Numair yells to the others, "Hold! Allow me to talk with him. A moment or two cannot make a huge difference at this point. I know he is trying to stall until reinforcements arrive, so I will make this quick. Someone please keep an ear out for the sounds of footsteps. The rest - keep your eyes on Blackerly and if he moves to attack, strike him down."
Quickly focusing on the sergeant himself, Numair replies to him, "We will be exiting this prison regardless of your help, Sergeant. I gave you an opportunity to talk before and you rejected it. Now you plead to save your worthless life. I wish to know two things, and if you throw down your weapon now and tell them to me, perhaps something can be worked out. First thing - where can we find Mathias Richter and how do we get there from here? Second thing - where is your stash of money? You have 10 seconds to reply and reply truthfully. 10 ..."
intimidate
sense motive
perception
Felrin does not step any closer to Blackerly, but raises his bloody claws in front of him. He opens his mouth in a wide, sharp-toothed snarl, easily big enough to bite of half the corrupt sergeant's face, then says, "Do as the man says, or I'm going to find out what that potion tasted like, by biting through your guts!"
Nosy, aintcha? And this is why I've excluded any descriptions or modifiers. :P
"YEAH!" Twigs perks up, gingerly nursing his gums and prodding Numair insistently. "'an... an' ask 'im about my teef, would yew?"
2:15 am
seriously - stop looking here!
The group and Tomas stare each other down, both parties alert with their senses fully heightened, watchful for any move from the opposition that may signal the resumption of hostilities.
You can see Tomas panting from his recent exertions, his chest heaving as Numair and the Felrin-trog thing give him the ultimatum. Tomas nods slightly as Numair finishes. I can tell you all you want to know about Mathias. I don't give a damn about his well-being.... money? His free hand slightly strays towards his belt pouch before coming back up again in a defensive posture Money you can have too. Can't spend it if one is dead... but if you think I'm giving up my weapon boy - you got another thing coming! I didn't get to be sergeant by being a fool and this sword of mine is the only thing keepin' me alive right now. We can go ahead and start swinging if you like... and you lot might very well get lucky and cut me down, but not before I take at least a few of you with me.
Beyond the shut front doors, Giltharon suddenly hears a faint blood curdling scream - which is cut off just as abruptly. Apparently Tomas heard the same as he risks a glance behind him at the doors and back at the Felrin-trog thing, shuddering slightly and involuntarily taking a few steps back.
Addressing Numair directly, distinctly avoiding looking at Felrin and Malum, he continues You're also right about the reinforcements boy. I don't need to stall. Boris got away and this entire prison will be on full alert within minutes - including who you're looking for - Warden Richter he almost spits the last two words out. I'll tell you how to get out of here alive... but we do it *MY* way. I intend to get out of this alive... or you can take your chances with the couple dozen guards that will be here within minutes.
He takes a defensive posture with his sword held in front of him but not overtly threatening the group.
He squints at Numair trying to gauge the reasons why the wizard might want to know Mathias' location Mathias... What choo want with that weaselly idiot anyway? Thinks he knows it all... bah. This time of night he'd likely be in his tower - sleeps by himself in there, unless the guards wake him because of this... incident. But you don't wanna go there. It's to the south of the prison - away from the gatehouse and the bridge to get you off of this island!
Looking over the rest of the group, he makes his counter-proposal -
My weapon stays with me... for defense only, should anyone have a change of heart after you get what you want. As a sign of good faith, I'll tell you this - You get anywhere near the main gatehouse and they will make pincushions out of you lot. There are arrow slits that cover the prison and my guards can barricade the gatehouse and rain down arrows upon you lot all night.
He sighs, his shoulders dropping slightly Let me walk back to my office and I'll tell you where you can find transportation that may help you cover the fact that you're prisoners. Once there, shut my door, lock me in so I can claim I knew nothing of your escape... and I'll yell out the password that will let you pass through the guardhouse on the other side of the bridge unchallenged. Our man Gregor, uses it on a nightly basis so the guards will have no reason to suspect any different.
That's the only way, you get the password... and I get my safety! as he finished he reaches down to a small pouch hanging from his belt and tosses it at the group. The coin purse lands near Twigs The money you asked for. Now - do we have a deal? Or are you going to take your chances with my blade?
Twigs licks his lips, pleased to have the man who roughed him up and branded him at his mercy. He will eagerly snatch up the purse with a move action, readying a thrown dagger toss (+1, 10ft. range increment) if Numair gives the signal. "Dis fellers nothin' but a two-bit, leaky little weasel, he is..." Twigs says, breaking into his gap-toothed grin "I fink dat means we can trust 'im. But we'll be 'aving this password now, not when yer safe behind yer door with nuffin' but yer bad breff for company. Wot'choo take us for, eedjits?"
His squirrely eyes turn to Numair. "Oh. Sorry chief. I'll let yew do the talkin', eh?"
Edit:
Tilting his head as he heard the muffled scream from outside, Gil quickly noticed noone else had seemed to take notice, no eyebrows arching of expressions changing.
"I think the other one, Boris was it, who escaped, has been caught by Jack. Thats just a guess ofcourse, but I heard a scream out there just now...as did Tomas here, from the looks of it. So he was lying about expecting reinforcements atleast."
Felrin studies Blackerly closely as he speaks and snarls in frustration. He then speaks in his guttural, troglodyte voice, "I don't trust him. And I want to kill him, here and now. But his offer is probably our best chance out of here. But if Grumblejack killed Boris, and is making a stir out there, we have a moment to figure this out. Enough of us are already dressed like guards, we can all dress that way and probably bluff our way out of here, especially if he gives us the password."
"Agreed, except we have no way to be sure he will give us the correct password. In fact, he would have no reason to give us the correct one. Once he was locked in his room and we left, the wrong word would leave us pincushions and him the hero. There would be nothing stopping him from rousing the entire prison and crushing us, which he would certainly do.
"Blackerly, I know you likely have another set of keys in your room which you could use to escape. It's probably where you've hidden the rest of your gold, which we know you have.
"I believe most of what you say, I just know that a dishonorable man as yourself would betray us in a heartbeat. No plan will work or be acceptable where we leave you behind alone and armed."
Tomas' eyes go wide as Giltharon mentioned the ogre. Jack? Grumblejack?! You idiots let that - that *thing* loose?! He casts a fearful glance at the closed front door and steps towards the group. If he's out there, then all the best to you. That beast killed 3 of my men as we tried to get him in the cell and you let him LOOSE?!
He shakes his head listening to Twigs and Numair I have no reason to lie. Go meet your makers with the ogre... what do I care? He lets out a sinister chuckle. Betray you? Of COURSE I'd betray you! All you lot deserve to burn in hell. But I value my life more than I do watching a bunch of prisoners get what's coming to them...Jam my office door if you think I want to follow you sorry lot out there after you leave. No thank you - I'm going to head back now and barricade myself in. You can let me pass or you can try your luck and we see how many I take with me to the world beyond. I tell you where Gregor's carriage is and the password when I'm safely behind closed doors in my office.
As he finishes talking, Tomas casts another quick glance at the front door behind him to reassure himself there's no ogre standing there. Holding his sword out defensively, he walks slowly and cautiously back to the group and puts the wall at his back sidestepping his way past the front-liners.
Malum calls out in Infernal "Felrin, halda árás fyrr en ég koma myrkrið!
Malum will delay for Twigs and Izzy's actions, then he will use darkness on himself which should engulf both this allies and Tomas.
A sphere of darkness erupts from Malum's chest expanding outwards cloaking the hall and those in it into darkness.
"Now Felrin! Rend that bastard who branded us with acid!
Tomas is effectively blinded, and so should suffer a -2 to AC and lose his Dex mod. Creatures moving must make a DC 10 Acrobatics check to move faster then 1/2, if they fail they fall prone.
Casting a puzzled glance at Malum as the priest spoke in his garbled tongue, Gil managed to utter a "What are you...?" before the sudden darkness interupted him. Completely blind, he cautiously backed away from where he had last seen Tomas.
Numair backs up as far as possible, and readies an action to cast daze if Tomas leaves the darkness area.
As Tomas begins approaching with his sword out, Numair scowls, "You presume too much, Blackerly. WE will dictate terms, not you! You are no longer in charge here!"
Now realizing Malum's intent, but not certain as to what Felrin may do, Numair figures that a daze spell could help regardless. He instantly throws the words out and the magical energy smacks Blackerly in the face, sending him reeling for a mere moment.
Blackerly DC 15 save vs daze
With Tomas dazed, Malum will hold off on the darkness and will instead aid another for Felrin to disarm him.
Malum's tail wraps around Tomas' neck and shakes him slightly.
Felrin sees his fellow tiefling distracting Blackerly in a most unusual fashion, just as Numair calls out suggesting the sergeant might be more pliable without a sword in his hand. He takes a quick step forward and rakes his claws down the man's forearm and onto the hilt of the blade, sending it clattering to the ground.
He continues his movement forward just enough to bring his hideous, foul-smelling face close to Blackerly's startled one and says, "I believe we'll be re-negotiating your proposal slightly."
"You're not going anywhere, Blackerly."
Izabelle circles around him, taking a casual swing at him as she passes, more to block his escape than anything.
T-Treachery! gasps Tomas as Numair casts his spell causing him to blink repeatedly to clear his vision. Moments later, he feels Malum's tail go around his neck - right before the Felrin-trog thing deftly disarms him of his weapon.
"I believe we'll be re-negotiating your proposal slightly." smirks the hideous creature. Tomas simply stares back his big bulging eyes completely shocked. He looks down to glance at his fallen sword, only to have his neck snap back as the gangly rogue lets loose with a flurry of blows aimed at his face.
Izabelle and the rest of the group encircle the sergeant to cut off any avenue of escape... not that he appears to be going anywhere. Hands on his knees and spitting out blood and teeth, Tomas looks up and glowers at Numair. And you heathens question why you belong in Branderscar... why you are treated like animals... because you bloody well are! I offer a way out and - he wipes his bloody mouth with a sleeve - this is how its appreciated. I know my life is forfeit... it'd be too much to ask you savages to let me live when you kill for the sheer enjoyment of it. I hope the Lord of light condemns you all to rot in hell for eternity!
Crossbow reholstered, Gil walked up to stand in the circle. "Come now Tomas, dont tell me a man like yourself is the type to resign himself to his fate? If we kill you, what does it matter if you tell us what we want to know? Your death is assured if you do not...Or have you suddenly grown enough of a conscience to not do everything to have a chance? I may not be a law abiding man, but I keep to a serious promise. I personally will let you live if you tell us everything that may be of use. I leave it to the rest to voice their own feelings on the matter." He looked around at his companions, expression as serious as ever.
"Treachery? Please. I told you to drop your weapon and you ignored that. You failed to realize that you weren't in charge of the situation any longer. We are. You ask how many of us you will take with you? My answer: none. We decide what you will and will not do, and we decide the terms of an arrangement. Not you. And you need to understand this before any additional talks can happen.
"Now that being said, you yourself know that many of us follow the majesty of Hell. While that may disgust you, you are still bound to know that as such, contracts are quite sacred to us. And I am still in a lenient mood, such that a contract that leaves you alive may still be a possibility.
"I told you we would be leaving this prison with or without your help. However, having your help does make the difference between us fighting our way out and a blood bath, versus potentially just walking out. So … you will be our hostage. First, you will tell us truthfully what happened to our possessions and where they are located. Second, you will take us to ‘visit’ the warden. Then, we will walk out the front door, with you telling your men to stand down. Or perhaps, at a distance, we can even appear as more guards walking out with our sergeant. Either way works. Then, once we are a suitable distance away, perhaps a mile, the six of us will release you unharmed.
”Now should you, at any time, betray us by trying to escape, attacking us, ordering your guards to attack, or similar tactic, this contract and your life becomes forfeit and your soul becomes property of the Dark Prince. By the same token, should any of the six of us further harm you unprovoked, we suffer the same applies to us (and I assure you, Hell takes a dim view of those who do not honor their contracts).
”So, these are the terms. I am willing to agree to them.” Turning to the rest, Numair asks, ”Are you all willing to agree to the verbal contract I have described?” Back to Blackerly, ”and do you agree? Note there is no further negotiation; it is this or we kill you now. And after the ‘souvenirs’ you branded us with, you must realize it will NOT be a quick or painless death.”
Sense Motive on his response
Intimidate
diplomacy
Does he appear to have any manacles on him? Or do any of the dead guards? Also, I'd like to wait on Blackerly's response until the rest of the group has a chance to voice any "ammendments" they might want.
"I'm willing to agree to those terms."
"While I would relish the chance to hear his dying gasp... This could be just as sweet."
Tomas hangs his head appearing completely beaten. Fine - I agree to your 'contract' - the last word is almost spat out in disgust. But I don't have your possessions... and that's the truth. When you were condemned in Matharyn and transported here, your possessions were burnt. They'd be no use to anyone here at Branderscar.
He turns to look sullenly at the half-elf. Conscience? No I have no desire to give up my life for the sake of withholding information. But as I said - I know your kind... and this -pointing to his bloodied face - is ample proof of your actions.
He looks to the others with a questioning look before turning to answer Numair Mathias is likely in his chambers at this hour of the night... but that is at the other end of the prison. His tower lies to the south - go out this building and circle around out back. You'd be going in the opposite direction of the bridge leading off the island. He gives a shrug. But it's your funeral... I can take you there if you wish. He hasn't asked for any guards to be posted and no one ventures close to that tower at night.
Tomas sinks down to the floor, his back sliding against the wall and looks up at the rest of the group as Numair finishes outlining his plan. That's a bold plan boy - but you forgot something... I wouldn't need to *order* the guards to attack or detain you. We have protocols in place for them to act on should they suspect anything is amiss. Having me as your hostage isn't going to help your cause. They know my routine. Every other day, I host a card game in the gatehouse until shortly after 2. He blinks seemingly wanting to justify his actions. It's good for the morale... and the men don't see me again until well into the morning. We do not send out any patrols at night! If they see me walking back with you lot, they would automatically be alerted.
He sits for a few moments, his face contorting and frowning every now and then. Some decision finally made in the depths of his mind, he speaks again Grab the signal horn off one of the men you... killed. Three sharp blasts on the horn is the alert and aid signal - used in case of emergencies, escape attempts and such. One long blast is to announce incoming or outgoing personnel and is the signal to open the main gatehouse as well as the portcullis at the end of the bridge. If you are challenged, the password this week is 'Ramshorn'. Gregor, one of our cooks - - he has a carriage he takes in to Varyston usually at night so he can be there by dawn for supplies. It should be parked by the side entrance to the kitchen. *HIM* the guards are accustomed to! Take him with you instead and a few of you might be able to slip out in the carriage.
Finishing his speech, he slumps on the floor, dejected and forlorn. I've given you what you asked for. Take me with you if you wish but - he looks to everyone else except Numair who originally proposed the deal - hold me blameless if things don't go as you plan!
Gil followed the conversation intently, searching for any signs of deceit in Tomas' words and facial expression.
"Pfff, I don't have much interest in all this Hell talk, but on the matter of contracts at least we agree."
Finding the situation well in hand, he walked to the door, opening it slightly and looking outside.
"So, if our things are gone, what is there to take instead Tomas? Surely there's an armory or something similar somewhere? And whats behind those locked doors in your office?"
2:20 am
Finding the situation well in hand, he walked to the door, opening it slightly and looking outside.
Tomas nods slowly as Giltharon interrogates him. The armory is right there... pointing to the northern-most door in the hallway on the west wall. Just standard issue stuff for the guards.
He holds his hands palm up making sure the group sees them empty and reaches down slowly to his belt and brings out a key-ring holding about a dozen keys. The locked doors in my office don't hold anything sinister. They just lead to my sleeping quarters and the storeroom for the rest of the prison supplies - spare uniforms and such. These will open the doors... he says as he holds out the keys for someone to take.
"Twigs, can you do a search of the armory and let us know what it contains? I would also like some manacles, if you happen to find them, and if you can recover a signal horn or two as the good sergeant suggested. I do not wish to bring him along with free hands." Numair warily takes the keys from Blackerly and hands them over to the rogue.
"Felrin and Sabel, while we will all watch him, I would definitely prefer you two to remain closest. Should he break our contract, you are best situated to deal with him."
Talking to everyone now, Numair asks the question, "So what is the preference? I still wish to visit Richter; a spellbook would be invaluable to me ... and all of us, actually. As for leaving, do we go out on foot or try for the carriage? I have my doubts that it will fit us all. If we go on foot, perhaps Gil should look for our large 'friend' as well. It would be good to have his help again."
"One step at a time, lets see what supplies we can use. But I like the irony of just riding out in the carriage, but if it doesn't fit us all then we need to figure something out."
Felrin's transformation to a troglodyte reverses itself as he stands menacingly in front of the defeated sergeant. After Numair lays out his ideas for a plan to get out, Felrin says in his normal, reasonably human-sounding voice, "Aye, I'll guard him, with pleasure. Give me a moment. Sabel, keep a close eye on the bastard, would you?" Felrin then returns briefly to the dining area to the east and recovers the leather-padded club he dropped there. Returning with it, he menaces Blackerly with it raised high, saying, "This way I can beat him good if he tries anything, but we'll still be sticking to our side of the deal not to kill him. But he won't like it."
As Malum speaks, Fel laughs and says, "Now that I like, riding out of this damned place in a carriage. Let's see if we can't make that happen, Malum."
"'cor, now yew wanna go in there?" Twigs grumbles, hobbling up to the door and rapping his fingers on it. He nurses his bruised shoulder from his previous attempts, spits, and gives it a swift boot.
"Let's not waste too much time." Izabelle says, not averting her gaze from the fallen man.
She crouches beside Blackerly and brushes her hand past his face, gathering a dab of blood upon her finger.
"Don't try anything funny." she smiles, running the bloody finger across her lower lip. She stands again, savouring the iron taste as the blood invigorates her. "Hrm, much better. I quite like this look on you."
2:25 am
The doors to the armory and the storeroom both lay open but the rooms beyond are dark. Looking about, Twigs grabs one of the torches off a sconce in the office and sets about rummaging through the armory and storeroom.
By the time he's done, both rooms are a mess. Dusty shelves sideways on the floor, barrels opened with contents thrown about, boxes rifled through.
In the middle of the hallway where the rest of the group stands with Tomas is a growing heap of odds and ends that Twigs thinks might aid with the escape in addition to what Numair asked him to keep an eye out for.
oi! almos' forgot these grins the rogue with his gap-toothed grin as he hands over a pair of manacles to Numair.
Twigs will snatch up the dog-eared book, peering over his shoulder before hiding it on his person before gathering up a few weapons, the manacles, a signal horn and some rope and heading outside, distributing it among the others.
Gil shook his head at the carriage idea "I dont like it. Even if Tomas here thinks it will work, if it doesnt, we will all be squeezed together in a tight space and easily surrounded. Id personally prefer to just keep moving forward, getting rid of whoever stands in our way. As for the Wizard, I still agree we should pay him a visit, but for different reasons. Once they realize we are gone, he likely has the means to magically contact local authorities. Id rather see to it that any contact has to be delivered on foot."
Peeking outside again, he looked at the group for a moment "I will go look for Jack. I have a spell to easily outrun any would be pursuers if I were to be detected. Give me a few minutes before you proceed to look for escape. Why dont you ransack this whole building? There cant be too many rooms left to search."
Walking to the pile, he picked up a signal horn "Two blasts means ive been detected, four blasts means ive been detected and am running back to you. Be ready to stage an ambush if thats the case."
Confidence in his own assessment as high as ever, he started out the door, not waiting for anyone to agree "Why wouldnt they, its the best course of action of course!"
"I think we need to take a look at the locked rooms in the 'good' Sergeant's office."
Malum will walk over to Twigs to get the keys.
"Twigs, if you see a nice heavy mace in there I would appreciate it."
Once acquired he will head into Tomas' office and unlock both doors.
"I suggest we bring Tomas with us into his office, much easier to keep him in view and secure while we go thru whatever is behind door number 1 and 2."