Into the castle!

[Breila]

"Who are all you people?" Erika asks, backing away a bit and taking the light with her. She seems ready to blow it out.

[Jenara]

"Well I'm a barmaid.." Eloise smiles. "Eloise Staal.. My sister Thelma is up there, along with Christopher, Dale and Saul.. We came here to help you, and get you out of here." She grins. "You can be frightened and stay here, or... you can take a chance and trust us."

[Breila]

Erika seems to relax a bit. "So many people!" she exclaims.

"I cannot climb up the wall like you" she admits. "Your friends will have to open the trapdoor again and lower the rope so I can step into the noose, then pull me up. If you came to get me out of here, that is."

[Stik]

"We are here to get you out and bring you home. People in the village are missing you."

[OOC] How far down is it to the floor of the room? And she mentioned "the rope" as opposed to "a rope." Is there a rope in this room that might have been used to put her down there? [/OOC]

[Breila]

This is part of the very first description of the enry room of the old keep (p. 37):

The door gives access to a room that is much darker than the outside, because it has no windows, only a few loopholes. Once her eyes adjust to the low light, Eloise sees a single large room that makes up the entire floor of the keep. A few stone steps lead up to a coarse wooden floor. From the centre of the ceiling hangs a rope with a very large loop, and a basked tied to it. Underneath that there might be a trapdoor, but Eloise can't be sure from where she stands.

A few posts later:

The stone steps are perfectly safe, and the wooden planks that make up the main part of the floor feel sturdy enough to support even Christopher's weight. Going forward, he notices that there is indeed a trapdoor below the hanging basket. To his right, he sees that the length of the rope is wound around two hooks fixed to the wall. There isn't much dust here, but the wear pattern of the planks suggest that people walk from the door to the trapdoor and to the hooks with the rope more often than to the ladder in the niche or the stairs that lead upwards.

Maybe you thought it was a red herring, but no one ever even looked at this. Saul had the basket hanging over his head when he opened the trapdoor...

[Stik]

[OOC] Just plain forgot about that post. That's the problem with the pace of PBMB games. Two minutes to a PC can be two months in real time. [/OOC]

Christopher says to the others: "Let us get them out of there, then." Then he pauses for a second, clearly deep in thought, before continuing. "I just had an uncomfortable thought: if I were the enemy, I would wait until all of us were busy at some task and take advantage of that distraction to launch my attack. What better time to do so than while we are all hauling up a basket, or watching it get hauled up?
"Dale and I can make short work of lifting the basket, I am sure, but we had best keep careful watch. Saul, will you take Thelma with you and watch the door? If those men show up, shout out and I will move to the door to support you while Dale handles the basket. Dale, you can handle the weight of one girl alone, if I have to defend the door, yes? Lower her back down, or lift her the rest of the way, whichever is closer.

Assuming nobody has no objections, Christopher will loosen the rope and move the basket into position.

"Eloise, we will bring you up now. One at a time, if you please. You first, then Erica."


[OOC] I am trying to walk a thin line here between the modern-day politeness/consideration of discussing a plan amongst the players and the in-character directness of Christopher, who is used to military discipline and to being a member of the noble class.
And in case anyone is wondering why I said for Eloise to go first, well, that's me thinking ahead. If things are not what they seem, and Erica turns out to be unfriendly, I'd rather have her down there and Eloise up here, than to have Erica up here, unwatched, while we are lifting Eloise out. Call me paranoid, if you must, but better safe than sorry. And if things are what they seem, then if we should happen to get attacked during the process of lifting them up, Erica will be safe in her room during the fight. (Sorry, Jen, but Eloise signed up for an adventure. Erica did not. ) [/OOC]

[Jenara]

"Take her up, I'll climb. The walls are easy, and it will be quicker. Thelma please look after her when she gets up." The young girl reaches for a handhold.

1d100=8 pass

[Ismaels-Legacy]

Saul nods in agreement and goes to the closest door. He takes up a position just along the edge of the door frame so he can see out, but it would be difficult to see him from outside.

[Breila]

Dale and Christopher open the trapdoor and lower the rope with the basket through it while Thelma and Saul guard the door and the bridge. Eloise climbs back up the wall and the ladder.

As soon as Christopher and Dale hear the thud of the basket on the floor (it goes down quite a way, they have to play out nearly all the rope), they feel a soft tug on it. "Pull it up a little ways so I can climb into the noose" calls the frmale voice from below. It directs them in a friendly manner to stop, then they feel a heavier pull on the rope and then Erika saays "Fine, I'm ready".

All Thelma and Saul can see outside is a nice ealry simmer afternoon. Nothing moves in the courtyard, only Mathias is absorbed in the study of the plants of the old garden.

[Stik]

Christopher waits for Eloise to reach the top and climb out into the room. To Eloise, he says "Once she gets up here, I would have you and your sister keep an eye on her.
"Please," he adds, belatedly.
Then he calls down to Erica: "Up you go, then," before lifting her to the top, as quickly as is practical.


[OOC] @ Breila - Sure, it's all quiet outside. But better to be safe than sorry, you know? I've been a gamer for a very long time, and I know that bad things happen when your PCs get too complacent. [/OOC]

[Breila]

Erika is lifted up to the main room of the keep without trouble, since the equipment used was meant for this. She looks at everyone in the group, then asks: "Right, waht do you want me to do for you?"


[OOC] This was written as an introductory adventure for teenage girls, to get them to know the game mechanics, so it was probably a little boring to all you experienced players. I took it here at Pixie chic's request provide some entertainment over last summer, and it took us almost a year....
The goal of the adventure is reached, how do we go on? There are still parts of the palas that can be explored.
I must admit that I have not yet taken the time to write any follow-up adventure or even devote much tought to it. Given my schedule for the coming weeks, this is unlikely to happen before mid-September. If you're interested at all, that is. [/OOC]

[Jenara]

"I not planning on letting her out of my sight." Eloise replies as she reaches the ladder. "Do for us? No we are here to help you, we are getting you out of here."

(Ooc well we can get her back to the inn, and go from there.)

[Stik]

"There are two things that you can do for us, I think. The first is to stay close to us and out of harm's way until we can return you to the village.
"The second thing is a bit more...complicated. We were told that you had been captured and imprisoned. There are four men locked away downstairs that we believe to be your abductors. If they indeed have held you against your will, or have harmed you, they will need to answer for that. Can you tell us what happened, and identify your captors if need be?" Christopher does his best to sound caring and supportive, although he is completely out of his depths in this situation.

[Breila]

Erika looks at Christopher with big round eyes. "You mean... they are going to be punished? For harming a girl who is just stepdaugher, servant and toerag to a village inn?" she shakes her head. "They will say that they never harmed me. They took me with them, yes, and didn#t allow me to leave the castle, but they didn't beat me."

[Stik]

"Where I come from, taking someone against their will is a crime, regardless of whether they physically harmed you. But you must tell the truth of what happened, and not be afraid of them, else they will go free and may come back to harm you again.
"But before we take you home, is there anything you need to tell us? If you were not there under duress, best you tell me the truth now, before I drag these men before a constable."