Book Six, Chapter Five �This must be my worst plan ever, and I�ve had some pretty bad ones�
����������� 10/07/2004
We start by discussing the plan. Then we read the notes. Quoth Sir Martyn Yanyez De Barbudo �This must be my worst plan ever, and I�ve had some pretty bad ones.� The worrying thing is no one disagreed with him. Everyone voted against doing the plan, except Bowlhead who doesn�t counted. Our object is to kill the king and survive, preferably not getting blamed. Anything else is a bonus. It is the 10th of Savor and the plan might be re-instated, oh dear oh dear.
I guess we leave on the 11th of Savor and its 14 days to Geldehiem. After about a week of travel, so that will be the 18th of Savor. Along the way Daniel and Zytsi see a particularly fine black horse, a stallion perhaps. The others also see something else up in the air. Sir Martyn casts a spell which gets Larani to send him a flying steed to aid him in his quest. Oh fuck says Robin, and reads the spec of the spell. Sir Martyn has a choice an excellent horse or a griffon. So it�s the easy to hide and disguise griffon then. Larani has a winged lion semi-divine servitor, the Order of the Chequered Shield uses a winged lion in its heraldry, and there is an Order of the Winged Lion in Ivinia. So Sir Martyn gains the griffon and Aruth talks to it. Sir Martyn rides after the horse, gets to within 30 yards and it starts to run away. So Sir Martyn Charms it and befriends it. He looks it over � a particularly fine warhorse, with training, with best stats across the board. It�s a Signature Griffon sent by his Goddess and only he can ride it. Aruth can train the horse as he can ride it. (Look it used to be a white horse but a black horse seemed more appropriate.)
On the night of the 21st of Savor when we are camped for the night. Daniel and Zytsi were on first watch and Zytsi finds a strange patch of ground. He asked Daniel to poke it, which he very stupidly did, with a 10 foot pole. Spores everywhere. We didn�t like that and feel ill. Daniel fell on Sir Martyn and Zytsi wakes up Bowlhead. There were healing spells going off and diagnostics. Fast acting nerve poison that will wear off after 24 hours. Apparently we�ll be alright after 24 hours and we are unconscious.
Sir Martyn went to look for what happened. He found the bit of ground and failed his save. Aruth and Bowlhead throw Zytsi and Daniel in the back of the wagon. Zytsi takes 5 points of damage from Daniel�s armour and unlike Sir Martyn he doesn�t ignore it. Bowlhead goes to tie a rope around Sir Martyn foot. He fails his save and casts Neutralise Poison and is only at -50 for 24 hours. Aruth makes a lasso and drags Sir Martyn out and there was a huge cloud of spores. Yellow Mould
Aruth hides the wagon and party in a cave. There were several bits of this stuff around. After 24 hours we recover and go on.
We get to Geldehiem on the 26th of Savor, a day late. The College of Arms in the northern part of the town. (There is a Merchant in town that could get hold of almost anything, but it will cost.) Sir Martyn diplomes his way in with Zytsi, while the rest of us go down the pub. Where Bowlhead gets punched by an Ivinian while another one tries to cut Daniel�s purse. Daniel backs off and Bowlhead has a brawl. The Ivinians are barred, as is Bowlhead.
At the end of the day Sir Martyn has the information and Zytsi has a good picture. It was in the dead Jarin lines you see. So Zytsi can make a stone mould and fake the ring.
With a minor bribe Bowlhead is let back in to the inn, The Boot. (There might be something dodgy in another one). The next day we buy 800d worth of gold for 1,000d. Then we leave.
On the way back on the ninth night (5th of Ilvin) we see some glowing figures that look like the V�hir, but not Sir Martyn�s. Sir Martyn sees them on watch with Bowlhead. They come up to the camp and say �Sorry my lord I didn�t realise it was you� and leave. Over the next three or four days there was an ecumenical discussion between Sir Martyn and Bowlhead, Bowlhead loses.
We get back to our bandit hideout on the 10th of Ilvin.
291 stone carving on the mould from Zytsi and then Aruth pours the gold in whilst listening to an Inspiring song from Daniel for 99% smithing roll, so we melt the gold down and try again 190% (not bad for 1 rank). So we have a ring that will pass muster, and its worth 1200d.
The previously sent out messengers have summoned the rebellion leaders, so what is the strategic plan? It sounds like it�s the old attack a patrol and let one escape trick, possibly.
The castle is in the middle of a lake with a draw bridge and is a single solid building with no courtyard. The Akarata is Baliela, and Shialea is her 2-in-C, there is a top cleric but nobody we�ve heard of. Melcio is the old queen, getting on a bit now, might be there. It could hold 150 people plus visiting knights. Four Lieutenants � so that�s six probably Paladins and a Cleric. Marene another Cleric who doesn�t get on with Baliela, political reasons but she is .Herman and Rudolf are Baliela�s Ivinian servants working off debt. And about 80 soldiers.
Balliela�s sister is dead but did something important at sometime. Killing the Queen of Rethem, ah that was it. So they will have no three-and-four pence.
The new Agrikan name for Sir Martyn is Ilpylen. Well his hand is a recognisable Agrikan artefact. So we could claim overnight stay. We need Agrikan names Mystro the Bard from Burzyn (Daniel), Bushy Beard the Vicious (Zytsi), Tim (Aruth) and Exhume (Bowlhead). Forget the patrol attacks its Plan A.
About two weeks later, 24th of Ilvin. Oh dear. We park the wagon in a convenient copse, having arranged a signal for the army charge. As this bunch of dubious people turn up. Mounted knight with Agrikan hand, man in spiky armour, man in black robe with staff made from human bones (Bowlhead), a Khuzdul and a servant. Just passing through. The Fighting Order is in charge, when it should be the Clerical Order.
We go to dinner. Well Aruth and Bowlhead eat with the servants, and make no mistakes. Zytsi is his companion, his follower since he saved his life. Sir Martyn seems fairly convincing and the lead woman (53 years) quite fancies him. A small group of Agrikan clerical types passed through a week and half ago heading north-east. That�s a nice hand.
It was randomly decided that the bard was well endowed and after an excellent display of music and singing he takes a lot of ribald comments and fondling. And instructed to attend one of the lieutenants that night, yes one of the paladins. Which completely side tracked the conversation.
We go to bed at 11:30. At 12:00 Marene pops in to see Ilpylen, she�s a looker. It�s a business transaction. She wants him to take the head of the fighting order with him when he leaves. Oh she wants her killed. So then the Clerical Order who be in charge that will be her then. She stays for about an hour, which will be when Daniel staggers back after exhausting the Paladin.
We take the combat drugs and cast the combat spells and whinge that we only get +85% versus channelling saving throws. OK so Daniel does and someone has finally noticed that these notes are done from the point of view of the bard. Well what a surprise! Take a bow; what do you want to do about it then?
We open the door and its mayhem time, but there are appropriate silences and singing and charging and four guards shouting (which doesn�t work) and banging on the door (which does). There are four at them. Zytsi hits one is stunned and fumbles weapon for two rounds at SNP, Sir Martyn puts two down.
Next round Aruth makes a mess of the one that Zytsi hit. Zytsi hits the one that is still standing but a mess. Sir Martyn takes the other one finally. The barded door was kicked open into rounds. The old woman has two moves and puts an Earthwall between her and us after going into another room. Run to the windlass to let in the army. Into the Mess Hall where there are four guards who realise something is up. They yell through the door instructions, but at least one will see us.
Aruth shoots one and it pinned the wall to the wall with an arrow through each arm (again). Zytsi throws his war hammer and Sir Martyn firing his mace. One is pinned to the wall and doing nothing, two run into the stairwell and one stands and holds shouted conversation with old woman through doors.
The windlass room has four guards in but Aruth shoots one and is a convincing take out. Zytsi smacks one fairly convincingly for another take out and then the other one. And Sir Martyn takes out number four finally.
Into the windlass room. There is one man in here, and he is very co-operative. Lower the drawbridge and raise the portcullis. One of the soon to be dead guards hits Daniel before she expires. She doesn�t last. The drawbridge is down the portcullis up and the army is on the way, 333% perception to spot the army coming, it is.
15 rounds into the combat. And we are owed eps for a second session.