As morning dawned on our last day on Casa Blanca, Quinn and Cecil hung out in jail with three of the Castillanos, trying not to look at what they were eating for breakfast. They had, however, located the missing children, who were being kept in one of the large cells opposite their small one.
Henri visited the provisional governor, Ivan de la Riche de Paroisse, with his proposal for a executing the prisoners-- Public Burning a la the Inquisition, since the Castillians are so fond of such displays, and since the Avalons are considered Heretics by the Castillians anyway. Thus, the goverenor could remind them of their duty to Mother Church, and of their own powerlessness in the face of Montaigne might. The governor mused that that might work, but that surely it would be simpler to simply blow them up with a little of the powder they had attempted to destroy in the first place. Henri agreed that that would make quite a display, but that this would be far too quick and painless a demise for such villains, and offerred to give the matter further thought. Ivan asked Henri to oversee the offloading of the vessel La Faveur de la Bonne Femme, and Henri took the opportunity to visit Asgard in the kitchens to advise her of the schedule-- she would need to get to Aliya's barber shop by 5 or so, so as to escape with the rest when they made their break.
On La Faveur de la Bonne Femme, Henri finds a large number of extremely heavy crates being unloaded, each one numbered. Opening one, he finds they contain building stones, cut to fit into a large Arch-- and remembers the drawing the governor had had on his desk. The Montaigne are preparing to build a Gateway to Casa Blanca for use as a staging area for the remaining invasions...
Aliyah continued unobtrusively trimming and shaving the troops, and kept her head down when Lt. Audra Antree arrested several of the pleasure girls, on charges of treason (i.e., giving her soldiers a bad case of Courtesans' Itch), shooting one when she resisted arrest. Henri stopped by to get a shave, and to apprise Aliya of the plan. Aliya asked if the ladies' help would be wanted at the jail, which Henri began to decline, then had to admit was a good idea. The jail rendezvous was set for 6 pm.
Asgard attempted to learn more of the governor's plans, as she heard shouting in his office. Bringing in coffee, she found Lt. Antree and her sugar-daddy in a heated discussion of the pleasure-girls, and took the opportunity to attempt to accidentally spill drinks on the good Lieutenant. She found herself Pommel-struck, with the Lieutenant stalking out and the Governor comforting her, but learned little news-- other than that the plan to "infect" the soldiers was working.
Henri took time to bring the Salve to the troops that afternoon, as several other soldiers had come by his house complaining of that itch... He found a likely fellow, and offerred his cure, suggesting that the soldier not charge his comrades more than ten or twenty cents per dose, and urging that it be applied by no later than 3 pm, so it could soak in and form a protective barrier before they go off to visit the Jennies.
Henri armed himself with pistols and dressed in his good midnight blue suit, and went to the jail. There he bluffed the jailer into following him down to the cells, to witness his revelation that Quinn was "no mere isolated agitator, but in fact an agent of the Knights of the Rose and Cross!" The Porte scoundrel had the cell opened, Brought the trunk in which he'd stored Quinn's tabard and sword for him, and then shook the incriminating items under Quinn's nose, shouting, "What do you have to say for yourself, you traitor?!" When Quinn grabbed the sword and tabard, Henri dutifully screamed and went ass over tea-kettle to the floor. Begging for help and pleading for mercy, Henri was "taken hostage" by the escapees, as they overpowered the jailer and his two flunkies, released the other prisoners, and charged upstairs to arrest the remaining guards-- as Asgard and Aliya arrived. Asgard growls at them and orders them to surrender. Quinn orders them to surrender, promising they won't be harmed if they do so. Henri babbles, "Do what they say! I've got money! My family will pay for my release! ...and if I get hurt, I'll see you all drawn and quartered!" (three separate Intimidation checks, the last of which came up at 37!)
The Heroes fled with the children, the women, and the governor, and manage (Theus alone knows how) to slip past the soldiers, who are beginning to be a bit distracted by this infernal itching...
Up in the hills, Henri Brought his second Blooded trunk, writing a letter to the governor to the effect that he had been taken prisoner by the Rose and Cross Knights, and had begged to be allowed to write a will. He had made use of this, to get word to the governor; the Knights were headed toward the farms on the eastern end of the island, and could be intercepted there. He then Handed Off the letter to the governor, and continued westwards toward Joaquin Ordun~o's waiting ship. The Heroes sailed away, watching the Powder Stores go up as the Castillanos took advantage of the Montaigne troops' indisposition to Resist Vigorously the Imperialist Running Dogs.
We're bound for San Cristobal and whatever awaits us there, with Henri's reputation a healthy -22 in Montaigne and +10/-12 in Castille. Tomorrow? Tomorrow's another day...