The Old Tower, Spies in the Night
Subject: Re: A Jungle Path; Bidding Manut goodbye
Farron agrees and will move forward with the rest of the party as far as required.
From: Mike
Subject: Re: A Jungle Path; Bidding Manut goodbye
Garyth nods and steadies the weapons at his belt as he creeps forward.
From: Ty
Subject: A jungle path; crashing the party
The group moves forward quietly in the dark. It is slow going in the thick undergrowth, but the haste makes noise. After half an hour of slow creeping, Rennik gives a low whistle to signal the party to stop. He touches Mission lightly on one shoulder, and the two move toward the fire lit building.
The building is easy to spot now, glowing with the gentle yellow of reflected firelight. As they get closer, Rennik is able to spot the lines of light coming through cracks that Mission had seen. The building does indeed look like an ancient stone tower. It is undoubtedly the same building Manut was held prisoner in.
At about 50 feet from the tower, the vegetation grows thinner, and Rennik and Mission stop moving. They are close enough now to the light that they can dimly see each other. From the building itself, there comes the sound of singing and occasional laughter. It sounds like someone is having a party.
Rennik puts up one hand to tell Mission to stay, then begins to move forward, practically crawling on his belly to stay hidden [Move Silently roll 10; actual roll was a 1]. His hand comes down on a brittle branch, and he cringes as there is a crack. It probably wasn't that loud, but to his ears it sounds like a drum. He freezes, with Mission watching anxiously from 20 feet away. A second later, a form that is made black by the light behind it comes out of the tower. Rennik hugs the ground [Hide roll 26], and after a moment the figure unlaces its breeches and begins noisily urinating onto the tower. A mocking voice from inside claims that the sound is so light, the equipment that produces it can be no larger than a bit of straw. This sets off a barrage of laughter from inside, and a snort from the peeing man.
A few moments later the man laces up his pants, and returns inside the tower. The singing begins once again. Rennik uses the cover of the singing to move right up against on wall of the building and listen for a while [Listen 24]. He detects the sounds of at least four different men. They appear to be drinking heavily.
[Waiting on Rennik's next move]
From: Karl
Subject: Re: A jungle path; crashing the party
Meanwhile, Farron sends Jack out to see what he can find out. He gives explicit instructions to stay out of Rennik's and Mission's way, but to skirt around behind the tower and report back immediately if there is anything dangerous or out of the ordinary the party should know about from that direction. Farron, for his part will relax and concentrate on Jack's progress, feeling for any signs of danger or alarm. (Empathic link)
From: Scott
Subject: Re: A jungle path; crashing the party
Whatever Rennick decides, Mission will keep his crossbow ready.
From: Karl
Subject: Re: A jungle path; crashing the party
Unfortunately, it is only *after* sending Jack out that Farron remembers the huge snakes the party recently saw. He attempts a whispered chatter to recall him and hopes that Jack is either *extra* careful, or that Jack will sense empathically Farron's panic and will return on his own. While he waits, he blushes silently in the dark because, although he can't see their faces in the shadows, he knows the others are bound to be glaring at him for breaking the silence even with a whisper.
From: Matt
Subject: Re: A jungle path; crashing the party
Rennik hugs the building and gets a feel for it. It's roughly 50 feet high and 30 feet in diameter, though it has been badly damaged over time and is bordering on ruin. Looking up at the arrow slits, it seems as though they are from a second story that no longer has a floor, as light from the first floor flickers through them unblocked by floorboards.
Getting a better sense of the outside of the structure, he finds several holes that can be peered through, and a larger hole that leads to a back room. The hole would be a bit of a squeeze for him, and he is sure that the humans just wouldn't fit - though it comes to mind that Mission might be agile enough to squeeze his way through with a little effort.
Making note of the entranceway, Rennik will do his best to get an idea of what's going on inside the tower by peeking through the cracks in the stone - the smaller the crack, the better.
From: Ty
Subject: Re: A jungle path; crashing the party
Rennik looks through several small cracks before finally finding one that opens onto the room with the fire. Unfortunately, it puts him on the other side of the tower from Mission, but it's too good an opportunity for spying to pass up.
Through the crack, Rennik sees what was probably the antechamber of the tower, once upon a time. In fact, from his position, he can see out through the front doorway. The door itself is missing, as is any sign of any of the wooden portions of this tower. It must be so old that all the wood has rotted away.
Inside the chamber, sitting on the rough stone floor, are four men. Rennik can't see enough of the room to see them all at once, but as they move around from time to time, he eventually sees them all. Two of the men are dressed in rough leather armor, and look enough alike to be brothers. They laugh at all the jokes, and drink their share of wine out of a leather skin that's getting passed around, but their hands never stray far from the short swords at their belts. They are directly in Rennik's line of sight, and they sit with their sides to the open doorway.
A larger man in clanking metal armor gets up at one point and moves through Rennik's field of view on his way outside to piss. He has a soldier type look to him. Thick forearms and big hands. A brawler. He wears inexpensive looking splint armor, and carries a wicked looking polearm with him when he goes outside.
The fourth man shows up only once, and is only briefly glimpsed from behind. He wears heavy robes of a drab gray color, and his hair is long and dark. He moves in front of the crack for just a second while laying out a bedroll, then disappears. A moment later, his bedroll expands as he apparently climbs into it. He drinks and laughs less than the others, and appears to be bedding down early. He is also probably the most important of the group, as he takes the best spot, furthest from the door. Once he beds down, the other three keep drinking, but their conversation grows quiet.
The conversation itself tells you nothing. These four men obviously know each other well, and they talk about women, and drinking, and past exploits with both, accompanied by many brags about their own performance and jests about the other's lack thereof.
They appear to be winding down, but you have no idea how much longer they will stay up.
[Waiting on Rennik]
From: Matt
Subject: Re: A jungle path; crashing the party
Rennik will work his way back around the back side of the tower and work his way back toward Mission, as quietly as possible.
"There are four. Two in leather, one in splint mail, the last in robes. The two in leather are of little consequence it seems, young but accustomed to fighting. They may be kin to one another, brothers or cousins. Rangers perhaps, their hands always close to their swords. The man in splint mail is cautious, taking his polearm with him even to piss. He is the muscle of the group."
"It is the last that worries me. He wears robes around fighting men, and takes the best, most secure position for himself. He is powerful, but bears no weapon I could see, and does not join in the conversations. Spellweaver is my guess."
He pauses before continuing.
"These are not Elise's men. At least not those we saw at the farm. And Elise is nowhere about."
"The tower is a ruin, with cracks throughout to see through. We might be able to fire arrows through, but I wouldn't risk it. Aiming would be like shooting in the dark. There is an opening I can squeeze through in the back of the tower, though I can't be sure you'd fit - at least without getting stuck or making noise."
"Part of me wants to investigate the back room, but the experiences of the last two days make me feel that we should go back and tell the others what we've seen and decide what to do next. What say you?"