Session 1

"I'm heading out!" you announce.  "Well, not now.  Tonight.  Once it's dark."

"Are you sure?  People seem to have a thing about witches sneaking around at night lately."

You fold your arms.  "Well, that's why I'll be wearing a disguise."

"What, going to wear a heavy cloak or something?  That won't draw any suspicions."  He walks over and flicks your ear-fin.  "Sure, it'll cover these, but I think less eyes is better."

"OK, but we need to go get her out of-"

"Calm down.  Hold on a minute, I've got a disguise kit.  Let me see..."

"I'm an undine.  It's going to take more than a little makeup..."

"It's not about the makeup, it's about making people not give you a second glance.  A wanted criminal wouldn't be walking around in the open, right?  Most people will assume they're surely mistaken about thinking you're the one from the wanted poster without a second thought.  We just need to make you look different enough that anyone who's seen your poster thinks you're a different undine."  He produces a few brushes and paints.  "Easy enough."

"Ugh...  Do we really have time for this?" you demand.  Definitely not just because you hate the feeling of makeup.

"I know your sense of time's messed up from being underground so long, but sunset's not for a few hours..."

The door opens as the Strix and her hound slink in.  "What are you doing?"

"Getting ready to sneak out and investigate tonight," he says.

"Mm.  Good.  It's been 2 days.  About time we acted."  The Strix walks over to her bedroll and flops down without another word, her dog curling up beside her.  "Wake me when it's time."

"Been out gathering information?" he asks.

"Big fight at one of the churches in the south end last night," she says.  "Some adventurers busting up a Selune cult."

"Oh, fun," he says without looking away from your face, inching those accursed brushes closer.  "Shame we missed out."

"Focus," you say.

"Right...  As for outfits, this dancer get-up isn't going to work, obviously.  No heavy cloaks.  Something that says you belong out in public - you're no criminal, after all.  Right?"

Later that night, as the sun has set, you venture out in your fancy, ankle-length dress, nearly tripping every few steps in these blasted high heels.  "Witches do not wear ballgowns," you mutter under your breath.

The human, dressed in a suit as your butler, smiles.  "They do not.  And that's the point, remember?"

"I hate that you're right," you say.  You look back at the Strix, trailing you at a distance in her usual outfit.  With a sigh, you hold your folding fan, flipping it playfully as you consider your next move.

(A) Go check out some bars
(B) See if anyone's still in the main markets
(C) Investigate the BATTLE CHURCH
(D) Ask some local guards what all the hub-bub is
(E) Screw it, ask around close to the lord's manor and dungeon
(F) Screw it harder, time for a jailbreak
(G) Check around the docks where you were fighting the inquisitor
(H) Scout out the manor stealthily
(I) Try to find the adventurers that took down the Selune cult

Hmmnnnn hmmmm Well we are looking for Elf sooooooooo.... G

You think for a bit.  "Well...  She probably already cleaned up any evidence around the docks.  Maybe we could find a dockworker who saw something, but I'd rather take my chances at the market.  Less suspicious."

"Good answer," your not-really-butler says.

You proceed to the market and find there's still quite a few people going about business even this late at night, illuminated by a series of candles.  Most of the stalls are empty, leaving just a small cluster in one corner.

You intercept a middle-aged woman that looks fond of gossip.  "Excuse m- ahem.  Attention, peasant."

"I- wh- sorry?" she asks, taken aback.

"We have recently returned from a business venture and require information," you say, adding an exaggerated lilt to your voice, face hidden behind your fan.  "What news from his lordship?  I've heard some manner of crime is afoot."

"Oh, that?" the lady asks.  "Well I heard they were planning to execute some elf the other day-"

"Wh-what!?"

"Yeah, but then they went and called it off."  The lady shrugs.  "Said the real culprit was found."

"A-ah.  Yes.  Thank you.  For your efforts."  You drop a silver coin towards her, and she barely snatches it in mid-air.  You turn, dropping your act and muttering to your human companion.  "Execution!?"

"It's fine."  He waves dismissively.  "One of my buddies in the town guard told me they put out that fake announcement hoping to draw us out."

"Oh...  Oh, yes, of course.  Obviously!"

You spend some more time poking around the market gathering information.  You do find someone who mentions there being a loud ruckus the night before.  And another mentions seeing a blue-skinned lady in suspiciously witchy robes (before looking at you more closely) being taken off.  What you can't find is any mention of what happened to the elf.

"In that case, she's probably still being held in the lord's manor proper, instead of moved to one of the smaller prisons," the human muses.  "On the one hand, we know the layout of that dungeon now.  On the other hand, we did just infiltrate it a few days ago.  Hm.  Well, at least the penalty for breaking you out seems to be a lot less now that you're not wanted for murder and kidnapping!"

"Oh, I love not being wanted for murder and kidnapping," you say, stumbling as you walk.  "But it doesn't help..."

(A) We investigate the blue witch more!  If we can make a break in their case, maybe we can use it as leverage
(B) Oh well, let's find a new 4th party member
(C) Jailbreak time
(D) Wait to see if conditions improve
(E) What if we hire a third party to try to find out her sentence and/or pay any fines?
(F) What if I go and cause a lot of trouble and make a distraction for YOU to do a jailbreak?
(G) Demand an audience with that asshat magus so you can demand she release your elf-friend who broke you out for being arrested for something you clearly didn't do

You're bored, bored, bored out of your skull rotting in that stupid dry basement with no one but your familiar for company, but you decide to head back for the night.  Still wanted, so best not to push your luck with this incredibly great disguise and your amazing acting too far.  Sooner or later someone will get lucky enough to realize you're an Undine, and if they start asking questions about your noble house or whatever - considering there aren't any Undine nobles in the area - it might get annoying.

You return to the basement and immediately scoop up your axolotl.  "So, what now?"

"I don't know," your teammate says.  He freezes, drawing a crossbow and turning to face the door as it creaks open.

The Strix walks in, hound close behind.  "Managed to get some dinner," she says, tossing you a bundled kerchief.  "Pretty sure they think I just got it for Dog."

You unwrap the pouch to find some raw fish.  Delicious, at least.  "Thanks," you say, already ripping into one.

The human grimaces.  "Anyway.  Considering she hasn't escaped on her own yet, we can guess they fixed their anti-magic field and are holding our druid nearby.  Which is good in some ways, since it seems they also captured the witch that actually took those two guards."

"Still seems weird they're putting up this much of a fuss, but I guess they need to make an example," the Strix says.

"Yeah," you say.  "Which is why I'm probably still wanted.  Escaping from jail or something."

"Still a crime, even if you were innocent of the whole guard-murder thing," the human says.  "But we couldn't just leave you as the prime suspect.  You're not the toughest, mentally, and it wouldn't end well if you'd admitted to something you hadn't done."

"So, what now?  We can't just leave her there..." you mutter.

"I mean... can't we?" the human asks.  "It's not like she'll be executed for this.  It might be for the best to let her just serve her sentence.  Maybe even turn you in, too.  Fifty gold's not a huge enough bounty to draw in any dangerous hunters, but you do stand out around here and it'll be inconvenient if everyone keeps trying to turn you in."

"That inquisitor did mention this town could put out a pretty wide-reaching bounty..." you recall.  You shudder.  "Don't really wanna face her again, though."

"Anyway, she'll probably only be in jail for a few weeks, depending.  If she's in a particularly vengeful mood I guess they could say you assaulted some guards and extend it to a few years."

"We barely bruised them!" you protest.

"Well you know that, and I know that, and they know that, but by the letter of the law..." the human mutters.

You grumble angrily, taking another bite of the fish and crunching on a bone.

(A) "We'll just wait for them to let the elf go."
(B) "...Can I claim the bounty on myself?"
(C) "Maybe we can do some more investigating about the witch-cult here - they may have the leader, but maybe they'd trade an elf for some of their lower members?"
(D) "Fine, I'll just turn myself in."
(E) "You decide."
(F) "With this small a bounty, maybe we can find someone to bribe..."
(G) "Well, guess we're doing a jailbreak after all."

"Well!"  You punch your fist into your palm.  "Guess we're doing another jailbreak!"

"I'm not sure about this," the wussy human says.  "I mean, surely the guard will be increased at this point."

The Strix shrugs.  "She was slow once.  Might be slow again.  Even if we free her, no guarantee she won't just get caught again."

"Guys, c'mon.  Really?  You didn't just leave me, why is this any different?" you demand.

"Because in this case they aren't talking about a huge, dramatic public execution," the human reminds you.

You snort derisively.  "Fine, I'll plan this out myself..."

(A) "I'll use my mud form and sneak in through the sewers."
(B) "We'll use brute force and blow open the wall to the cells!"
(C) "I'll steal a guard uniform and sneak in the old fashioned way."
(D) "First we lure out the inquisitor, then we take her hostage and use her as leverage."
(E) "Wait, why don't I just disguise myself as the inquisitor?"
(F) "OK, I'm gonna turn myself in.  And then we break out together.  Worked once."
(G) "Or maybe they'd trade her for me...?"
(H) "I'll go in through the roof, slip down into the window."
(I) "What if I just use the front door?"
(J) "I guess we could try asking really nicely if they'll give us our elf back."
(K) "I'll challenge the inquisitor to a duel!"
(L) "I'll send in my axolotl, cute li'l axolotl..."

You nod to yourself.  "OK!  You two just wait here, I'll be back."

"What are you-?" the human begins, but you're already out the door.

The Strix glares as you leave, but makes no attempt to stop you.

You slip out of the alley, taking a quick look around as you lift a nearby sewer cover.  "Wait, now just hold on-" the human says.

You hop into the open sewer, splashing lightly into the water at the bottom.  You pause for a moment as he pokes his head over the corner, giving him a small wave.  "Don't forget to close up behind me!" you call up, turning towards the local lord's manor.

The sewers wind and bend a bit, occasionally narrowing or widening.  But the water is no trouble for you to navigate.  With a few stops to poke your head out and double-check your surroundings, you don't have any trouble finding your way to the manor.  You make your way to one of the dumping spots, estimating it to be the one right under the dungeon.  You nod to yourself, as you set your clothes and gear aside.  It feels a bit weird breaking into this place unarmed, but you can't carry the rapier like this.  You set your axolotl on the pile, patting it on the head, then dissolving into a pile of mud.

You slide yourself up the wall and into the narrower pipe, making sure to go nice and slow to not make any noise.  As you near the top, you adjust one of the eyes floating around in your liquid body to poke out.  You can see into the torchlit dungeon.  The floor is still scuffed from your previous breakout attempt, but you can tell the anti-magic orb has been patched up and is humming along - not that it works on your witch magic.  A pair of guards are standing in front of one of the cells.

Inside you spot your elf friend.  She's taken the bed apart and tossed the stuffing on the ground, where she's currently flopped out on her stomach.  A white, glowing chain connects her wrists and neck, keeping her arms up at her side.  A small plate is lying on the ground beside her, with a small salad and a block of cheese.  One of the guards turns away and walks up the stairs.  The other looks down at the unmoving elf, then turns away.  As soon as the guard looks away, she starts gnawing enthusiastically at her meal.  He glances back and she freezes, resuming her eating when he looks away uncomfortably.

(A) One guard!  Easy.  Seduction time.
(B) Let's see if we can sneak out while he's distracted and get rid of that stupid orb
(C) Wait until the guard looks around again, then sneak up behind him with the ol' bonk
(D) Try to get the elf's attention first
(E) Wait and watch a while
(F) Try casting a blindness curse on the guard
(G) Well she seems fine enough, maybe we can leave her here a while?