"Just because we don't speak language doesn't mean they micht not speak ours. The large one i probably their leader. He might be smarter. We shouldn't waste the opportunity."
"You are right about opportunity... but even if you can speak to it, what after? It did not seem able to keep the goblins even from singing for long. How can we trust it to keep them from killing more travelers, even if we should convince it somehow? I am sorry, but I just do not see many alternatives to either killing them swiftly or binding them... condemning them to a slower death by starvation at worst or allowing them to escape eventually at best."
The bugbear remains inert and unconscious. Fingers makes his way to the east door; it opens easily to reveal a long north and south hallway. The south hallway ends at a pile of debris, similar to the south hall from the main room.
The north hallway branches off to the east twice, and then ends at two doors.
We cannot waste time with what ifs, tie them up and ask questions of the leader. If he will not speak then we leave them here to their fate. We will not sully our hands with their blood if we can help it. Nilan, feeling a measure of confidence now that battle is over, says.
Irina nods at the cleric and roots around the room and rooms adjacent to find things to tie them up with. (Not wanting to leave her own rope behind).
Irina is able to find some leather cords in the debris that serve to tie up the surviving goblins and the bugbear.
Koriko helps Irina restraining the unconscious goblinoids.
Nilan will bring the power of his Mistress to bear again, this time intentionally including the bugbear and excluding the other monstrous races.
The bugbear groans loudly, and its eyes slowly blink open. It immediately writhes against its bonds before giving up and settling into a belligerent glare at the group.
Narciso returns the glare, a hint of blue entering his eyes.
"I hope you are useful and understand some language we speak to you in. Otherwise I am voting to slay you all, lest you cause further havoc to travelers."
The bugbear speaks in a low, growling voice. His accent is thick, nearly unintelligible.
"I speak human. What you want?"
Irina crosses her arms and hovers, waiting to see if the bugbear has anything productive to say.
"Your accent is horrible. What other languages do you speak, not counting what we call 'goblin', if any, eh? Understanding is what we want. We want to know where we are... how we get to the town below... what happened to the dwarves that lived here.... and maybe even what happened to the people in your kitchen."
A steady blue glow resides in Narciso's eyes, though they still have a hazel hue to them.
The bugbear stares at Narciso and thinks for a moment. It grins, showing viciously sharp teeth and an alarmingly wide smile.
"People in kitchen. They have wagons. We take. We eat childs. Then peoples. Then fishes. Good raid." The bugbear pauses for a moment, considering his situation. "Me tell you about Dooloos. But you let me go. Good hummies - no kill Grechthak."
Narciso's face becomes a snear as he hears Grechthak's description of the "good raid"... and becomes expecially hard at the mention of children.
He turns to Koriko and switches to Elvish.
Turning back to Grechthak, he switches back to common.
"Telling us about this 'Dooloos' will not hurt your chances of survival."
Blue has almost completely taken over his eyes now.
Irina makes a gesture of warding evil, more habit from childhood than anything else, and then turns to the others, and offers a questions shrug.
Nilan flinches away at the mention of children. His hand grips his skane.
Having heard the bugbear's admission, Zoresk's jaw tightens and he glares at the goblinoid, eyes burning in anger. Though tempted to lash out at the beast, he says to it through clenched teeth, "You didn't mention what happened to the dwarves who lived hear nor the way down from here..."
The bugbear looks at Zoresk in confusion.
"Dorfs? No dorfs here." It looks sad. "Dorfs good when cook slow. Nothing live here cept deaders and big hungry bugs. We come and take for ourselves, find secret way!"
He looks over at Narciso. "Dooloos is hummie town. Day from here. Good to scare hummies but gobbers too stupid to do good."
Koriko's expression darkens.
Her sword clicks free from the tight hold of its scabbard as she pushes her thumb against the crossguard.
"Tell us one more thing, how many of your kind and those goblins are in this place?"
Once the bugbear finishes responding (whether it will answer the question or not) she draws her blade and slices the beast's head clean off.
(Fortitude save DC to resist dying is 4 higher)
"Well, I have no problem with this. After all, I never agreed to let him live for his information... I just said his talking wouldn't hurt his chances for survival... which, after his unrepentant confession, was practically zero."
Narciso pulls out the hand axes he claimed from the two goblins they first encountered.
"Excuse me a moment, I will go dispatch the ones we left near the kitchen."
So saying, he heads back to their bound forms and kills each of them with their own axe, leaving them buried in their chests.
Having done his self appointed task he rejoins the others.
"Well, now where to go, eh?"
Nilan absently makes the spiral symbol with his left hand. He nods to Koriko and Narciso It needed to be done. They were true monsters.
The bugbear grumbles something in goblin. "She'll get you. You find out. I see sword. I not afraid."
Koriko sweeps the bugbear's head off with her viciously sharp blade, and it collapses to the ground.
Koriko flicks her sword splattering the blood from the blade on some of the goblins, which the weapon is pointed at now: "Go ahead, do it..." she says gravely and slides the blade back into the scabbard.
Narciso executes the remaining goblins. The dungeon now seems particularly cold and silent. Exits lead in all four cardinal directions, including a long north-south hallway to the east that Fingers has discovered.
"Let's search the rest of the place. There might be more. They also have some beasts around here somewhere."
Irina frowns at nothing in particular, What an excellent experience this has been so far everybody! Irina pulls at her hair idly as she works to ensure her ponytail is secure, I'm for a "hummie" town over here but I see the value in making sure nothing else is lurking in the walls. I'll stick to the back with Nilan here. Irina offers a soft pat on the back of the cleric in acknowledgement of the plan.
Nilan smiles wearily at Irina and says Those who slay children are an anathema to the Mistress of Graves. Children represent fate unrevealed, to murder one is to destroy that fate. We should find those who lair here, and kill them all. his face a mask of resolute fury.
Narciso is momentarily taken aback by Nilan's fury.
I would not have thought him to be as bloodthirsty, given his earlier actions... I would not.
... all can be ... it is just a matter of circumstances ... but you would know that ... eehhhhhhh?
Not as well as you do I don't.
"Perhaps we should start with this 'she' he refered to at the end?" Narciso says, the blue having completely faded from his eyes.
The goblins and bugbear all lie dead. Where do you go?
Nilan waits for one of the more martially minded members of his band to head in a direction. Nilan follows.
Koriko points to the door leading south out of the room. "The animals I heard should be in there."
Grabbing up her sword, Koriko makes her way for the south door with the group in tow. As she approaches the pile of debris, the scratching noise is particularly loud. Something is trapped within and trying to claw its way out. However, there are no other sounds aside from the scratching. It should be very easy to move the debris.
"The other passage from the entrance opens here as well, yes? Perhaps we try to do what we did in here?"
Narciso asks.
I agree, if we can catch whatever is scratching unawares I would rather we use whatever advantages we can.
"A sound plan. Irina, Zoresk and Nilan could take the secret passage door, while the rest of us go from here."
Nilan nods at the beautiful half elf. He gestures for the tough looking Humans to lead the way.
Zoresk nods in grim satisfaction as justice is carried out. Never again. They won't escape, not again. Turning his thoughts away from the anger still roiling in his stomach, Zoresk follows the others, ready to be gone from this place. He nods his acceptance of Koriko's plan.
"Sounds well enough, let's do it." Zoresk assist in clearing away the rubble, moving it into a corner of the larger room, before leading his companions into the side tunnel. "Might be best if you lead the way, Irina. You seem to be a bit better and fighting up close and personal then I can. I'll be right behind you."
The two groups arrive at their doors, count down from ten, and both charge in at once, surprising two skeletons who have been scrabbling at the north door for God knows how long.
The room itself is a dark one, a 25' diameter circle with what looks like an oversized well in the middle with some sort of pulley system over top. Rusted out, gigantic gears rest against the wall as well as some old tools. Whatever the machinery over the pit was, it is long-destroyed.
As everyone charges into the room, a strange, ghastly scream arises from the pit; seemingly from a long ways off.
Nilan snarls at the sight of undead. He raises his spiral symbol of Pharasma high and cries.
Abominations begone! DC 13 Will for half.
Both of the skeletons go stiff as the harsh grey light of the Lady of Graves washes over the abominations. One of them starts shaking rapidly, and suddenly there is a loud bang as it explodes. The second one manages to survive the attack, but smoke crawls up from its bones and it looks distinctly fragile.
Koriko swings at the remaining skeleton with all her might
From his position at the rear of the column, Fingers can only watch as Koriko battles the remaining skeleton.