March 2-3: The Old 19th and Events Thereafter

[Marullus]

"Then way we seek surely lies within the church below," rumbles Gul -Marach. He looks at Zaent. "If you are here, who follows them to mind their discoveries and progress?"

[Inferno]

Zaent Darkhand, elvish rogue:

"I do, once they let go of this rope. But surely I'm not going alone?" Zaent smiled.

[Fulci]

Ballar Uh, fighter/assassin

"Strange," Ballar Uh murmurs to himself."Why didn't they leave any guards at the entry point? Nevertheless, I am ready to descend with Zaent."

Then another question crawls into his mind and he turns to Gul-Marach:
"Vorn's man, and why did they bring those Penitents? Are they preparing for another ritual?"

[Marullus]

Gul-Marach, Priest of Vorn

He pulls on his beard as he thinks. "Did they bring the penitents, or do they remain there as a matter of course? There was no surprise in the marketplace at seeing the silent ones there. If we face spirits as I presume, the penitents are surely part of their containment, weaving the ritual and prayer to keep the walls sound as more than a barrier against more than the physical."

He looks over the others. "Let us divide ourselves, knowing what is before us. Those who can move unseen, go with Zaent. Remain close enough to watch and hear. Those who cannot remain with me, and we will come behind, close enough to hear a cry and come to aid, but hopefully unnoticed. Biblo, you mentioned invisibility? Can you conceal both groups or just the rear guard?"

[jellyfish]

Morgan/Thief

Morgan quietly steps up next to Zaent with a nod. She inspects each rope to make sure none have been trapped or purposefully set to loosen.

"I will go unseen. Zaent, will you give me the pleasure of joining me?"

[Inferno]

Zaent Darkhand, elvish rogue:

"The pleasure would be mine, duchess and mighty Ballar Uh," Zaent smiled.
Once the rope goes slack, he'll count to 20 and then quietly slide down it. His weight pulled the rope tight to ease the descent of those that followed.

[Fulci]

Ballar Uh, fighter/assassin

"Settled then. The three of us go ahead. But where is the sixth member of our party?" Ballar Uh asks, meaning Matthias. "Wait for him. If he doesn't show for more than five minutes, head down after us."

Ballar Uh stares into the abyss then slowly follows Zaent.

[Mister-Kent]

A reposting of the map whilst I calibrate my next post:

So the descent into the central crater begins where e'er there's red. The sharp drop-off near the church, where the Captain's group descended, is at the centeral circular area. B is the Church of Jovah, with steeple.

[Mister-Kent]

9:00 AM, The Old Nineteenth

Zaent
The ropes are taught for about three minutes as the soldiers descend, gradually and cautiously. When Zaent and his half of the party climb down, they find a landing in the form of a 10'x10' section of cobblestone street, uneven and cracked but still holding together. There are several piles of debris scattered between here and the church's main entrance, which the Captain is approaching with purpose in his step. His torch is not lit, but held aloft as if shining a path.

The church's main doors appear to be closed. There is some large markings on them, but they cannot be identified from this distance.

Zachariah
After the initial ruffling of feathers, the raven harrasses Zachariah no further, instead quietly observing the seagull from a safe distance. He'll occasionally caw and circle back towards the gathering scene, only to hurry to catch up with Zachariah once more.

The eastern inn is sealed up tight, its windows barred from within. The northern school has no noticeable barricades. On the contrary--it's large double doors are wide open. No life-signs stir around the inn, but there is something moving in the shadow of the school--towards the back, nearest to the ward's wall.

[Enoch]

Mathias approaches at a jog, pushing his hood back from his pale, bald scalp. "I apologize for the delay. I had to lead one of the Penitents off so they did not harrass us."

[Grognardsw]

Biblo, illusionist

Gul-Marach, Priest of Vorn

"Biblo, you mentioned invisibility? Can you conceal both groups or just the rear guard?"

"The invisibility dweomer is not currently memorized," responds Biblo. "I do have an additional phantasm spell, but would rather that be saved for an emergency. Let us stay to shadows, behind ruins and corners."

He stares about into the shadows and darkness, hoping his infravision may detect lurking dangers.

[Inferno]

Hi. Real quick:

Group 1: Ballar Uh, Morgan, Zaent

Group 2: Gul-Marach

Which group does everyone else pick?

[Enoch]

I believe Mathias is in Group 2 by default.

Mathias nods in agreement."I have some skill at illusions as well, but they are wearying to cast. It would be wasteful to use them now. If you like, I will follow behind, and...deal with anyone who seeks to follow us into the ruins."

[Pulpatoon]

The northern school has no noticeable barricades. On the contrary--it's large double doors are wide open. No life-signs stir around the inn, but there is something moving in the shadow of the school--towards the back, nearest to the ward's wall.

The seagull flies closer to inspect the signs of movement. If it is necessary to get closer, he will land a discreet distance from the activity and pick at some garbage while spying things out.

[Inferno]

Zaent Darkhand, elvish rogue:

Zaent perched on his cracked ledge of cobblestone and silently waited for the captain and his men to enter the doomed, sunken church.

[Mister-Kent]

9:10 AM

Zachariah Tar
The shadow is only visible for brief moments before disappearing into down a flight of external steps at the rear of the school, through what looks like a cellar entrance. It is vaguely humanesque, about five feet tall, with a quick loping stride. It's wearing some sort of clothing of a ragged and unidentifiable style.

There are debris piles around both sides of the building. Sifting through the trash while spying upon the dark figure, Zachariah finds a long, slim bone, the size of a human femur. There is a trail of many similar bones leading all the way to the school's gaping front entrance, from which wafts a persistent smell of something burning. Incense, or perhaps fragrant candles.

Forward Shadow Party - Ballar Uh, Morgan, Zaent Darkhand
It's light out now, and in fact becoming quite bright as the sun rises higher, though there are still many shadows down here in the lower pit level of the crater. Plenty of places to skulk for skilled rogues.

Up ahead, the Captain pauses at the doors, looking at the markings. He hastily begins to wipe some of the markings away, shouting something inaudible to his men, and then opens the church's doors. He enters with all four men, leaving the doors wide open. The last soldier inside takes up a position just inside the door, and stands at attention while his comrades proceed. When his companions are presumably out of sight, he breaks his guard posture and begins reading something--a small scroll or suchlike.

Rear Mystic Party - Gul-Marach, Biblo Phyle, Mathias
All's well so far, as the shadowers drop into scouting mode…

[Inferno]

Zaent Darkhand, elvish rogue:

Zaent slunk quietly closer and around, to the side of the doomed church, avoiding the reading guard. He looked for a broken window that would let him spy inside the church to see what the captain and his men were doing.

[Pulpatoon]

Zacharias Tar, bone-picker.

The seagull rolls the femur-like bone back and forth with one webbed foot, looking for either the short indentations of teeth marks, or the long, straight incisions of a knife.

After that, the seagull takes to the sky again, to inspect the progress around the sink-hole.

[Fulci]

Ballar Uh, fighter/assassin

The Captain and his soldiers clearly know more about this place than the Delvers - time to gather information!
While Zaent is trying to get a glance inside, Ballar Uh decides to inspect the whole perimeter of the building, looking for entry points, weaknesses in the ruined structure.

How big is the building? What's its configuration like? Is it possible to walk around it? Is there a second level, etc.

[Inferno]

Hi,
Grognard, you haven't picked a team yet. One possible interpretation of the below quote is that Phyle is in the advance team, as dawn has broken on the 19th ward. Or not.

He stares about into the shadows and darkness, hoping his infravision may detect lurking dangers.

Fwiw, it may not be best to have all our casters in group 2, and none in group 1.

Kent, if Biblo chose team 2, is it too late to backcall Zaent asking him, or Mathias, to join team 1 before we descended? Thanks.