GM Fyren's WotW Brimstone

Game Master Fyren

Twigs answers the remark with a sullen glare. His mouth hangs open vacantly as he chews the remark, and something moves behind Twigs' eyes; an uncharacteristic spark of imagination as he tells himself where he's going to stick his knife. When he does speak, however, it's with the same weaselly subservience that you've grown used to. "Aw come on, Gilly, me ol' fruit, yew don't 'ave to be like that. I kin cook the best rat this side o' the Cambrian Bay." he says pleadingly. "'an I know every crook from 'ere to Farholde. 'an... 'an..." he cuts himself, waggling a finger at the half-elf. "Oh, ho ho! Gilly you ol' kidder. You're jes trying ta wind me up, ain'tcha?"

Gils expression remained the same, doing nothing to reassure Twigs that it was all a joke. Without another word, he simply sat back against the wall and followed the scheming of the others. For a long while he was content to listen.

Haha, 19 posts since I went to bed, damn time differences!

As the two Tieflings started to grow bolder in their ideas, he broke his silence to add his thoughts "More Demon than Devil in these two."

"You desire for freedom is clouding your judgement. Four enemies, all with highly suspect methods of subduing assigned to them. Its doomed to fail. I propose we find a way to get one of us free, THEN see what we can do with that. Planning ahead four steps when failure to accomplish one will invalidate the others is a waste of time...and we do not have the luxury of trial and error."

"I am afraid I must concur with Gil. Four armed and armored enemies is entirely more than a match for us. And with this 'field' impeding our magic, the success of a charm is not even remotely assured. Were one to get free, and then free the others, I would say our odds were higher.

"Now, many of the guards are occupied. Perhaps we try and get one in here, and I attempt to charm him to release one of us, maybe even give us the keys? We could overpower one, I think, which would give us some weapons and equipment." Numair seems lost in thought after that. He would obviously much rather try and exploit this Blackerly's arrogance, but even he realizes the time for diplomacy is nearly done ...

"If all you need for your magic is some sand and wool, Numair, I believe I can get free and collect that here in the cell, then quickly get back in my shackles. That way we would at least have some options when the guards next enter. Your idea of charming one of them sounds very good."

With that, Felrin's skin ripples quickly over his whole body, and where he once stood there is a small, greenish-white-skinned goblin. He attempts to pull his much smaller hands and feet free of the manacles.

Concentration, +1 level
+3 Wis +2 focus on humbuzz: 1d20 + 1 + 3 + 2 ⇒ (19) + 1 + 3 + 2 = 25

Escape Artist, if necessary: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (3) + 3 = 6

If he escapes, he'll do this:

Felrin then quickly scours the corners of the room and the gaps in the paving stones for anything that would pass for sand. He gathers what he can, then inspects the motley garments he and his cellmates are wearing for loose tufts of wool. With the materials collected, he puts the wool in one of Numair's hands, and the sand in the other. He then scurries back to his manacles and re-inserts his hands and feet for the moment when he will transform back to his true self.

I assumed we did intros and a review of the magic discussion, rather than making everyone re-hash it with Felrin. Is an Escape Artist check called for in this situation?

Perhaps check for anything that could be used as an improvised lock pick tool, also? There may not be anything, but you never know.

Good idea - if Felrin finds something suitable as a lockpick tool, he'll certainly hang onto it.

The talk of antimagic fields surprised Gil for a moment, before he remembered that this was Branderscar. "With the reputation this place has I really shouldnt be at all surprised." Concentrating, he tried to feel it like the others had.

Concentration: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (12) + 5 = 17

With a smug look he turned to Numiar. "I sense the field too and have just gotten an idea. Suppose we were to lure the guard in here with a fight, preferably as far away from me as possible. Under cover of all the noise I could attempt to Mage Hand the guards keys and free myself. Im quite competent with my fists and should have a fair chance against him with assistance from the rest of you in whatever way you can. Should my spell fail to take hold, I will simply signal for you to stop the "argument" you are having and we will be no worse off, safe for maybe whatever bruises you may have to endure from the guard."

"That sounds like we have a plan, and that if things go south, we still have some other options to fall back on. Now we just need to wait for the guards to come. Or if we want to hurry things... we could make a lot of noise and have them come to gag someone."

Malum looks around the room.
"Hmm, with only the four of us here at the moment, the furthest from you would be Numair and then Felrin. Felrin might be the best choice, as he can use his ability to shed the chains and then any gag. But we may run the risk of all getting gagged... it is something we need to consider. Should we try this now while our other two 'friends' are away?"

Overcome with the thought that they might actually succeed, Gils facade crumbled for a moment as his eyes darted around the room with a wild intensity as his mind wrestled with all the variables. This was more the kind of wit he possessed, a wily instinct, not the studied intellect of a scholar.

"Id say doing it now is more likely to succeed, if only because the guard is more likely to come in here alone with two of us missing. It really is too bad that your kinsman has expended his...talent, already. could have been useful in the attempt. Then again, now that Numair has his reagents theres that option."

Looking at Numair, Gil nodded. "I hope you are a good actor Numair, your skill in that regard is about to be tested. I personally suggest you call the guard in here, asking to be switched to Twigs' vacant seat on account of sitting so close to Ferlin." He looked at Ferlin "You ofcourse take offense to this insult and make a fuss to draw the guards attention...not too loud though, we dont want anyone else to come running. If I manage to get the keys and free myself, that is when Numair tries his charm." He looked around at everyone to gauge their reaction.

"Any additions or objections?"

"I think it is better than doing nothing, and there does not seem to be any serious flaw that I can see. I'm game to try."

Overcome with the thought that they might actually succeed, Gils facade crumbled for a moment as his eyes darted around the room with a wild intensity as his mind wrestled with all the variables. This was more the kind of wit he possessed, a wily instinct, not the studied intellect of a scholar.

"Id say doing it now is more likely to succeed, if only because the guard is more likely to come in here alone with two of us missing. It really is too bad that your kinsman has expended his...talent, already. could have been useful in the attempt. Then again, now that Numair has his reagents theres that option."

Looking at Numair, Gil nodded. "I hope you are a good actor Numair, your skill in that regard is about to be tested. I personally suggest you call the guard in here, asking to be switched to Twigs' vacant seat on account of sitting so close to Ferlin." He looked at Ferlin "You ofcourse take offense to this insult and make a fuss to draw the guards attention...not too loud though, we dont want anyone else to come running. If I manage to get the keys and free myself, that is when Numair tries his charm." He looked around at everyone to gauge their reaction.

"Any additions or objections?"

Numair seems lost in thought for a bit, and then a smile crosses his face. "It seems as good a plan as any. If one guard comes in, the charm would probably be the best spell. However, if we get two or more, the sleep spell may be better." That's assuming Felrin was able to get enough sand for me to use that spell, of course. Let me know if he was not.

"I should also try and sense this antimagic field for myself; I believe you that it is there, but feeling it myself may allow me to overcome it better." Numair falls silent for a time in concentration, looking to feel the effect that the others have described. I'll take 20, for a 27 on the concentration check.

goodness you folks move fast... it's sunday, give your gm a break wouldja? haha... give me a couple hours to get caught up and I'll update all posts. Just to give you a sense of timeline - Twigs and Izabelle were taken for interrogation at around T-42 hours. 'T' being the time of arrival for the executioner. That's how much time you have left before this campaign hits a premature end.

Twigs and Izabelle will roughly return at T-40 hours. This happens BEFORE Felrin scrounges for sand and wool (he needed the time to sense the antimagic field to be able to successfully resist it - see earlier posts). Therefore, the plots you have in place have to take into account all 6 people being there. I'm still ok with using the excuse of getting away from the other tiefling if you guys go with that tho... just that Twigs spot won't be vacant. There are other vacant spots you can be moved it. ;) Sorry this is a bit confusing, but unfortunately such is the case of PbP where we at times, have to wait for everyone to catch up. For what it's worth, I like the plan.

Twigs and Izabelle are returned to the cell - Twigs missing his two gold teeth and the druid a bit worse for wear.

Meanwhile, back in your cell, Felrin who had been focusing on the anti-magic field hoping for a way to overcome it, takes the opportunity to slip out of the manacles and scrounge around the cell - keeping an ear out for the guard. He gathers up a pinch of sand and some strands that he hopes are wool fragments (he's not a tailor or seamstress - he deals with clocks.) and hands them over to Numair.

Luckily, Numair has dealt with enough spell components to recognize wool when he sees it.

It is now T-38 hours, a day and a half left before you are either beheaded, burned, hanged or carted off to the salt mines.

"That sounds like a good plan, Gil. But you needn't take on the guard alone. I can transform a couple more times today, and we can take him on together. We're more likely to put him down before he makes a ruckus, that way. But I think Numair should try to charm him first, and get us all unlocked."

Felrin has a feat that lets him use Alter Self 3x/day, but I'd like to save as many transformations as possible for combat, as it gives him a Str boost and natural weapons.

@Gil - it's Felrin, not Ferlin.

Gil raised an eyebrow at FeLRin "I could have sworn I read that these halfbloods could only muster such power once, if at all, on any given day...but then again, its been years since ive sat down with an actual book..."

"Well the more the merrier I guess. Just be sure not to do so unless Numairs enchantments fail to take. We have to keep that particular party trick of yours a secret if things go south."

Looking at Izabelle and Twigs he added: "Well, I take it you two have been able to follow along on the plan? Now is the time to voice your agreeance and participation...or get left behind."

With a glimmer of realization in his eyes, Gil suddenly shot them both a suspicious look. "By the way, what happened when they took you for this "interrogation"?"

"The scum thought he could put me on a leash; beat you to a bloody pulp in exchange for comforts." Izabelle grimaces. "The coward didn't want to dirty his own hands. But Izabelle Moon is no one's dog. He didn't like that." She chuckles at the memory of the indignant man.

"Go through with any plan you please, so long as I get free of these chains." Izabelle says with a shrug. "I'll carve a us a bloody path out of this cage."

"That dumb rat-bastard tried to 'ustle me for me 'ard-earned coin, 'e did! Thinks I 'ave it stashed away..." he manages, through his hands as he nurses the fresh gaps in his teeth. "More the fool him. Ain't got two bits to my name, no sir." Twigs answers Giltharon's other question with a shake of his head and a quizzical look. "You serious, mate? 'course I'm bloody well gonna par-ti-ci-pate." he says, sounding out each syllable. "Beats rotting away in this dive. But listen, should we be rabbitin' on about our plan with this berk in earshot?" he says, motioning toward the guarded doorway and nodding sagely as he imparts his advice. "Like the crazy bird said. Jes' get us a window, we kick em in the nadgers and try to do a runner. 's a prison break, not trans-mu-tation magic."

He shrugs, chains rattling as he does so and waits in silence, chains making a cacaphony of noise as he fidgets, nervously. At some point he stands upright, picks up the chamberpot, walks to the corner and takes a long, suspicious look around the room. "First rule of prison. Can't fight when yer pissin'. An' I find myself in need of a lengthy piss." he drops the rags around his waist, revealing more of his bony hindquarters than any of you needed to see, and when finished returns to his seat, setting the chamberpot down in arms reach.

Did you edit in that spoiler? It was very sneaky. I've been refreshing waiting for a fresh post. I assume cutting that little encounter short means we're falling behind the other group. We can't have that!

"Well if everyone ready, then it looks like showtime. Felrin, you are up. Good luck to us!"

Felrin looks around the room at each of his cellmates, eyebrows raised, to silently inquire if they are all ready for the charade to begin. He says quietly, "I have spent nearly 100 years fooling humankind. This will be child's play. Numair, I'll start our little tiff, you call the guard, and I'll get his attention on me. Then Gil can go for the keys and you can charm him, in whatever order seems to work best for the situation."

Presuming no objection is raised, he says in a slightly raised voice, "You puny human! I'd wager you were born with a silver spoon up your arse and never had to work a day in your life! And now you whine about being locked up in here with all of us! If it weren't for these shackles, I'd show you a worse fate than sharing a chain with me!"

Bluff: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (13) + 6 = 19

"You dare insult me, you spawn of a dretch?! I wouldn't even waste my spit on you sub-human! GUARD! GUARD! I insist you move me immediately! GUARD!"

bluff 1d20 + 12 ⇒ (5) + 12 = 17

sigh ... Numair's a bit nervous, I guess!

Did you edit in that spoiler? It was very sneaky. I've been refreshing waiting for a fresh post. I assume cutting that little encounter short means we're falling behind the other group. We can't have that!

I did edit it in... when I haven't posted in a while (was busy all day sunday), I know some people get the F5 syndrome as they are itching to see new posts. So I drop in a 'placeholder' to indicate there's a longer post coming while I work on it. ;)

And the encounter wasn't cut short - Izzy didn't go for the deal and your bluff was woefully inadequate, so Tomas didn't have any further reason to keep you two there. Had Izzy considered the offer, it may have evolved into another opportunity for escape (depending on where the story went) or if your bluff was good, Tomas would have shown his greedy side... case in point, Sulphur rejected one deal but one of their other PCs managed to convince Tomas he had a huge stash buried somewhere... so they're wheeling and dealing right now and he's still in the interrogation room.

re. falling behind - not really. If anything, you folks are ever so slightly ahead - you know about the antimagic field. They're just finding out.

T-39 hours... an hour to fill in Izzy and Twigs in on the plan and finalize details.

As Felrin and Numair start in on their fake argument, raising a ruckus and trying to rouse attention, Gil and Twigs (the two being closest to the door) realize that the shadow of the guard just outside the door is strangely absent and has been since the two prisoners were dropped back in the cell (for the past hour).

continue hooting and hollering?

Realizing the lack of a shadow, Gil waved at the two to stop. "Sssh, quiet down! It would seem we are putting on a show for an empty audience hall." He motioned at the beam of light under the door. "Seems we are alone for the moment, who knows for how long he has been gone..."

He pondered the new information for a moment, but came up with nothing new. "We cant move on our current plan untill he returns, any yelling loud enough for them to hear would likely bring a whole group of them down on us. I cant think of any alternative plots this absence might facilitate...Anyone get some ideas? Or do we wait?"

"We've been left alone for the moment? How interesting. They obviously don't consider us a threat; how can we use their overconfidence against them?" Numair falls silent in contemplation.

"The original plan was a good one, I think. I admit, without us being able to exit the cell entirely, I'm having difficulty coming up with an alternative myself. Felrin, there is nothing in here you could use to pick these locks?"

Do Izzy and Twigs fill us in on what their interrogations with Blackerly were about?

"The more I think of this, the more I wonder if we should carry on now rather than later. Might the guards be on an off shift? Perhaps that is why we're alone? Or busy with another task? Either way, they will likely be in a hurry to shut us up, and more careless as a result. If only one comes, charm will be the spell. Otherwise, with more guards than that, sleep will be the choice. What do we do if the spell fails? Do we have a backup plan should they realize what we're up to?"

"I propose we wait then, carry out the original plan as soon as a guard comes."

We've both done so upthread. We didn't have a lot of success trying to con a bit of aid out of him (or in Izabelle's case spitting in his face) and both recieved a beating for our trouble.

"Oi! They are gone." he squints at the doorframe before turning to the others. "They're bloody-well gone!" he adds, emphatically. "I was all ready for a mincer!"

He nods in agreement to Numair's suggestion. "That's the ticket, get us out o' these chains! First feller to come inside we throw the things off and jump 'im for the key."

I think any action we can take to rid us of these chains will save us a lot of complication down the track. Otherwise, unchained or no, let's say we can carry out our plan when the guard is back, say in T-37 hours. No sense beating around the bush, eh?

I believe Izzy and Twigs did fill everyone else in on what their interrogation was about a few posts up.

I'll give you guys a big hint since I like you so much... Numair was speculating along the right track 3 posts up... perhaps someone near the door with a decent perception skill might come in handy? After all, Perception is about all 5 senses... not just sight. ;)

tick tock... tick tock. 8 am EST tomorrow clock goes down to T-38 hours or lower regardless of whether you folks have a green-light on a plan or not. Time will start ticking by faster as doom approaches. Cheers. :)

"Hmmm, well in any case, we might as well try to learn all we can while we wait."

Rising from his seated position and moving as far as the chains would allow, Gil focused on the vision slit in the door, mumbling words under his breath.

Mage Hand to slide the vision slit open to better hear any sounds out in the hall, and possibly get a sliver of information from what little he can see through it.

Perception: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (1) + 7 = 8

Welp, we are all gonna die...

T-39 hours

The vision slit in your cell door is now open.

Yes... yes you are. You're up first actually now that you mention it - in about... oh... let's say 4-6 hours? lol

Perception: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (3) + 6 = 9

WELP

"Very well, we can wait until one returns. Maybe we'll be lucky and if it was an off shift, they'll be hung-over. Can anyone else hear anything? Felrin, Twigs?

FYI, with no guards outside, why don't you all take 10 since you're not being rushed? Or heck, take 20 ...

So the T minus is for the last person to vacate the cell, not the group as a whole? Thats...certainly useful information O.o

So the T minus is for the last person to vacate the cell, not the group as a whole? Thats...certainly useful information O.o

or it could just be that Tomas moved up the smarmy half-elf's execution date up a bit... hehe ;)

Felrin can't see out the door slit from where he is chained, but he'd like to have a listen. "All right, let's all stop talking about listening, and actually listen as quietly as we can for a moment, see if we can hear what's up." He goes quiet, a look of concentration on his face.

Take 10 or 20 on Perception, as you'll allow, GM. Felrin's bonus is +7.

T-39 hours

"Well, the guards are not far away. I can hear them a ways down the hall, and they appear to be getting drunk. They're griping about Blackerly cheating them at some game, and how this place has gone downhill over the last few years, that Mathias the old wizard never leaves his tower... And they're laughing it up. I think if we can find a way out of here now, we should. But if one of them does come back, he may be easily taken advantage of."

Felrin will relate the whole conversation, so feel free to look behind the spoiler.

"Drunken guards just increase our chances that they come in here if we annoy them enough, but we arent getting out without a key. SO I think we shall have to wait for a guard to return."

Concentrating again, Gil closed the vision slit in the door, ensuring any returning guard would be none the wiser.

"I will ready myself for the Mage Hand spell. As soon as you hear any activity in the hallway, start the show. If they do not come in here from the noise alone, make sure to insult them to the extend that they will want to enter just to beat you."

We enact our escape plan as soon as a guard comes down the hallway outside. If they simply open the vision slit to tell them to shut up, they will taunt them viciously to provoke their entry ("your mother was a hamster, and your father smelled of elder berries!"). Once the guard is inside the cell and has his back to Gil, he will cast the Mage Hand once Felrin has started to speak loudly enough to hopefully mask Gils Verbal component. Once Gil has the keys in the air, Numair casts his Charm. If it takes hold, he will keep the guard calm while Gil frees himself and hands the keys off, while closing the cell door.

If there are more guards, the plan proceeds in much the same way, save for the fact that Numair casts Sleep instead.

If either of Numairs spells fail, Felrin attempts to use Alter Self to slip his bonds and help Gil subdue the guard.

If an actual fight erupts everyone else will attempt to assist as they can, be it with trips or grapples or what have you.

Think ive covered all the relevant bits. Here are Stealth and Sleight of Hand rolls for Gils key grab.

Stealth: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (7) + 8 = 15

Sleight of Hand: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (17) + 4 = 21

"Yes, maybe with a bit of luck the guard who will arrive will be drunk and thus sloppy... but considering that we are currently in here I'm not sure counting on luck will get us far."

good stuff... please ensure any pre-actions you wish to take before the guards' show up are posted by noon EST tomorrow, July 23/13. IF it turns into a combat situation, we'll typically do 1 - MAYBE 2 rnds a day if everyone (including myself) is quick enough, so I have time to update maps etc. 1 rnd a day minimum as everyone is fairly regular here.

Depending on how things turn out via the charm or sleep spell, Malum will prepare to cast either Command (Defecate) or Murderous Command. The intent is to prevent a guard from taking an action against us and allow Felrin time to deal with hopefully only one guard.

Izabelle hangs forward, eyes slowly drifting about the room. Her cellmates' words seem far away, as if spoken through a pane of glass.

She sniffs the air, eyes slowly drifting across her fellow prisoners. She was looking forward to seeing what these creatures could do.

"The plan seems sound, at least as sound as it could be given our predicament. May the Dark Lord's blessing be upon us." The last statement by Numair may be a bit surprising to the others, as up until now he has given no indication of any religious bent.

Numair steadies himself by ensuring he can concentrate through the anti-magic field, and preparing his "lines" for when the guard returns. He will say much of what he said previously (a few posts up).

Concentration check for his spell, when it comes time to cast (as I will be at work all day) - 1d20 + 7 + 2 ⇒ (17) + 7 + 2 = 26

T-38 hours
Rnd 1
Map

You finally hear footsteps outside the door. They pass by the cell door and return a few minutes later. Not wanting to miss a chance to enact your plan, Felrin and Numair start arguing loudly and raising a ruckus. The footsteps fade away, there’s loud muttering heard somewhere on the other side of the cell door.

A few moments later the cell door slams open and you see two rather angry guards – a tall lanky one and one that’s rather tubby (with a bandaged ear thanks to Izabelle’s voracious appetite).

The tall lanky one marches into the cell his club at the ready. Which one of you smarmy idjits has the big mouth?! The tubby guard stands at the door holding his crossbow ready in his hands. There’s a signal horn at his side – likely to be used in case of any sign of trouble. Both guards have key rings hanging at their sides.

Giltharon waits until the lanky guard is well in the cell and facing the west side before targeting the keys hanging at his side. Muttering a few words as his companions continue their loud argument, Giltharon reaches out with his mind trying to draw the keys to him.

Lanky Guard’s Perception: 1d20 - 2 ⇒ (2) - 2 = 0
Tubby Guard’s Perception: 1d20 - 2 ⇒ (9) - 2 = 7

The keys fly out of the lanky guard’s belt and into Giltharon’s hand who quickly puts a hand behind his head hiding the keys from view. The two guards are none the wiser they just lost a set of keys but are rather annoyed and itching to beat someone down when Numair imposes his will against the anti-magic field.

The tall lanky guard's brow furrows in confusion as the argument suddenly stops and Numair puffs on a bit of sand.
Lanky Guard's Will Save: 1d20 - 1 - 2 ⇒ (5) - 1 - 2 = 2
Tubby Guard's Will Save: 1d20 - 1 - 2 ⇒ (2) - 1 - 2 = -1
Luckily, they were both within a 10' radius ;) Btw for future combat rounds, see my note on how we do combat - you can roll these saves yourselves as you would have the info on their F/R/W stats.

Both guards crumple to the ground soundlessly as Numair's spell takes effect. The tall lanky one still has the bewildered look on his face.

We're still in combat btw even though the guards are incapacitated. Maybe there are more around the corner? Please post your actions. If you end up in combat and are still shackled (hands OR feet), you take a -2 penalty due to restricted movement to any melee rolls.

Felrin smiles triumphantly and says quietly, "Well done! Gil, can you get us all unlocked? Then I can go quietly into the hall and see what's out there. Anyone want to come along?"

Felrin's Stealth is +9, so is happy to scout. Twigs and/or Iz want to join him?

I wonder what evil the dice roller has in store for us, after being so nice just now.

Those will saves were pathetic... :( I hope Tomas rolls 19's and 20's if he runs into you lot!

@Felrin I'm assuming you're just waiting to be 'unlocked' by Gil? That won't happen until Round 2 at the earliest. Gil can unlock one person per round starting in Rnd 1 with himself. The door's open and two guards on the floor sleeping. Anyone wandering by would of course likely investigate as to why the door was open... which is why we're still in combat. You folks will need to outline who does what until you're all free and out of combat.

Malum will hold his magic ready to cast either Command (Defecate) or Murderous Command should either a solo guard show up or if two+ guards show up. Meanwhile he will reach out his tail for the keys so that he can pass them to Felrin once Gil is done with them.

I am thinking that the order to get released should be Felrin, Izabelle, Numair, Malum and Twigs, but we'll see what Gil does with the keys....

With a triumphant smile of superiority, Gil quickly unlocked his shackles, tossing the keys to Twigs the minute he was free. Hurrying to the door, he quickly pulled the guard inside the cell before closing the door. Grabbing the crossbow, he took a handful of bolts from the mans case and stuffed them into his shirt, before taking a readied stance above the sleeping man.

"Well then, that could scarcely have gone any better now could it? he whispered with a cold monotony in his voice. Credit where its due Numair, my Mage Hand was hardly needed considering the circumstances."

Pointing at the sleeping guard in the middle of the room he quickly added: "That one has a set of keys as well, someone grab them and expedite everyone release."

Gave Twigs the keys cause hes closest.

Not sure how many rounds of actions I just posted but unless he gets interupted somehow I guess it shouldnt matter too much. Gil stands ready to shoot the man in the head if he makes any indication that he might be waking up. Not sure on the Coup de Grace rules in regard to ranged weapons but if its allowed, thats what he will do if it comes to it. If other guards come running or suddenly show up at the door he will execute the sleeping one as well. Rolling an auto crit Coup de Grace now in case it becomes relevant.

Crossbow Coup de Grace damage: 2d8 ⇒ (5, 1) = 6

"Voices low, please. They can still awaken. And they must be incapacitated immediately; the spell will last for only a minute before they begin to awaken. May I suggest tying and gaging both; perhaps lock them in the chains and bind their mouths with cloth. We can interrogate them; keep both alive as if one refuses to talk we can use him as 'incentive' on the other." Turning to Twigs, he emphasizes, "Hurry! Leave me for last. I can still cast while bound, I think!

"Hmmm, that is a sound plan." Gil muttered, wondering why he hadnt thought of it himself. Kneeling down besides the tubby guard he prepared to deliver a sound blow to the mans head, using the stock of the crossbow.

I googled Coup de Grace with non-lethal damage, and the concensus seems to be to allow it, with a failed save vs the damage resulting in the enemy going unconcious even if the subdual isnt enough to knock them out (instead of an insta kill normally). Its ofc up to you to allow or disallow, but ill just roll up damage now in case you do. Gonna assume the stock of a crossbow is approximately the equivivalent of a club.

Subdual Coup de Grace auto crit: 2d6 + 6 ⇒ (3, 3) + 6 = 12

Fort save for the Guard DC 22 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (12) + 4 = 16 Whew, he doesn't wake up.

Malum hisses "Gil, stop messing about and get the other keys to free the rest of us! The sooner we are all free the sooner we can gag them and truss them up!"