2. Wyrm's Rock

"Rieltar Anchev is the originator and perpetrator, and the key to dismantling his plans is to dismantle him. Fortunately, much has already been done to interfere with his plots, most of it by our adventurer allies," Liia declares.

"Hear, hear!" calls Aldous, applauding. Belt quickly joins in, his boisterous voice filling the chamber.

Duke Eltan nods gravely. "Their work has been impressive, both alongside the Flaming Fist and on their own."

Liia nods at the various party members and smiles, then continues on. "What we need in order to fully and openly act against Anchev is concrete proof. Koveras?" She raises her eyebrows at the half-orc, inviting him to speak.

Koveras clears his throat. Without looking at anyone in particular, he begins to speak. "Rieltar is methodical. He keeps a paper trail for all his dealings, though most of it is encoded or hidden with illusion magic."

"And where would he keep such documentation?" Liia asks. No doubt a rehearsed question.

"In his office in the Iron Throne compound, here in the city. Given his careful nature and wizardly prowess, it is likely one of the most difficult areas to access in the city."

"Particularly with him in it. He is a mage of considerable power, in the seat of his power." Liia holds up a hand for attention and emphasis. "I don’t believe it possible to obtain the needed evidence without a full-scale assault on the Iron Throne compound… so long as Anchev is present."

The twinkle in her eyes reveals that this is what she’s been waiting for. The other dukes all lean forward.

"The Harpers report that Rieltar’s superiors in Sembia are unhappy with his progress and are unwilling to send him aid, and may even be close to shutting him down. He’s looking for something to turn the tide back in his favor. He needs allies, and we are going to provide him with some."

"Under the guise of another organization, we will arrange to meet with him." Rieltar’s face dissipates, and a large question mark takes his place next to the Iron Throne crest. "Though I’m sure he will bargain about where and when to meet, he will have no choice but to accept, desperate as he is."

She continues on. "We just need him out of his compound, or better yet, out of the city entirely." The portrait of Rieltar appears once more, and both it and the question mark float across the map to rest between "The Friendly Arm Inn" and "Beregost".

"Once he is, we launch a coordinated infiltration of his office and seize the evidence." A red arrow appears, pointing at the Iron Throne crest still hovering over Baldur’s Gate. "Utmost care will have to be taken, for if Anchev is alerted he will simply teleport back to his office, and-"

Duke Entar Silvershield stands. "This plan already has a huge hole." He points up to the question mark on the map. "These ‘allies’ we set up, who are they? What facade can we create that would be credible enough to tempt Anchev out of the city?"

Dieter watched intently trying to soak up as much information as possible. Dealing with wizards was easy, fighting a wizard was a mind game or multidimensional chess match… if you played by their rules. Not many wizards knew how to react when you punched them in the face. Dieter suspected that Rieltar did know.

Dieter did want to know who these allies were. He could see themselves inserted in various points of the plan.

Aiwë recalls the two Zhentarim agents that arrived on the Silvershield doorstep that morning out of the blue. Perhaps this is what Gemini had in mind. Duke Jannath has the air of a woman telling a story she already knows the ending to, so she sits quietly and waits for her to finish her delivery.

Liia’s smile slips a little and she blinks several times before answering. "We will get to all of that, Entar, if you’d just let me continue. We’ll come back around to it."

She clears her throat and continues. "If Anchev is alerted, he’ll simply teleport back to his office, and that would spell doom for anyone caught there. So, there are two parts to this plan that will require careful consideration, two teams. One to draw Anchev out, and the other to retrieve the evidence."

The duke points up to the question mark floating on the map. "This isn’t a hole in the plan, it’s merely undecided; there are several avenues open to us. For example, we could masquerade as Knights of the Shield." She quickly holds up a finger to cut off Entar, who visibly bristles at the name of that group. "It’s just one option. I am open to hearing others."

Liia looks out on the council. "Does anyone have any other ideas for a group or organization that we could recruit or impersonate?"

Duke Eltan raises a gauntleted hand. "Could we not dress as Iron Throne reinforcements from Sembia? My soldiers could act that part easily enough."

Aldous jumps in. "I'm sorry, Your Grace, but how would that draw Rieltar out of the city? Would he not merely welcome you into the Gate? He must be drawn out."

Eltan's eyes widen in surprise. "You are correct, Aldous. Forgive my error, I am trying to find a place in this plan for myself and my men, and I spoke too soon."

He turns to Duke Entar. "Your son has a better mind for this than I do, I'm afraid."

Entar blinks and turns to regard his son. "Erm, yes. Well noted, Aldous."

Khalid raises a hand.

Liia shushes the others and looks at Khalid. He doesn't say anything. "Yes, Khalid? You have a contribution?"

"Oh, erm. Y-yes. I'm not sure that I could p-play the pa-pa-part, but maybe a g-guild of... assassins?" The half-elf looks as though he would like to vanish like a turtle into its shell.

Despite the hesitant manner of the offering, there are murmurings of agreement. This could be a good idea.

"Rieltar has already got assassins," Koveras calls out. "Why would he need more?"

The mutters of agreement turn to quiet expressions of shock.