[Just want to go on record as using my no-leaving-tracks skill, even tho it is default…]
Hopefully the other six greenhorns and a herd of horses won’t give you away 
Can I use my Perception skill to give us a clue on the best option? My Survival skill is useless I’m sure.
You pack up camp quickly, mount your horses, and bolt for Piacenze and your bridge. It’s an ancient stone bridge in the heart of the old Roman city of Piacenza, which has lost importance since it was eclipsed by Milan and Genoa in the last few decades. You clatter through town and bolt toward Milan, heading for the intersection of the old Roman highway and the dirt track that your suspects are traveling on.
When the sun is finally setting over the hills, you’re about thirty miles outside of Milan and your suspects have taken up a room at a cheap inn in Pavia. They’re only about twenty miles from Milan. You’re only ten miles away from them. Do you push on, or wait for morning?
“Inns mean witnesses and innocent bystanders. Trouble with the militia, too - in my experience they don’t take kindly on murder and kidnapping. I say we push on through dusk and past Pavia, make a discreet camp someplace we can see the road but maybe not be seen from it. Lie. Wait. Furbish our weapons and our dastardliness for the deeds to come in the morn. No fires ! Bread and cold meat tonight.”
I should note that Solsken’s falcon is keeping an eye on the suspects; that’s how you know they’re at the inn.
“Aye, push on is my recommendation as well. But if she is a sorceress of illusions, she will be less effective in the broad sunshine, so that must be when we lay our trap.”
My bird sleeps near their inn with one eye open (which is how they often sleep, taking very short cat naps).
Giacomo is not a big fan of roughing it, to put it mildly, but he will do it if he has to, and he sees the wisdom in this plan.
Hey guys, sorry! Last week was spring break and I was doing what all teachers do on spring break: avoiding absolutely all responsibilities whenever and wherever possible.
Joseph considers this, then nods.
“It’s a good idea. I only have one possible addition. I can take a room at the inn and ask, in a very indiscrete manner, after two criminals fitting their undisguised description. If I’m lucky, this may put them at ease and give the ambush an extra edge.”
He pauses.
“If I’m lucky and good, I may be able to talk my way into traveling with them. It depends on how confident they are in their illusions and whether they want to risk trying to murder me en route to Milan.”
The party pushes forward to the outskirts of Pavia. The town has mostly put itself to sleep by this late hour (it’s well after midnight) and most of the lights in town are out. Are you going into town? Searching out a good location for an ambush? Catching some shut-eye for the action tomorrow?
Into town in the middle of the night ? Nah, not all of us, we’ll be taken for marauders, thieves, brigands and worse. But if our lad Joseph wants to go and do a spot of sneaking around and maybe infiltrate our little friends, I see no problem with that. I mean, at worse he’ll be caught and hanged or beaten but I’m sure he won’t give away his mates, will he ? WILL HE ?
As for the rest of us, we oughta push on a little further, just a little further, out of sight of the town walls at least so as not to give away the game. I’ll take first watch.
That’s a great point. If we decide not to go into town as a party, Joseph will cast silent image as the group approaches town, replacing the party with an image of a small merchant’s wagon being pulled by donkeys. As long as we skirt the town, the noise discrepancy shouldn’t be a problem, and Joseph can head back on his lonesome afterwards if that’s the plan.
I’m staying in the woods.
Giacomo* really* wants to go into town. However he can’t think of much reason for him to do so. He doesn’t want to take the wizard on himself, and wouldn’t be much good chasing after them. So he will stay in the woods.
Taye will stay at the camp with the group members that do not go into town. Once camp is established he will cast [COLOR=“Blue”]Detect Magic and try to determine if the sorceress is doing anything other than sleeping.[/COLOR]
to Harald
“Friend, do try to ensure that no rodents make off with the rest of our provisions. Heh, Heh.”
“Friends, if we are to capture these people, we will need everyone at the ambush. If Joseph thinks he can ingratiate himself with the targets, then I won’t argue that with him. But no one should go into town who doesn’t have a good reason for it. Believe me, I would like a civilized room more than most of you, yet I will freeze in the woods for the sake of the plan.”
So Joseph is heading into town to look around. Do you folks want to scout around for the right place for an ambush, or what?
Scouting around in the dark would seem rather difficult to me :), but I’ll throw in a Survival and/or Perception check if it helps. Mostly I figure the best we can do at this point is bivouac somewhere that can’t be seen from the town so as not to alert our quarry before they even leave the safety of its walls, and that’ll let us watch the road so they won’t just slip by us.
By the way if someone could have the idea to [COLOR=Blue]Minor Image an open field over our camp/ambush spot in case of bird spying & scrying ; that could be swell :).[/COLOR]
So which ploy shall I go with? I could try posing as a fellow traveler, I could go with the incompetent bounty hunter trick, or I could even try masquerading as an ally of the Doge of Milan who has been sent to provide escort (though this would require a good reason as to how I arrived so quickly).
Spells:
I have Entangle to stop them dead in their tracks, Faerie Fire to suss out illusions or invisibility or such, and Longstrider to chase down anyone who tries to flee.
I’d think fellow traveller is more believable, if you can join their group you can either lead them into the ambush or backstab the sorceress at an opportune moment.
Are we going to even pretend to take them alive or is it shoot on sight?