Planning A Rescue
"Very well then," Rickter queued in, "we all know what's at stake and we know the risks we're taking... Now, I think we should discuss the finer points of our operation."
"Good idea," Patrick agreed, "How do we plan to infiltrate the capitol proper? They're not going to just let a Kalzasern aircraft fly freely into their skies."
"Quite right." Otis remarked with a glance down to his documents, already filing one from the stack in order to release it into the air. A gentle flux of Kinetic energy caused the parchment to gradually drift over the table, so that the Barnells as well as Rickter and Telion could glance over it's contents. "Last time we managed to slip into their borders, we operated as privateers and kept our presence minimal. This time around, we'll have to conduct our business there legitimately."
What Elinora and the Barnells soon held looked to be an official document that granted them shipping rights, as well as a trade agreement from a company Rickter did not recognize. "The downside is that we'll have to pay for this venture out of pocket, so the House coffers are going to take a minor dive for the time being. But what you're reading there is a request to deal in supply and trade with businesses within Gel'Grandal."
"If I may darling?" The feminine voice of his wife Selene chimed in after his statement, as the grizzled old man gave her a permitting nod to carry on. "It took a bit of persuasive effort on our part, which is why the expenses for our venture are coming out of our own pockets. Under that condition though, House Edelna has agreed to help fulfill our request to make way for the Imperium. We're to ship materials that House Veyl will allow us to carry, and use that as a means of trade to return with as much Imperial tech as we can stock."
"I didn't realize House Edelna was interested in Imperial Tech." Rickter admitted with high regard to the proud lady who stood next to Otis. "These documents are official?"
"Absolutely, you can see the stamp of the House next to the signature." She instructed with a slight raise of her shoulder, the credibility of her smile enough to please the wolf altogether.
"Well then, we should concern ourselves with sky pirates, in the event the skies within and around the Imperium remain a danger for air travel." Elinora weighed in afterward with a thoughtful glance toward everyone in the group, the parchment in her hand released to drift back toward Otis and Selene in return.
"During our first venture there, we utilized Scrivening to create a few different effects that kept the ship hidden. I'm certain we could achieve the same thing again, if we paint on the ship's exterior like before, and then utilize either a combination of Negation and Masquerade Runes to mask the ship's presence." Telion soon spoke in turn, implicating that a similar approach might work a second time, if they were crafty and considerate with their resources.
"That'll have to do for now." Otis remarked with a nodding glance to Telion before his eyes fell back onto a diagram of an airship. "I've thought about devices that could be commissioned by a Runeforger, as Rami would like to refine her craft and knowledge on artifact pieces useful for aircraft schematics." The younger lady with brown hair and vividly confident eyes grinned, which led Rickter to lightly smile at her eagerness in response. "In the meantime we'll have to make do with resources such as Spellwright's Ink, Sorcerer's Sand, and even Aetheryte crystals to supplement the arcane works in play."
"Telion taught me a lot about schema and we even have had a few lessons from Lady Lyra herself." The wolf responded in turn with a thoughtful glance at his beloved. "We'll work with you on whatever the best design would be for the schema, and of course, our powers combined in Negation should benefit the defenses well enough."
"Well that makes the trip down there thought out at least." Hannah remarked with her arms folded beneath her bosom. "What's the plan for infiltrating the Inquisition? A daring rescue will undoubtedly take time to scope out their headquarters, not to mention, the information gathering necessary to coordinate such a heist."
"The informant Ma has mentioned is a close friend of the family." Patrick remarked with a regarding smile at the rogue. "She won't be an infiltrator per se, but she'll be willing to help the cause." Somehow Rickter could tell the Atinoran had a bit of history with the woman, although, left that to rest given the importance of the meeting at hand.
"I intend to send word with Mr. Maze to inform her of the current situation. Once she's made aware of everything, I'm certain she'll assist in every which way she can." Elinora also added in with her index finger pointed upward in tandem.
"I see." Hannah then looked at Trevor considerably as he raised an eyebrow in response to her appraisal. "I'll come up with a list of names for her then, it won't be very many unfortunately, but she and Trevor can use them to curry more favors since a few people owe me already."
"It'll be a bit of a game then," the black-robed sorcerer mused with a twirl of his mustache, "one where subterfuge and even blackmail might have to come into play." Hannah nodded along almost proudly to the suggestion. "Reconnecting with my family will take a bit of time if I want to avoid raising suspicions with them. Not like I suspect we'll be spending a significant amount of time on this elaborate ruse already."
"I would advise patience and caution during this venture." Telion softly urged with a polite smile toward Trevor, though of course, the notion was meant for all parties involved. "The Empire always has ways and means of discovering things, which is why this whole operation is going to require a lot of private communication and relay. Discretion and subtlety are our greatest weapons here, so when the time comes, we need to make sure everyone is prepared to make for an escape."
"I have to agree." Otis admitted thoughtfully with an approving gaze on the blonde bard. "While we're operating on a business front during our visitation, we cannot simply stay idle in the city while everyone else does their part. We'll establish private channels for communication when we're in the city, but the ship itself will have to at least detour every now and then to make it look like it's remaining a transport vessel."
"So that means we'll be hiding out in Gel'grandal for several months at least." Trevor highlighted with another twirl of his mustache. "I think I'll have enough leverage with a few members of the family in that time. Any chance that friend of yours will have the information needed to slip in the Inquisition undetected?"
"She'll have help from a couple of Pathfinders of the Order, so I'm certain we'll find something substantial we can use in that time frame." Erikson chimed in on Elinora's behalf before the lady could respond, to which, she then smiled appreciatively with a polite hand gesture toward Rickter's uncle.
"Well then I'm sold! Let's go down and see what mayhem we might unravel while we're down there." Trevor mused with a playful grin across his lips.
"Let's keep the mayhem to a minimum please..." The wolf remarked lowly with a minor hint of regret, though, the comment somehow warranted a chuckle from those gathered around the table. "On a more serious note, please, avoid taking unnecessary risks while you're all down there. The Empire will likely expect a rescue but so long as they can't anticipate when, then it's safe to say we need only to generate this window of opportunity. Plot together patiently, coordinate efforts efficiently, and most importantly; come back home safe and sound all together. Understand?"
Everyone nodded and confirmed their agreement to his conditions, to which, Rickter humbly bowed his head appreciatively toward them all in turn. "Now, as much ground as we've covered on the basis of this plan, I feel we can cover likely scenarios over lunch." Eating food would keep everyone motivated and in high spirits after all, not only that, the smell of beef and noodles tickled his nostrils with their savory soupy brew. "Let's call it a break for now, I'm certain we're all rather hungry."
In all their different nuances the context was the same, everyone agreed that some lunch shared between them would continue to encourage their spirits. Discussion and mealtime went hand in hand after all, and Rickter felt confident they would cover a lot together, when they would explore the possibilities of what could happen during their time in Gel'Grandal. It wouldn't be until a few days later, after significant changes happen and unexpected developments arise, that the group would finally set off with all their preparations complete.
The operation to rescue Albert and Burt would begin with the family's airship on the horizon of Kalzasi's borders.
Ash 9th, 122nd Year, A.o.S.
"Good idea," Patrick agreed, "How do we plan to infiltrate the capitol proper? They're not going to just let a Kalzasern aircraft fly freely into their skies."
"Quite right." Otis remarked with a glance down to his documents, already filing one from the stack in order to release it into the air. A gentle flux of Kinetic energy caused the parchment to gradually drift over the table, so that the Barnells as well as Rickter and Telion could glance over it's contents. "Last time we managed to slip into their borders, we operated as privateers and kept our presence minimal. This time around, we'll have to conduct our business there legitimately."
What Elinora and the Barnells soon held looked to be an official document that granted them shipping rights, as well as a trade agreement from a company Rickter did not recognize. "The downside is that we'll have to pay for this venture out of pocket, so the House coffers are going to take a minor dive for the time being. But what you're reading there is a request to deal in supply and trade with businesses within Gel'Grandal."
"If I may darling?" The feminine voice of his wife Selene chimed in after his statement, as the grizzled old man gave her a permitting nod to carry on. "It took a bit of persuasive effort on our part, which is why the expenses for our venture are coming out of our own pockets. Under that condition though, House Edelna has agreed to help fulfill our request to make way for the Imperium. We're to ship materials that House Veyl will allow us to carry, and use that as a means of trade to return with as much Imperial tech as we can stock."
"I didn't realize House Edelna was interested in Imperial Tech." Rickter admitted with high regard to the proud lady who stood next to Otis. "These documents are official?"
"Absolutely, you can see the stamp of the House next to the signature." She instructed with a slight raise of her shoulder, the credibility of her smile enough to please the wolf altogether.
"Well then, we should concern ourselves with sky pirates, in the event the skies within and around the Imperium remain a danger for air travel." Elinora weighed in afterward with a thoughtful glance toward everyone in the group, the parchment in her hand released to drift back toward Otis and Selene in return.
"During our first venture there, we utilized Scrivening to create a few different effects that kept the ship hidden. I'm certain we could achieve the same thing again, if we paint on the ship's exterior like before, and then utilize either a combination of Negation and Masquerade Runes to mask the ship's presence." Telion soon spoke in turn, implicating that a similar approach might work a second time, if they were crafty and considerate with their resources.
"That'll have to do for now." Otis remarked with a nodding glance to Telion before his eyes fell back onto a diagram of an airship. "I've thought about devices that could be commissioned by a Runeforger, as Rami would like to refine her craft and knowledge on artifact pieces useful for aircraft schematics." The younger lady with brown hair and vividly confident eyes grinned, which led Rickter to lightly smile at her eagerness in response. "In the meantime we'll have to make do with resources such as Spellwright's Ink, Sorcerer's Sand, and even Aetheryte crystals to supplement the arcane works in play."
"Telion taught me a lot about schema and we even have had a few lessons from Lady Lyra herself." The wolf responded in turn with a thoughtful glance at his beloved. "We'll work with you on whatever the best design would be for the schema, and of course, our powers combined in Negation should benefit the defenses well enough."
"Well that makes the trip down there thought out at least." Hannah remarked with her arms folded beneath her bosom. "What's the plan for infiltrating the Inquisition? A daring rescue will undoubtedly take time to scope out their headquarters, not to mention, the information gathering necessary to coordinate such a heist."
"The informant Ma has mentioned is a close friend of the family." Patrick remarked with a regarding smile at the rogue. "She won't be an infiltrator per se, but she'll be willing to help the cause." Somehow Rickter could tell the Atinoran had a bit of history with the woman, although, left that to rest given the importance of the meeting at hand.
"I intend to send word with Mr. Maze to inform her of the current situation. Once she's made aware of everything, I'm certain she'll assist in every which way she can." Elinora also added in with her index finger pointed upward in tandem.
"I see." Hannah then looked at Trevor considerably as he raised an eyebrow in response to her appraisal. "I'll come up with a list of names for her then, it won't be very many unfortunately, but she and Trevor can use them to curry more favors since a few people owe me already."
"It'll be a bit of a game then," the black-robed sorcerer mused with a twirl of his mustache, "one where subterfuge and even blackmail might have to come into play." Hannah nodded along almost proudly to the suggestion. "Reconnecting with my family will take a bit of time if I want to avoid raising suspicions with them. Not like I suspect we'll be spending a significant amount of time on this elaborate ruse already."
"I would advise patience and caution during this venture." Telion softly urged with a polite smile toward Trevor, though of course, the notion was meant for all parties involved. "The Empire always has ways and means of discovering things, which is why this whole operation is going to require a lot of private communication and relay. Discretion and subtlety are our greatest weapons here, so when the time comes, we need to make sure everyone is prepared to make for an escape."
"I have to agree." Otis admitted thoughtfully with an approving gaze on the blonde bard. "While we're operating on a business front during our visitation, we cannot simply stay idle in the city while everyone else does their part. We'll establish private channels for communication when we're in the city, but the ship itself will have to at least detour every now and then to make it look like it's remaining a transport vessel."
"So that means we'll be hiding out in Gel'grandal for several months at least." Trevor highlighted with another twirl of his mustache. "I think I'll have enough leverage with a few members of the family in that time. Any chance that friend of yours will have the information needed to slip in the Inquisition undetected?"
"She'll have help from a couple of Pathfinders of the Order, so I'm certain we'll find something substantial we can use in that time frame." Erikson chimed in on Elinora's behalf before the lady could respond, to which, she then smiled appreciatively with a polite hand gesture toward Rickter's uncle.
"Well then I'm sold! Let's go down and see what mayhem we might unravel while we're down there." Trevor mused with a playful grin across his lips.
"Let's keep the mayhem to a minimum please..." The wolf remarked lowly with a minor hint of regret, though, the comment somehow warranted a chuckle from those gathered around the table. "On a more serious note, please, avoid taking unnecessary risks while you're all down there. The Empire will likely expect a rescue but so long as they can't anticipate when, then it's safe to say we need only to generate this window of opportunity. Plot together patiently, coordinate efforts efficiently, and most importantly; come back home safe and sound all together. Understand?"
Everyone nodded and confirmed their agreement to his conditions, to which, Rickter humbly bowed his head appreciatively toward them all in turn. "Now, as much ground as we've covered on the basis of this plan, I feel we can cover likely scenarios over lunch." Eating food would keep everyone motivated and in high spirits after all, not only that, the smell of beef and noodles tickled his nostrils with their savory soupy brew. "Let's call it a break for now, I'm certain we're all rather hungry."
In all their different nuances the context was the same, everyone agreed that some lunch shared between them would continue to encourage their spirits. Discussion and mealtime went hand in hand after all, and Rickter felt confident they would cover a lot together, when they would explore the possibilities of what could happen during their time in Gel'Grandal. It wouldn't be until a few days later, after significant changes happen and unexpected developments arise, that the group would finally set off with all their preparations complete.
The operation to rescue Albert and Burt would begin with the family's airship on the horizon of Kalzasi's borders.
"Every side attacks you when you don't pick sides."
