Maena looks the brute over and says, soothingly, "If you are injured, I can take away some of your pain... though, as impressive as you are, I imagine they were too cowardly to beat you -- even while they had you chained."
*Another* gift from Belial, perhaps? How very... useful.. Still, it would be good to see what motivates him before we free him. She watches the brute carefully, trying to tease out his motivations and whether or not he can be trusted.
Grumblejack turns out to be an ogre, chained by the wrist and ankle to the wall. He stands easily 8 feet tall and a mane of ragged brown hair circles his head. A bucket jaw holds a pair of impressive tusks. His eyes are alert and wary, intelligent even, although his pupils are heavily dilated. Despite his massively muscled frame, he is battered and bruised. He too bears the mark of the Forsaken.
"Beat me they did, but only after they drugged me," he growls. "I killed two of the guards before they managed to chain me up. I'm surprised I'm still alive. It just goes to show how stupid these little 'uns are."
The ogre takes an uneasy step forward and rubs his wrists. "I will help you escape, if you'd have me."
Ariana smiles as she steps out of the cell, soaking in the entire hulking sight of the ogre before her. "Oh, it would be our pleasure. Together we will find freedom, Gumblejack."
She grins at Damien, giving a shallow bow at the waist. "I bow to your wisdom, good sir. If Grumblejack would like to lead us, I'll be all too happy to guard his flank." The woman is in good spirits, but is practically hopping from foot to foot, her anxiety is so high. She wants to get out, and now! She waves Grumblejack forward to join her.
"While I don't doubt the prowess of our newest ally, he may not be the best to scout the way. I think we should avoid raising an alarm as long as we can. And the more garrison we can dispatch on the way out, the fewer there will be to engage in pursuit."
"Perhaps one or two of you in guard armor can lead the way, so if we stumble across other guards they may be surprised long enough for us to take advantage. With Grumblejack and the rest of us near behind should his particular talents be required."
And with a smile, he adds "And a few mutilations on the way out may help our case. Especially if we can find some of those brands." he says, showing the "F" burning on his forearm. "Some guards with smashed faces and branded arms may lead the authorities to think we are slain and buy us more time."
As Alicia and Damien chase down the remaining guard before he can sound an adequate alarm, Moriarti inspects their level of the prison. Hearing the breathing behind the reinforced door, the mastermind looks over his companions.
"You look to have a naturally convincing manner about you," he says to Ariana. "May I have a word?"
That fireplace is big enough that it might make a decent exit if it comes down to it... especially if that window on the veil does what I think. What's in this room?
As the investigator is about to sate his curiosity regarding the door next to the fireplace, he notices the chatter back in the cell block. Apparently their conversation went well, he thinks with a smile. Let's go meet our new "friend".
"Oh lovely, an ogre," Moriarti says with a friendly smile.
Grumblejack shrugs. "I could go first, but whatever the little 'uns used on me still hasn't worn off. Not you little 'uns, the others."
Grumblejack is ready to go, although he looks pretty bad when he steps into the light. His face is badly bruised, although most of the swelling has gone down. The rest of his thick hide is covered in an assortment of bruises, old and new.
"Well then, unless some of you clever personalities have any suggestions, let's get going!" If there are no alternatives presented, Alicia opens the door, motioning Grumblejack through before entering herself.
"Unless there's a dragon somewhere else we could free, I think my business is done." She reaches up to pat Grumblejack on the arm, careful not to touch any of the bruises whether they would hurt or not. "You will have your vengeance, big one. Come, your freedom awaits." Moving toward the door and Alicia, she holds onto her club, ready to drop it at a moment's notice.
"I might have one," the man Moriarti, clearly a schemer, says, grinning at Alicia. "From the smell, the kitchen is below the fireplace. They're probably not the most prepared for a prison break in there, so we'd have the element of surprise. Also, it's likely this is on an outer wall," he gestures to the back of the fireplace, "so if necessary, we can potentially make our escape through it with the window concealed in the veil. You do still have the veil, Maena?"
Maena nods, "I do.... Though now that we're out, I can't help but think that we should add to the black eye of escaping the 'inescapable' prison by doing enough damage to make it impossible to hide what we've done."
She then pauses and says, "I think we can trust him. Can anyone use the picks to free him?"
Ariana looks around the room, which for all the chaos that's gone on in it is fairly well kept, save for the bodies. "The executioner will be here to take us soon, and doubtless there's a new rotation of somebody on the way in the morning; this escape will not go unnoticed for more than a day. A grand gesture of defiance by leaving destruction and burnt rubble in our wake would be a wonderful way of letting them know they haven't broken us."
"I'm inclined to agree," the investigator adds. "It's time we teach the people of Talingarde that their Mitra can't protect them anymore."
A bit confused over the discussion about which route to take and whether to leave dead bodies in their wake, Alicia thinks she hears a general consensus to leave devastation, which suits her just fine. She again motions Grumblejack through the door, following close behind as they progress. She maintains a quick pace, putting a hand out to urge the ogre forward should he start to lag.
Grumblejack scratches the back of his head with a massive hand. "I'm confused. Are we going to smash some little 'uns or climb down the chimney? Because I'm ready to smash."
Alicia nods at Damien, her blue eyes turning to focus on Moriarti.
Molasbar nods in agreement with Damien. "I will defer to your choice, Moriarti, as well. But allow me to share my advice on the topic."
"If we linger in the prison, we can gather some supplies for while we are on the run. Food, water, additional equipment, etc. Perhaps some coins as well to buy what we cannot just take. While surprise is on our side, we can also diminish the forces that would pursue us most quickly once our escape is discovered." Then, with a wicked smile, he adds "And I think I speak for everyone here that there is some pent up aggression that could use relief. Sending a message to the authorities and the community would be a nice outcome, but desirable only secondarily to getting away."
"Once we discover a path to the outer walls, we can keep it as our understood path of retreat should we encounter worrisome opposition."
With a shrug, he finishes "Though there is something to be said for being prudent and simply making sure we get clear of this place."
With that, he looks expectantly to Moriarti.
Moriarti smiles wickedly. The elf is likely as smart as I am. I wonder if that helpful attitude is genuine or an act. Either way, he's right. We'll need supplies, and our escape will almost certainly be noticed within hours.
"Well, I have my doubts that the window will be useful on a wall as thick as those of a typical castle rampart, but I agree that it is one of our most useful tools, and we shouldn't waste it. Either way, we can worry about using it when it seems we need it," he says. Then, after a short pause, "I think lowering ourselves into the kitchen allows us the best opportunities both to catch our captors unawares and to gather useful supplies before we make our exit."
Turning to Grumblejack, he asks, "Do you think you can fit through the grate? I have every intention of allowing you to "smash some little 'uns", but the closer we can get to an exit without raising an alarm, the better."
Maena nods, "I'm glad we;re in agreement... at least for now. For those who doubt the wisdom of the act, I do think there's something to be said about making sure that there's no garrison looking to hunt us down.... as much as I do also want to send a message."
She then says, "Would it be wise to have someone slip down and see what's down there before we decide? Was thinking that if Grumblejack can't get that way, it might be worth working from both directions and meeting in the middle."
Alicia nods along with Moriarti and Maena. "Sounds like a good plan. Who's going down the chute to scout things out?" She alternates her gaze between Moriarti, Molasbar, and Ariana, making it quite clear who she thinks should go down.
Maena pauses a moment, then says, "I'm thinking donning the guard's uniforms wouldn't be the worst idea -- might give them a touch of pause, and if nothing else, it may turn a blade later."
"I'm not a particularly good scout, and if I get caught it wouldn't end well. I can certainly pull up the real with Grumblejack, however. I can remove a few more horns in case our hulking friend makes too much noise. It would also allow us to work through as many guards on our way out as possible."
Alicia sighs as the planning starts anew. Deep down, she acknowledges that a lack of a good plan was likely what got her into this entire situation to begin with, but her impatience shreds her logic to shreds.
"Look! We've decided we're going down to the kitchens, yes? Ok, it seems we have two choices. Send in a fake guard, or send in a sneak. My vote is sneak. The woman's voice gets faster toward the end, and she turns to look back to the door at the stairwell. "Whatever we decide, make it quick!"
Grumblejack reaches down towards the grate and rips it free without difficulty. "Who first?"
Maena said, "To be honest, I was thinking a scout dressed as a fake guard, as a fallback. The ideas aren't mutually exclusive... and the more of us we can get into armour, the better our odds of success."
"I suppose I can go first. May I see the veil." He holds his hand out to Maena. "If I recall correctly, there was a rope contained therein, and now seems like a good time to make certain we didn't miss anything else of use."
Moriarti thinks he might have heard of an ogre highwayman named Grumblejack that enjoyed a brief period of success in the Heartlands.
"Alright then..." the investigator says, securing the rope to hang just out of sight.
As quietly as he can, Moriatri makes his way down into the fireplace below. Staying hidden to the best of his abilities he surveys the kitchen.
As expected, the chimney leads down into the kitchen. A pair of servants, a man and a woman, work silently to prepare breakfast for the garrison. The woman is chopping vegetables and the man is kneading dough for bread. Their backs are turned to Moriarti.
Seeing the two servants, one armed, the investigator gestures to the others for one more to follow. Hopefully they'll send the quiet one. He seemed lithe.
When joined by his companion, he points to himself and then the woman. Quietly he approaches, dagger drawn, and places the tip of the blade against her back.
"If either of you move or make a sound, she dies," he whispers, deadly calm.
Alicia nods impatiently at Damien, waving him down the chute to join Moriarti. She anxiously paces up above, waiting to hear sounds of alarm.
Maena steps away from the grate and begins to dons the guard's chain and shield, "If they don't wish the protection, I'll certainly take it." She looks up at Alica and motions toward the shield, "Best protect yourself to be sure you can keep being a pain in the posterior. I can't guarantee that Belial will want me to use his gifts to help those too foolish to help themselves."
The woman, a stocky woman in a brown and grey cotton dress, yelps in surprise, but the noise is muffled by Moriarti's hand. The man, barrel-chested with broad shoulders, whips around and gasps in horror. He slowly raises his hands.
"What do you want with us?" he asks.
"What reason can you give me not to kill you?" Moriarti asks. "My associates and I will be leaving Branderscar today, and any assistance you can give would almost certainly increase your chances of doing the same."
He motions for Damien to check the door.
Hearing the muffled sounds of conversation and no yells, Alicia drops down into the lower chamber. Seeing that Moriarti has the situation under control, she moves to secure the door.
-Posted with Wayfinder
The man gapes at Moriarti for a moment, lost for words. Finally, he sputters "H-hesterfield! Hesterfield. It's the password for the drawbridge. Don't hurt her!"
Damien finds a number of things after a cursory glance around the kitchen. Besides, the usual collection of plates, bowls and other cooking paraphernalia, there are six large knives here and a long meat cleaver that could be used for weapons. There are plenty of rations available. Finally, a large green cloak hangs from a peg near the eastern door.