Ferrin slumbers on...
With all the guards dead, Gideon is quick to claim a chain shirt of his own. He rips off his pittance of a shirt before putting the armor on, before using the rag to wipe off his newly acquired blade. He straps on a scabbard as well, but does not sheathe his sword. With some hesitance, he also takes a shield.
"Wake up," he tells the sleeping man, giving him a light kick to his side, "We have more work to do."
Still asleep, Ferrin's shape returns to resemble that of a human, though one with odd, bumpy ridges visible along his back, through the thin material of his prison shirt. He is just beginning to stir when someone kicks him, and he startles awake, his arms thrashing as he cries out, "By the Dark Prince, I swear I will end you..." His voice tapers off in confusion.
Ferrin looks around, taking in the scene - the dead guards, other escaped prisoners stripping them of arms and armor - here is his chance for freedom! He recalls the brief battle as if it were a dream - Did I rip that man's throat out? With my teeth? And why was I asleep?
He gets to his feet and responds to the man who woke him, "If the work we have to do is escape, you'll find me eager to help. But who are you people, how did you get out of your cells? I awoke and found mine unlocked, and heard the sounds of a fight out here."
As he says this, Ferrin works the chain shirt off a guard's corpse and slips it over his own head. He slings a bow and quiver over his shoulders, and bends down and picks up a club and a sword. He holds the weapons in his hands, evaluating them, then drops the longsword to the ground with a clang. Finally, he grabs a shield and hefts it in front of him, holding it lightly but somewhat awkwardly - it is clear he is very strong, but he does not appear to be trained in the ways of war. But he looks around with an eager eye, ready to take his chances, oblivious to the dead guard's blood still smeared around his mouth, making him look like he's been gorging on a particularly unsavory pie.
As the guards are stripped and equipment distributed, the young girl descends the stairs and - listening before she does so - sticks her head out of the doorway, to assess their way out, stopping briefly to claim the dagger dropped by the tiefling on her way.
Upon seeing the area clear, Libby returns to the guardroom and to the pile of clothing yielded by the veil, claiming a pair of sturdy boots, canvas pants, a shirt and a lightweight hooded coat in a mixture of blacks and browns; hardly flattering, but practical. Stepping into the antechamber, it doesn't take her long to ditch the rags and don her new attire, ready for the next part of the escape.
"The name's Libby.", she states as she reappears. "And we have friends on the outside who would like us to join them." she adds, with a smile, addressing the shapeshifter.
Ferrin is silent for a moment, stunned by the realization that these people have seen him use the powers given him by his fiendish blood, and have not attacked him, nor decried him as an evil spawn of the netherworld. In fact, one of them has just introduced herself - with a smile on her face. And another of them appears to have a similar taint in his blood to Ferrin's own.
"I am Ferrin Venax. I am - or was, I suppose - a clockmaker. And given our circumstances, I would be quite happy to join you and your friends, particularly as they are friends on the outside of this place."
Poki sniffs the lizardy one curiously. "He does not smell like he looks," she mused, "or look like he smells. Odd." She smiles at him, showing all of her teeth. "Poki's name is Poki. And Poki is sorry she put you to sleep -- lizardy man should try to stay farther away from Poki's spells."
The gnome barely even glances at all the oversized equipment, being content with the club she already had. But she does look longingly at the fattest of the dead guards. "Can Poki borrow the dagger while big ones put on armor and things? She's had nothing but porridge for weeks. Poki calls dibs on the liver, but there's plenty of meat for everyone."
Calvin is swallowed by the large man, which causes him to stop laughing. He pushes against Grumblejack, but is unable to free himself until the half-ogre allows it. He looks up at him, his face angry for only a moment before breaking into a wide smile. "Aha! You owe me your life. Yes, we will be friends. I am Calvin. The Surgeon. But you can just call me Calvin. Or master. Your choice."
Calvin will help gather up anything that needs to be carried, but takes only a leather club for himself.
"Well then, shall we be off?"
"Gideon," the former paladin says simply as he inspects his newly acquired blade. It was certainly lighter than he was used to, as was the armor he now wore. The shield was far too heavy for his liking, but seeing as he was still practically naked, it was something he could deal with.
"Friends? Hmph. We shall see. Perhaps I will thank them once we take our leave," he states confidently, his voice devoid of the skepticism it had held while they were still imprisoned. Opportunity had most certainly presented itself. Turning to the Surgeon, he nods. "More guards are bound to arrive if we linger."
Ferrin recoils in disgust on hearing the strange little gnome's request. But he pauses, thinking, [i]Well, I had that guard's flesh in my teeth before she did, in all fairness. And she has just apologized to me, in a fashion, for having perhaps done me harm - when many others have done me more harm with far less grace. Who am I to judge her ways?[i]
Looking down at her, he says "Happy to meet you, Poki. No worries about putting me to sleep. Sometimes a nap is just the thing to put one right, no? As to your hunger - well, I've had my fill of guard for today, so you help yourself while we get ready to go."
Turning to see his new-found companions finishing their preparations, Ferrin sets his club on his shoulder and says "Ready when you are."
Libby removes the remaining patches from the veil. The items immediately become:
Bullseye lantern (full, lit and shuttered)
Hempen rope
100 gold pieces
Unholy Symbol of Asmodeus
Stack of 100 gold coins
A miniature window giving off a strong magical aura
Libby sees or hears nothing in the hallway outside the stairs.
Going down the stairs, you emerge into a long hallway lined with three doors. At the end of the hallway is a set of double doors. You remember being led down this hallway when you were brought to the prison. The double doors lead outside into a courtyard area, which leads to a gatehouse.
Poki butchers the guard quickly and efficiently. She takes only the liver for herself, offering everything else to her companions.
Now covered in blood and gore, Poki removes her rags and does her best to clean herself off with them, before putting on the new clean clothes from the veil.
As hungry as she was, she only ate half the guard's liver, wrapping the rest up in her cast off rags to make it easier to carry. She looks wistfully at the other bodies. "Is a shame we can't carry them with us -- we wouldn't have to hunt for again for another week."
Ferrin sees Libby pulling patches off a diaphanous piece of cloth, and wonders what she is up to. As the patches transform into useful items, he is amazed by what he sees. And as one of the patches transforms into the inverted crimson pentagram of the Lord of Hell, he is filled with awe. He reaches out to touch the unholy symbol, asking "May I? Please?"
He picks it up and holds it reverently in front of him for a moment, then lifts its cord over his head and settles the star on his chest. He is thrilled to be openly wearing the symbol of Asmodeus, rather than hiding who he is and who he worships, as he has done for so many decades. With a new determination in his voice, he says "Let us leave this place."
Arash steadies himself as the immediate fight ends, but the pain in his side is growing by the moment. He relaxes, taking a staggering step to one side. Setting the longbow in his hands down, he checks the wounds, pulling off the ragged shirt they had dressed him in. Painful, but not too deep. It'll bleed, though. Not enough time to bind it... He grunts and heads for one of the downed guards, stripping the man of his gear. Arash slides on the guard's uniform and armor, buckling the man's longsword to his belt and throwing a fresh quiver over his shoulder. He hunts for the cleanest piece of clothing he can find, tearing it into a few strips and stuffing it under the armor and over the wound, hoping to help staunch the flow of blood.
"Arash, assassin formerly in the employ of one of the corrupt Mitran clergy." He picks up one of the longbows, testing the string for proper weight and pull. "Let's get out of here. I've got a bishop to pay back."
___________________________________
Slowing her pace, Libby allows a gap to form between her and the rest of the group. She'd only get in the way should more guards arrive and, besides, her work was best done from the rear.
Don't slouch, Aliberesse. Head up, shoulders back. You own the room; let people know it.
As the words of her trainers come unbidden into her mind, Libby automatically takes a deep breath, rolls her shoulders to remove the tension from them and straightens her back, making herself stand taller.
Just because you're escaping from prison doesn't mean you need adopt the bearing of a common thief.
The girl grins to herself. That's what they'd say, were they to see her now.
------------
"Don't quote me,", Libby whispers. "but I imagine these rooms are unoccupied. That's not to say we should relax our guard but we do need to move quickly."
"You think there's anything worth the taking in those rooms?" Calvin asks. "Anything that might help us on our journey? In particular, I should like to find Tobias - assuming the 'noble' bastards didn't squash him."
"Who's Tob...actually, now's not really the time. I suggest the door to the right; door to the left; far door.", comes the now-familiar tone from the back.
Someone has to make a decision; might as well be me.
"Grumblejack, take this.". The half-ogre turns to find a slightly wary Libby offering a longsword up for him to take. Stood in his shadow, she looks tiny; Poki, stood beside them both, smaller still.
As the party makes their hurried way down the hall, Ferrin looks briefly into any rooms with unlocked doors.
The group opens the door on the right first. This large room has a few wooden tables and benches. It appears to be the prison's mess hall for the guards. A banner emblazoned with the emblem of Branderscar prison hangs on the eastern wall. A single closed door is on the north wall.
The door to the left leads to a more interesting room - it appears to be an office. It is a plain affair with a single cluttered desk and a couple of chairs. A single closed door lies at the eastern end of the chamber.
Ferrin darts quickly into the room on the right, looking about with his darkvision if the rooom isn't illuminated.
Assuming he sees nothing of interest, he steps into the room on the left and approaches the door at the far side, listening at it to see if anyone is on the far side.
"Desks, papers, tables. Poki doesn't care about these," the gnome whines impatiently. "We should go outside now. Wherever that is."
She pats Grumblejack's knee. "I'll just stick by you, big guy."
Given the lack of activity in front of her, Libby pushes her way to the front and follows Ferrin into the room to the left. Unlike the Inquisitor, she stops to quickly sift through the items on the desk - and through any drawers there - looking for anything that may be useful.
Gideon stands guard in the hallway, restlessly tapping the flat of his blade against his shoulder. His scowl persists as he looks on at the door up ahead, all but certain that more guards would be waiting for them.
"I don't like this. Not one bit," he remarks quietly, tightening his grip on his sword.
Searching the desk at first appears to reveal little of interest. There are some papers that appear to be ledgers and letters that have been doctored. It would take more than a quick glance from an intelligent person to decipher their meaning.
In addition, you find a map with some scrawls on it - it is a map of the prison.
Arash keeps his fingers on the string of his bow, scanning the hall as he moves along with the others. "I don't like this either, but I'd rather be inside at the moment than outside in an open killing ground."
Ferrin looks at the paper in Libby’s hand and says ”A map of the prison? Excellent! And those red X’s must indicate where there are guards, given where we fought that first batch of them. As long as they’re not coming for us right now, it looks like we’ve got a moment to look around and see if we can find anything else useful. And it looks like we’ve got a fight ahead of us if we want to go out the front door. Well, let’s check out what’s behind these doors, and maybe think about a plan for getting past the guardroom at the end of the hall.”
With this, Ferrin opens the door at the far end of the office they’re in, his club at the ready.
The door opens into a slovenly kept bedchamber. There is a bed, a small table and wardrobe. This is clearly the chamber of a senior official at the prison.
"We are currently here. We came from the south, here. The room that Ferrin is in is here. The guard's mess is here.". Libby has returned to the corridor and is holding the map so all can see it. She speaks slowly and clearly, and uses bold, unambiguous gestures, so all those watching know exactly to where she refers. With each mention of the word 'here', she points to the corresponding area on the map.
The girl pauses for a short while to adjust the rope coiled round her body; she seems to be struggling under it's bulk.
"The guard's sleeping quarters are beyond this door here." She points at the door on the north wall of the mess room on the map and then indicates it's direction with an outstretched arm. "These three crosses, I believe, represent guards. I also believe that we - or rather, you - killed them on the stairs back there; however, it's safer if we assume they are still there."
As Libby gives her geography lesson, Ferrin searches quickly through the bedding, anything on the table and the wardrobe, and peeks under the bed before leaving the room. He then opens the door on the north wall of the office.
"Yes...yes...where we are. Good. But where is Tobias? Is there anywhere where it looks like they might keep their animals or insects?" Calvin asks anxiously. He looks at Arash and nods after the Tiefling speaks. "Agreed. Perhaps we can sneak up on them unaware like? What if we went through this door...here?" He points at the door leading out of room 11.
With as much sympathy as she can muster, given their circumstances, Libby addresses the witch. She's realised that he's searching for his pet. "Unfortunately, Calvin, I don't think Tobias is going to be here. We were never supposed to leave this place so they'd have no reason to keep any of our belongings. We can look for him when we're out, if you like, but for now, getting out should be our priority."
She hesitantly extends a comforting arm towards the man but changes her mind part way through her movement.
"Can anyone tell whether it's dark or light outside?".
Poking through the room, Ferrin discovers a locked iron strong box under Blackerly’s bed.
The door in the northern wall of the office is locked.
Ferrin steps into the hall and says, "Libby! Have you got those keys? There's a locked strongbox in the officer's bed-chamber, and we've got a locked door to check out as well."
Once he has the keys from Libby, he returns to the officer's room and tries them all on the strongbox.
"But...Tobias..." Calvin's voice trails off. "It is night outside, I believe," he says quietly, in response to Libby's question.
None of the keys fit in the door or the lockbox.
Failing to find a key that fits, Ferrin attempts to open the strongbox by other means, muttering to himself "This lock can't be more complicated than the simplest clocks I've built."
Unfortunately, the lock does prove trickier. Despite your best efforts, you're unable to unlock the strongbox.
Ferrin studies the lock a moment, continuing to mutter to himself, "Hmm, this is more elaborate than I thought. Must be something worth protecting in here - and now I want to figure the damn thing out. Maybe if I can get the cam to reseat in the housing, I can get this comb pick in place to depress all the bottom pins...no, that's not it...wait, maybe so, almost got it...come on...there! If that didn't do it, I'll have to see if I can smash it open.
"They say that talking to yourself is the first sign of madness."
Libby has left the group and returned, to stand in the doorway of Blackerley's room. She studies the Inquisitor as he works, curious to know who - or, rather, what - he is.
Despite his best efforts, Ferrin is unable to disable the lock on the box. He gets very close with his last effort, but still fails to get it open.
"Hurry up with it in there," Gideon says through the door plainly as he walks down the hallway. Ignoring the door at the end of the hall for the time being, he approaches the next door to the left and listens for anyone that might be inside.
Gideon barely even notices the door he's trying to listen through. He hears nothing.
Following the antipaladin's lead (although hopefully with more success) Libby listens at the locked door in the office room.
"Perhaps we should leave the box for later and try this door instead.". Libby indicates the door she's just been listening at. "I couldn't hear anything through it, although if anyone's beyond it, they've probably been scared off by your curses."
The girl smiles at her own joke as she moves away from the door, giving Ferrin space to work.
"If it is night outside, then we should go, yes? But stupid big ones want to look at papers, look at things. I'm sure they are fine wonderful things that will decorate all our bones when the guards come and kill us. Come daylight we will never get off this island."
Poki complains, but follows the others where they go, ready for any trouble they stir up.
Growing frustrated with the lockbox, Ferrin prepares to unlock the door in the office. The rest of the group gathers in the office in preparation for what lies behind it - assuming, of course, that Ferrin manages to get it open.
He kneels and seconds later hears the satisfying *click* of the lock opening. He opens the door a crack to peer inside and opens it wide moments later.
The room appears to be the prison's storeroom. There are hundreds of torches, several lanterns, kegs of lantern oil, six spare guard uniforms, signal horns, 50’ lengths of rope and two barrels labeled ‘emergency rations’.
Upon inspection, it appears the emergency rations barrels contain maggoty old iron rations that has gotten wet, moldered and not been replaced. They could still be eaten by the brave or the desperate. Hanging in a special rack you see several brands with the runic "F" symbol and a specially made brazier for heating them. You immediately recognize these items as the brands that marked your arms.
After clearing out what you want out of the storeroom, you move down the hallway to try the remaining door. Ferrin tests it tentatively, but finds it's locked. He kneels once more to unlock it, but is unsuccessful.
As you're this close to the door at the end of the hall, all of you are able to hear the sound of voices on the other side. They appear to be walking towards the prison. You hear their boots crunch on the gravel path - they aren't rushing towards you, so you can't decipher their intentions.