Reclaiming Paphos

Jul 21, 2024 10:52 pm

Geis

No worries, back in a jif the ghostly kobold comments before laying flat on his belly and sliding up the wall of the building to above head height and moving west in the gloom of night above the closed windows and doors before returning a minute later.
Yep, that section of the building you were talking about is collapsed. The south wall looks like it may have had a door but the mechanism that opened it is destroyed and the collapsed room is piled against it so I doubt that you can access the building through there. If you start digging through the rubble the guards will definitely hear.

On the other hand it sounded like this building is the officers quarters. Leastwise they sounded more like officers discussing things than soldiers complaining. That's pretty standard no matter the race in my experience.

Jul 24, 2024 6:58 pm

"What if we try to sneak over the rubble then?"

Geis

Jul 25, 2024 1:55 pm

Geis

Sure you can do that. But sure why you wild do that though.

The locked chest you were sent to retrieve was said to be located in that area, which has collapsed.

Jul 25, 2024 7:29 pm

OOC:

ah, sorry... Got things a little mixed up

Jul 26, 2024 12:27 am

OOC:

No worries. The situation is a bit complex.
Heres a quick recap for all:
Lady Tanamere Alagondar has sent you to retrieve a chest that contains her families legacy from the merchant quarters Remnant. Unfortunately hobgoblins have moved into the Alagondar compound. The map the Tanamere gave you indicates the chest was stored in a vault that collapsed, likely druing the Breaking from what Geis can tell. The chest may still be burried or recovered by others. Acording to the Gripli, froglike locals, the city has not been explored until recently. From what you know of the recent expantion of forces into the area this Remnant has only recently been entered and occupied so chances are that it is still close.

Jul 26, 2024 4:55 pm

OOC:

OK, I'm back, so let's see if we can get this going again. Thank you everyone for your patience!

Skeeve takes in the information and says, "So, assuming the chest is still here, it is either buried in rubble, or it has been retrieved and is likely in the officer's quarters. If we sift through the rubble, there is the danger we will make too much noise and alert the hobgoblins of our presence. If we go through the building, we have to fight the hobgoblin officers, who will likely be tougher than the normal grunts and can still likely notify others of our presence. It seems we are in a particularly difficult situation."

To Geis, he asks, "Did you get a feel for how many officers there are?"

Geis

Jul 26, 2024 5:17 pm

Geis

Well, by the talking there are at least two. Maybe they are the night watch?
Based on the activity of the day s night I assume most are sleeping now

Jul 26, 2024 6:29 pm

"Well, if we dig, we will probably alert everyone, and we can't win that fight. Looks like we need to just gut up and hope it's only two, three, or four in the building and get rid of them as quickly as possible. I can't use my scroll on them like I want, as that will be bright, and that would only bring everyone down on us. Let's see if we can sneak in. Geis, can you eliminate any of the sleeping ones while the rest of us deal with the living ones?"

Arc Zeekhad

Cathamber

Jul 27, 2024 1:04 pm

MoyenBateau Inactive for 26 days

I think we could dig silently if done slowly, but the guards WILL find us eventually. I agree that it is best to silence the guard beforehand, as quickly as possible, and hide the bodies before going through the reckage to search.

Last edited Jul 27, 2024 1:05 pm

Kaarik

Jul 27, 2024 4:01 pm

Kaarik seems really uncomfortable with the plan, "Could we only silence the guards? I do not like killing someone if I am not sure they deserve it"'

Jul 27, 2024 4:30 pm

OOC:

A bit of history your characters would have picked up from time at the base for context

The hobgoblins are a warborn race, created during the dawn war. Unlike most others, including the goblins and bugbear, and ord, they have maintains a rigid military organization. They are not inherently evil but their culture has brought them into conflict with many since the Shattering.

Since moving into the area they have been domineering and aggressive. Multiple scouts have had fights with them and one group even had a hobgoblin assassin squad sent to take them out. They can be negotiated with but only from a position of power, otherwise they just take what they want.

Jul 27, 2024 7:16 pm

could we subdue them instead of killing them? I'd wager even a silenced bugbear could still harm us or our efforts?

Jul 27, 2024 7:28 pm

MoyenBateau Inactive for 26 days

"The problem is that we just won't have time. We are already in their claimed territory, and they will either capture and torture us to find out why we are here, or they will simply kill us for trespassing. Any peaceful solution left us when we came up from the well. If we try to sift through the rubble, any noise will bring guards down on us which means kill or be killed. If we invade their quarters, we are again in the position of really trespassing on their territory, in a particularly sensitive location.

"We are violating their claimed space and there are lot of them. We have already forfeited the chance to talk, and that chance never really existed in the first place. To negotiate, we'd have to come with 100 troops and be willing to buy what we need for a pretty steep price. Otherwise they wouldn't even listen to us. And even then, once they found out what we wanted, they would likely try to extract even more money from us because they would then know it was very valuable to us.

"So, either we back out now because the mission isn't going the way we want, or we do what needs to be done. And doing what needs to be done will almost certainly put blood on our hands. Literal and metaphorical."

Kaarik

Jul 27, 2024 8:04 pm

Violence it is then..., Kaarik is visibly saddened by this, however he will not make any more complain and prepares his bow.

Arc Zeekhad

Cathamber

Jul 27, 2024 10:14 pm

Sad words, but true words.
We may afterwards argue whether the territory is lawfully theirs, or they are invaders and trespassers in someone else's property. One of those is someone who send us. But that is useless now.

Arc readies his bow.

Jul 29, 2024 8:22 am

Aizashi nods in stern agreement, Let's get this done. as he prepares himself for the confrontation to come.

Jul 30, 2024 12:13 pm

OOC:

Looks like everyone is onboard so what's the planned approach?

[ +- ] map

The nearby guards patrolling by torchlight atop the buildings flat roofs move at a casual pace as they are far from the exterior. The door into the building that the vault attached to is just around the corner from where you hide and across from another closed door. As with most remnants the doors look ages but still serviceable and the buildings are of a dull brown brick. Evenly spaced high windows indicate the interior is likely lit by either a small fire or candle light. Listening closely you can now hear the two voices is casual banter.

Jul 30, 2024 7:24 pm

"Well, it's now or never. I think it is probably better to search through the existing room first, rather than digging in the rubble. So, we have to take care of the officers in the room. I could use a Sunburst spell on the room, but it likely won't kill them in one shot and it will be very, very bright. We could try to lure one to the door so I could use the Suggest spell on them, but I don't know what a good suggestion is. Or, we can burst in and try to kill them quickly. However, in that case, we don't know how many are really there. Two are awake, but we don't know how many are actually there.

"Any preferences?"

Arc Zeekhad

Cathamber

Jul 31, 2024 6:32 am

I'd prefer not to wake up the others.
Do you think is possible to shoot those two down from outside the windows? I mean, if we move closer, just out of those windows, and ready our bows... we may have an opportunity for a surprise attack. If we beat those two before they react, we may avoid further confrontation. Only after that we may enter silently and search the place.
But if those two sound an alarm or call for help, we will need another plan...
Skeeve, do you have some sort of silencing spell?

Jul 31, 2024 8:19 am