002 A Prison Break

After the events of 001 A Mysterious Offer, the Original Eight joined up with The Resistance, officially coming on as mercenaries and auxiliaries and subdividing into new focused mission groups. The first of these groups, Sevin the Kitsune trickster, Ekins the Sylph Elementalist and Quay the Grippli Alchemist-Priestess, were given a dangerous task, to rescue the mad wizard Varex Illan from the Morin Regime's most hardened prison The Mound.   Combining illusion magic, stealth, charm and a great deal of luck, the three were able to pose as messengers and penetrate the moat and outer gates of the compound. Inside they found a horrifying site, a massive section of the Mound repurposed as a sort of horrible detention center for non-humans detained by the Regime. Blending with the crowd of refugees they were contacted by Hyooh Manh, Varex's aid and Humanoid-Mimic test subject. Together, they were able to continue their ruse, passing into the inner facility of the Mound.   Once inside they pretended to be transporting a prisoner, allowing them to bypass many of the guard stations and internal barriers. When two prison workers, a guard and a torturer came too close to discovering their secret they instantly dispatched them, leaving their bodies in one of the cells.   In the depths of the keep they finally found the captive wizard, sealed away behind magic suppressing bars. Once free, they beat a stealthy retreat from the keep, avoiding guards and patrols. Ultimately they unleashed a berserk Hyooh on the Mound, using his insane strength and durability as a compelling distraction. With Hyooh occupying most of the guards for the entire facility they were easily able to escape, bringing the ungrateful and obnoxious wizard back to Village-on-Shorewydd.