As her friends come to her aid and receive wounds of their own, Tera manages to shake herself out of the half-stupor she'd fallen into. Pulling out the wand they'd recovered from the catacombs beneath Sandpoint, she slips by Marcus and Kaede to get to where she could reach the man.
Again, Kaelaah lashes out at this mercenary... if he won't back down, there is only one way that this is going to end...
The mercenary slashes at Sal as she fails to slip by him and has to retreat.
,
The rough and tumble stranger scowls after missing Sal so badly. Adjusting his grip, he brings his large sword around at Kaede again.
,
Thinking quickly about positioning, and the others, he does his best to heal the new wound opened on Kaede and then steps back to open a new spot to attack from.
Casting Cure light wounds and moving to J18
Kaelaah, at the end of the corridor, waits to lash fire at the swordsman...
Kaede grunts as the man cuts her twice, only for Marcus to heal them away. She looks the man in the eye, before answering his question, "As many as the gods feel are necessary. since you refuse to surrender, so be it." Then, with a whispered prayer for strength to Shelyn, she unleashes a flurry of attacks on the man, culminating in a solid smack to the gut from the pommel of her glaive.
Zache begins singing a children's tune about a rat caught in a corner (which doesn't end well for the rat).
Tera mutters the word to activate the wand once more and stabs at the heartless mercenary.
"Can't spend your coin if you're dead, bastard," Tera snarls, uncharacteristically furious now that adrenaline was pumping through her veins.
Sal steps in to the space Marcus abandoned and follows up Kaede’s brutal assault by opening another wound in the mercenary. The gruff man almost manages to dodge Tera’s wand but the electricity crackling around it arcs to his sword and through it to his hand. He drops the bastardsword when it does then steps back further into the room. Cowering behind his shield he calls out, ”You’re right, you’re right; I yield! Don’t kill me... I’ll help you stop her...”
...Kaelaah has little desire to trust this man, he is a sellsword and his loyalty will only follow coin - something that he doubts the Marked have in any great quantity... but he has yielded and so, walking towards the room, the shoanti lets the flames die once more.
Kaede calmly twists the glaive around and stabs out again... only to use as a means to drag the bastard sword to her feet. Releasing her grip with one hand, she squats down to retrieve the blade, and after a moment to judge its quality, she looks back at the man. "You can start by telling us about who's left in this fort," she says coolly, "Preferably starting with that archer."
"And dropping the shield," Tera adds, still riding the adrenaline from the fight and her anger at this man.
Letting his held breath out in a slow exhale, Zache finishes his tale and wipes his sweaty hands on his hips. "Excellent," he mutters, readying himself for negotiations.
Kaelaah moves into the small bed chamber where the man has backed himself into a literal corner. The stranger has an opportunity to bash him with his shield as he enters but chooses not to do so. ”Th’archer, sure” he answers Kaede, ”he’s a bugbear, Brutamis or Bruthazmus or somethin’... Not much of a talker; he’s usually off giving it t’them she-goblins but he’s up in th’tower now... doin’ a fine job of keepin’ you lot out...”
He grimaces when Tera tells him to drop his shield. ”Listen...” he says with a glint of fear in his eyes, ”I know I ain’t exactly in a position t’be bargainin’ here but I need some kinda assurances before I leave myself totally exposed...”
"Fine, I give you my word, before the Keeper of the First Vault and the Golden Key that you will not be harmed while in our custody," Tera replies her voice hard, "will the word of an Abadarite be enough, or should we go through the other five faiths represented here?"
Now that the rush of combat was wearing off, Tera's side where she'd nearly been skewered starts to sting, a lot. Still angry at the man for his callousness in taking up a job to help get her and all of her friends killed, the pain was making her rather grumpy.
"An Abadaran, eh?" he answers while scrutinizing Tera. Still clearly concerned about his safety, he begins to remove his shield, adding, "I surrender myself into your custody. May the Gold Fisted repay your treachery ten-fold if you fail to keep your word."
Tera raises an eyebrow then realizes she still has the wand out. Her cheeks color a little as she puts it away. The sting in her side is still there, though it is subsiding some. Uncertainty begins to cool her anger, and as she folds her arms over her chest, she feels the cut in the robes and the skin beneath.
She feels like someone had just punched her in the belly as she remembers how that cut got there. Her knees threaten to buckle, but she manages to keep them from collapsing.
No! Think about that later! Think about it later! Now's not the time to be breaking down, she tells herself firmly. She still feels weak-kneed and most of the color had drained from her face, but she had managed to not embarrass herself at least.
"Y-you shouldn't be worrying about me betraying you. I said that you'll not be hurt, and I meant it. If you help us, then I think Brother Faustwick can help you get off lightly, so long as he doesn't find out how close you came to skewering me," she tells him. Her voice is flat and overly controlled and everyone can see she's shaking.
Marcus looks over the big man cautiously, not at all at ease just because he is unarmed, "You would work against the very civilization in which you live? For coin?" he asks, then examining the health of the man he adds, "Truly, you have some deep wounds...." not really talking about the thrashing Kaede gave him.
Kaelaah stands back from the conversation, not liking where it was headed - Sister Flinder, well-meaning and honest as she was, had just taken a 'prisoner'? This wasn't the time... surely it would have been better to have dealt with this bugbear and then send the man from this place? But now she had entered some form of compact and, insomuch as Kaelaah understood the byzantine protocols of the Abadarians, Sister Flinders would abide by that...
The man relaxes a bit when Tera and Salomae seem offended at the thought that they might take advantage of him after his surrender. He drops his shield and ceases his guarded stance in favor of standing normally. He raises an eyebrow at Marcus' question and answers, "hey, I weren't hired t'work against any society. I'm here t'provide some security while they search for somethin' or other."
When Sal starts asking for information he raises his hands and says, "whoa, whoa... hold on a sec... we need t'agree t'terms first... How's this: I tell you everythin' I know, which is a fair bit, and then you can march me t'that cave where I'm guessin' you killed th'squid-thing t'get in... I'll take my sword and shield back there and take a swim... assumin' I make it back t'Magnimar, I'll promise t'be a bit more discernin' in where I find work in th'future... good?"
Marcus hasn't been a part of the group long enough to really add his two cents, but he mumbles "That plan sounds fine, except the part about you getting that sword back."
”It’s a long walk back t’Magnimar, through goblin infested forests parta th’way... a man’s gotta have some way t’defend himself...” the mercenary protests. ”I tell you what... it’s a fine sword, eh? I’ll buy it back from you! It’d fetch about a hundred-fifty gold from an honest smith, I’ll pay you that t’buy it back—plus I’ll still tell you what I know—then you send me swimmin’ off with my tail between my legs... deal?”
Tera raises an eyebrow at the mercenary.
"I think you may have the wrong idea about what your situation is," she says in a flat tone that those who were in the Dragon the night she punched Lonjiku recognize. "I think before you go striking a deal with us, you might want to tell us how much you know about what's going on here." She holds up a hand to forestall any protestations, "I'm not talking about the information you're using as a bargaining chip. I'm talking about the big picture of what's happened in the past week or so in Sandpoint and the Hinterlands."
She looks at him with cold, black eyes. She may be shaking and nearly on the verge of breaking down after her brush with mortality, but no one could accuse Tera of being a coward as she fixes him with that cold, dispassionate gaze.
”hey... whoa... hold on...” the man protests, ”I only been here a few days... I passed through Sandpoint, what- like four, five days ago, and all I know about what’s goin’ on there is that some priest killed a bunch of goblins and then got killed, and they say Gozreh himself showed up for th’funeral!”
"His name was Roakkad," Tera says, her eyes narrowing and her tone dangerously flat, "he was murdered by Tsuto and I'll not hear you speak of his death so flippantly. We were there. We saw him die. We saw Gozreh reclaim him."
It takes Tera a moment to calm down some, though her eyes smolder with remembered rage and pain.
"You're employer, her name is Nualia, correct?"
Kaede sheaths her glaive as she holds his sword in one hand. After listening to Tera interrogate/admonish the mercenary for a moment, She reaches forward and places her other hand on Tera's shoulder. "Save your pain for Nualia," she says quietly. "I doubt she will surrender, even if I offer. At the moment, his only crime is working for murderers and attempted mass murderers and defending himself when we came calling."
With a pause, she turns her attention to the captive. "You've heard about the goblins attacking Sandpoint, and then you came to a goblin-filled fort. Didn't you think to connect the two? Likewise, what other rumors did you hear from passing thought our home? I'm sure you heard whispers of the word 'Godsmarked'."
As the story of Roakkads passing, and the mention of Gozreh is told, Marcus' eyes widen, and he drops his net to the floor.
Questions seem to tumble around in his head, but when he opens his mouth, no sound comes.
After a moment, he retrieves the net, refolding it. Still lost in thought.
The mercenary opens his mouth to answer Tera but when Kaede begins to speak he has the good sense to shut it and let her calm the situation a bit. When the Shelynite questions him about the attack he actually seems a little surprised. "There's gotta be at least one or two other tribes between here and Sandpoint... why would these goblins fight through that for a suicide raid?"
Tera blinks when Kaede touches her shoulder and whispers to her. Her eyes, a soul-searing black before, return to their normal brown. The young mage just nods and slowly slides down the wall.
"There are five tribes," Tera answers when the mercenary asks about the goblins fighting the town. "Normally, they squabble amongst themselves, but your employer seems to have united them. During the Swallowtail Festival, they sneaked in a small band into the town and tried to set fire to it and cause as much mayhem as possible as a distraction. A group of them led by 'one of us longshanks' stole into the mausoleum where the bones of the clergy are kept and took Father Tobyn's bones and left a couple of skeletons animated by vile magics as a surprise for anyone who investigated. Goblins of every tribe in the area took part in that raid."
Tera pauses, taking a deep breath. So far, her explanation had be calm, emotionless even, but her shoulders begin to shake as she continues on.
"A little while after the raid," she says, her voice hollow, "Ameiko, the daughter of the Late Lord Kaijitsu and owner of the Rusty Dragon got a letter from her brother, Tsuto, saying her father was behind the raid and to meet him in the Glassworks. He tried to persuade her to leave, but when she refused, he had his goblins ambush her and capture her. Bethana, Ameiko's maid that helps run the Dragon, came to us begging for help. We cleared out the Glassworks and bore witness to the atrocities that had been committed there. The murder and desecration of the artisans who lived there in the Glassworks, Lord Kaijitsu murdered by being encased in glass. It was like walking into a nightmare," she tells him. Her voice catches as she holds her arms to try stopping the shaking that was growing more violent as she continued.
"Tsuto hid in a pile of sand near the stairs that lead to the tunnels he used to get into the Glassworks without anyone knowing. When we found Ameiko, alive thank the gods, he– he stabbed Roakkad in the back. He killed our friend and tried to kill a few more of us before trying to escape. We stopped him."
For a long moment, Tera sits there on the ground, trembling. Her breathing is ragged, and two tears can be seen rolling down her cheeks.
"We cleared out the catacombs that the tunnels led to," she continues once she has control of her voice, "according to the journal that Tsuto had kept, there was a demon that Nualia was trying to ally with for an attack on Sandpoint that would burn the town to the ground. When we cleared it of the demon and the monsters in there, we questioned Tsuto and learned of what we could expect here. He didn't mention a bugbear, nor you."
With a deep breath, she looks up into the man's eyes.
"You've chosen to work for a madwoman bent on putting Sandpoint to the torch and killing every last person who lives there. That's the kind of situation that you've found yourself in. We could let you go, but you give up the chance to defend yourself if you just run. If, you help us, then you'd go a long way to clearing your name and making up for almost killing me when I was unarmed. You'd be a hero, even. If you want some honest work, then I'm sure Sheriff Hemlock would love to have you as a member of the guard. I'd be willing to vouch for you," she tells him, a small smile coming out despite everything she'd gone through in the past few minutes.
"You never did give us your name," she says after a moment, "If it helps, I'm Tera."
He didn't mention a bugbear, nor you
"That Tsuto sounds like a real a$$hole," the man answers, scratching the back of his head uncomfortably. "And, uh, sounds like you kids've been through th'wringer... listen, if you trust me enough to give back my sword and shield then, uh, yeah, I'll help you put a stop to this... I'm gonna need some healin' though... and, uh, I ain't steppin' foot in Sandpoint afterwards, we part ways once we leave this place. Agreed?"
"Why? You'd probably be welcomed as a hero," Tera asks as she fishes out a few vials and hands them to Orik. "These should help with your wounds. I'm going to trust you and let you have your sword and shield back, but we also going to need to know who else is down here and what they can do."
As Tera recounts the story of the glassworks and Tsuto, Marcus seems to forget the burly attacker. Lost in thought, trying to put the puzzle pieces together, he shifts uncomfortably on his bad leg.
She is the reason they came. What could she have wanted with me? Why did Gozrah allow his chosen to die?
"Orik," the man offers as he takes one of the potions with a nod, "Orik Vancaskerin's my name. B'sides the bugbear up in the tower, there's Nualia, who I guess you know about, and her devil-dog... and there's Lyrie... she's some kinda wizard, I escorted her here from Magnimar, but I think she maybe knew Nualia before that... she's cute but she's got a real mean streak in her..."
After downing the potion he took from Tera, Orik stretches a little and then checks how it feels to move. "You, uh, think maybe I could get another one, please?"
"Well, that is why I pulled them out," Tera says with a laugh. Looking to the others, she asks, "Is anyone else hurt? There's still a little bit of magic left in the wand."
"I'm okay, I think." Marcus says, more about how he feels physically than emotionally.
”Thank you,” Orik says taking another potion and gulping it down.
Throughout this entire exchange, Kaelaah has watched - bemused yet appreciative that this small skirmish had not led to death... there will be more of that before we are done here...
"Well, now that that's settled, Sal and I will go make sure we haven't made too much of a racket," Tera says with a faint smile.
Once Tera and Sal have moved into the large room where they'd fought the goblin harem, Tera half falls into her friend, shivering.
"He almost killed me, Sal," she whispers frightfully, "If I'd been just a little slower, he'd have run me through."