned me about the treasurey... I did not talk... the kobald could read my thoughts... I could not keep him out...I am so sorry. They know it all."

The woman nods. "Acceptable."

The exchange occurs without any further difficulty. The half-dragon is true to his word. Once they are satisfied with the count, the cart is moved to just out of range of the archers. The remaining prisoners are released. The cart does not move until the last prisoner passes it. THe kobalds begin withdrawing after the last prisoner enters the gate.

Ned smiles as the last prisoner reaches the gate, he is happy and grateful to see so many families are reunited. "This is good." He says to himself. He follows Sora and the rogues to see if there is a way for him to be helpful.

Sora stands, watching as they count, not moving as the first half of the prisoners pass the gates. When they are done, she watches as the otehrs are released and they make their retreat, watching even as the last goes into the keep. When the doors close, she looks at Tarbaw. "my advice, Gorvener, is you have a meeting as soon as possible. I have a little insight on the enemy, so if you'll allow, i'd like to come."

She looked at Taria. "...her as well, at the very least. She has a grasp of magic."

The Govenor looks less tense. He smiles at Sora, "Of course, we will meet. You may invite the others who helped on the eastern flank as you see fit. Only invite those with good sense. That fool of a wrestler and any who can not maintain a thoughtful conversation should find different ways to contribute. First, we must assess, determine who has fallen, who remains missing and if we are still in danger. We will meet at noon. Excuse me for now."

He walks away and begins issuing orders to guards to investigate the fairegrounds and the town. Once satisfied with their understanding of the information he needs, he calls for the scribes who made the lists of the missing and instructs them to confirm all who have returned.
This message had punctuation tweaked by the player at 00:17, Tue 25 Jan 2022.

Sora nods and the man, then turns to Taria, Alleycat and Antru. "We need to talk....follow me." She walks over to a private corner and looks at the three. "Before we meet with Tarbaw, we need to decide what happened here." She looked at Taria.

"I know a little of magic - not much, but enough to know that spell was a more powerful form of a basic spell." She looked around, spying a few of the others. "Unless i'm mistaken, he may send a team out to either spy on this army, or get his gold back - possibly both. I for one would like to try, but i want to know what we're up against." She looks at the other two. "You two had my back, and i appreciate that. But we need more people - more muscle and more people who know magic. If i remember right, there was a dwarf, a cleric. Antru, try find him and ask him to the meeting."

As soon as they're back through the gates, he lets out a long-held breath. ~~That shouldn't have happened at all, but at least it didn't get worse!~~

When he got back to the area where they loaded the cart, Bross nodded to the guards (By now, he was sort of seeing them as work-buddies), and tossed a few coins into the now-empty town coffers.

"It just feels like... bad luck, leaving it empty" he explained, "..and besides, someone's short a good animal now." [-8 GP] (Bross- who had to pull a plow or two himself in his life- knew what it was to have to work a field without an animal. He didn't wish that on anyone.)

Part of that was money he'd set aside for a rematch with GreySky- which, of course, made him think of her in the cells, somewhere. He doubted they'd mistreat her (he might have actually paid to see them try to), but it would be worth asking after her anyway.

But, first, serious business awaited. From what Bross could see, the petty reeves who asked for names of the missing had finished their accounting. Bross had family he was worried about, and his new friend Taria said she had no idea where her family were either. Wasting no time, he goes up, gives their names, and asks if anyone knows anything.
This message was last edited by the player at 05:01, Tue 25 Jan 2022.

~~Well, that explains how that head Kobold knew about the amount of wealth in the treasury,~~ Mekkar thought to himself as the chamberlain told of the Kobold's ability to pry into his mind.

~~I wonder what sort of range those sorts of magicks have? Hopefully 'tis short range. Otherwise, we have a real problem. I should ask our magickers, and see if they know anything about it.~~

The good news was that rest of the exchange went smoothly, and their foes honored the bargain that they had made.

The Waterdhavian nodded his agreement when Sora gave her opinion that whatever task was ultimately given to them, they needed more people who were willing to pitch in -- people who could give a good account of themselves in a dust-up. She asked Antru to seek out the Dwarven cleric and invite him to the upcoming meeting with the governor.

"Hargin," he said to her. "That's the name of the Dwarven cleric whom you were just talking about."

"Me, I'm going to see if I can find that big farmer who drove the cart that hauled the treasure out to those bastards. He was with us during that fight outside the walls, and he gave a good account of himself with that wood-axe that he carries."

"Bross, I think his name is -- he'll be even tougher in a fight if we can get him some proper equipment."

With that, Alleycat went looking for Bross. ~~A man that big shouldn't be hard to spot, seeing as how he stands head and shoulders above most of the rest of the crowd.~~
This message was last edited by the player at 03:43, Tue 25 Jan 2022.

Sora nodded at Alleycat's idea. "Good idea - He will do well. Also watch out for that Tiefling....she had some skills as well. Antru - Find Hargrin, and if he can recommend anyone, or anyone else who helped us, do it.  Meet me here a little before noon."

She turned and made her way to Tarbaw. "Govener....I'd like to ask something of you. Can i have permission to see the hard headed woman who almost blew our negotiation. I'd like to gauge her mind."

With a nod, Taria follows Sora. When she herself assesses the magical display, Taria adds, "I am not sure if 'form' is the proper term. It is the same expression of power, but the formulation is more intense, more complex. It is a simple expression of power with added layers to it allowing a greater input of vis and an obviously enhanced effect. That may be a semantic point, but probably not important in the grand scheme."

Sora looked at the woman, a confused look on her face. "So...same spell, more power put into it?"