Tavrus stood wordlessly, observing what was going on. Edric remained in a dark corner of the room, still, not drawing attention to itself but ready in case of a fight.
"I like simple. Though I'm sure everything I say will be called a lie considering that the merchant thugs will manufacturer any sort out evidence to prove they are right after the fact. Thus allowing them to use their guilty until proven innocent approach to law. Killing unsuspecting people in the streets only to accuse them later so they are justified."
"Regardless, I frequent the Crow often. Meeting with a friend to talk about a business deal. As best that I can guess the witch assumed I kind of looked a member of the mageocracy. Why she would attack someone that she believed to belong to the mageocracy is beyond me. Though it does show how the merchants feel they are above your laws. They killed my friend who is guilty because he knows me? Seems such a harsh penalty. I guess the merchants have the power to kill whom they wish regardless of no proof in taking part in a crime. His young sister will be devastated, especially now that I am her guardian. I of course tried to run for my life but my speed is not able to outrun their magic. And as I was backed into a corner, I did not resist and offered to turn myself in. I made no hostile actions and they continued to try to slay me in front of a dozen or so citizens. They were claiming I robbed some spice merchant. I have no idea what they are talking about. Again, they make their own laws to pass judgment."
Speaking again directly to the man he impersonated. "If I were to impersonate someone it would stand to reason that I met them. Took time to get to know them and learn how they speak. So knowing I will be accused of lying. You good sir please explain where we were to have met. Being the most credible witness for such a thing."
You realize the mans word are very calculated. He is quick with his mind and the phrasing of his answers.
The inquisitor states, "You didn't answer all of the ladies questions. Did you or your friends leave the black feather at Mr Jumai's? A simple yes or no will do."
"Answer the inquistors question and then answer mine." Valdr said simply and stepped back. He was willing to offer this man a plea bargain, but that would be useless if he continued to deny everything or weave lies. It was possible he was innocent, but it did not seem likely. A glance was given to the man who wove the spell making him capable of detecting lies, trying to get clues at to the truth of this man's words.
"What is your name? You said you were meeting with a friend to talk about a business deal at The Crow. What is your business? What is the name of your friend? What was the name of your other friend who died resisting arrest? What is the name of his young sister and where can we find her? She will need shelter and protection. What were you doing with possession of so much contraband?" Valdr rattled off the questions quickly, trying to provide little time for the accused criminal to come up with convincing answers. On the last question he guessed, not yet being appraised of what the man was carrying, but suspected he'd be on target regardless.
"As to answer when we could have met. There are ways to impersonate antoher man using magic. This I am sure you are aware. It seems perhaps you observed or interacted with me in another guise." As he spoke Valdr let his disguise of Tunny slip away to be replaced with the forboding image of the classic hooded executioner.
He would need to ask the merchant's after about the full detail of what this man had in his possession. He suspected the accused had more then just raven feathers on him. The writ of self defense and protection of their own did not authorize them to claim seized goods as their own.
"Rather than pose questions, please speek in statements. Have you seen the man you are accused of impersonating before today? If so, when and where?"
The inquisitor states, "You didn't answer all of the ladies questions. Did you or your friends leave the black feather at Mr Jumai's? A simple yes or no will do."
He replies, "To my knowledge none of my friends handed a feather to Jumai."
The inquisitors face flushes red with anger, but looking at Serelina and Valdr he takes no actions except to lean over to where the young half-orc and the undine with the scorpion breastplate are standing next to each other to whisper to them.
Straining your ears you manage to pick up on what is being said. "You notice he only half answered the question? Answered on behalf of his friends but not on behalf of himself."
"And as for me. If I was some skilled thief that I am accused of being why would I be stupid enough to leave a feather behind me for someone to follow. I suggest that we invoke the powers of divination as this other man suggests you have. Where that will give you the true criminal. Although I have a feeling that you already have and it didn't point you to me. If it did then we wouldn't be having this pleasant conversation."
The undine with the scorpion breastplate leans in to whisper to Valdr.
"They are almost all evasions or half truths. He doesn't frequent The Crow. He knew you were a member of the Mage's guild when he disguised himself as you. He did not go down without a fight until he knew he was caught. His words nauseate me. I am afraid we will get nothing truthful from him. He blabbers like an idiot."
The undine then turns to the inquisitor, "Master...should we be more persuasive?"
He in turn looks to Serelina and Valdr for approval, his face seems eager to try something a bit more persuasive.
Ian listens to the back-forth for awhile, arms crossed, then shakes his head. Looking to inquisitor, he says, "Not panicked, not babbling, he's pickin' his words. 'The merchants think they're above your laws', the kids workin' an angle."
He approaches the prisoner slowly, flexing one of his spiked gauntlets, "Maybe that confidence needs a little softening before you two get started."
Tavrus smirks at Ian's comment about the prisoner working an angle.
So I wasn't the only one that noticed it.
Still in the illusionary disguise of the executioner, Valdr was growing less patient with the criminal. It was clear that this man was purposefully speaking in lies and half-truths, as well as evading providing answer to some of the questions asked. He had been willing to extend the mercy of the tower to this man in exchange for answers, but with each passing utterance from the man’s lips he grow less and less interested in providing anything of the sort.
“This is your last chance to cooperate freely with us before things become more unpleasant for you. I want you to answer each question, with no evasions or half truths immediately. If you fail to do so…” He left that part unspoken. He paused for a moment, taking a deep breath and then having collected the information in his head reordered the asked questions.
“What is your name? Yes or No, Did you leave a black feather at Mr. Jumai’s place? Yes or No, have you ever met Mr. Jumai? Yes or No, did you knowingly impersonate a member of the Mageocracy? Yes or no, when you were captured were you in possession of contraband? Yes or no, were you in possession of items imbued with magic? Yes or No, did you possess a device or spell that allowed you to alter your appearance?” When he spoke that last line of questioning, he looked over to several members of the Merchant guild, before looking back to the prisoner.
“You said you were meeting with a friend to talk about a business deal at The Crow. What is your business? What is the name of your friend? What was the name of your other friend who died resisting arrest? What is the name of his young sister and where can we find her? Yes or No, are you involved in the illegal pesh trade? Yes or No, do you know who Ilvaria Cha'ona is?” Yes or no, do you know who Maklo Roath is? Yes or no, do you know who Cheyle Nayss is? Yes or no, do you have dealings with any of the three individuals I just mentioned?”
“Where is your lair below the streets? Yes or No, Do you know who Drail Banden is? Yes or No, Do know know who murdered Drail Banden?”
Stepping away, the man with the executioner's hood currently shrouding his form looked to the men of Abadar, before looking back to the prisoner and then to his associates. If this man did not answer each and every single question to his likely he would give permission for those eager individuals to begin their enhanced interrogation methods.
A bit preoccupied coming in, Tomlin had taken a backseat to Valdr and Serelina when it came to interrogating the prisoner. The Friends of the Tower had cited Tomlin's communication skills and verbal guile in their recruitment of him, but interrogation was a new arena. More typically he used his social skills to gain knowledge before moving in for a targeted killing, not to query prisoners.
In any event, there appeared to be several cooks in the kitchen as far as the questioning goes. The prisoner seemed more the wily sort, not the best for obtaining useful information. Pain of death had a way of loosening mens' tongues but verifying any of it would be a challenged. Trying to drive a wedge between Tomlin's group and the merchant's mercenaries would be fruitless though. In truth the halfling was wary of the mercenaries but they were far less the enemy than prisoner. It seemed the rest of the group saw the prisoner's strategy in much the same way.
Tomlin acknowledged to himself that he wouldn't mind seeing the prisoner not cooperate for a bit. Several individuals in the room seemed ready to make the prisoner regret that. Instead of throwing additional questions at the man (plenty were posed already) or readying threats, the halfling hoisted his pack off his shoulder and pulled out a set of very well-made manacles. He ensured the prisoner saw this action, as Tomlin was going to focus his efforts on greatly complicated any escape attempt after the interrogation was through.
The young half-orc pipes up, "At least for me this is a waste of time. Most everything the man says is a lie or half truth, and I do not expect that to change. I know all I need to from him and look forward to briefing you all after you tire of his lies. I am ready to have him thrown into a deep hole and locked up where he cannot conjure his ninja magics and where he might reflect on the value of speaking the truth." With that she steps out of the room.
Ian standing before him with his spiked gauntlet seems to get the prisoners attention.
Showing a glimpse of fear for the first time with his eyes on the spiked guantlets, he answers cautiously, "Whoa. There will be no need for that master. My name is Vaek. My friend that the merchants killed is called Maeltheron, though I often referred to him as Mael. It should be noted, that when they attacked us, that they didn't claim we were under arrest for trumped up charges. In fact my friend was killed in mere seconds. So there was no opportunity to pretend to resist arrest. In the way that assassins prefer. I was speaking to my friend about trying to open up a business. One where we obtain magically enchanted items and sell them to would be adventurers. Though our business idea wouldn't be able to come to fruition for months."
Taking in a breath, he keeps his eyes on the spiked gauntlets before shifting his eyes slowly back to Valdr. "It is my understanding that the man who gave Jumai the feather in question went by the name of Gaylen. He is in his late 50's. About 6 feet high. Mostly bald with a little bit of hair around the base of his head. He was a friend of Mael's. He was very bossy, and wanted to kill Jumai's family, but I'm not sure why. Though I do not think that Mael ever met Jumai."[/b]
He takes in a deep breath and visibly cringes just slightly as he answers "My friend's daughter... you will never know her name. You will never know where she lives. I am responsible for her and no one else thanks to murder. You may kill me, throw me into a hole if you wish. And the girl will perish due to baseless accusations."
"Contraband? Now who is throwing out baseless accusations. I thought only the merchants did such a thing. That is about as true as you being the person that you are impersonating and that I'm accused of. If I didn't answer a question, forgive me, so many quick questions its tough to remember what has or hasn't been answered.”
”I will try to answer all your questions, but I am done with having the merchants here, I won't allow them to twist the truth to justify their murder. I will say nothing until I am alone with the Mageocracy. And then perhaps we can get to the real truth.”
”If my request is too much, then you may pummel me, or do as you wish. But the knowledge that I have, that I know the Mageocracy desperately seeks ... no ... that you desperately need to control this city. leaving the merchants here will profit you nothing."
Ian backs off, pacing to calm down while the prisoner speaks, then leans on the wall again. He seems genuinely tense and angry, and has been ever since his brief trip to the south gate before the interrogation.
"The merchant's can leave. The church of Abadar will however stay. Speak now." Valdr spoke through gritted teeth. He did not like this man. He was a weasel and a liar even if he was innocent of everything else, and Valdr very much doubted that he was innocent of the other crimes.
Tavrus remains silent, his face emotionless but interested in the proceedings nonetheless.
The undine who has been listening for lies again leans next to Valdr to whisper to him.
The undine then speaks aloud "If he continues to lie, we should leave a guard here with him and go out of the room to discuss our plans for him."
"Once the undines have left I will share with you what I know. Its up to you."
Despite some painful new bruises received from Ian . Other than some cries and grunts of pain he doesn't say anything more.
"I could always use the prisoner. The dead do give up some secrets." Tavrus says to Valdr, within earshot of the prisoner.
When the undine mentions the prisoner lying, Ian walks up to him again and punches him in the stomach, letting the pain settle in before propping him back upright and backhanding him. He takes his time, comfortable in this, face blank but anger seeping between the cracks each swing.
"Hear that pretty boy? We got a choice between doin' as you ask, and killin' you. Either way, you talk."
He takes the man by the throat, letting him wheeze.
"But I'm bettin' you tell more truths dead."
Ian awaits orders.
Tomlin said nothing as Ian pushed the prisoner to talk. It seemed clear at this point that the prisoner would say no more unless the situation became far more dire. An open room in the current location was not the right one for "more dire" to occur.
Looking at Ian and Tavrus he says, Watch the prisoner for a moment. He then stepped over towards where the half-orc was to converse, and motioned Valdr and Serelina to join him. When out of the prisoner's earshot (and aware with a man of the prisoners training that could be a bit away), he stated I believe little else will get done here. We will take him to the jails where our investigations will proceed. Is there anything else we should know about the situation before we take leave? Tomlin will take in patiently whatever information or ideas the merchant's mercenaries have to offer.
Valdr agreed with Tavrus, Ian, Tomlin and the rest. The prisoner had already lied to them repeatedly. There was no getting any useful information out of him without it being some form of a trap. He scowled, though the expression was hidden by the illusionary hood over his head.
They could not kill the prisoner. That would be going beyond the bounds of the law. Let him receive a proper judgement for his crimes and loose his hand and be sent to one of the work-camps to pay off his debt to society.
When he went over to the side with Tomlin he nodded his agreement. "Securing him in the prisons would be thee best bet. With him and the drow both in thee same location we may want additional guards and support there. Perhaps even list this Vaek under a different name and have another, far distant cell listed as Vaek's." It was clear he was worried about the security of the prison. Anti-magic fields had their uses, but they also severely limited his own capabilities.
"I want to pay another visit to our drow prisoner. Maybe he will be willing to talk more now." He glanced back to the cell where the current prisoner was being held. "It is a pity he did not break his leg when ye captured him."
He looked to the half-orc merchant representative. He wondered how much of her vile Orc blood was in control of her actions. The merchants had caused considerable damage to the area in aprehending this one.
"We will take the corpse of his companion and any possessions he had on him. We may be able to divine further into where their lair is. Thee items may also lead us to thee fence or blackmarket supplying them. What else did this Vaek have on him when ye apprehended him? More then just feathers I trust?"
"Wait a moment."
The witch glares at the prisoner for a few moments, then laughs in a heinous manner and finally touches him on the forehead, leaving behind a scar shaped like a rune.
"That mark will show through any disguise and marks you as mistrusted. My powers can now affect you from a great distance. You also cannot escape scrying by me. In short, you are now mine. If you decide to cooperate at a future time, I will consider removing it."
With Ian's additional administrations the prisoner nearly passes out, but he looks at Ian through puffy eyes, his eyes darting to the two undines and the inquisitor. He speaks in a croak, barely above a whisper. "Have them leave, and I will give you direct truths. I won't allow them in here to twist the simple truths that I am willing to provide. Simple information that can squelch the criminal element in Coran"
Serelina leaves an ugly scar on the mans head, bulging like a massive blood blister for all to see.
The young half-orc replies to Tomlin's query, ”We should have spoken privately before interrogating the prisoner, but no help for that now. I do have quite a bit of information to share with you though. First I want to reiterate our desire to work as a team with you. In fact when we found out where the rogues who had extorted Mr. Jumiai were, my first move was to try to contact you so we could plan a joint attack but you were out of the city. Had we been able to attack them together I do not think 4 of them would have gotten away.”
She then talks freely about the details of the fight, explaining that both the elf that was killed and the ninja, the prisoner, came at her group instead of choosing to flee, when both had plenty of chances to get away. She also explains they did not intend to kill any of the enemy despite the claims of the prisoner. Adding, ”Had I not dropped a stinking cloud spell on them it may have gone poorly for us. The spell proved very effective in keeping several of them out of the fight. Truth is that these rogues are quite tough, and I believe we have taken out the two weak ones.”
”It was at considerable risk that we pulled off the attack in a very dynamic environment. The rogues were on friendly turf and their allies at the crow helped them. We had to strike when we did as they were beginning to depart on some unknown mission of crime. We had good intel and so we acted. But we were pretty lucky and even with surprise we were somewhat outclassed. I expect them to come looking for us now. They seem the vengeful type. Its more important than ever that we work with you as a team. Lets make some plans.”
Nothing in her details cause you pause or give you reason to mistrust her words.
His offer of assistance refused, Tavrus stands about idly as he waits for Valdr to want to work on the prior plan regarding the dead body.
Serelina whispers to Valdr "Perhaps we should question him separately from all of the merchants, including the priest... See if the story changes at all. The merchants hardly have a glowing reputation for honesty and fair play."
"I see no downside to doing our own investigation."
Tomlin nodded sympathetically with the half-orc's statement and recollection of events. He still did not trust the mercenaries, but he detected no lying here. The difference was more of agenda than veracity, it seemed. But the Tower's agenda was the only one that mattered to him.
You were right to look for us before acting; please do so again if similar information comes to light about this group. We are currently pulled in a number of directions, some of which likely do not involve these criminals at all. As a result we may not be able to give this concern our full attention at the moment. Again though, do let us know if additional information about them comes to light.
Turning back to his group, Tomlin attempts to gather them together where no one else will overhear. I believe our next step is to transport the prisoner back to the jails for further questioning. He stated he would speak more there. I get the sense the merchant's mercenaries are his bigger fear and interest. That may give us an opening for further information. He can face the wrack whenever, but perhaps our first step would be to pretend to be a sympathetic friend after he tells us his tale and see if he will open up more that way. I'm happy to lead the questioning on this, with Ian and Serelina playing the role of ugly consequence for his lack of cooperation. What say you all?
Valdr agreed with Tomlin and the other's sentiments and once arrangements were made to take custody of the murdered thief, they would proceed to escorting their new prisoner to the high security areas.
"Prisoner transport, dangerous thing. You never know when the scumbag you caught is important in the underworld."
He asks the half-orc, "Merchants willing to spare a few men to make sure this kid gets put to bed?"
The merchant's deliver up the corpse of the dead elf, happy to have someone else take care of its disposal in any case.
They also bring out the gear found on the prisoner and his dead friend.
Raseb, the merchant bureaucrat answers Ian, "We can provide half a dozen additional guards to assist you."
After looking over the equipment taken by the merchant's from the captive and also the corpse, he gives them a wary look. It was a great deal of wealth (likely stolen) that they had earned for themselves in taking down these two possible criminals. He hoped that they would not conduct additional missions of vigilantism for the sheer attempt at profit. He held up the hat of disguise and the disguise kit.
"This hat of disguise and the disguise kit add further weight to the charge that he was impersonating members of the Mageocracy and perhaps others. The potion of invisibility also brings ill tidings. It could be that these two are major players in the underworld, moving from place to place under disguise or invisibile to common sight." Valdr says to the merchants outside after looking over the equipment.
With the prisoner shackled and your departure imminent the man with the scorpion breastplate who had seeking for lies from the prisoner leans over to whisper to Valdr.
"I will personally make sure we continue to report our activity to you. There is strength in numbers. The Merchant's and the Mageocracy need to stick together. There are many enemies in this city between the Thieve's Guilds and the Rebellion. We are both organizations that maintain order. We cannot have these organizations threatening and killing our merchants or working against the rightful government. I will vow to support you and your associates if you will do the same. If you agree, we need a secret sign to let each other know who each is in times of trouble and any easy way to stay in contact."
You are unsure of his motive in this or whether or not he is sincere in his offer.
Then a little more loudly, but not so loud the prisoner can hear, "I will come with you to see the man to the prisons if you wish."
Valdr nods his head and offers some whispered words to the man in the scorpion embossed armor. Though his face was shrouded by an illusion, he was offering a sincere smile. His motivation seemed to be the same as the priest of Abadar - the maintaining of order and the rule of law. While he understood some of the laws were inefficient and that sometimes corruption or criminals escaped justice, ultimately laws built civilization and he would leave the creating of such laws to the leaders of society. Merchants, the Church, and the Mageocracy were all parts of an orderly society.
"We will accept any offers to escort this criminal. Be on alert, for we suspect there may be two rival underworld organizations at war with each other in the city. You've likely earned the ire from one, but the other might soon view you as a threat as well." Valdr said to all the merchants present.
The trip to the prisons is uneventful and soon the prisoner is locked away in one of four underground cells. The entire cell block is covered by an anti-magic field.
An additional 30 cells, in three cell blocks, house other dangerous criminals at ground level, though without the added precaution of the anti-magic field. Two dozen prison guards patrol the area, many wearing medium armor and armed with longbows, large shields, and longswords. Several are obvious arcane spell casters. A 15' wall surrounds the compound and sunrod's mounted along the outer wall keep the area well lit.
The extra guards from the merchant's depart and Tomlin recovers his manacles.
Once secured in the cell, Tomlin placed his manacles back in his pack and turned back to face the prisoner. He waits a moment in case the priest of Abadar or anyone else has magicks to add. He then says softly, you are now firmly and solely in the hands of the authorities. I understand your concern about the merchants, they are not here now. But we require your full cooperation. You said you had additional information to divulge?
Ian seems tense on the journey to the prisons, and relieved when they arrive. He's quiet for now, letting the others do the talking.
"I am of man of my word. I will cooperate. As a result, you are going to take a leap of faith as well and trust me. I realize that is going to be difficult to do. And before were done here, perhaps you will understand why the Merchants are not to be trusted; as I have found out the hard way. And I would ask that you keep your friend with the heavy hand back. Lay another harmful hand on me, and you will not get what you desire."
He looks around his small cell, "I know I probably didn't answer all of your questions. This was due to unwanted influence that the Merchants appear to have over you. I will do my best to answer all of your questions now. What would you like to know?"
Tavrus will do so but he will be parroting Valdr's questions.
Ian watches the prisoner with a blank dead stare, silent. After the prisoner speaks though, he loses his resolve to stay quiet.
"You and your scumbag kin--every time you open your mouth I think this cell is too nice for you."
He looks ready to kill the kid, but before he says more he glances at Valdr and Tomlin, remembering he's part of a team now. He grits his teeth and shuts up.
Serelina looks to Ian and says, "Let us give him a chance. You can always kill him later, and I can reach him through the Scar whether we are near him or not if he betrays our trust."
She then looks to the prisoner ans says, "I for one find the Merchant's Guilde more than distasteful and would not at all be surprised if they were deceiving us for their own ends. In fact, I would almost expect it. Rather than expect us to guess at the correct questions, assume we know nothing and explain to us who you represent, what your goals are, and why we should trust you and mistrust the Guild."
Nodding to Serelina, he relaxes a bit, though still looks bitter.
"Yeah. Okay. But his kind are better off dead than left to weasel their way out."
Nodding to Ian, Serelina says, "Yes... of course that description applies to more people than we are likely to kill in the near future so we might as well make a blanket exception that includes this one, or else we will be exterminating weasels all day" She then smirks prettily at her own wit.
Tomlin shot Ian a blank look and shook his head before looking back to the prisoner. Good, Ian can play the bad guy role while I and to a lesser extend Serelina can take on the the sympathetic position He nodded as he listened to the witch explain her concerns about the merchants. The Lady is correct, we'd like to hear your point of view
The prisoner responds calmly, "I do not represent anyone but myself. I do not claim to be Imoedae herself, but I am not the scoundrel the Merchants would have you believe. My goals are not so nefarious. Like most people, I am simply trying to make a living and support those whom I am charged to care for. I don't have to agree with everything the government does, but if I wanted to change it I would become a politician and change it the right way."
He takes a breath before continuing. "Why shouldn't you trust the merchants? Perhaps the better question is why should you trust them? Their greed has no end. I wonder ... What did they tell you on how they found me and my friend Mael?"
There is a slight edge to the mans voice, he is not quite so calm as he would put on.
"Assume they have told us nothing, or that we have reason to doubt what they have said. Tell us your side of the story. This is your opportunity to speak, and we are providing you a chance to sway us that you should be believed over the agents of the Merchants."
Valdr, still bearing the illusion of executioner sneers beneath the veil. He was growing more and more convinced that no truth or additional information would be pryed from this man's lips. The criminal was delaying them important business elsewhere, whether it was intentional or not made little difference.
"The man continues to lie. He is a criminal who breaks the laws and believes his clever tongue can allow him to escape justice. A man who simply makes a living and looks out for those he is charged to protect does not need such things as a hat of disguise, a potion of invisibility, magical weapons, disguise kits, or sets of finely crafted thief tools. That is correct, we viewed both your possessions and those of your friend. Your guilt is plain."
"What is your profession? Yes or no, are you involved in any activity or behaviors which are against the laws of the Mageocracy of Coran? Tell us everything or you will lose your tongue and left foot, then spend the next twenty years of your life working off your sentence in the mines."[/b] Valdr was sincere in his words, fully intent on pushing the sentencing to read as such.
He made sure in addition that the prisoner besides just being locked in a cell, remained manacled to the wall of his pitiful prison as well.