07.11e: A Marriage of Inconvenience

[Joshua]

The castle's scouts mostly consist of those flying skeletons. The small force you brought with you is spotted. (It would be really impossible not to be..)

Tinder and An'ha return fairly quickly.

An'ha will report that the gate, such as it is, is guarded by only 4 of the franken-guards (flesh-golems?). That being said, it's got a portcullis, reenforced kill zone into the keep with arrow-slits and boiling oil at the ready. The moat had some kind of tentacle-monster kraken thing that was recently killed, but he counted at least 3 more. Arial scouts, there are about 12 he can see, but he expects at least 2 or 3 times that in the castle.

Tinder, having phased around the inside, can report* (through Alys) that there's around 200 guards on the inside, maybe twice that. Mostly of the franken variety. There's also a giant roach-monster in melee with a big otter that seems to be attracting attention and destroying actual parts of the castle. Rogbar is in the throne room, but the lady guarding him has real power so he didn't stick around. He thinks there's another power inside, but after the lady almost spotted him, he decided not to press his luck.
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*: What's that Lassie? Timmy fell down the well and needs his insulin shot?

[Draylen]

The bear smirks, a menacing glint in his eye. "Good thing we came prepared, huh? Archers, shoot down the scouts as best you can. Kill, not capture, they look undead. Explosives are authorized," he says, giving the order quickly. "Alchemists and builders, fashion a catapult! We're gonna explode that deathtrap they call a portcullis, maybe give that otter warrior a hand!"

[Wyvern]

Alys tilts her head speculatively. "If you would like for someone to give the otter a hand, I could follow Tinder back in..."

[Draylen]

The bear pauses a little, and frowns faintly. He's obviously thinking that over very quickly, tilting his head to the side very slightly. "Let me..." he says, pausing slightly. He looks between the dog and the woman he follows, and frowns slightly. "Yes. Yes, I think having you in there would be beneficial. As for whether or not you aid the otter in there, I'll leave that up to your judgment. But, I would like Tinder back here for artillery." He kneels down and looks into the eyes of the eldritch abomination in the guise of a hellhound.

"Your howl may or may not work against the flesh golems," he says, murmuring softly, "but you can certainly ignite them."

[Wyvern]

Alys gives Aibne a bit of an odd look at the 'howl' comment, but then shrugs. "Fair enough." And the two of them head into the castle.

((OOC: if someone else - perhaps Cameron or Jiga - wants to follow along, that should be totally doable.))

First stop, of course, is the dungeons... which Ch'talo has recently vacated. Exactly how Alys reacts will depend on the following factors: who (if anyone) came with her, how many of the prisoners are still alive, and whether or not she thinks any of the prisoners require immediate first aid in order to have a chance of remaining alive.

[khadjair]

Cameron holds up a hand.

"If possible, I would like to come with you. If nothing else, I can act as a siege machine inside the walls to help make an entry." Despite the meekness in his words there's a hint of fire in his eyes.

[ShadowOfPreservation]

Jiga also volunteers. "I'm not much of a fighter so if you can get me inside, I'll likely be of more use than any help I could provide out here. Being quiet and unseen is more of my specialty." Assuming no objections, both she and Cameron will accompany Alys and Tinder.

[Wyvern]

The mission into the castle continues here.

[Draylen]

The bear nods as the others leave, and then turns to the assembled formations. "Alright! Listen up! We're gonna get in there and do as much damage as we can without leveling the structure! Alchemists! Have you found the right explosives in this shadow?" he asks, smirking darkly. "Archers, prepare to fire at the scouts. We're gonna get swarmed once this starts, and that's all for the good! Shieldbrothers, be ready to lock formation!"

[Joshua]

As people depart, a tall cat-like man will arrive. He must have shown up somewhere within the troop, but you're not quite sure when. He will find Aibne, effortlessly dodging most others. (Except possibly Osmund or a pc, but for the sake of argument, Osmund was distracted and I think all the other pcs are in the castle....)

"Mi'Lord, forgive the intrusion." he will say as he holds a carefully wrapped spear. He's dressed in loose robes over a fairly ornate sorta-brass breastplate. Those who lingered at the festivities will recognize him as someone who argued with Father-Confessor Lane. "Would you like assistance? I am Dal'ashi. I- suspect my fate and that of the hostage might be intertwined*."
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*: Aside from the face he's about 6' 8" and 350 lbs of muscle, his cat-like markings and fur do have a slight, maybe... kinda resemblance to Rogbar. He is also attempting to mirror some of Rogbar's body language, but Aibne, you are familiar enough with Rogbar to be able to tell it's very different at the core and only a peripheral similarity. Possibly an act, if you're of the paranoid mindset.