As Major Luke Rand approaches, the Halfling smiles and gets to his feet,
”Over there, over there….”, he points to a lever in the wall, positioned some ten feet away from the portcullis (presumably to ensure that prisoners cannot reach them).
When Major Luke Rand insists upon silence, he claps his hand over his mouth.
Luke will move to the indicated lever and pull it.
Tychi stands next to Nike, watching for danger as Rand works. "When they are all out, bring all the survivors to us, and Nike can heal them before we take them down the stairs." He says in a quiet whisper.
"Good plan."
The lever pulls down easily and, via a system of unseen pulleys, makes light work of raising the heavy portcullis.
The Halfling becomes increasingly animated as the metal gate is raised and, when there is a sufficient gap (no more than two feet or so), he ducks and drawls through. Immediately rushing over to Major Luke Rand, he enthusiastically offers a hand...
"Waldat, the name is Waldat, yes...that's right, Waldat...got that? Good...let's go, let's go, let's go", the overly familiar fellow crowds Major Luke Rand, preventing him from getting on with the job of releasing the other man...
Both Tychi and Nike eye the overly friendly and touchy feely halfling with lidded eyes.
Figwidget will intercede, trying to disentangle Waldat from Major Luke Rand. "Hello, Waldat," he says. "I'm Figwidget. Your friends are just down these stairs here; why don't you head down? They'll be able to take care of you."
Standing off to the side, Tychi and his companion observe the Halfling as it harasses and annoys Major Luke Rand….
With his normal effervescent level of energy, Figwidget bundles up to Waldat and tries to engage him in conversation, tries to encourage him to join his friends down the steps. Something the gnome says seem to trigger an unexpected reaction, Waldat turns, narrows his eyes and hisses at Figwidget.
”I won’t go down there…they gave me up to the Ogres…they’ll do it again….go away!!! I am staying with him”
The Halfling turns back to Major Luke Rand and, like a switch flicking over, returns to a hyperactive level of friendliness…
”You’re my friend aren’t you? Waldat, the name is Waldat, yes…that’s right, Waldat…got that?”...his voice tails off, he looks momentarily confused...
Nike will keep one eye on the halfling, while Tychi will move to release the other prisoner(s), to give Luke time to deal with his new sycophant.
Turning to the nuisance gnome, Luke will whisper "young one, keep your voice down. You don't have to go all the way down the stairs, but you do need to let me do my job and free the rest of the people here."
Then the major will take an accounting of his posessions, lest the gnome is a thief.
"...if I go down there...I die....take me with you...please....Waldat, the name is Waldat, yes that's....", the Halfling slumps down sadly...and tries to nuzzle up against Major Luke Rand's leg...
...meanwhile, as Tychi raises the portcullis across the other cave, the Vudrani man stirs, turns and looks towards the Tengu. His face is scarred, bruised and still wears fresh cuts...missing an eye, his hair has been brutally shorn...he starts to mouth something to you, but starts to choke on blood...he crumples down again...a wreck of a man...
Looking into the opened chambers...there are no more survivors, there is a staggering number of bones, skulls and remnants of clothing...but just two survivors...
Major Luke Rand - nothing seems to be missing...
Nike moves so that she is halfway between the downed man and the halfling who's groping Rand in an attempt to hump his leg. "Ní bheidh mé a thuiscint ar dhá nósanna cúplála cos."
This comment causes Tychi to clamp both hands on his beak to keep from hooting. There's still a strained hoot that escapes his clamping hands. But at least it's no louder than Rand's voice as he talks to the halfling.
Nike then sends out a wave of healing over both injured creatures.
"I will never understand two leg mating habits."
Carran looks with a bit disdain at the pitiful halfling.
His mind is even more broken than his body it seems, though that Vudrani man over there seems to be far worse for wear.
Carran looks over the scene before him with interest at first, but then soon turns his attention to places from where any threats might come.
Serlek who has been follwing the group from a safe distance since the avalanches almost buried him some time ago, sits atop a ridge and pecks his feathers, looking up from time to time to make sure there's no obvious threats.
"So what's your story then, little man?" Carran asks in an indifferent tone. "Why would they send one of their kin up to the ogres? Or more importantly why would they send you? You've done something wrong or something?"
Figwidget, giving up on the halfling, starts in alarm when the Vudrani man starts coughing up blood. He hopes that Nike's healing will help the man, but he moves over and looks at the man, trying to figure out what's wrong with him.
Carran – Looking out into the mine from your current position, there doesn’t appear to be anything that would present a threat…Serlek, perched on a ridge, appears equally confident that there is no hazard.
Waldat, still simpering around Major Luke Rand, quietly responds to Carran’s question, ”They thought I wanted to be the boss man…so they told lies about me…don’t make me go back to them…I’ll stay with you…won’t get in the way…honest…I can show you the way out…please”. Returning to pawing at Major Luke Rand, ”I’ll come with you…that’s okay isn’t it?”
Nike’s wave of healing spreads out over the injured creatures…catching the still injured Tychi and Major Luke Rand at the same time…and the Vudrani man’s injuries start to knit together…once again the man tries to get to his feet, this time his legs don’t give way and he stumbles towards Figwidget…he points at his mouth and then at something on Figwidget’s belt that looks like a water flask…
Waldat stands a little taller after the healing...it seems that he was not as badly injured when you found him.
Figwidget – you are able to assess the man’s injuries…he seems to have been very badly beaten and, from the way in which his hands are hanging limply, it looks like bones have been broken. The eye injury is not fresh though…the scarring is old and weathered.
"Waldat, we're going deeper into the mines. While I would certainly do my best to keep you safe, going with us will be incredibly dangerous and I do not wish to take an innocent such as yourself into harms way. Should you not wish to return to the people below, I will not force you to, but we're most assuredly not leaving the mines."
"Oh!" Figwidget says. "Sure!"
Rumbling in his handy haversack, he pulls out a mug and his Decanter of Endless Water. Using the more sedate "stream" mode of the Decanter (in contrast to the Geyeser he demonstarted earlier), he fills the mug with water and hands it to the man. He will repeat as necessary.
The Vudrani man grasps the mug with ruined hands and, as fast as he can empty the mug, passes it back to Figwidget for repeated filling...for the quantity of water drunk, the man was clearly dangerously parched...eventually, passing the mug back to the gnome, the fellow slumps back to the floor...Figwidget's assessment of the injuries would suggest that, with the starvation and broken bones, it will be days, if not weeks, before the man can safely travel anywhere...
Whilst all of this is going on, Waldat looks on with a certain amount of disdain, "Come on, Come on...let's go...you said we would go...you said I could come...". The Halfling looks up at Major Luke Rand and, with a more than spiteful tone in his voice, "Are you going to kill the Ogres?"
Figwidget sits down next to the Vudrani man. "Hi, I'm Figwidget. From Alkenstar. Not a Guild member, but I respect their work. We'd like to get you out of here, but I fear it's not safe for you to travel right now. Are you able to talk?"
The Vudrani man shakes his head sadly and opens his mouth to reveal the extent of the torture he has been subjected to…in addition to the damage to his hands and limbs, it appears that his tongue has also been removed. The man’s ability to communicate is, whilst in this sorry state, reduced to hand gestures and shaking / nodding of head in response to questions.
Figwidget – it would take a Heal spell or some other kind of restorative magic to heal the man
Whilst everything had remained relatively quiet in the rest of the cavern whilst you liberated Waldat and the Vudrani, there now appears to be a degree of commotion to the North (in the direction of the Ogres working on the machinery). You can’t see from your current position but there is shouting…it appears to be directed towards the south…towards the work areas which are no longer being worked upon.
Turning to Waldat, The Major will say "I need you to be quiet now" and then begin moving in the direction of the commotion, signaling the others to let them know he was moving.
Tychi looks in the remains of the fire and finds a stick with a burned tip (most burned tips are naturally sharpened). He then points to the dirt floor. "You may write here until we can get you healed." He says softly, keeping an eye on the sycophant.
Carran wordlessly moves up to Luke and waves over Serlek to perch on his shoulder.
He keeps his bow strung and an arrow nocked on it, looking fervently around at the direction where he heard the noises come from.
The Vudrani man, clasping the burnt twig between gnarled hands writes a single word in the dirt...'Arvanor'...there is no time to explain before the shouting becomes louder and you hear the sound of, at least, one ogre stomping towards your direction....
Waldat giggles....
Tychi returns to the saddle, readying his weapon.
The Major will look at Carran and then give a significant look at the lever, before returning his gaze to Waldat.
Figwidget says, "Hello, Arvanor, we'll try to get you back to Alkenstar where hopefully you can get some more complete healing," before leaping to his feet at the sound of an approaching Ogre. He pulls out one of his extracts of Shield and quaffs it, raising his AC to 25 for the next several minutes.
The noise from the approaching ogre grows louder, it continues to shout towards the South whilst voices farther to the North also start to grow in agitation...
Seeing that Carran gets his meaning, The Major will snatch up Waldat and put him back in his cell, then move to begin heading in the direction of the commotion.
”Huh? Wait!!!! What are you doing? Don’t do this!!!”, Waldat steps back as Major Luke Rand attempts to grab him…
Tychi motions at the tongueless man, while Rand and his fiance discuss the finer points of carrying the halfling over the threshold. "If you go down the stairs, friend, there are halflings there who will tend to you as best they can." He then readies to charge the ogre who is coming into the area.
As Major Luke Rand attempts to scoops the protesting Halfling, the diminutive voice of Waldat changes...
"YOU REALLY SHOULDN'T HAVE DONE THAT!!!"
...Major Luke Rand feels the Halfling push backwards against his grapple and then, with a tearing of skin and a frightful gushing of blood, 'Waldat' splits down the middle...and a brawny creature, its skin completely flensed from its form, stands from a semi-foetal position to a height of some ten feet...its massive, exposed muscles pulsing violently...
...dripping in gore, whatever was Waldat, snarls at Major Luke Rand and, flinging the dead skin aside, is poised to attack...
Nike ignores the request for a will save, being immune to fear effects.
Nike sees that they cannot get to the creature, and snorts in frustration. Tychi, being obviously shaken, ends up being a passenger as she takes charge. "Rand, Carran, Figwidget, deal with the creature. I'll try to block the ogres. Be prepared for a fighting withdrawal down the tunnel. Also be prepared to use the wand on us from behind, Figwidget, I suspect we will be in dire need of it shortly, based on the amount of yelling we hear from the ogres."
Nike then moves to the entrance of the small area, blocking it by simple fiat of her size.
Tychi puts away his kusarigama, and pulls out his damaged urumi.
The thing that was Waldat ducks and weaves to avoid Major Luke Rand's blows...only one of the shield swipes actually makes contact...although, when it does hit, it is a substantial blow...
With an inhuman howl, the bloody figure swipes back at Major Luke Rand
Clearly horrified by events, the Vudrani man starts to hobble towards the stairs...
Meanwhile, out in the main cavern, the Ogre who was moving south has heard the commotion and is shouting back to his 'companions' to the north.
Tychi and Nike can't do much due to the layout, so they hold their action to attack the first ogre that comes tearing around the bend with full attack actions.
Carran 5-foot steps out of the way of the thing that called himself Waldat and fires a series of arrows at it.
"Die you filth! Back to the darkness you came from."
"We need to get him down now!" shouts Luke, before launching a fusillade of attacks at Waldat.
Figwidget, shaken by the sudden supernaturally frightening presence of whatever demon or aberration or horrible thing that was Waldat, is gobsmacked, and not able to focus very well. "What is that thing?" he says, a quiver in his voice.
He takes a step towards Carran, pulls out one of his alchemist's bombs, and throws it at was-Waldat.
The thing that was Waldat staggers and snarls under the attacks from Carran and Major Luke Rand…yet it is the alchemist’s bomb that causes the creature to bellow in pain, the intense heat of the explosion scorching exposed muscle…the pain drives the creature on though and it continues it’s assault upon Major Luke Rand.
The creature slashes a claw across Major Luke Rand’s face, talons raking at his eyes…
...and hissing at the gravely injured Major, turns to fight Carran...and the alchemist who hurt it so badly...
From the north, there is the sound of several agitated voices moving closer...led by two distinctly commandeering voices. Rounding the corner, the first of the ogres spies Tychi waiting patiently on Nike...with a loud bellow of anger, it charges at Tychi and his companion...