[IC] Death & Taxes (Session 4)

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Aug 31, 2020 6:43 am
SavageBob says:
Then, I need to know what your watch order will be.
OOC:
Nekkur is probably taking the last shift, if he manages to wake up.
Can't ckeep those discipline rolls working forever :D
Last edited August 31, 2020 6:44 am
Aug 31, 2020 3:42 pm
SavageBob says:
OOC:
OK, so mayor is moving the effigy where it won't affect you. (And no GM trickery at play here. It's not an issue now.)

If Bruv still wants to go to the Galbernost farm, let me know, em. It's no hassle to have y'all split up for the time being.

Then, I need to know what your watch order will be. (I'm assuming from the general paranoia that you'll be taking turns at watch, right? Assuming it's about 1 AM or so, it's 5 hours till dawn. If Bruv sticks around, that could mean 1-hour shifts for each of you, or without Bruv, 1-hour-15-minute shifts, of double up duty for two 2.5-hour shifts.)
OOC:
I just want to go poke around the town tonight.

So if no one else is doing that, then Bruv is going to Galbernost's, and will do it alone. Not really clear to me what everyone's plans are.

Also, seems to me like it will be harder to sneak out of here, than out of the stable. Is anyone who's good at Stealth intending to sneak out of the mayor's place?
Aug 31, 2020 6:42 pm
OOC:
Yeah, I figured all of you would be sneaking out at some point or another. My point is that the mayor seems aware that that's your plan (whether out of over-eagerness to help out or out of a desire to keep investigating the weaver over his objections), so he's not going to leave anyone unattended. Bruv will be watched at the barn, too.

The timing of when you sneak out may depend on when you think your most opportune moment will be to do so. Right now, folks are still getting settled in for the night, so I assumed y'all would want to wait a bit for people to get to sleep. But if Bruv or anyone else thinks it's imperative to act now, we can do that. It's just going to entail pissing off the mayor and possibly bringing the guards down on you.

Tl;dr: Waiting a bit will make sneaking out easier. But if bad things are indeed afoot, waiting means the bad guys get that much closer to whatever their goal is.
Sep 1, 2020 1:51 pm
Wayland sees Bruv off, escorted by two of the village guards outside. The men walk the Orc over to the neighboring farm. The full moon is high, and despite some cloud cover, it illuminates the dirt path well enough that no lamps are needed. Bruv finds that the sounds of the swamp surrounding the village have become a cacophony at this time of night—frogs, insects, and who knows what else chirruping in the distance.

At the Galbernost farmhouse, the guards knock on the wooden door. The burly farmer stumbles to the door in his nightshirt and rubs his eyes in confusion. "What's this all about? We were sound asleep..." The guards explain the situation: The baron's investigator has requested a place to sleep in the farmer's barn and Mayor Wayland has requested that he be kept safe by a watch from either them or the farmer himself.
OOC:
Let me know if Bruv wants to interject anything.
Sep 1, 2020 1:58 pm
Back at the manor, Wayland tells the remaining guard to stay vigilant and mentions that a replacement will take the guard's place in a few hours. He then takes the smoking bird effigy from the mantle and brings it into his chambers. He pokes his head back out and gives a faux-salute. "All right, then," he says to those still awake. "Good night, and may the goddess bless you with beautiful dreams." Returning to his chambers, he shuts the door. The smell of incense gradually fades from the air.
OOC:
Remnant and somebox may have gotten embroiled in RL, but for simplicity, let's assume they're on first watch together? We'll do some rolling once I know a general plan for both Bruv and the manor group. (E.g., sneak out immediately, try to determine if your hosts are really asleep first, just wait for a while, etc.)
Sep 1, 2020 2:17 pm
"💤 ...night, god ... dream💤 you too 💤 "
OOC:
I think that sounds good. Nera definitly wants to sneak out maybe before the guard change and Tronus is already looking outwards. I
Nekuur just finds a cozy place for the moment and can be awaken for the second watch.

I'd say that would mean waiting to sneak as the NPCs tire out, making sure the mayor is asleep (and the guards maybe?) and then check who's eating the pageant after all :D
Sep 1, 2020 3:32 pm
"Apologies, master Galbernost. Oi believe moi comrade is already sounds asleep, in yer stable, as you were in your 'ouse. Oi told'em Oi didn't need 'elp joinin' 'im. But da mayor 'as 'is way... Oi'll not bodder ye any further tonoight."
OOC:
My plan was to just construct a pile of hay about Bruv's size deep in some shadow, throw a blanket over it, then use an Ally Conjure to try to lure the guard away from his watch over me, and then sneak off to our pre-determined* meeting point.
Last edited September 1, 2020 3:34 pm
Sep 2, 2020 12:40 pm
OOC:
I've never come into the house, everytime I stated I was up you told me I was passed out sleeping in the cart so I was goin with that.
Sep 2, 2020 1:19 pm
Remnant says:
OOC:
I've never come into the house, everytime I stated I was up you told me I was passed out sleeping in the cart so I was goin with that.
OOC:
Ah, I think I misunderstood you, then. In the first page of this thread, you said Tronus was never actually asleep, so I assumed by that you meant Tronus would be awake and part of the negotiations with the mayor as he promised Nekurr. The mayor isn't going to want you broken up into three separate locations, so if you're staying in the mayor's stable, he wouldn't remove guards from the manor. That was a concussion that assumed you'd be in the manor, under his personal care. So, can we do one of two things?

1) Tronus is actually in the manor (as I'd mistakenly assumed he was) and will help with first watch.

2) Tronus went with Bruv to the Galbernost farm and is sleeping in the barn under guard.

Again, apologies for misunderstanding your intention. But leaving Tronus here in the mayor's stable is going to make the last week's worth of gameplay not make sense. :/
Sep 2, 2020 2:04 pm
OOC:
I am good on my end with the "wait a little bit and then sneak out" plan CESN commented on.
Nera looks entirely disinterested in the conversations, remaining on her chair like a queen watching the court squabble.
Sep 2, 2020 2:12 pm
OOC:
Heh, I had been operating under the belief that it was Galbernost's barn that Tronus was sleeping in. That was part of why Bruv went there if that helps things 😅
Sep 2, 2020 3:41 pm
OOC:
I guess we'll go with the fiat Tronus is in the know from the discussion when everyone got back and took his whole kit and went with Bruv, I thought Bruv came here because it was closer to the pageant winner/sacrifice?
Sep 2, 2020 3:46 pm
OOC:
Yeah, it seems to have gotten more confusing than I'd intended. Galbernost invited you all to stay in his barn ages ago, before you ever met the mayor. Then the mayor was like, "No, these are special guests, they should stay in my manor, as our village has no inn." So, he had your stuff moved from Galbernost's barn to the mayor's stable so it would be closer to where he presumed you'd want to stay (in a warm bed rather than a pile of hay). It's that move of your stuff from the first farm to his property that made things confusing, so my apologies.

So, Tronus is with Bruv. We'll roll some checks shortly! Gotta get to lunch IRL.
Sep 2, 2020 5:09 pm
With the mayor in his chamber, Hildar and Nekurr sleeping in two of the guest beds, and Bruv and Tronus off to their "lodgings," Nera is left awake alone in the manor's second-floor guest wing. Her assigned guest room offers a good view of the fields between the manor and the Galbernost farm, where scarecrows stand illuminated in the moonlight. The sounds of the swamp outside encroach upon Nekurr's purr-like snoring, but otherwise things are silent.
OOC:
Assuming Nera plans to wait a bit before sneaking out, somebox, give me a Hard (PPP) Vigilance check with two setbacks (one since, if the mayor is going to sneak out, he'll know the place like the back of his hand, the second since you're up a story above him). I'll give you a boost for the eerie silence, though.

At the neighboring farm, the Galbernost patriarch seems annoyed by the whole affair but makes sure his guests have water to wash up. He then sets a chair next to the farmhouse wall, where he tries to stay awake. Meanwhile, the two guards sit on a tree stump between the farmhouse and the barn and chatter about not much of anything. Bruv and Tronus find the hay itchy but serviceable for a bed. Less welcoming are the three goats they are sharing the barn with and the family of rats that has set up a nest in the rafters. Nevertheless, the two inquisitors reason that if they're going to sneak off, it might be easier to do so from the relatively more open barn.
OOC:
So, if you two are planning to create dummies that look like you before sneaking off, you can do that with an Average Deception check, upgraded once (RP). I'll let you treat it as a combined check to make both dummies from straw or dirt or whatever's at hand. Add a boost for the poor lighting.

Your final roll would be GGGG+BB x RP unless you augment or flip a SP.
Sep 2, 2020 11:29 pm
And so Nera finds herself evicted from the chair in order to get some sleep. She stretches while letting loose a massive yawn, turns the light out, and proceeds to sit by the window where she watches for any signs of movement. Unexpected movement that is.
OOC:
Will flip a story point to add an edge. Hey it was useful (probably!), well can I use the advantage to discern any movement, regardless of who it is?
Last edited September 2, 2020 11:30 pm

Rolls

Vigilance

2 Success, 4 Advantage, 2 Failure, 3 Threat

Total: 1 Advantage

Sep 3, 2020 1:47 pm
OOC:
Nera sees something out the window all right. More details once we get Bruv and Tronus's roll.

Reminder to you two: Your final Deception roll for the dummies should be GGGG+BB x RP unless you augment or flip a SP.
Sep 3, 2020 3:13 pm
OOC:
Decoy roll...

Spend the 2 Advantage maybe to have one of the guards doze off?
Last edited September 3, 2020 3:15 pm

Rolls

Deception plus Boosts

4 Success, 4 Advantage, 1 Failure, 2 Threat

Total: 3 Success, 2 Advantage

Sep 4, 2020 2:36 am
Nera doesn't detect any signs of movement from the floor below; as far as she can tell, the mayor and his brother are fast asleep. Right as she's getting ready to wake Hildar to take over his watch, though, she notices a flash of movement through her guest room window. Whatever it is moves past out of her field of view.
[ +- ] Nera's view

Working together, Bruv and Tronus are able to mock up a couple of convincing-looking straw stand-ins. With them far enough back in the shadows, they hope they'll fool at least a casual glance into the barn should one of the guards or Galbernosts peep in. Throwing the blankets Bressel Galbernost brought out and leaving a couple of pair of old boots by the piles finishes the mock-up.

Snoring outside suggests at least one of the guards is no longer alert, at least. Now to sneak out...
OOC:
So what's the plan to sneak out? Just use Stealth? Emsquared mentioned wanting to try to summon an ally to act as a distraction?
Sep 4, 2020 2:08 pm
OOC:
Me and Hildar are in the same room? And can I get out safely from the second story, or are there obviously stationed guards I am forgetting?
Sep 4, 2020 3:10 pm
Bruv addresses the dwarf in a whisper, "Moi plan was ta just conjure a swamp creature, and use it ta draw the guards' attention, hopefully draw 'em away some, and den jost sneak off and meet up wit da others... You any good at sneakin' old man?
...
Me neider... so was gonna troi ta augment moiself ta 'elp wit dat.

Ya got any better ideas?
"
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