It’s dark, damp and filthy in the ground floor of the keep, where Eyjolf and Ispitan have been dumped while Valdemar decides what to do with them. At length, the big cavalryman descends to visit them.
“Are you ready to tell me what these are for?” he says, hefting the satchel of herbs in one hand.
“So,” muses Ispitan. “You do not entirely trust the one who ordered you to retrieve them.”
“That is none of your concern.”
Ispitan gestures at the cell around him.
“If I agree to help, could we be moved to somewhere more comfortable?”
Valdemar laughs. “One would normally keep persons of your status, lord wizard, in cleaner surroundings. But you are in no position to negotiate.”
“Do you know why captive wizards are not usually held in dungeons?” says Ispitan, in a low and dangerous voice.
“No…”
“It is not because of our status. It is because with a fistful of cobwebs and some rats’ teeth I can do this…” Ispitan shouts a word of power and makes arcane gestures. Valdemar is stunned for a moment, then begins to copy Ispitan’s movements.
“The only difficulty,” Ispitan continues in a conversational tone, while Valdemar’s mouth apes his words, “Is that of controlling another body from an unusual point of view. That’s it, take out the key and unlock the cell… now come inside… Eyjolf, tie him up and gag him, please, I need to maintain the spell. And collect the bag of herbs while you’re at it. Thank you.”
As they make for the exit, Ispitan turns and calls back over his shoulder, “Your men should discover you soon. Adieu, Valdemar.”
And they are gone.
This is an Escape scenario. I don’t need to lay out terrain unless and until a fight seems imminent; if Ispitan and Eyjolf are in the middle of the 48” x 48” board, they can’t be further than 24” from the nearest edge. A couple of die rolls determine that there are no horses to steal, and it is night. The easiest way to handle this mechanically, at least until combat, is by a table…
| Turn | Alarm Die | Alarm? | Activation Die | Star Active? | Star Has Moved |
| 1 | 6 | No | 1 | Yes | 8” |
| 2 | 4 | No | 2 | Yes | 16” |
| 3 | 2 | No | 3 | Yes | 24” |
| 4 | 2 | No | 6 | No | 24” |
| 5 | 4 | No | 1 | Yes | 32” |
I note that it’s actually quite hard to get caught sneaking out of prison. At this point, Ispitan and Eyjolf have escaped Valdemar and run off into the night. Ispitan has survived another encounter, so rolls to improve Rep, Hardiness and SS; rolls of 5, 1 and 6 mean his Rep stays the same, his Hardiness drops one (must be the prison food), and his Social Standing increases by one.
| Name | Class | Rep | Hard | Weapon | AC | Move | Notes | SS | Align |
| Ispitan | Missile | 5 | 3 | Staff | 2 | 8” | Caster | 6 | TW |
| Eyjolf | Melee | 4 | – | Spear | 2 | 8” | – | – | SS |
| Foes | |||||||||
| Valdemar | Mtd Melee | 6 | 4 | Spear | 4 | 12” | Elite | – | SS |
Halfway Station 