Zaggar looks between Muziel and Kolaiah for a moment, the sneer dropping for a more serious expression. "Well now, it seems that we both have something the other wants. I know a little about the Glorious Reclamation, but the way I've been treated I'm not sure I feel like talking about those self-righteous pricks. But if you give me my stuff back and let me out of this cage, that would go a long way toward putting our petty personal squabbles aside. It sounds like we're supposed to be on the same side, after all." He glances over to Ismene and points. "Unless, that is, that guy's blind hatred of my kind speaks for all of you. In that case you can all go soak your heads in a lake."
"Oh yeah, because I could totally duel every last hobgoblin in Isger to work out my 'personal vendetta'", she says, making air quotes around the phrase. She'd heard stories from the nuns about sending some of their best fighters to Jalmeray or Goka to participate in grueling tournaments where they might fight twenty, fifty, or even a hundred challengers back-to-back. "We could call it the Goblinblood Kumite. I'm sure the rest of the Sisters of the Golden Erinyes would be happy to get in on that."
She gives Kolaiah the stink eye for daring to side with the green-skinned menace. "Hobgoblins are only good for one thing, Envy." There's something deeply disturbing about the Duke of Remesiana deciding to personally invite an army of hobgoblins onto Chelaxian soil for his own devices. That's information that Archbaron Fex should be made aware of.
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Personally don't hate you all anymore or less than any other, but I side with HER, you blind oversized goblin
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"Gosh, someone's getting all uppity sitting in jail. Where's Darla when you finally need her?"
Muziel stands as tall as his tiny stature will allow. "Listen, we call the shots around here. We get to keep your stuff after you broke the law. We also get to keep you in jail because you're a cocky self-righteous jerk. Kind of like those Glorious Reclamation people. If you're not gonna talk, you get to rot here. Maybe we'll throw you in the pillory. The townspeople'll probably love that!"
If the hobgoblin continues to be uncooperative, Muziel's zapping him, because he's annoyed and wants to cause some pain. ; . It misses, but maybe it gets his attention?
After Envy's dissent, Ismene was worried that the others might sell her down the river for the dirt on the Glorious Reclamation, but Greed and Lust come through. Maybe I was wrong about them before. It's good to have friends.
Sister Ismene cackles as Muziel zaps the ground near the gobbo. "Nice one, Greed! I think Warpig here has a point. Today would be a great day to go swimming! And maybe Darla will get a chance to try out some Tian water torture."
Zaggar can't help but flinch a bit as the electricity scorches the ground of the cell right next to him, but he makes a quick recovery, once again putting on his snaggle-toothed sneer.
"Well this is a beautiful kumbaya moment for you stooges, isn't it?" he says, rolling his eyes. "If you're gonna let me rot here for no good reason, then just leave me alone to do it, will ya? Sheesh."
Cimri takes a deep breath and shrugs. "I suppose if Pride show up we can let her have a crack at 'im. She's probably off somewhere doing gods-know-what for the Archbaron on the down-low. I dunno what her secret is, but it makes me uncomfortable knowing she has one." She pauses for a moment of shallow introspection. "But I agree with the majority opinion, here. Compromise should be reserved for people who aren't murderous monsters responsible for traumatizing your friends, am I right?" She pats Ismene on the shoulder for moral support. "You guys want to try waking up the bartender next? Or perhaps someone wants to try either sweet-talking the bard, or scaring the bejeezus out of him, instead? We've tried apathetic cop without success, but maybe good cop or bad cop will do the trick."
I can work on the bard, after zapping the bartender for you all. I really don't like that though, he tried to boil me in his chili and hit me with a bottle. she'll heal the bartender and then go out to our bard friend, with whatever is left of her dinner.
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Penelope will greet the bard with a smile, and feed him bits of her steak by hand, Poor little man, getting caught up in all this misery she will tease, And not at all bad looking either no matter what he says or how he response to her advances, she'll add at the end of the meal Too bad, really. she'll pull out her new sword Jails filling up, so if you are no use, then this is your last meal taking a few practice swings.
While the slow healing magic works on reviving Caggan in the adjacent pillory, Penelope goes to work psychologically on Kels. Ofer the space of a few seconds he goes from grateful and relieved for the food, to horrified and afraid for his life.
"Holy crap," he exclaims, frantically trying to make a stop gesture despite his wrists being held in place. "Please, I don't want to die! Look, I met her, okay? The Angel Knight, I mean. I was out for a morning walk the other day," he stops for a second but glances as the incredibly sharp-looking sword in Penelope's hand before continuing hastily, "two days ago, that was. I was in the woods, I don't really know where, and came upon a clearing. There was a woman kneeling and praying in full plate armor that had wings on it, and it shone so brightly in the fresh morning sun that I thought, at first, that she was an actual angel. I fell to my knees and she gently helped me back to my feet and told me not to be afraid. She said her name was Lencia Visserene and that she was here to put an end to Tyranny in the name of Iomedae and the Glorious Reclamation. Then she left, I don't know where she went, and I spent the whole rest of the day writing a ballad in her honor. I was playing it when you guys barged into The Last Stand. That's all I know, truly, if you're out of space you can just let me go. I'm a lover, not a fighter, and I don't want to die." He looks hopeful and afraid.
Hmmm... might be useful. she decides patting him on his cheek and putting up her sword. Hold tight, til the others are done with the fat bartender. She'll make herself comfortable leaning against a wall until that parts over.
Kels has no response, likely afraid of saying anything that might make Penelope decide to go through with the thought of killing him. A pained and shamed expression fills his face at his lack of fortitude when faced with the threat of death.
Caggan, meanwhile, regains consciousness with a groan, a grunt and then a few short struggles against the wooden planks holding him in place. "What in the...," he starts to trail off as he soaks in his surroundings and his situation.
-Posted with Wayfinder
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While Penelope deals with Kels, Ismene waits patiently for Caggan to wake up. When he finally does, she's sitting cross-legged in front of him "Well look who finally decided to re-join the land of the living. How was your 'nap'?" After exchanging some smug pleasantries, she gets down to business.
"Here's the deal, Caggan. You've been convicted of harboring a gathering of dissenters and breaking curfew. Here's the thing, and I'm gonna level with you here. The Arch and Lark sucks, but with you in the stocks, we don't have anywhere else to go for lunch. Penelope's not too happy that you tried to dump chili on her, and I gotta say, it was a tragic waste of a tasty lunch. But I've always had a soft spot for your fine establishment, and I'm inclined to be lenient. So tell me everything you know about the Angel Knight and the Glorious Reclamation, rescind your ban on us, and apologize to Penelope. If you do, I'll let you go and we'll call this water under the bridge. Sound alright?"
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Caggan actually chuckles a little as Ismene describes the reasons for her wanting to be lenient. "I get angry sometimes, you know? I was bullied a lot as a kid, and when I see bullies now it really gets under my skin something fierce. Back then it was the physically strong pushing around the scrawny kids, and I always fig'rd that it'd stop when we all got older and went onto bein' adults, you know? And it seemed like that at first, but after awhile I began to notice that it was still happening, only it isn't the brawny pushin' around the frail anymore, is it? Nah, it's the people who get a little taste of power an' start to thinkin' they're better'n everyone else." He tilts his head just enough to be able to look Sister Ismene in the eye. "I don't know nuthin' about any resistance, or any Angel Knight for that matter. All I know is that you lot, and the man you work for, like pushin' us normal folks around and I won't stand fer it. So I'm not apologizin' to nobody fer how I run my bar, an' I won't be forced into lettin' the likes of you folks back there, neither."
Caggan doesn't seem to be hiding anything more, and genuinely seems to not know anything about either the Glorious Reclamation or the Angel Knight.
.
Muziel has no clue.
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Sister Ismene nods along at first, beginning to get a feeling for where Caggan was coming from. But she begins to frown as somehow she and her friends become the villains of his story. It actually kind of hurt, coming from him like that. It was only two or three days ago that she and Cimri were in his bar, knocking back pints like normal. It was probably the only fun thing to do in this whole town. They'd been regular customers for a long time now, and none of that meant anything? He just doesn't get it. He can't see two feet past his own porch to see the bigger picture here! Sitting still, she practices remaining calm. She closes her eyes and takes a breath before letting herself speak.
"I can see you're a man with principles, Caggan. I can respect that. I know about bullies, too. Growing up, I was bullied. My family was bullied, my village was bullied, my whole country was bullied. Armies of hobgoblins and their pyromaniac midgets rampaging across the countryside. And you know who stopped them? Cheliax. House Thrune brought order back to Isger, but the damage was already done, and the church of Asmodeus raised a whole generation of Isgeri orphans."
Still sitting cross-legged in front of the pilloried bartender, she pulls out her five-pointed pendant. She toys with it, rubbing her fingers on it and tracing the star as she talks. "Asmodeus has a thing or two to say about the weak and the strong. He's got a lot to say about power, too. About getting it. And about keeping it. But, the thing is, it's not about power for power's sake. It's about keeping order. Those with power should be in power. Because if they're not? The whole system comes a-tumblin' down." She waggles her fingers in the air, pantomiming falling rain. "Crash!"
She looks back up at Caggan, looking him straight in the eye. "Here in Cheliax, Thrune is in control. They keep the peace. And right now, somewhere out there, there's a gang of thugs calling themselves the Glorious Reclamation trying to tear this country apart. And they're trying to bring the fight here. They've got Kels playing their song in your bar like a dancing monkey, riling up the peace in my town. And I've got a f#+~ing hobgoblin sitting in jail saying there's a whole army of greenskins just waiting to join that fight."
Sister Ismene's jaw clenches involuntarily as she fights to stay in control of passions. "I've already lost one home to war, Caggan," she says, shaking her head. "I don't plan on losing another. I don't know whose side you're on or if you've even picked one yet. But I want you to think about that while you sit here." She uncrosses her legs, standing in one fluid motion. Taking a step toward Caggan, still stuck in the stocks, she jabs him in the forehead with her index finger. "Think about it." Without another word, she stalks off, leaving him in the company of her harmless companions.
Following Sister Ismene's treatise and her admonishment to think about it, Caggan remains silent, at least appearing to give it serious consideration. Cimri follows the Asmodean monk into the jail. "That was a nice speech," she says, brightly. "I have no idea if it'll actually take root with him or not, small town folks can be awfully parochial -- one of the reasons I'm looking forward to leaving this place in the dust someday -- but if we're leaving him there for a few days like Razelago suggested, then he should have plenty of time to mull it over." She chuckles a little before looking around to the rest of the currently present group and changing the subject.
"Do you guys think we've got enough to take as a report to Razelago? I'm not sure how much more we can wring outta these guys. And what's the verdict on Kels? Keep him locked up, or does anyone else believe he's cowardly enough to skip town for good if we let him go? Part of me worries that if he would, but we keep him here anyway, he may change his mind and become more of a problem in the long run. People tend to listen to the opinions of entertainers for some reason."
One less person to try and keep track of, I say let him go. She'll let the others know what he said, and that she believes he doesn't know anything else. No harm in letting the boss know where we are. Demon or no, probably worse he'll do if yell at us... or suck out our insides... Let's get our bard, and report in.
"Here here, let's get some action going! Pestilence is thirsty." He pats his weapon as he says that, "for that matter, I am thirsty too," he says as he glances at the prisoners.
The other barmaid was tasty... Penelope will let Kolaiah know. Are you going to stay here, or come with us to our benefactor?
Sister Ismene nods at Cimri, appreciative of her support. She still felt too sullen to smile. "This town won't be able to hold the two of us much longer. Much less the seven of us."
Ismene considers the question of what to do with Kels. "I'm with Lust. I think we should let him go. Regardless of what I said to Caggan, the goal is to drive whatever sympathizers we can to the GR. Mister Kels is our best bet for that." She had had her misgivings with Archbaron Fex's plan at first, but the more she thought about it, the more sense it made. Based on what they'd gotten out of the warpig, the pot was already boiling over with this Glorious Reclamation situation. It was too late to try to keep a lid on it; the best thing they could do was crush it quickly before it was too late.
"If we're going to go, we better get a move on."
"Might as well let Kels go - I'm sure we'll need the slot for someone else soon enough!"
"Sounds like we've got a consensus, then," Cimri says, nodding. "Let's get this show on the road!" She takes the pillory key and leads the way outside, making for the one holding the hapless bard.
"It's your lucky day, Kels," she says, brightly. "Of all our prisoners today, you're the only one who isn't spending the night. And we've even decided not to kill you." She finishes right as the key finishes turning in the padlock, which springs open. "Now get outta here," she finishes as she flips up the top board setting him free.
As soon as he's no longer restrained, Kels takes a nervous look around while rubbing his wrists and neck, almost as though he half expects this to be some sort of cruel trick. He takes off running after that brief moment passes, stumbling over himself at first in his frantic haste, but ultimately disappearing down the street. The bartender watches without comment, still apparently sorting through the differences between Ismene's perspective and his own at his slow pace.
"Cheer up, Caggan," Cimri says with a smirk as she pockets the key. "You get to spend more time in our gracious company, and supposedly it's only going to get down into the upper fifties tonight."
Once the business of setting Kels free is complete, the next logical stop is just two doors down the street at the Arch and Lark to see if the two truant sins are going to join in for the debriefing. Upon entering it seems that Nikolai is still continuing his performance, but witnesses are able to point out that Darla was seen leaving a while ago by herself.
Following the brief detour to the Arch and Lark, it's another thirty minutes or so of walking to reach the Ash House. Cimri spends some of that time complaining how the decree to close the Castle Gate is forcing you all to take the long way around through the east gate, adding a good fifteen minutes to the trip over the more direct route. Inside the Ash House, and upstairs in Razelago's office, you find the devil himself waiting for you, perched openly upon his desk in front of the paper screen instead of using his initial trickery. He seems unsurprised by your entrance, as though he was expecting you exactly when you arrived.
"Welcome," he says, insectile mandibles moving independently of his lips as he talks and blood red compound eyes seeming to be fixed on everyone at once. "I trust that you've had a fruitful afternoon. Before you tell me about it, I feel it only fair to let you know that your absent female colleague has been sent on a special errand on behalf of the Archbaron. It may be some time before she returns." There's an odd sort of expression that crosses his face, and an almost euphemistic pronunciation of the words 'special errand' that seems rather ominous. The effect renders Cimri, who so far has usually liked to take the lead on these sorts of reports, at a distinct loss for words.
Since the others are holding back, Penelope offers her rendition of the events. The bartender is an ass, so we had to take him by force, resulting in the unfortunate death of one of his barmaids. He, another barmaid, and the bard spreading those horrible tales of an angel were taken to the jail. We just now let the bard go since he told us all he knew, that he did meet this angel in the woods, but was really only a woman named Lencia Visserene. The bartender and the barmaid are being stubborn so they will rot until they come clean. lastly she'll go over the hobgoblin starting a fight at the gate cause he wasn't being let in. He was on his way to go work for the Duke of Remesiana, who is apparently raising an army of the ugly buggers she looks to the others. Did I leave anything out?
At Penelope's opening, Sister Ismene speaks up. "Between them, I'd say our jailed greenskin is the only one with real info to dish. He said he didn't feel like talking on account of how we hurt his feelings by beating the s$@+ out out of him." She grins; that memory is one she'll cherish for a long time. "Too bad Darla's gone. Her torture kink would actually come in handy right now. Gods, that woman is creepy!" Ismene's brow furrows in disgust. "What's so special that Fex could need her in particular?" After a brief moment of following that line thought, she shakes her head violently. "Never mind, I don't wanna know! Some rabbit holes just ain't worth it."
"I will be glad when we get to some real fighting. This detective work is not where my gifts lie."
"Yeah, so you ever heard of Lencia Visserene? If you know anything Razelago, and since we stole her helmet the other day, I wonder if one of us could pretend to be her, to figure out who all the rebel sympathizers are."
Razelago listens to the reports placidly, taking it all in. "The name is not familiar to me, which likely means she's not local. That may be to our advantage in the long run. I'll take this information back to the Archbaron, and then see if I can dig up some more information on this Lencia Visserene now that I have a name." He pauses for a moment, in thought, before turning to look at Koliah. "You may have your wish soon enough. I suspect that now that you have some of the townsfolk in custody, and popular townsfolk at that, we may start to see some increased activity. If you're creating the effect the Archbaron wants, I wouldn't be surprised if some of the more already rebellious folks try to assist him and his employee quite soon, likely under the cover of darkness. I'd make sure to keep a close watch until something like that materializes.
"As for what to do with the hobgoblin," he continues. "I see no reason why he should remain our guest for long. He's a wild card in this plan, something unexpected altogether. Whether you can get him to talk or not, I'd suggest killing him to remove him from the equation. In any case, you've done well so far. I'll contact you again when strategy dictates another specific task. Until then, maintain constant vigilance and preparation. The Angel Knight has the next move."
Kolaiah nods appreciatively, "we'll 'take care of' the goblinoid, to be sure." He smiles at Penelope. He considers a moment, "and yes, a rescue attempt seems logical. We should stand ready to foil such an effort."
Penelope scrunches her nose I'm not drinking a goblin, sounds disgusting, but I'll share the barmaid with you if riling people up is what we're supposed to be doing. she nods to Razelago, planning on heading back to the jail, relishing the idea of using her new sword on a few jail breakers. A wide smile spreading on her face at the thought.
Kolaiah shrugs, "suit yourself. Say what you will, but he seems very strong, and his martial abilities are impressive, I will gladly add those to my own essence."
Sister Ismene was no fan of Zaggar, but there was just something not right about hearing the two vampire-kin casually discuss sucking him dry. Still, the only good hobgoblin is a dead hobgoblin, and she wasn't going to deny her friends a meal. She would just have to learn to stomach their... 'dietary restrictions'.
Razelago nods to acknowledge Kolaiah's declarations of understanding and then promptly, and wordlessly, disappears from the room after being surrounded by a brief glow of arcane energy.
You recognize the signs of greater teleport being cast as a spell-like ability.
Cimri, slowly recovering from her initial shock, rejoins the discussion. "I think, when it comes to the other barmaid, it needs to be decided whether anyone believes that Caggan has a chance of being swayed to our side by Wrath's passionate speeches. As far as I recall, he was unconscious when Lust drank the first barmaid. That one we've so far been spinning as the unfortunate result of combat, but if we go ahead and murder another one of his employees in cold blood, that will probably put him beyond reach of persuasion forever." She pauses for a moment. "But if we think he's already unreachable, then why not? It'll probably anger and demoralize him pretty effectively."
"The answer is obvious right? We put the question to him. Ask him if he is swayable and explain the consequences of that. Should he not come to our side, he can watch the results and bear the guilt."
I don't care if the fat tub of greasy sludge comes to our side or not, but I also ate today, so am willing to let our good Wrath's words take effect.
"I just wanted to make sure we weren't working at cross-purposes to each other's efforts," Cimri says, shrugging, as the group walks. "But we can also try Envy's suggestion of using the threat of it to see if it gets us anywhere first. And who knows? If maybe a word slipped out somewhere that our prisoners might become snacks, it might help speed things along by making any rescue efforts more urgent, and haste often leads to mistakes."
Eventually the jail, with Caggan still stuck in the stocks, comes back into view.
Hey, look there, either I'm a better healer than I think I am with my little stick or someone's been helping the fat pecker out
Sister Ismene walks alongside her friends in sullen silence. It's been a long day, and she's already said her part. At this point, she would be happy to let the others decide their next course of action. She didn't really care what Bolgart Caggan decided; in the scheme of things, he wasn't that important. It would just be nice to have a place where they could get a decent meal.
When they arrive to discover Caggan in a better state than they left him, Ismene cocks her head to the side in confusion. "There's something wrong with this picture." She hadn't noticed until Penelope pointed it out, but Caggan had clearly been the recipient of magical healing. "Why not just bust him out?"
"On the plus side, he'll take more of a whipping now. Who brought a cat?"
A cat?
"The nine tailed sort!"
Ahh... not me. I prefer my instruments sharp. Or blunt. Just not limp. she teased. Have fun, I'll guard the others inside. planning to get some rest leaning back in some chair or another.
Muziel looks for signs of the identity of this mysterious person who healed Caggan, and will share any findings.
Cimri takes a close look at the padlock holding Caggan in place. "There are a few scratches around the lock from someone trying to pick this one, but I'm pretty sure that was from when I tried and failed before Greed found the key. If I had to guess why they didn't just break him out, I'd say they probably didn't have the tools at hand. I'd guess that probably means they'll be coming back later with them."
As the others discuss beating and whipping him, Caggan turns his head to try and get a better look at whoever he can. "Haven't you monsters caused enough suffering already today?" he demands, and tear tracks are visible in the dried blood and dirt on his face.
Meanwhile, Muziel sees lots of trampled grass and tracks around the pillories, but the area has been well traveled recently and he can't really tell which belong to who and how recent they might be.