"Nor do you need to." Fryja said with a simple shrug of her shoulders as she kept eye contact the whole time. She had been is a test of wills before, this was nothing new... save it was against someone she knew next to nothing about. At least at home it was against fellow Jadwiges, here... it was an unknown. Though what did worry her was the statement that her servants wanted this Lady... but why? What did they have to gain from it?
Though when the half-orc woman came into the room Fryja turned a bit of her attention to her.
"No need to serve us, if you have sick friends you should tend to them. We will be fine. After all we're only here for Lady Argentea, bring her to us and we shall leave." She said simply.
Rohkar looks at Nox and gives her an nod that is almost a bow and says, "Thank you for your kind offer, but please, my men are horribly sick and I don't want the disease spreading anymore than it already has, and I do not wish to risk you all getting sick as well. I can only hope that my men make a good recovery with their own strength."
Zeylud tilted his head, he was surprised someone had seen him. He was typically more careful than that...but he did feel that she was pretending not to have. He was puzzled, but he decided to take the chance all the same. He slipped his small form in through the window and carefully stalked up to the bear skin. Hoping to see if there was something interesting beneath it that could be worth his group's time.
"Do you happen to know what illness they have taken on?" Frjya asked as she raised an eyebrow.
Zeylud pauses as he stares at the padlock. He was no true thief, this would be beyond him. He scratched his chin and looked for any holes in the trap door or anything he might be able to at least squeeze his familiar through and get an idea of what might lie down there.
He looked up and around the room for a bit to see if he could perhaps spot the key, even making his way close to the room adjacent to get a peek if there was someone with the key hanging on them.
"Sister, she's trying to get Rohkar alone for some reason. Or at least away from us. Though I can't say for certain why. Be cautious, she might have overheard something earlier. Should I try to speak with her instead?"
Hmm, "sick" indeed. Although she will accept any food or drink given, she's not foolish enough to taste any without assurances that it isn't tainted. She simply moves things around with a spoon.
Reaching down to her side bag, she gently pats her rabbit on the head, giving him a mental nudge. Leaving the satchel unfastened, her familiar slowly crawls out, trying not to draw attention and quietly moves to where he might be able to hear any conversation between the rogues.
Lanyssa ignores the bandit's question about cheating .
She observes the half-orc with caution, noticing something's odd but realising everything that's happening today is not exactly what one would call usual.
"I'm not hungry, thank you."
"If you can, maybe offer her help that she is looking for from him. But do be careful brother, we're in the belly of the beast here."
This doesn't seem like a sharing a meal situation to me right now, thank you.
"Aren't I always?" He clears his throat softly. "If the illness is contagious, perhaps I should check on them. Insuring my sister's health is as much my duty as insuring her safety in battle and I'd like to know what's going on. And I trust my constitution to handle a few minutes."
Ten-Penny shakes her head. "He's over exaggerating about how bad the boys are. And the only thing contagious about it is this damn cold! Only one guy got sick since the rest and that was the one we put on nursemaid duty. Besides, it won't even take a minute. We just have to make sure they have the strength to eat their damn soup."
Was that said Ten-Penny and Rohkar head into the sick room, with one quiet little arctic hare following behind.
"They're planning something and I don't like it. I would suggest you be ready for him to be less friendly when he comes back at this rate."
"I shall be ready brother dear, just ready yourself... because it could be worse."
Frjya shifted as she looked to the rest of the group. "Hopefully this will not take too long... but it might."
True to her word the door opens with Ten-Penny and Rohkar walking out less than a minute later with Rohkar making a ticking sound. "Poor guys. Anyway you wanted the noble right? I'll go get her. and I believe only the elf wanted any soup."
With that said Rohkar and Ten-Penny head back towards the trophy room.
Zeylud hears the sounds of foot steps and whirls about in the room and looks for anything to hide behind or in.
Zeylud seeing nothing, turns and opens the door nearest him and slips inside and closes it.
While they're both away, Lanyssa whispers "He's just faking, he doesn't give a damn about anyone." Still, she feels there something else that's odd, and doesn't lower her guard. "It's all too easy, too polite."
Satu seems disconcerted and whispers back:
He seems like the type for that, you don't become a bandit chief for nothing i guess. Hopefully they don't bring that troll over here.
After a minute or so of waiting the sounds of a struggle reach your ears but before any of you can do anything Rohkar comes back into the hall with a woman clearly struggling against him. "Well, ugh, here you go, one noblewoman fit for rescuing."
He takes no time in throwing the thrashing woman towards the rest of you, and it's very apparent that rescuing is definitely the word that's to be applied here. The woman is clearly beaten and bruised, although there is no way to tell if it was from her kidnapping or imprisonment. What does speak of her imprisonment is the accumulation of dust on her dress and in her hair. But nothing is dirtying her eyes, clearly proud and unwavering despite her current situation.
Zeylud contemplates what to do, he could of course open the door a small bit after half a minute or he can go out through the window. he chooses to open the door very carefully and quietly to see and let his familiar run out and tell him if danger is present.
Frjya looked to her brother "Take her from his care."
She stood and waved to the others. "Good, now we shall take her into our care and leave this place." She stated simply.
Freyr doesn't respond. He simply steps forward and takes the noblewoman's arm. "Up you get," he said, his voice abnormally gentle.
"So you can take me to have me killed? No thank you!" She yells before biting Freyr's own arm and then getting up to punch him in the face.
"Oh by the way she doesn't really believe you're here to rescue her," Rohkar says with a snicker.
"After the care you have had her in, I can't blame her." Fryja said simply. Then she looked to the woman and stepped foreword. "You're not going to be killed." She stated. "We are taking you away from here though."
Freyr rubs his nose "Well, she certainly still has spirit," he mutters. He tweaks the tip, making sure that it's not broken.
Lanyssa observes the situation with interest. "Well, the place where they com from must definitely be an awful one, if she would rather stay here in that condition." She does nothing else, though - nerves and tension are in the air and a minimal move can ignite quite some reactions.
Ah, Irriseni hospitality i see. It's fabled throughout the land. Now come here woman, you have nothing to fear!
Satu motions the woman towards her, trying to be more comforting than Freyr.
With her strong build and slightly clawed hands, it comes off rather creepy though and it seems she is a lot more familiar with bullying people.
"Who's trying to kill you, child?" Nox asks with concern in her voice.
Rohkar
Freyr
Frjya
Lanyssa
Nox
Satu
Zeylud
"Who's trying to kill me?" the woman asks, cuddling her fist, "well from what you're saying it sounds like no one, but if you expect me to go to a fate worse than death in any way other than kicking and screaming you're sorely mistaken."
Frjya looked to her brother once more. "Someone just let something in here but I am unsure what... keep your head moving and your eyes wide.
Frjya sighed as shook her head. "I can understand that you are worried, but please have some class!" She said trying to appeal to the woman's nobility. "You can walk alongside us or I can have you bound and carried. Which do you choose?" Frjya asked.
Nox holds up her hands to try to get everyone to calm down. "Let's all take a moment here. What is this fate worse than death that you speak of?" Nox begins to wonder if this woman had herself kidnapped. As her rabbit nudges against her leg, the hem of her dress gently lifts him up and let's him walk back into her satchel at her side.
Freyr's eyes narrow very slightly. "All the more reason to be cautious then."
"Remarkably, we're not here to kill you," Freyr says to the angry noblewoman. "But if you'd rather stay with them..." He gestures to the bandits. "Then I suppose that's still an option."
The woman takes the opportunity to rite herself on her feet and gain her proper bearings before giving Frjya a contemptuous look. "Humpf, you act like I'm in a position to be concerned about class, I have more important things to worry about. Have some class indeed. Is being bound and carried your idea of class? It doesn't speak well when these thugs have the decency to not leave me tied up in the cellar."
Rohkar looks at Frjya with a smile that clearly says, Did you hear that? I'm classier than you Princess!
Zeylud feeling no danger from his familiar slips back out into the large room. He looks once more at the trap-door and checks to see if they had messed with it and if they had, that perhaps they'd left it unlocked.
The trap-door is now wide open.
Zeylud looks around quickly before poking his head inside and using his darkvision to see what's under there.
"If you'd shut up and notice, we haven't done anything to hurt you. We've been pleasant, and are speaking to you respectfully." Frjya pointed out. "I can't speak for how bandits treat you, but they're bandits." She said in a backhanded compliment. "Freyr I'm getting tired of this. I wanted to do this the nice way, but she's making it difficult. Throw her over your shoulder if you need to, no matter how much that annoys me, but I want to be getting back."
Freyr sighs. Whenever his sister gives up on words, he knows she's really reached the end of her patience. "I would rather not if I can help it," he says. "But if I must..."
"I'm sorry," Nox says to the noble. "Did you hire these people to kidnap you, or what?"
Lanyssa stands at the ready in case a brawl sprouts.
"I said if you must Freyr, I would prefer you to not as it is rather rude, but she seems set on not listening. I've tried to appeal to her noble birth, and our associate here," Frjya gestures to Nox, "has tried to ask her questions that may help and she hasn't answered. Outside of telling her where we are going, which I will not do in the presence of our host, no offence, I've little else to help with this." Frjya pointed out.
"I am starting to wonder the same thing myself." Frjya said as she looked to Nox. "I know more than a few nobles back home who would do something like that! Political ploy and all you know." She told her with a small sigh. "Always ends poorly..."
The woman looks at Nox as if she's really noticed her for the first time, but before she could speak up Rohkar says, "Demgazi or Heldren."
She cast a quick glance at him before looking back at Nox and says, "No I did not hire this scoundrel–"
"Hey!"
"–to kidnap me, he didn't even lead the attack on my escort."
Zeylud says a silent prayer gods may or may not watch over a wretch like him and slipped into the basement to double check that no one else is hidden down here. After a quick but quiet lap, he moves to climb back out of the basement.
He kept Meeks at the entrance of the basement, hidden by his small size in a corner of the room to watch and alert him if someone was coming.
"Ahh. Now we're getting somewhere. Please, perhaps you could recount your journey of how you came to be in this place."
"Not much of a journey, I was traveling from Zimar to the Jalrune River so I could take a boat back to the Oppara. I was going through these woods when winter creatures attacked, killing my escort, and drag me away, Bringing me here and locked me in the cellar.
As she finishes her story Rohkar says, "Just so we're clear me and my boys did participate in the attack."
Lanyssa breaks her silence to interrupt the tale just a second. "What kind of winter creatures?"
Ten-Penny did the first thing that came to mind and through the bowl of soup at Meeks.
Meeks, having just had a bowl of soup throw own at him by a half-ore woman who was clearly looking right at him, did the only sensible thing he could do and ran down the trap door to his master.
the trap door closed with a thud.
Before the woman has a chance to speak A loud clatter catches everyone's attention, followed by a powerful thud.
"Rohkar get in here!" The voice of Ten-Penny yells out, Rohkar already moving back to the trophy room.
Anybody who follows him finds ten-penny on a trapdoor where the bear rug used to be, now flipped over to the side, and a wooden bowl laying on the ground at the end of a trail of spilled soup.