"That's now how a solid community works. We don't need to leave you behind. Let's go, big man."
Jarl attempts to lead Corrin towards the sounds being made by the women in the other space.
sazzat steps up to the woman and attempts to drive his blade into her side.
the blade skates across the woman's shiny breastplate.
she grimaces in anger as she feels the efects of the evil eye settle upon her psyche.
hearing a loud shout that echos down from the hall, she says simply
screw this! and starts to sprint away.
sazzat snarls and lunges at the woman to keep her from running off
the woman barely takes a step away from sazzat, and yet his hand catches the back of her ankle, holding her foot fast. She yelps in surprise and falls to the floor, steel plate and sword crashing in a deafening clatter within the room.
She knows it's a long shot, given the woman is being hard pressed by her companions, but Evie attempts to charm her to make her more cooperative. "There's no need for you to die here and now. Cease your struggle, surrender, and you will not be harmed."
"That's for sandpoint." Zeldana told her. "You will be brought to justice for everything you've done."
Zeldana's golden eye gleemed brightly once more as she glared at the woman upon the ground.
Loxley follows along on Corrin’s other side. She lacked the physical strength to help in this instance, she understood this as just a fact.
It was a fact she knew her father never disparaged her for, but she had always felt like a disappointment to him. She did her best to capitalize on her agility, but she never truly believed it made up for her lack in strength.
She patted Corrin’s over-sized side in a comforting gesture.
”I don’t think we’re completely out of the fight yet.”
She said as she retrieves her bow as she follows them out into the hall.
He tilted his head at the two now much smaller humans due to the magic.
"Im good go go I will catch up. Its fine I promise."
He said taking in a deep breath. He didnt hear the whispering in his mind at the moment and that confused him. He moved torwards the double doors as quick as his ankle would let him, only just catching sight of Zeldana trying to smash her quarterstaff at the fallen woman. He could throw his spear at her maybe.. but with all the clutter about he decided against it. He certainly was blocking this path out at least.
Yeda moves into the room South of the temple, frowning when she sees all others have vacated it. Heading through the only other door, she appears behind Sazzat.
Push her back!
The Erastalian follows Corrin out of the room. If Corrin lets him by, he'll move just in front of the large man.
Halfway across the room Loxley looks up at Corrin appraisingly. The look on his face told her he was hurting, but that he didn’t want to hold them back. Slowly at first, she nods to him once, then, again more firmly.
Letting Jarl move to get ahead of their enlarged companion she instead turns and runs back through the side door the woman and some of her other had passed through. Running quickly, she nearly skidded as she made the tight turn in the next room and raced towards the open door. She was breathing quickly as she came up behind Yeda.
She could see the others engaging with the priestess. She gritted her teeth and readied her own magic.
Sazzat pushes himself up to his knees. He reaches into a small belt pouch and pulls out a small handful of something. it drifts out of his hand and falls to the floor as he grips it tight, concentrates for a split second, and then hurls the contents straight into the woman's face.
a loud snap, a small flash, and charred sand flies into the woman.
Bandit looks at Sazzat, shakes his head, balls up a small paw, and bonks the thief on the head with it.
The woman sneers at the failed attempt. Pathetic!
She lifts her arm, holding it tight to her body, and mutters something under her breath.
A thick mist fills the area around her, obscuring all sight. Vague shapes and outlines can be barely seen a few feet in front of you, but beyond that, it's just a gray blob.
a moment later, you hear the unmistakable sound of metal grating and clamoring upon a stone floor.
"Go! I'll be fine. this looks like some sort of Junction, she wont get past me. I'm only slowing you all down."
He spoke loudly nodding to both Jarl and Loxley. He pulled out his sprig of holly and intoned a spell in druidish touching the warpriest Jarl. He felt his body invigorated with the strength of a bull.
"We cant let her escape she's done so much harm to the city."
Getting pierced deeply by the javelin tip, the woman groans audibly.
I- I surrender! I surrender! I surrender! Stop! Stop! dammit dont twist it as you
Apparently late to the party, Jarl pushes forward, taking the prisoner into custody. "Okay, so we need to take her gear and tie her up, right? Do you think we need a gag, too? For her, I mean." Jarl talks to the group as he tries to escort the prisoner back towards Corrin.
Yes, gag, we should block that mouth for now.
Once they exit the mist, Yeda retrieves her trusty rope and gets to work on the vile woman. She quickly remembers her sword, Mar'du.
My blade! Who of you can use mending cantrips to fix it? I'm... just not myself without it.
The woman allows herself to be prodded along out of the thick mists, her face full of fury and anger, yet restrained. She looks at each of you, making eye contact, holding it a moment before moving on to the other.
Orik hangs back a bit, out of eye sight until rope is wrapped around the woman's wrists.
Seeing the mercenary step out from behind the large door frame, at first the woman's face lights up, only a moment later she slumps in defeat. She recognizes the look of betrayal upon his features.
Sorry, Nualia. I-I just couldnt do it anymore. The goblins, the bugbears, the sex with unholy... he cuts off with a cough. It was just too much. I couldnt manage it anymore. You managed to cross my line.
the woman, nualia, glares silently at him.
Yeda instinctively raises one eyebrow, glancing at Orik only for a second before looking away and asking What?! With unholy whats? This place is a regular Chelish mask party...
"I don't want to know." Zeldana said with a shake of her head. "Nope, nope."
"That said there is something I do want to know..." Zeldana said as she stepped close to the woman and grabbed her chin, forcing her to look Zeldana in the eyes. "Did you kill the sheriff and his men?"
"Death! Kill the witch! She deserves death not mercy!"
He growled moving forward and not quite striking the woman but making it very clear that he wanted to. His gait was slower but he tilted his head and stared hard at her.
"Where is Tsutu's body!
"Based on what we've seen and heard, I have little doubt as to her fate, but our anger shouldn't free her from the judgement of the community she has been planning to destroy. If she hadn't surrendered, and we had to kill her to survive, that would have been one thing. Killing her while she sits helpless after surrendering to us? The reason we should be angry is that we don't approve of her methods of achieving her goals, right?"
He looks down at the bound and gagged prisoner.
"I'm not sure how we're going to keep gathering evidence against her while needing to keep her with us . . .. Do we want to take her to gaol and come back, or try to watch her closely as we keep looking around?"
Loxley was surprised when she lost sight of the room and everyone as the spell engulfed them. She squinted as she tried fruitlessly to look deeper.
She heard the short scuffle and their query’s cry of surrender. Taking a deep breath plunged into the ‘mist’, following the voices of the others.
When she could see the others again, Jarl had the wounded Nualia in hand. Corrin was chomping at the bits to hand down promised justice, and Loxley could not fault him but the priest was right. She had surrendered, it was right to take her back, otherwise they were no better then the goblins they had fought through to get here.
”The goblins have been routed and we have the ringleader. We should be able to take her back and return without worry, hopefully”
She offered, ignoring the insinuations of Orik’s comment.
Nualia meet's Zeldana's stare, glare for glare. she listens to the question, and then spits directly into Zeldana's face.
He's dead huh? Odd then. by what right do you have to arrest me? she snaps back, wrenching her head out of Zel's hand. She works her jaw a moment.
She looks over at Corrin and shrugs. He's downstairs in the large Library. Cant miss it. Has double doors.
The young man's face falls as he finally understood what he heard a moment before. He quickly turns to Zeldana. "What? The sheriff is dead? When did that happen? And 'his men?' How many others died with him?"
Edit:
As the prisoner responds with her challenge, he provides the coldest look any of you have seen from him to date. "Not everyone charged with securing the community died with him. You will face the judgement of Sandpoint."
"She's not telling us everything. Honestly, she has no reason to cooperate with us, so we should expect nothing less."
Evie remained quiet and watchful throughout the exchange, not having the same investment in the situation that the others did, and deferring to their decisions on the matter. She paid extra attention to Corrin. Such an odd mix, that one. Kind and gentle to his friends, but such raw anger and even hatred when facing his enemies. She waited to see if he would abide by Jarl and Loxley's talk of taking Nualia back for judgement, or if he would slay the woman now.
He didnt understand.... he was pretty sure now, he would never understand humans. There was zero reasons to leave her alive. A trial only gave her chances to escape. If they wanted the people to be happy or something they drag her body back so the people could see it. She was a danger . . . He snarled. This was so dumb. Even the new found voice had gotten quiet for the moment.
He reared back to strike her down with his spear and just held for a moment. He snarled soundlessly then struck... slamming his spear tip first in front of her.
"The damage she causes.... your heads now."
He said angrily leaving the spear there inbed in the ground. He turned into the room where they first met her heading to the dias where her sacrifice was. There was pratically no chance but He slowly looked over the body to see if there was some small chance he could save her.
Evie followed Corrin. She watched him approach the body.
"She was one of the white haired' woman's minions," she said quietly, indicating the body of the sacrifice. "At least she wasn't an innocent. She may have even been willing to sacrifice herself."
She moved up behind him until she was only a couple feet away, but didn't touch him. "Are you alright? All of this seems very personal to you. More so than the others."
Jarl just shakes his head as Corrin expresses his frustration and storms off. "I think I understand why he wants to kill her, but us killing her in cold blood puts us more on her level and far less in the right. Righteous anger still leads to bad decisions and regret."
I don't think Corrin see's level to stoop or rise too, or other arbitrary structures. He sees right from wrong and wants to see right now. My clan... my quah often strictly prescribed the participation of the community in judgements, as you suggest. But... it was so much simpler to fall back to that when the accused was of the same community. Or even another quah. This woman means to be a hostile force against Sandpoint's community. We would be doing them a favor to just eliminate the sickness now... The only reason to keep her alive is information, not a theatre of justice.
The warrior woman stars at Nualia and grips the handle of her blade tightly as she reasons coldly. Rage burns behind it.
"Calm." Zeldana's voice rang clearly yet somehow it wasn't very loud. "Some may forget that Sandpoint is my home, as well as that of Jarl." She stated as she pulled cards from her deck.
"Justice is no theatre dear Yeda, and I will fix your sword tomorrow morning, nor is the act of taking one as vial as this alive a fools choice. This said, her trial will be right here. For if those have forgotten, the Mayor deemed the one who aided Tsuto is to be but to death and both myself and Loxley have the power to call for it." Zeldana as she held up the two cards she had drawn. The Hidden Truth, and The Inquisitor. "I will ask once more, and you will not defy me!"
Zeldana tossed the two cards out to make a triangle with Nulaia in the center. "Speak!" Zeldana's voice reverberated through the room, heard in both ear and soul. "Did you murder those men who kept Tsuto locked up? Did you order it?"
Nualia meets Zelanda's magically enhanced visage, glare for glare.
the Woman smirks a nasty smirk and simply shrugs.
She then leans back slightly, and her gaze looks at Zeldana. From head to toe, Nualia leers at the woman.
Mmm...stout frame, wide breeding hips, firm breasts, and a fiery spirit . Bred with the right monster, youd be an excellent mother. Mmm i can see you paired with goblins-NO! Minotaurs! Yes! you could be bred with them. carry their mishapen forms within your frame. Your body wracked with pain as the beast grows from within.
her laughter chills zeldana to her core.
Sazzat, who had been hanging in the background during this exchange, walks up behind the woman. his knife flashes, and a loud thunk is heard as the pommel of his dagger hammers into the back of the prisoners skull. She drops limp to the floor, unconscious.
We kill her or we dont. he pulls a coin out. heads we kill her. Tails we take her to sandpoint. call it in the air.
He flicks its into the air and it arcs high....
An arm of the bow lashes out at the coin in the air. "We take her to Sandpoint. Zel's effort to find out if she's already been judged failed.
There will be time for other attempts, and then judgement if still required."
Evie followed Corrin. She watched him approach the body.
"She was one of the white haired' woman's minions," she said quietly, indicating the body of the sacrifice. "At least she wasn't an innocent. She may have even been willing to sacrifice herself."
She moved up behind him until she was only a couple feet away, but didn't touch him. "Are you alright? All of this seems very personal to you. More so than the others."
"I've lost one home to evil forces... Sandpoint is my home now I dont want to see history repeat itself. She's a monster."
He said frowning for a moment before he turned to make his way to the hobgoblin. He removed the necklace of elven ears from the monster with closed eyes placing them in a belt pouch to return them to the earth later. Then he drew his dagger returning the favor then spitting on the corpse.
"She said he was in the library. Tsutso?"
He said that part of the grim business done.
Evie nodded to Corrin. "That's what she said. You probably shouldn't go alone, who knows what else is down here. I'll come with you."
Sazzat floats momentarily to the balls of his feet as Jarl snaps the coin out of the air and makes his statement. Sazzat lingers there for a moment more and then settles to a more relaxed posture.
There. It's settled. She goes to Sandpoint. Do we head back to sandpoint now? or try to find Tsutso and drag her along with us?
Orik steps forward and kneels next to the unconscious woman. His hands sift around her body. He tsks under his breath as he stands. Pity. She doesnt have my money on her. Guess it's in her own quarters below. He toes her still body, and shakes his head.
Who's gonna carry her? he asks.
Carry? Sazzat pips up. Just drag her by her hair until she awakens.
Orik lifts his hand to his chin and scratches it. you know...there is an alternative. i heard that there was a prison down here. we could lock her up in there while we explore the lower level.
We would need to be sure only we had the key to this cell. Otherwise another cult goon from below could let her out.
Yeda waves around the handle and hilt of her sword again, highlighting its emptiness of blade.
But first... I'm going to need this mended.
orik shrugs. i know not the number of keys available.
crickets chirp within the tight dungeon confines. A cicada screams its song, echoing upon the stone walls. The sound of water slowly dripping adds a subtle counterpoint to the stillness found within.
sazzat looks around, and whispers to bandit. Youre right bandit. Would be nice to be in bed with Shayliss...
he looks at everyone standing around, awaiting a decision on what to do next, he shrugs. he kneels down and holds a hand over the still woman. He mutters a word and holds still for the moment, concentrating.
in his normal voice, he speaks, breaking the stillness. Her breastplate. her sword. the medallion. Nothing else is magical. His works over the woman, unbuckling the breastplate, pushing aside her blade, and removing the medallion. For what they are, it'll take a day before i can identify them all. Unless someone else can do it? He looks at Jarl, Loxley, and Zeldana.
Shrugging, he grabs a fistful of Nualia's hair. Lets go check out this Prison. he starts to head down the hall, dragging the woman behind him.
Orik watches Sazzat pass by, his eyebrow arched in a questioning look. He's...he's something else, isnt he? he asks no one in particular.
He looks at Yeda. I have done my part. Nualia has been defeated. Per the agreement, i'll just go help myself to the 3 platinums thats due to me, and i'll just be on my way.
looking at the corpse, you do not recognize the woman who's lower abdomen has been savagely cut out. Congealed blood lays thick upon the altar's surface, and ropes of entrails dangle to the floor in their own congealed pool of blood.
Evriani, standing beside Corrin as he removes the macabre necklace, looks around. If we are to go below and look for Tsuto, we must explore more. she says simply.
Yeda eyes Orik suspiciously.
Where will you go from here?
Orik shrugs. Probably first to Riddleport. Pay off a debt. Otherwise id be hunted for said debt, if im not already. [b]He chuckles ruefully. [b]After that...I am not sure. Always a secret desire to try to reach the Starstone. heh-thatd be funny. Me, a god! he chuckles again. but in all likely hood... I hear that there's an island far out beyond Hermea. A special prison Island. They say the prison is always looking for guards. he looks down the hall at Sazzat's disappearing shape.
shall we? he motions with his hand.
"If we're going to stay here, we need to secure her, right enough. Worth checking at least." Jarl doesn't sound particularly happy, but he's not obviously fighting the choice.
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Loxley frowned as their captive continued to be uncooperative. She watched Corrin as he moved off in frustration. She could understand his anger, but Nualia had surrendered and they couldn’t just kill her in cold blood… could they.
Loxley shook head to dismiss the thought, returning her attention to the others interrogating the woman. Just in time to hear Nualia’s assessment of Zeldana, Loxley glanced in Zeldana’s direction and flushed a little as she quickly looked away. When Nualia’s unconscious body slumps to the floor she looks back, composing herself as Jarl snatches Sazzat’s coin from the air and reaffirms their intent to take her back.
When Orik mentions cells Loxley nods.
”That might work. We could finish investigating if we secure her.”
She looks around at the others.
”We could locate her quarters and perhaps find your due pay.”
Loxley glanced at the mercenary.
”You could then afford your travels. I know what it’s like to venture forth ill funded.”
Loxley feared her own travels would leave her stranded in Sandpoint. She had hoped joining this group of adventurers would have earned her some coins. At least enough to get her to the next city where she could find work. But here she was, tangled up in heroics, and her father had always told her ‘heroics got good people killed faster then they got them paid’.
A silence hung in the air for a long moment, heavy and ominous. Loxley was grateful when Sazzat broke the quiet. She had to shake her head at his inquiry.
”I don’t have the necessary spell readied. Once we get back to town we can split the work if you like.”
She offers Sazzat a tired smile.
”Before we venture further though, if anyone would like to help me gather the remnants of Yeda’s sword, that too could be mended given a time back in town.”
Loxley watches Sazzat start off down the corridor.
”It shouldn’t take long and just one extra set of hands would help. We can catch up with everyone else afterwards.”
She glances at Orik as he spins his planned journey and gives him a wry smirk.
”See, you could use the money she promised you. You should continue with them for now.”
Loxley joked, unconsciously separating herself from the others as she spoke.
Without comment, Jarl begins helping to collect sword shards.
Sazzat drags the woman down the worked halls and into a larger room, and you both gasp in audible horror as you take in the contents of the prison room.
The southern wall holds a bank of cells with iron doors, six in all. the rest of the room is obviously a torture chamber; a rack sits against the far wall, an iron maiden stands to the north, and a fire pit lays dormant below a spiky cage dangling from a chain set in the ceiling to the east.
nine HELLs below! sazzat gasps. I ran through this room so fast, it never registered in my mind what this place was. Gods above!
Zeldana looks around the room in shock and disgust. I-I- she shakes her head. let's get this over with. faster we do this, faster we explore this area, faster we can get her again and leave.
She walks down and grasps one of the iron doors. it shakes and rattles, but doesnt swing open. Locked. she grimaces, wiping rust and (hopefully) grease onto the wall beside the door. she steps up to the next, and pulls. Locked again. she does it to all six. all are locked. We need a key. What about through that set of doors? she points to the north wall, to the unopened door.
Sazzat scoffs. no need. i got this.
he kneels down beside the middle door and pulls out his lock picks. He concentrates as his pick probes the inner tumbler, and with a There we go! just like a woman's- he cuts off, remembering who stands there with him. the lock clacks hard, metal on metal .
He stands up and pulls hard on the door. Easy.
Zeldana looks into the cell, and her nose curls in disgust as she looks at the heavily soiled straw coating on the floor, the bones with rotted meat, and the putrid water bucket and the crawling bugs that hover near and swim in the muck. She sees chain manacles hung from the ceiling and a single leg manacle bolted to the floor.
just...we should...it's not... she hesitates a moment longer, staring at the conditions.
yup. we shouldnt. but- sazzat drags nualia to the doorway and heaves her hard into the stall. the grit, grime, rotted meat, it all covers her unconscious body. Sazzat mutters to himself blood and ashes. was aiming for the bucket He looks at zeldana, winks, and steps into the narrow cell. he reaches out a toe and catches the lip of the muck bucket. he flicks his foot and the contents of the bucket sprays out and coats the womans head. immediately the flies and other creepy crawlies all begin to swarm onto the woman and through her hair.
Bandit barks and digs his claws into his patrons shoulders, his displeasure clearly shown.
I agree with Bandit. this- this is wrong. zeldana starts.
I dont care. who knows what else this woman has done to how many other prisoners here. She's perpatrated the attack upon Sandpoint. If her life is miserable before she is delivered to the Sandpoint authorities, then its no difference to me. Plus, if she stinks to much, we can dunk her in the ocean outside.
Zeldana watches sazzat as he squats down and clasps on the leg manacle. He slips a pick in and jiggles it. a small click responds.
He does the same to the cell door lock. He gives it a final shake.
All set. I suppose we could look at that other door...sazzat says, looking at Zel.
Zeldana nods.
Both people open the door and explore. they find a short hall with another door that hangs open. Inside, they find a room that is equal squalor to the cell, only they both know that this is intentional.
Goblin stayed here. Zeldana says, her nose scrunched in disgust at the putrid smells and disgusting sight.
Sazzat nods as he tiptoes in and looks around. he half heartedly kicks refuse and trash around, looking for something interesting. His gaze goes to the narrow workbench on the south wall that has accumulated torture tools piled on it. tongs, pliers, hooks, pokers, straight edged and jagged knives piled high, coated in old blood and rust. He grasps the top tongs and begins to push items around, just casually looking.
oh! huh. keys. he hands them off to zeldana.
would be best if you hung on to them. he says as he slips past.
Corrin seems to champ at the bit as he watches Yeda and Jarl collect up the shards that were Mar'du.
Orik, standing off to the side, picks up and waves around the sword that nualia held. balance is decent. Its no greatsword, but it's still big, and will cut well.
once all the shards are collected, Jarl motions to everyone.
this way. I know the backway to below. But beyond that, i am not much help. He turns and heads out of the temple.
Yeda gazes at the blade Orik holds and asks May I take it to the depths with me? Without a blade, I am a fish out of water.
it doesnt belong to me. As i said, i am only in it for what's owed to me. orik replies, handing the blade to Yeda.
