Yeah, either fellow traveller or Milanese envoy works by me (though the latter will run into some trust/believability issues IMO - even though they’re supposed to be hotshots in Milan AFAIK nobody there knows they’re booking it as of now).
Bungling bounty hunter sounds like a way to get scragged quick to me.
Mr. Moneybags said “arrest” so that’s what I’m going for… where the guy is concerned. Ain’t nobody said to arrest his witch cunny too and she’ll obviously be either trouble or a nag, so all bets are off as far as she’s concerned.
If at all reasonably possible we should try to take the sorc alive. If Joseph or Giacomo can get a knife to her throat she may surrender. But… as she’s likely to be the more dangerous of the two at the first sign of trouble it’s the crossbow. Are we certain it’s still just the two of them? They haven’t gotten any aid have they?
Also, if we’re staying put can I get the results of the [COLOR=Blue]Detect Magic spell I wanted to cast?[/COLOR] Otherwise, I want to cast the spell once we reach the ambush site.
Another idea: what about staging a failed assassination attempt outside their window? Joseph can easily find out what room they’re staying in, and then he can be “chasing” Giacomo off (at a safe distance away from spellcasting) just as one or both of them are looking out to see what all the commotion is about. From there, gaining their trust should be easy.
Seems a little overly complicated, with a lot of parts that could go wrong. I say the simple plan is the best. Wait outside town and pounce, though you certainly should try to ingratiate yourself so you can be traveling with them when we attack.
Okay, Joseph will maintain his donkey illusion until the party has made it past the town, and then double back to try and figure out where the two might be staying.
Zachary will be guided by those wiser in the ways of ambush. He has the option of giving a target a large dose of something malodorous which may incapacitate them long enough to be taken prisoner, but it does damage as well. A single stink bomb should not kill outright anyone with a shred of battle experience, though.
Harald would tend to agree - he’s a simple man with a simple plan :).
That being said, he won’t object to whatever shenanigans Giacomo & Joseph may want to run in town. They would know this stuff best, and it’s their necks.
The party slides by Pavia and gathers in a copse of woods on the north side of town. Joseph stashes some equipment with the party, secrets the rest on his person*, and walks into town. He quickly locates the inn and spots his targets through the window. They’re hunkered down in the corner near the door, eating a bowl of soup.
Solsken and Harald do a little scouting of the area. There aren’t any ideal spots for an ambush; this is flat farm country, and the road doesn’t go through any gullies or gulches, and only passes within a hundred yards of the copse of woods you’re currently in. Three spots stick out to you as the least-worst chances for an ambush:
1: The road runs next to a fallow field for almost fifty yards. The grasses are tall and would provide good cover. However, this is less than a quarter-mile outside the city walls, and might arouse attention.
2: The road runs underneath an ancient and giant oak tree about a mile further down the road. It’s right in the middle of a couple of recently-harvested field, and there isn’t any other cover. Still, that tree is full of thick, green leaves, and would provide good cover for a couple of attackers from above.
3: There’s a hedgerow running in alongside the road for about a hundred yards another mile and a half further on. It provides good cover, but there are only a few places thin enough to push through, and opposite the hedgerow is the country home of a minor Milanese baron. You have no idea who’s at home in that house right now.
4: That’s as far as you’ve scouted. You could try to shadow your targets along the road or bet on finding a better place by pushing on, but if you want to set up an ambush now instead of committing to finding a better place further on, these are your three best options.
I will hide slightly behind the Oak tree, at the approaching party’s ten o’clock. I will use my elven cloak for my full +18 to stealth. I will have my crossbow out and my sap where I can get it easily.
Yes, the tree can work. I have a… rural look about me, I could probably pretend to work the fields around a little ways before the tree and be dull enough that they won’t pay me any mind, even in plain sight, provided I take away my armour. There I’ll be able to cut their retreat. Solsken… same, probably, long as you keep that ugly mug of yours down - few peasants have ritual tattoos ! Taye should proooobably stay behind the tree. Not to many jack-a-moors tilling the Italian soil, and I’m not comfortable having a *firestarter *up in the flammable leaves and shoots.
And Jackimo and the portly fella can hide in the branches, drop down right on top of their heads and hopefully disable them before any magick even comes out their fingers.
I don’t think he really needs to stash much of anything. Joseph rides directly up to the inn, loudly rouses the stableboy and demands that his horse be rubbed down and fed (I assume the horse bears no royal livery or anything), and then heads into the dining room for a hot meal.
If at all possible, he’ll find a table with a couple other travelers at it that’s relatively close to the targets, and spend the evening loudly tells tales of his travels and exploits.
By the time they go up to bed, Joseph has figured out his portion of the plan. That serving girl looks awfully familiar, and an entry in his little black book confirms it. A little wink when she brings the next bottle of wine, a nod towards the kitchen, and soon enough she’s met him behind the kegs of ale.
“Ah, Teresa,” he says. “I was hoping you might do me a favor. Those two quiet ones who just went up to bed. They’re leaving early tomorrow, yes? They’ve asked that their meal be prepared and their horses be ready? When are they leaving, bella?”
If there’s room to be hidden properly, Taye will hide in the tree as well. If not I’ll try pretend to a farmer heading to work. I switched to the travel linens so I shouldn’t be to conspicuous. Once the ambush is triggered my first move will be to cast Daze at the sorceress.
Zachary should have no problem passing for a tatterdemalion pedlar with a heavy pack and a stone in his shoe, taking a pull from a bottle at a disrespectably early hour of the day. Hopefully the pair coming the other way will be at pains not to notice him in case he starts pestering them to buy some of his trash.
When the ambush starts Zach will, if necessary, wait for the other two spells to go off before lobbing a stink bomb at the sorceress. But if it looks like she is about to fire something at the pair in the tree and they haven’t got the drop on her after all, then he’ll go ahead without waiting further.
