Thistletop
Nualia shakes and sizzles as electricity courses through her, instead of screaming and dying though she moans with pleasure, "Mmmmm Lia, untie me and let's do that again..." She licks her lips in delight.
Matrim ascertains that neither door is trapped. He also realizes that the only way to open this portcullis is by opening that damned door...
The portals still have not moved.
"By Abadar's blessed calculus. Stop playing with her already...." Drasven grumbles as he brings out a saw and begins sawing away at the bars....
Ro cracks open the door on the right, across from the demon dog door, and takes a peek.
Matrim feels a little silly and then stands next to the door as it opens, weapons ready.
Anger clouds Karmid's face as the Aasimar's insane giggle erupts.
"I'm sorry Nualia. You are too far gone. In the name of Sandpoint, I deem you EVIL, and in the face of Gozreh's teachings and judgement...unnatural. For the lives your actions have cost in Sandpoint and beyond, and any unknown evils we have yet to discover, I deem you GUILTY. Sentence is death."
Karmid then severs the helpless woman's neck with his Klar's blade quickly and efficiently.
Edgar very much attempts to stop all these murder attempts, as they do strike him personally as murder rather than justice. "Now! Why are you turning your weapons on a prisoner thusly? There is no honor in your actions." He doesn't physically stop anyone, but he does protest and tries to interpose himself after the lightning strike.
Uldar isn't in the habit of killing prisoners, but he's not sure Nualia should have been left alive in the first place. She's clearly done some horrible things. It might be best to let Pharasma judge her.
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Karmid does not look at Edgar as he replies, Nualia's blood spray still warm on his face and chest. His voice was steady and sorrowful as he watches the woman's life flicker from her eyes.
"Honor and Justice are often mutually exclusive my friend. Remember dragon-man: I grew up with the witch. She was in all but name my sister. Her betrayal went too far... and I had to end her evil. Like it or not, it needed to happen for the good of all and Sandpoint especially. Lia meant well because I hesitated, but it is better done as painlessly as possible from my hand than any other."
"It did not need to happen this way, you will never convince me of it. I accept that it is done and there is nothing I could do to dissuade you, but if any of you harms another in my protection, we will have it out." There is sorrow in his voice, not bravado. He's saddened for his own failure, for needless death, and for the fact that he's evidently at odds with the rest of the party in how things should be handled.
Flutter sides with Karmid, sitting down on the Shoanti's Earthbreaker:"Her life was forfeit. You know that. For what she has done, there was no other punishment in the books of law. Her guilt is proven, and a trial would only have been a formality. Holding her in Sandpoint and sending her to Magnimar would have been the proper lawful way, but it would have given her more chances to avoid her fate and cause yet more death and chaos. You may have preferred to take that risk regardless, but don't be quick to judge others who would rather not. Her destiny was sealed, only the when and by whom was uncertain. We act with the blessing of the Gods, and the authority of the Cathedral and Militia both. It was within our right to choose how long we would postpone that final verdict."
"You speak of rights. What rights we have only are those given by the gods, all else is taken. I do not deny your truth, as you saw it, but what is and what may be are two different things. What has been is a murder, not a proper execution. A slaying of a party, however guilty, is not excused by its convenience. There is honor in defending oneself, but there is no honor to be had here." He kneels over the fallen Nualia, and prays, readying oil to burn her.
"What is and what may be are not different! They are all fluid.", Lia interjects, quickly cut off by Flutter again:"Is not all slaying convenient? In self defense or otherwise? I don't question your conviction, but you seemed less reluctant to kill in combat. How is that honorable when it is murder all the same? We are the intruders here. We murder to avenge murder, to prevent more murder, to survive, but we kill all the same. So far, I had not seen you go out of your way to make sure your opponents survive the battle."
Ro can't think over the bickering. "Excuse me for a minute Matrim."
Ro marches down to the bars, she looks tired, and tense, and irritable.
"Edgar, let's get our facts straight about what's happened and when. You all drafted me to lead this mess. Every single decision I've made since then has been about two things only. Finishing what we've come here to do, and seeing to it that every one of us gets back alive and in one piece."
"I put her down yesterday, and I alone decided not to kill her on the spot. The single reason I didn't was the possibility that she might tell us what we need to know to finish and go. She instead decided to treat us being in mortal danger as a spectator sport. I gave her options. She made her choice in no uncertain terms. I followed through. I made the call, and everything that's happened here is on me and me alone."
"Now if you want to call this a murder or an execution or whatever you go right ahead. I don't really care what you call it. And if you just can't abide by it, by all means when we get back to Sandpoint take your complaint to the Sheriff, or the Mayor, or the public, or some muckety-muck in Magnimar. Or if you think you'll do better round everyone up and draft yourself or someone else to do this s!#@ty job."
"But I will tell you straight right now that I will keep deciding things according to the priorities I've laid out, and those will not include your honor, or your broad concept or honor, or the niceties of what this or that god might prefer. This is a family, and I'm going to protect it above all those other things."
"Now I have to go back to trying to solve our actual problems. Burn the body if you want, but keep her head. We have goblins to stare down later."
Ro spins about and goes to rejoin Matrim.
Matrim says in a lowered voice, "I thought we were suppose to be quiet, not to alert anyone that's beyond this door... He moves to open it up the rest of the way. Time to see whats beyond this portal.
"Are we done debating the rights and wrongs of what has occurred? I'd prefer we do this away from here and when everybody is safe? We do have companions who are trapped on the other side?" Drasven points out calmly even as he is horrified how these youngling just killed their prisoner despite wanting to bring her in for trial.
His hands and arms may have started cramping as he continues sawing through the bars...
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Edgar chokes up a bit, from what specific thing it is hard to say. "Then take her head and burn the rest. I won't defile a corpse. You don't have to worry about the authorities, I'm not going to seek punishment. No one is served by that. I cannot sit idly by and let murder happen." His emotions are both fighting to overwhelm him and straining to hold themselves back. He brushes something from his eye, then stands.
Jili just stands stock still and waits for all the discussion to end. I don't think she could be redeemed, and she was being mean. That couldn't have been an easy call for Kharmid or for Ro.
She clears her throat and clears it again speaking slowly and calmly to make sure the words come out in common instead of something else, "I think you made the right decision. She would not tell us what we needed to know, and I doubt the town could have held her for long. This was for the best. I don't believe she could be redeemed, and we just hurried the inevitable. It was today or a few days from now in the town square."
She gives Edgar a pat on the back. "Even though not everyone agrees with the choice."
Thistletop
Karmid metes out long overdue and well deserved punishment to Nualia. At her death throes, the hounds to the north bay, it seems they heard, or smelled, or sensed their mistresses death.
Kyrie lets out a breath, "Whew, I was hoping you all would do that, she's relentless and would have pursued your deaths again if she could have".
Ro discovers a southern hallway to her right, not a long one only 10' which leads to yet another door.
Just as nerves reach their frayed end in the debate over the execution of Nualia, the portcullis slowly rises...
Karmid retrieves his dropped hammer and quietly reminds Kyrie without looking at her.
"I just killed one of the closest things I have to a sister. I... loved...her. Don't ever mention her again in my presence. You just don't get to do that. Lia? Keep your new 'pet' on a quieter leash."
He then hesitates in front of the trap.
"Ro? How do we keep it from going off again? Is there some way to disable it now that it has reset?"
"Maybe we can wedge something in there to keep the portcullis from falling again," Uldar says, carefully walking over to see if he can examine the mechanism. At least that way he can look like he's doing something useful and not invading on what he feels is clearly a delicate matter regarding their recently dispatched foe.
Matrim looks at it and tries to break it.
i think that will do.
Stowing his saw, since there isn't much use for it and it wasn't doing much anyway.
"Shall we proceed this time?"
Lia turns to Kyrie:"He knows it, but he doesn't want to hear it. But thanks for saying it anyway because it will help him accept the necessity later, in bed. But maybe let us not talk about her any more for the time being."
After wiping her Starknife, Lia traces Nualia's shoulder and grotesque arm down to her hand, instantly forgetting her own suggestion:"What do you think she was trying to turn into? Has she ever mentioned it?"
"We ARE aware of the traps trigger mechanism. We may not even need to disable or break it. Heck, you two could jump back over here, second person opens the door and we let the trap take care of whatever is beyond that door. Doesn't sound too intelligent."
A butterfly, of course, could not shrug. But the way Flutters voice carried the meaning across well implied a shrug.
Thistletop
Uldar is sure that the proper tools do not exist to slow down or stop the portcullis, at least not with the Godtouched, it would be the pressure plate that needs to be disabled.
Matrim attempts to disable the pressure plate, this time he is not sure if he was successful or not...
Kyrie whispers back to Lia, "Not sure, some kind of Demon I think".
When the trap finally resets itself, Ro comes back down to rejoin the others.
"That makes things so much easier. I was thinking we'd have to do something of the sort mentioned by Flutter, but with the bars as a barrier to keep the dogs away while shooting them down. If the trap can do all the work, so much the better. Nobody, namely Matrim and me, are stuck over the wrong side trying to figure out where to hide until they're dead."
"So, here's the deal. Everyone waits on the far side of the trap from door the dogs are behind. One very brave person opens the door to let the dogs out and runs back, jumping over the pressure plate, as fast as they can. The dogs follow, spring the trap, and get filleted."
"Do we have a volunteer?"Ro asks with a grin.
Karmid smirks wryly.
"Normally I would say I would do it, but I'm not much of a jumper. Climb a wall, track a deer over miles, sneak up on an enemy...that's me."
"Can we not open the door magically so that we don't have to risk anyone or summon a creature or such?" Drasven ventures a question.
Jili moves up carefully and gives Kharmid a hug when he finishes yelling at Kyrie. "I"m sorry. That had to be so hard."
"I'm terrible at acrobatics. I'm sorry I can't run and jump." she'll tell Ro.
Karmid nods in thanks at Jiliana's touch, without moving or getting embarrassed this time. It is pretty obvious he needed the compassion more than he would admit at the moment.
That's a whole lot of silence...
"Right. So, last chance. Anyone up for releasing the dogs?" Ro asks without much optimism.
"I have no objections." Drasven checks his crossbow once and makes sure that its ready to fire..
"I can do it if he doesn't want to.", Lia answers while pointing at Matrim.
Karmid sighs.
"I'll do it. I'm probably the best in close range anyway if I have to fight them. Everybody get ready."
He slings his hammer on his back, and gets ready.
Thistletop
"Hang on, just stay where you are Karmid. Matrim, go ahead and join the others over on the other side. I've got this." I hope.
"Don't step on the plate yourselves, the shiny part there." Ro points the unusually shiny portion of the floor out to everyone again just in case.
"Hopefully the trap will do the work for us, but be ready with your weapons in case things go sideways. And back up enough to give me space over there. I'll be coming at you very fast and will need a place to land."
Ro prepares herself with two spells, casting Heightened Awareness and Guidance. Ro also takes a moment to remind Desna she's her girl and deserving of some special, lucky consideration.
She then approaches the door quietly, trying not to alert the dogs inside that anyone has approached. She also listens carefully to see if she hears anything from inside the room with the dogs to suggest a strong reason not to proceed.
+++++++++++++++
Ro throws open the door suddenly, then turns to run just as fast as she can. Once she's within jumping range, she vaults over the smooth section of the floor to the other side where the rest of the crew is waiting.
Jili stands still and waits ready to cast Bless if the trap doesn't take out the dogs. Ro's pretty smart. I'm glad we voted her the leader.
Matrim touches his self and activates Cats Grace. Then follows after Ro.