The old man stands and walks towards Elara and Mek/Rek, speaking as he does so while making hand gestures as he does so, "A fair point, assassin. The two... my apologies, the THREE of you are all monsters, judged by the holy courts of Talingarde and condemned to die for your heinous crimes."
He begins pacing around Elara and Mek/Rek, but the giant golem keeps them restrained, forcing them to listen to him further, "Well spoken for a beast, aren't you? I actually DO want to hear what the three of you have to say, at least in regards to your crimes. Do any of you have remorse for your sins? Any shame whatsoever? The honorable King Markadian has asked me to personally perform the executions of you three and the rest of the prisoners, so I would like to offer you the chance to die with your souls clean before your last three days are at an end."
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Markus chuckles nervously, "T-that's presuming he doesn't incinerate us first. Richter used to be known as the Firebrand and was a powerful wizard in the past. That was before much of his arcane power was stolen by his wayward apprentice, but he is still not to be trifled with."
Rek seems to find this whole situation hilarious, while Mek's lips are pressed into a thin line, only marred by his tusks poking out. In unison, the Brothers reply.
"Not in the slightest."
"Ya can bounce roight off on 'at, mate."
Elara's mouth ticks upward at one corner. "Monsters. Beast. You judged the moment you saw us," Elara declares in an even tone. Although her expression remains unchanged, there is now an angry fire in her eyes. "Blind. Blinded by bigotry. By zealotry. He has more heads than you have eyes, so you declare him a beast. You care nothing for our guilt."
The fetchling shakes her head in mock sadness. "If I die, your sin. Not mine. Not. Guilty," Elara continues, delivering the last two words in terse exhalations.
The Warden scowls at the three prisoners, "I am not blind, I see clearly. I remember how 'humane' the Ogre Wars were, how villages were slaughtered by his kind. Half-blood or full makes no difference, as he readily proves that his kind is beyond redemption. I tire of this conversation, however." The Warden touches a stone amulet worn around his neck, which begins to glow, "Golem, take the prisoners to the guards that they may be caged like the animals that they are." The golem, made of some strange porous stone, nods and begins to drag the prisoners off.
"Pity we don't see eye to eye," Elara says, inclining her head mere inches to the one-eyed Warden. She stumbles slightly as the golem pulls on her shackles, dragging her forward. In moments, she is walking behind the golem, matching its stride. As soon as she is certain she is out of the Warden's earshot, she turns her head towards the other prisoners, taking careful assessment of them.
"So," she begins, eyes flickering between both heads, as if unsure which one to focus on. She focuses her attention on the left head, which is closer to her. "In for the same crime, or each for a different?" Elara pauses briefly. "Or one guilty, one innocent? Be interesting, if that."
Rek smirks as he and his twin are lead by the golem. "I'm 'ere for bein' so damned handsome," he jokes, "an' me brother 'ere is in for bein' a stick in th' mud." The left brother laughs amusedly, while Mek rolls his eyes so hard they seem they'll pop out of his head. "Banditry. Shut down one of the main roads, because folk wanted to avoid our toll. It's not easy feeding a band of seventy men, you've got to do what you can. They're all dead, now, though, so I suppose it's not really something to worry about anymore," the quieter brother says, shrugging his shoulder. "The two of us are in it together, whether we like it or not, really, so it's hardly a stretch to say that neither of us innocent." For the first time, Mek shows an expression other than a frown, a bitter smile forming around his tusks.
Elara goes quiet as her face takes on a look of deep contemplation. After a few steps, she lets out a single loud bark of laughter. She turns back to Mek and Rek. "Punishment is hanging. Or beheading, depending. Odd images," Elara says apologetically, although she betrays any hint of repentance with poorly stifled laughter.
Rek points at his twin. "He's goin' first, luv. 'ey might think 'bout doin' me, first, though, 'cause they keep complainin' 'at I don't shut me yap. But 'ere ain't no use really worryin' 'bout it. If we is a'ready dead men walkin', no point in gettin' our knickers all soggy," he boisterously states, while Mek rolls his eyes once more. "The likelihood of them beheading you first is significant. I'm not sure if I'm actually against it." Rek, rather than seem offended, continues to laugh, retorting, "We'll see 'bout 'at, brotha. We'll see."
"The gold is nice, but I have no personal use for the rest." Veldrin comments regarding the contents of the box.
"Hmm, we need to figure how best to dispatch the rest of the guards. I still think trying to lure them in here via the horn and taking them out on our terms is the smartest plan. Though I am definitely open to suggestions on how to turn the advantage in our favor as much as possible"
A frown finds its way across Elara's face. "Soggy knickers or no, not dead yet. Condemned is not dead." She takes a few quick steps to get closer to the golem, and prods it with a finger to see if it evokes any reaction. "Do you speak, Golem?" she murmurs to the construct.
Deirdre followed Jaq into the office. Her eyes moving from person to person, sizing them up and gathering impressions. "You keep interesting friends, Jako."
Her gaze snapped to Veldrin when he spoke of dispatching the guards, her face filled with glee. "Oh! Calling the lambs to the slaughter! That sounds like wonderful fun. Perhaps we can paint this place red. It could use the touch of a good interior designer. And I do enjoy redecorating."
Vincent couldn't help but laugh a bit "Fire....oh weak little human, you are afraid of the most silly of things. Fire is nothing but a warm place to rest at night." he said grinning. He felt he had learned a few weaknesses to exploit when it came time to face the warden.
He wandered over to Veldrin now that he had a feeling that the less...trustworthy of his group would back them once a loose end was tied up that was part of the plan already to take care of. He looked into the box "Hmm....most ingredients?" he asked curiously, before dipping down and picking up a bottle and giving them a sniff. He spotted the bit of paper and read it over quickly and thinking for a bit to make sure that might actually work. "Miri, I have you left to talk to about my little plan...How is your acting?" he asked curiously before turning his eyes to Veldrin "Oh, I plan to turn the advantage very much to our favor. You have the right idea indeed on how to get them here but I do need the knowledge of the Miri or perhaps Markus here on where I could get the best possible vantage point to get the drop on the...I assume gate to this prison, would either of you know the best place to watch and not be seen...preferably with a bit of height" he asked out loud.
His attention now drew to the newcomer in the room, his eyes widening a bit at the sight of the being. His curiosity getting the better of him, he moved in close, the claws of his hand reaching out to touch one of the clawed wounds before pulling it back to his maw and tasting it. He sniffed at the newcomer, unsure of the smell as he went over the possibilities in his head, his eyes roaming over the feminine body trying to catch a glimpse of something that might betray her origin of life...or death.
The golem does not even acknowledge Elara, nor does it respond to her poking it.
Miri lets out a haughty laugh at Vincent's words and begins speaking like a cultured noblewoman, "Acting, dear boy? Acting is such a... coarse term. Fulfilling a role sounds much more appropriate for someone of my talents, yes". Miri then kneels down before Vincent and grasps at the hems of his clothing, a look of severe emotional turmoil appears on her face with tears rolling down her eyes, as she whimpers out, "P-please, spare me sir! I have a family, I have children! I won't tell a soul, honest!". She then stands up, wipes the tears from her eyes, and smirks as she speaks in her normal, husky voice, "Good enough acting for you?"
Mek and Rek shrug simultaneously when it's clear that the golem has no intention of replying. "He ain't much o' a talker, luv. But 'at's a'right, I can talk plenty for 'im!" At Rek's boast, his brother shakes his head, the shackles preventing him from facepalming. "I wish you wouldn't, brother," the soft-voiced twin adds.
"Anyways, where th' hell is 'is bucket o' bolts takin' us?" Rek's brow creases as he asks the question, though it's not clear who he expects to answer it.
Elara frowns, and discontinues her investigation of the golem. "Hum. Seems we need the amulet," she says with a shrug. "Was worth testing."
"Where?" Elara shuts one eye, and attempts to adopt the somber tone of the Warden. "'Take the prisoners to the guards that they may be caged like the animals that they are.' Would guess to a cell," Elara says, re-adopting her normal voice.
"Second guess is a zoo," she adds with a ghost of a smirk. "Less likely."
At the mention of the zoo, Rek sobers up almost instantly. The hard frown on his face seems amazingly uncharacteristic after his previous bluster. "We ain't no beast for folks t' laugh an' point at," he growls in a dark tone. Mek nods deeply, adding, "How rare, something we agree on." With that, the Brothers both clam up. Only the sound of their chains clinking against one another and their bare feet tapping against the hard prison floors come from the twins.
The golem exits the Warden's tower with the prisoners still in tow. The parapets have guards patrolling, though a few seem distracted.
The golem begins ponderously approaching the main building with the assassin and the Half-Ogre in tow.
The sharp, coppery tang of blood came from Vincent's taste-test of what resided in those gashes. "Isn't Paladin blood just wonderful?" On her forehead, a mark glows. It is the same mark that Jaq has been branding on corpses and elsewhere in the prison.
Vincent's tongue rolled over his scaly lips and grinned toothily "Yes...though the taste of any human can be quite enjoyable if prepared properly" he said as he turned about and looked around. His eyes dipping over to Jaq for a moment before looking at the rest of the group. "Well, we ready to storm a Warden and get the hell out of here?" he asked eagerly.