Act IV - Proscenia City: Alarums and Excursions

Scene I  Freyasday 4th Frost.  Open countryside, half way back to Proscenia city, around dusk.
Enter The Party on wings, winds and divers flying mechanisms.
We stop en-route for dinner and divinatory magics.  Dawn attempts an astrology reading of "Who instigated the arrest attempt on us?", and receives a musical answer, " I see a little silhouetto of a man, Scaramouch, scaramouch will you do the fandango...".  The similarity of the name in the reading and that of the current captain of the Artistic Enforcers fails to surprise anyone.  Mortimer attempts an astrology reading of "The intentions and motivations of the former King's minstrel; Brighella", but gets no answer.  We dine and depart.
[Exeunt Omnes]

[Offstage, an interlude]
A few minutes flight out of Proscenia city we stop to recast flying and unseens and to cast Quickness, and then depart for Il Capitano's house.

Scene II  Freyasday 4th Frost.  Il Capitano's house, roof and upper stories, near midnight.
Enter The Party on wings, winds and divers flying mechanisms, land on Il Capitano's roof.
The party lands on Il Capitano's roof and effects entry.  We sleathily make our way through the house, save for Serendipity, who in a moment of light comedic relief, and despite the fact that she floats to move, manages to find any number of ways to make noise.  Roke, having previously located both Il Capitano and Zanni indicates a room in the house and we move to it. We knock and enter and greet Il Capitano.  Zanni appears quite surprised to see us.  In the room there is another man, dressed in black.  He is introduced to us by Il Capitano as Scaramouch!  (DAs reveal that he is a Mind Mage and much skilled with a Spell of Truth).  At Il Capitano's "suggestion" we decide to go downstairs to the kitchen and see if the cook can provide a later supper.  We depart.
[Exeunt]

Scene III  Freyasday 4th Frost.  The kitchen of Il Capitano's house, around midnight
Enter The Party, already present, A Cook and Two Artistic Enforcers.
We enter the kitchen to find the Cook and two black clad Enforcers.  Roke enquires after the location of a garderobe and excuses himself.
[Exit Roke]
Braegon checks for the most recent hostile magics to affect the Enforcers (Mental Attack and Wall of Light), and we sit, eat and engage them in light conversation. One of them begins questioning Dawn as to where she comes from and unsatisfied with her answers becomes hostile and threatening.
[Exit The Cook, quietly]
When Dawn truthfully tells him that she hails from Stonesboro, he stabs her in the arm with a fork!  Despite this unprovoked attack the party remain calm.  He then tells her that we are all under arrest, and when asked fr the charges responds, "back-chat for one".  The man is clearly unbalanced.  He tells the party to stay put and goes upstairs to inform his captain.  Seren steps into the scullery and becoming a cat curls up out of the way.
[Exit mad Enforcer, and then Serendipity]

[Offstage, a private interlude]
In the garderobe Roke casts a Wizard's face to spy upon Il Capitano and Scaramouch's conversation, using that small room for voyeuristic privacy.  Il Capitano and Scaramouch are discussing hemlines, although this appear to be a code for political alliances of some sort. The mad Enforcer enters the room and has a brief, whispered discussion with Scaramouch, who tells him to "take them all in".  He leaves the room and Roke begins to try and Sleep him.

Scene III continued  The kitchen of Il Capitano's house, a few minutes later.
In the interim the party have a cast a spell or two, much to the discomfort of the remaining Enforcer who appears a pleasant enough though somewhat nervous type.  Braegon has been telling him how much trouble he and his partner will be in for harassing Il Capitano's guests.
[Re-enter mad Enforcer]
The mad man returns and has time for one good exclamation along the lines of "you're all coming with me", before crashing insensate to the table.  His companion appears quite put out by this and insists that we aid him in getting the mad Enforcer into a carriage and accompanying him to the gaol.  We agree, and moments later he joins his partner on the floor. Now faced with the need to conceal the slept and hibernated bodies of two Enforcers, Mortimer uses curses to turn the mad Enforcer into a pot, and his companion into a soup ladle and then conceals them in the scullery.  The curse allows for them to be released should they be used to serve minestrone to royalty.
[Enter Servette]
A maid of Il Capitano's appears and tells us that she is to accompany us, although she appears uncertain as to where that should be.  We ask her for a tour of the cellar. She is agreeable to this.
[Exeunt Omnes]

Scene IV  Freyasday 4th Frost.  The cellar of Il Capitano's house, after midnight
Enter Servette and The Party, except Serendipity.
We examine Il Capitano's cellar, and a fine cellar it is indeed.  Braegon decides however that the one thing it is missing is a fortified bunker and begins building one, leading off one side of the cellar via a small tunnel and heading towards the alleys behind the house.  We enter and examine the bunker and await events. Dawn, nervous about confinement underground soothes herself to sleep.  Roke continues to use a wizard's face to eavesdrop on Il Capitano and Scaramouch from the neighbouring room, and to occasionally check the environs.  Roke apprises Serendipity (still in cat form and in the scullery) of events. Several of Il Capitano's servants suddenly have to visit sick relatives.
[Offstage]
Il Capitano and Scaramouch talk more openly of alliances. Scaramouch exclaims:  "Look at the time, I must be going". Chanting begins in the room.
[Onstage]
Roke's Locate on Il Capitano changes to a SSE direction and a check of range shows 82 miles, placing it well outside an populous area. Roke notices black clad figures beginning to surround Il Capitano's house. Roke tells Serendipity to re-join the party and prepares Quickness.  Braegon opens a tunnel at the back of the bunker.  Suddenly tunnelings open up under Il Capitano's house, uncovering the cellar but not the bunker.  Servette screams.  Amelia assaults her. This all fails to wake Dawn.
[Enter A score of Artistic Enforcers from all directions, and Serendipity running]
As Serendipity hurries to re-join the group, the guards open fire with crossbows and spells.  Serendipity manages to resist several spells but is wounded in the leg by a poisoned quarrel.  A wall of fire appears in the cellar and two guards leap from street level, one stumbles and falls into the wall.  Serendipity leaps through the small tunnel into the bunker and Pent seals the crawlspace with a plug of ice.  Mortimer darkens the bunker and some of the cellar as more guards begin leaping into the cellar from street level. As the party hurry down Braegon's escape route an Earth Elemental breaks through the floor into the bunker. Servette screams.  Amelia assaults her again. Braegon carries the still senseless Dawn into the new tunnel.  Dawn does begin to become aware of her situation -- sealed underground -- and this gives her pause. With the party now clear of the bunker, Mortimer raises the light level in the area to totally lit.  A moment later several of the party are thrown the length of the tunnel by a telekinetic rage spell, slamming into each other and the far wall.  Servette screams and collapses.
At the end of the tunnel Braegon opens a new route at 90 degrees, and at the back of the group Serendipity drops a gold ball.  Amelia runs for it.  Suddenly a new pit opens up and the house of Il Capitano's neighbour collapses into it in spectacular style. [Exit Earth Elemental]
As the party runs into the new tunnel fire flashes past, and a tunneling appears at the far end. Guards leap into this as other run down the tunnel behind us, and then pull up nervously as they come face to face with Amelia and Serendipity. Braegon prepares a counterspell -- to some disbelief from various party members. Roke prevents Dawn from doing anything stupid. The party moves close to Braegon, Amelia tumbles Servette out into our first tunnel, where she is killed by the guards.  Braegon counters his tunneling and the world goes away.
[Exeunt]

End of Act IV

Act III - Upton-on-Sea: Oh, We do like to be beside the sea-side Index
Act V - Foreign Climes: There and Back Again