This fellow certainly needs to learn a bit about restraint...still, he will make a powerful ally, once I learn more of what is going on here.
Varinder moves quietly in the wake of the mighty elf-kin and muses idly as to his next step. Perhaps a dagger in the back? It's a solution of sorts. But we might wish to talk to her.
Varinder awaits the result of the half-elf's blast with rapt attention. Such a display of force might open a space for dialogue.
Campus is ripped from her reverie.
That strange elf again. But what is this? Their door swinging open?
Campus rolls to her feet, feeling naked and helpless, butknowing that she had to leave, and the leaving may have begun.
Klassalka chooses a different path than silent anticipation- she cheers.
"Yea! Burn her and get us out of here!"
Ho, ho, but what is this? A chance escape from our cell? Perhaps I can do something after all.
Artemis pats his coat looking for something in his pockets. Nothing. He rips off a small piece of wool from his coat and runs it between his fingers eyeing the tortuous, monster of a woman.
This had better work. I've gone and ruined a perfectly good coat now
The woman gives Ramul a queer look, as if his dismissal of her was the most unexpected thing that could happen. In the end, however, her insanity takes over and she turns back to her work with renewed zeal.
When Ramul steps out of the cell, though, she turns and begins shaking her head. No, no…it’s not your turn yet. Her voice rises to a screech as she leaps at Ramul, knife in hand. It’s not your turn!
Klassalka will ready her action, and if anyone opens her door, she'll activate Rage and bull-rush the woman.
The wrath of the Gods are upon you fiend. Your soul shall depart and be met with nashes of teeth.
The woman seems to shake off any effect of Campus's words, and she grins wickedly in response. As Ramul rushes towards her, she raises her knife in rage, ready to practice her craft on a new victim. The blast from the kineticist, however, makes her think twice. The blast slams into her, the impact seeming to crush limbs and break bones, if the reaction of her physical form and be any measure. Her body slams back into the bed, and her victim cries out as her weight slams down on many rips and cuts.
She snarls, and leaps at Ramul, slashing with her improvised blade.
Varinder's lips purse in vexation, but that does not lead to any hesitation. There are probably allies - or at least useful distractions - in those other cells. I need those keys. This will be very awkward.
As swiftly as he can, Varinder darts past the madwoman, hands reaching out to snaffle the keys hanging from her belt.
As Varinder streaks past, the madwoman slashes down with a shriek of rage.
Her blade cuts a deep slash in the gnome's back, from his shoulder nearly all the way down to his waistline. Though he pays dearly for his prize, Varinder streaks away, keys in hand.
Nearly simultaneously, Artemis's spell takes effect. The woman's eyes grow distant, and she pauses as if in a dream.
"Door!" Klassalka yells!
Still readied action
Varinder yelps as the blade scathes across his back, but continues resolutely towards the cell opposite, where Klassalka and Campus await. He lobs the keys towards them and then droops painfully against a wall.
Ulfric will prepare to charge at and grapple the woman when his cell door is opened.
Ramul recoils as the mad woman's blade collides with his chest. Blast my lack of armor.
Armor would have to wait for later. Any hope of taking the woman alive now seems misplaced.
"In Milani's name, I will end this!" Ramul says as he moves to strike the woman again.
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Keys!
Campus reacts instinctively and inserts the key into the lock and turns. The muscled merwoman beside her appears tense—— readying her powerful tail to propel herself at the madwoman, no doubt
Campus swings the door open, After you.
"Finally!" Klassalka says with a grin, the sound of her knuckles cracking can be heard, as she springs forward and pulls out her barbarian rage to throw her arm into the torturer's face!
(+6 +2 charge -1 power attack)
"I say, could someone get us out of here now?", Artemis says. "That would be smashing."
...coat...it's really quite terrible...ruined...I got it from...
Wait, where did I get this coat from? Bloddy terrible. I can't seem to remember anything, least of all how I got in this bloody hell hole. What did I do?
After Varinder’s heroic liberating of the keys and subsequent toss, Campus slips her arms out to work at the lock. Within a few seconds, the bolt slides back and the door swings open to reveal the raging Klassalka. Klassalka’s full step and swinging arm connects with the side of the woman’s face, forcing her to the side and against the table where her victim still lay. The woman’s head rolls to one side as if floating in an abyss of confusion and pain, then it shakes and the woman readjusts, her head still showing the effects of the blow as well as Artemis’s spell.
Ramul’s blow slams into the woman from the other side, slashing through her body and nearly tearing it apart. The woman reels, but does not fall as she slowly shakes her head to regain her focus.
Klassalka brings her arms up, and then back down on the torturer, as hard as she can.
"Go down!"
"Free us so we may help!" Ulfric will call out to the key bearer.
Ulfric will prepare to charge the women if the cell is opened.
Artemis works some saliva in his mouth, motioning his hand over his chest as if he was suffering from indigestion and then spits a stream of acid from his mouth.
"Excuse me. Terribly sorry. Quite rude of me just to go belching and all but well... Artemis points and that crazed, psycho-killing female. "That's quite enough, already"
Seeing Klassalka on the other side of the woman, Ramul realizes that the fight may be won. I cannot get complacent, though. I must still give this my all, Ramul thinks.
Campus does some air boxing, apparently more used to her spear.
Varinder stumbles around the fracas somewhat blearily, keeping well clear as he makes his way towards the last remaining locked door. Where are those benighted keys? And we are making plenty of noise. Must keep an eye out for other dangers.
Varinder finds the keys, right where Campus dropped them after using them
Varinder grabs the keys and stumbles over to the final door, where he begins the business of unlocking the door, barely noticing those within.
Varinder skips along behind Klassalka, nimbly leaping her swishing tail, then rushes past the table to unlock the last cell. The woman, in her dazed state, can only barely register the darting gnome as he rushes past.
As the door swings open, Varinder stands next to it, as his blood continues to flow into his undergarments, a most uncomfortable feeling to add to the searing pain of his back.
Artemis fires a dart, but the bad angle sends it careening off of the wall of the cell, to dash itself upon the brick wall opposite.
When the door opens Ulfric rushes forward to pummel the woman.
Ulfric steps out into the "operating area", and rushes forward to land a heavy, thick fist on the cheekbone of the woman. Normally, bones would crack audibly, but instead the woman's spongy face turns with the blow, and her neck twists to a nearly impossible degree. She falls to the ground, her body splayed in such a condition that showed she wasn't getting up anytime soon.
With a moment to scan the room, you can see a door to the East, and various hefty looking sacks propped against the wall near it. The man on the table, you note...did not make it through the last of the crazed woman's examinations. His blood is quickly creating a spreading pool below the table.
Escape. Flee!
Breathe.
I am Campus, Cleric of Cayden.
Artemis steps out of his cell into the operating room, still fidgeting with the frayed piece of his coat, where he tore it.
Dreadful business. Where DID I get this blasted coat. Perhaps if I could just remember...The Amulet. I really need to get that back. Did I EVER even have it? I just don't know anything anymore.
Artemis extends a hand to Campus.
"Quite alliterative of you ma'am. Artemis Reinholdt. Pleased to meet you, I'm sure. Any idea where we are?
Artemis points to the disdainfully inhuman looking woman. "And what are we going to do with her?"
Artemis scans the room for anything useful.
Campus looks confused for a second, then her eyes twinkle. Yes, but you can't call me CC. I detest that one.
Campus then turns to the injured. Let me help you with your injuries...however we must stand as far away from that woman as possible; I am wary of healing that one.
Campus notes that their wounds are still seeping with blood and signs of bruising.
"Klassalka Huhl of the clan Huhl," the merfolk introduces herself as she un-rages.
She looks around suspiciously, "Are there any more... jailers? Enemies?"
The woman is not dead, but Campus is able to drag her far enough away and then go to the other end of the room so as not to heal her. A basic review of the room reveals a hidden area to the south, and a door to the east. It "feels" like a basement, or at least a very stable structure.
Around the south wall, a cold iron furnace hunkers down in the corner, its four foot iron door hanging half open. Nearby sprawls a heap of gory clothes and other dubiously flammable trash.
Let us search the woman, and then jail her. I've no taste for killing her now that she is incapacitated.
As the maniacal woman falls awkwardly to the ground, Ramul slumps back against the wall next to his former cell. He slowly slides to the ground as exhaustion and pain finally take their toll.
Ramul glances back and forth between the unconscious woman and the man on the worktable. Blood pools beneath the worktable and Ramul realizes that he failed again. It's all he can do to keep from crying.
Has Milani doomed me to fail again and again? Ramul wonders. No. Milani stands for freedom, not failure. She would not have me feel sorry for myself.
Standing slowly to his feet, Ramul glances around at those still alive and conscious in the room. For the first time, he is able to see them all clearly. A merfolk woman just calming from an inner rage, a self-proclaimed Caydenite Cleric, a regal half-orc, a tattered scholar of some sort, and a clever gnome. All together, the eclectic group seem quite capable of handling themselves.
Perhaps Milani has indeed given me a second chance. Perhaps these others were all given second chances, Ramul thinks.
Ramul watches curiously as the cleric drags the mad woman over to one side of the room and walks back to the rest of the group. Two waves of energy pass over Ramul and he looks to his chest to see his blood clotting and his wound healing.
"Thank you for your aid, good cleric. I am Ramul Rilen, though I know not where I acquired my name. Now that we are safe, for the moment at least, I must commend our friend the gnome. Regrettably, I still do not know his name, but without his aid, we would all still be trapped in our cells."
Walking over to the dead man on the worktable, Ramul closes the poor man's eyes and lays the man's bloody hands by his sides. Ramul wishes to give the man some measure of dignity, even in death.
Ramul looks over at the gory clothes near the furnace and an idea occurs to him. He walks to the clothes and finds a few long pieces. He moves to where the woman lies unconscious and uses the clothes to bind the woman's hands and legs.
"You will not harm another again," Ramul says. "May the blood of those you've slain bind you forevermore." Looking back at the others, Ramul continues, "I do not wish to touch her further. If someone else would like to search her, I would appreciate it greatly."
Looking at the door to the east, Ramul wonders what the sacks nearby it could contain.
Campus searches the woman, and removes all she finds, then moves her bound and gagged body to a cell, and with a key, locks the cage's door.
Klassalka responds to the suggestion for jailing, "Fair enough. A fiend base enough to torture can be slain with little worries in my eyes, but I will not press the issue to a cleric."
Also, if there are any weapons, or things that can be used as a makeshift weapon like a club, Klassalka looks for them in her search.
Campus nods at the Merwoman, and once done, clips the keys to her belt. I understand the temptation, I feel it myself. I alsi fear she is a magic user that can still do harm.
The woman seems to have nothing else on her person but the shears that she had been using as an improvised blade. The sacks, however, contain a bounty of items. Within are all of your items - they appear to have been hastily stripped off of you and thrown together into the sacks, no doubt to be used or sold later for loot, after the woman had exhausted her enjoyment in carving you up.
"It looks they stowed some of our belongings in these sacks. I found my armor, so you all may want to inspect the sacks to see if they hold anything that's yours," Ramul says to the others in the room. "Also, does anyone have any suggestions as to how we can get out of this miserable place?"
Klassalka grabs her sword.
"I'm partial to carving our way out. Whoever else shoved us in here are not our friends."
Campus is glad to have recovered a number of items, items with which she feels familair, although she fails to recollect how she first came by them. Canpus looks around as she dawns her armor, packs, and spear.
What is this hidden area over here?
Campus makes a mental note of her inventory as she grips the familiar haft of her long spear of cold iron.
Artemis recovers his things, slipping his amulet around his. Ah. Like the returning of an old friend.
"Also, does anyone have any suggestions as to how we can get out of this miserable place?"
Artemis points to the door on the eastern side of the room.
"How 'bout we try that way?"
This sizable furnace appears to have once heated some sort of spaces above, based upon the pipes. A look inside shows several scorched humanoid bones amid the ashes, easily from half a dozen bodies. You can see that the vents leading up and out of the furnace are quite wide, large enough even to fit a person with some squeezing and squirming.
Amid the pile of garbage near the furnace is a well built viol, remarkably undamaged though the bow is missing.