Play@YSDC

You're able to get to the tower quickly. The interior is decorated with colourful frescoes of desert scenes, some with people, some just landscapes.

The Dotherites have managed to rent three rooms - your guide says they're happy to leave one for just the two of you. The rooms are on the ground floor, as they grow more expensive the further up you go. It's a twin - comfortable enough, though there's a constant noise from the docks outside.

"Thank you, this will do nicely," says Max. "Let's have a meal, and we can go over the plan while we eat."

You're able to get a meal of diced fish on a bed of rice, together with a unfamilar tasting alcoholic beverage.

The Dotherites have contacted some of their fellows in the city, and enlisted about a dozen as backup - they were willing to help when informed of the mission that had gotten Helmut into danger. Coupled with ones who travelled with you, that's nearly twenty - far too many to sneak in, even with a distraction, but should sneaking out prove harder, they may be able to come to your aid.

You have the scholars Laigan has rallied providing the distraction.

"We will help you save your friend," one of the Dotherites says, "but while within the temple we must search the brick cylinders for the fate of our city." His words remind you of Laigan's words - that he wants to help you in order to learn what the priests fear so much that they close off the temple to all comers. Everyone has their own agenda.

The Dotherites have also procured a selection of small clubs and knives. (Though Max also has the punch dagger where his gun would be).

"Very well," says Max. "It sounds like we have a good plan. We will want to purchase some equipment to aid us on our mission. What do the temple priests wear? If we dress ourselves similarly, it may help us avoid detection once inside, especially if they wear something like a hooded robe that could hide our faces. Other items such as ropes and lanterns may be useful too. If the two of us went to the market to make purchases tomorrow, we could be detected by the guards, but you and your friends could buy what we need discreetly. We can also try to use our dreaming abilities to create equipment that cannot be obtained here, though they do not always work."

"I asked this of one of my countrymen in the city. He said they wear white robes but not hoods."

"Perhaps there are cosmetics that would allow us to alter our faces and hair to look more like the priests, if you can describe them," says Max. "I never go in front of the camera without my face slathered with the stuff and my hair styled. It can take a while, but it helps that the makeup girl is pretty. Of course, the guy who plays the werewolf in the film I'm making has to take hours to get into his costume."

Several of the Dotherites are look at Max like he has three heads. After a few moments, one of them says, "We have not seen their faces, but they are said to come from all over the Dreamlands. Features like yours would be known among them."

[In any case, Laigan said there are only twelve priests. They likely know each other's face well enough to make such a deception impossible anyway]


Another answers Karl, "We shall find such robes for you."

"Thank you," says Max. "It may still help to alter our faces and hair just so that the guards do not recognize us if they see us. They know what the two of us look like."

"Ah yes, I see now. We shall search out these things for you."

"Thank you again," says Max. He looks over at Karl. "Anything else you can think of that we might need?"

"Luck" Karl replies. "Lots of it."

"I have a good supply of that," says Max.

Little remains but to turn in for the night, and to wait restlessly for much of the following morning. However, in the early afternoon, the Dotherites return. They have some white robes, and pastes that can be used to darken your skin and hair - while you can't forge a resemblance to the local inhabitants of the city, you can make yourselves relatively unrecognisable from your normal appearance.

In any case, it will be put to the test as the time for the raid draws close. Two of the Dotherites have procured robes for themselves and will go in with you (more than four people will make stealth impractical, even with the distraction).

When the time comes to leave, one of the other Dotherites runs ahead to warn the scholars to get their distraction going.

OOC,While Max has his punch-dagger, is he taking any of the other knives or clubs, and is Karl arming himself?

When yu approach the temple plaza, you can hear angry voices raised - shouts that the priests are failing the Great Ones, the gods built the temple to be a place where all could see knowledge, the gods will be angry that the temple is closed, that if the priests are no longer willing to serve the Great Ones they should be replaced with those who are - clearly Laigan was not exaggerating when he said there was anger among thsoe classes.

It's having the desired effect, drawing guards away from the temple to disperse them.

Max has taken a club, which he keeps concealed beneath his robe, tied to his belt. "Let's try the entrance I made," he whispers to the others.

Karl nods, his heart racing. He has concealed a club in his robes, but isn't very confident about using it.

For a moment it appears the the entrance Max made has gone, but then it becomes apparent that it's the original entrance that's now replaced by blank marble wall. In any case, both lead into the same chamber.

OOC,Group Stealth roll, 1D100: 18

Your group draws a few curious looks from bystanders in the plaza, but for the most part, both are looking at the disturbance - the guards are focussed on the shouting crowd, and you're able to get into the temple.

The entrance chamber is as you remember it, with the passageway opposite leading out. This quickly leads to a crossroads - left and right are long hallways lined with arched openings (presumably the cloister you were told about) - the doorway ahead of you is slightly offset from the passage you're in, but the light coming through it indicates that it leads to the courtyard.

"Let's try the unknown part of the complex first," whispers Max. "From the description, I think that would be to the right."

The arched openings on the rightward passage alternate left and right - the ones on the right leading toward the outer wall, the ones on the left leading toward the inner courtyard.
Through each of them is a small cell, with a marble table and bench, a few of the latter bearing cushions. Karl knows a place for a researcher to sit and work when he sees one, and it's obvious to him that this is the purpose these rooms serve - or perhaps served, in light of Laigan's account - if the whole cloister is taken up with rooms like this, there must be a few hundred of them, vastly more than the priests could need. When this place served the scholarly community it must have bustled like the markets and salon squares.

You reach the end of this hallways without any sign of variation - or use - in the rooms. At the end is larger, square, chamber with two other exits, both to your left - the further one leads to a continuation of the cloister - presumably still following the main wall. The nearer one leads out into the courtyard - you can see the central buildings from it - the closest is the unknown one, that Laigan had never entered, nor knew the purpose of.

"That's the one we want," whispers Max, pointing at the unknown building.