The troll blinks. "Mitti orc tili gapiradi...," she drawls in confusion.
As an aside to Banny the gnome gives a short nod to show that the words were understood before sinking into the harsh giant tongue himself "Siz eshitish va nam pastki 'tinglash ... qaerda dan orc tili bilasizmi?"
He then adds in quickfire common "It knows the green-tongue, I asked it where from. Tell me what else you want me to say and I'll translate for you."
"What's it doing here? What does it know of Kerst's death?"
Vhailor thinks for a moment before dutifully translating the additional questions: "Nima uchun siz bu tunnel mavjud?
Agar Kerst ismli yarim-ORC o'ldirilishi, nima bilasiz?"
What do you know of the killing of a half-orc, named Kerst?"
"Siz eshitish va nam pastki 'tinglash ... qaerda dan orc tili bilasizmi?"
She sneers, revealing all her long teeth. "Biz Belkzen ushlab mavjud. Qaerga orc tili eshitdim, deb o'ylaysiz? Er quruq-teri bilan emaklay etiladi."
"Nima uchun siz bu tunnel mavjud?
Agar Kerst ismli yarim-ORC o'ldirilishi, nima bilasiz?"
"Uxlayotgandim," she replies sullenly. "Men Kerst nomidagi yo'q devqomat pushti-terini bilaman." Her tiny eyes flash suddenly as she looks at Vhailor. "Yaqin, oz tamaddi qilib kel. Siz bir luqma ko'pi odamsiz."
I was sleeping. I know no crossbreed pink-skin named Kerst.
Come closer, little snack. You're no more than a bite.
Sniffing Vhailor relates what was said in part "He's not exactly offering much... apart from the fact it wants to eat me. Claims it doesn't know Kerst and was just sleeping." pausing and pursing lips for a moment "I'm sorry, I suppose I'm not much good at this... what should I say next?" raising an eyebrow and looking to Banny and Marikel.
Marikel frowns.
"It was in the cave in the cliffside. Possibly just last night. What was it doing there? Who's it working with?"
Nodding Vhailor parrots "Biz siz jarlik bilan tunnel edi bilaman. Nima uchun?
Biz sizlar yolg'iz bu erda kelmadi bilaman. Kim?
Aks holda mitti kitob sizga gapiryapdi boshlaydi ... menga gapirayotgan sazovor bo'lishi mumkin ..."
We know you didn't come here alone. Who?
Might be worth speaking to me... otherwise the dwarf will start speaking to you..."
The troll scowls at the revelation that the party knows about the cave in the cliff. "Men bir do'stim, bir devqomat pushti-teri bilan eb edi," she sulks.
Banny keeps her weight on the troll's back, knee between shoulderblades, listening grimly.
"How'd she get from the cave down here? Is there a passage that connects? There's gotta be-- surely a troll wouldn't dare cross the open ground between 'em. What's she doing under Trunau, anyway? I buy 'just sleeping' like I buy sour ale. Who told her to come here?"
Snapping forward with interest and attention Vhailor growls "Ism... pushti teri yarim zotli." taking a more than fleeting interest Carbonel hops down from his perch on Vhailor and moves to where he can get clear vantage of the troll. The cat doesn't draw near enough to be in touching distance... but does appear to take a pointed and direct interest.
Adding to the others as an aside "He was in the tunnels by the cliff with a 'pink-skin crossbreed'..."
He also relays Banny's queries "Qanday qilib bu erda jar olish?
Kim sizga yuborilgan?"
Who sent you?"
Snapping forward with interest and attention Vhailor growls "Ism... pushti teri yarim zotli." taking a more than fleeting interest Carbonel hops down from his perch on Vhailor and moves to where he can get clear vantage of the troll. The cat doesn't draw near enough to be in touching distance... but does appear to take a pointed and direct interest.
"Bu eslash qiyin," she whines. "Sizning nomlari shunday g'alati va mening oshqozon shunday bo'sh. Meni mushuk esin, va ehtimol, men eslayman olaman." Her small eyes focus on the cat, and she smacks her lips.
"Qanday qilib bu erda jar olish?"
"Jarlik bu erda uchun? Men bu erda daryo bor, xuddi shunday. Men sayr qildim."
"Kim sizga yuborilgan?"
"Grenseldek," she hisses, in a tone that leaves no doubt that the word is a proper name, though it means nothing to anyone in the party.
"It wants food for the name of the half-breed... well it wants to eat Carb, but it's not eating Carb. Says it walked from the other tunnel to here which means there must be a connection... like you said I don't think it made it's way through the town."
"Grenseldek is who sent it."
Vhailor then takes a harder edge to his words... only slightly quavering as he delivers them "Cat oziq-ovqat emas. Biz yarim zotli nomini olish qadar Emaysizlarmi. Nom berish, oziq-ovqat bo'lsin.
Oshqozon portlash ushbudan boshlab: qornida mitti boshlandi ... sizni nom berish emas, balki. Belly yana yaqin shunday Vannada qaytarib qo'y. So'ngra yana buni.
Sahifalar Agar siz oziq-ovqat va yo'q yuklash olish ... nomini bering."
Not give name... dwarf kicks you in belly till stomach burst. Put you back in tub so belly close up again. Then do it again.
Better you give name... then you get food and not boot."
"Banny... can you smile threateningly and look like you want to kick it in the stomach?" he cheerfully adds.
Banny looks quizzical, then grins. "Aw, shoot, that ain't hard for me, on account I do wanna kick her in the stomach. Got my hobnail boots on an' all," she says, into the troll's ear. "Ain't no love lost, is there?"
Teeth bared, rawr.
"Daktani," she wails, "Daktani. U olovni yoritilgan ahmoq edi. Ham, u ega bo'lgan teri quruq ham, mo'ljallangan xudolar sifatida go'sht xom ovqat terini pushti ham yaxshi. Boshqa bir olovni ko'rib va g'or qildi. U juda ko'p ko'rdim; U o'lishi kerak edi. Men ham, men emas, balki, uni eb olish yo'q edi. U, biz bir voqea sodir kabi qarash kerak edi dedi," she finishes sulkily with a clear sense of ill-usage.
Vhailor recounts "Daktani it says, he was the half-breed who helped it. It admits to killing Kerst as well." a sigh of exhultation mixed with sadness following before he turns to Marikel "I had to threaten that Banny would kick it in the stomach till it burst... I hope that wasn't wrong?"
The not-quite-mirth on Banny's face leaches away, like water poured onto the dry earth of the region, as Vhailor translates.
That's it? That's the answer? This-- this she-troll-- in a garble of gibberish, admits to murdering Kerst, and... it's clearly nothing to the creature. One of her few, true friends in the damned world, and... it's...
"Why?" she rasps, the fake cheer stripped out of her voice. "Why the hell did they--"
She cuts herself off, her face contorted with too many emotions, and the hand she doesn't have on the troll's shoulder flies to her hopeknife, as her vision flares red. But her fingers wrap around the hilt of the knife and stay there, white-knuckled, for several long seconds before she lets go.
"Let's drag this piece of slag before Halgra," Banny says, flat and black in her tone. "I want-- I want everyone to hear that-- that he didn't kill himself. And Daktani, whoever the hell he is, I want his gods-damned blood too."
"Half-orc who got kicked out of the Patrol," Ali chimes in. "For running a black market with the Patrol's supplies. I doubt he'd still be able to survive in Trunau long if it weren't for the half-orcs always looking out for other half-orcs."
The blond rogue frowns. "I saw a half-orc talking with Sawyer last night, but I didn't recognize him...."
"Daktani, hey. If he is linked with Sawyer, we'll need something solid. Like Daktani himself."
Marikel turns to Vhailor.
"Where can we find Daktani?"
Relaying Marikel's final query to the troll Vhailor grumbles "Oxirgi savol nam oxirgi ... Daktani bo'ladi?"
She shrugs as best she can with Banny's knee in her back. "Shaharda."
Screwing up his face in thought Vhailor relays "It doesn't know where Daktani is... says he's 'in the town'. I think it's telling the truth." gesturing to Banny "I think she has the right of it, let's drag it to Halgra."
"There's a tunnel back here behind a hidden door. Ask him where it leads," Alicia says.
Dutifully "Tunnel orqa erda, eshik yashirin. Bu jarlik boradimi? Qaerda keyin emas, balki bo'lsa?"
Banny looks to the tunnel, even as she starts dragging the troll to her feet. "My guess'd be back to the other tunnels we were at," she says. "Tho we never did find no door leadin' out of them. Alright, get up, you. You're damn lucky I want it heard by others that Kerst didn't do himself, or I'd finish you right here and now," she growls, uncaring of whether or not the troll really understands her. "As it is, Blackblade'll get to call your fate. I hope she has you pushed off the same cliff. An' this Daktani, too."
Banny's ready to march the troll back to town when and if the others are.
"Yo'l?" she asks, puzzled. "Hech yo'l, faqat bir havzasi bor."
"Huh," Ali says. "I'm going to see where that tunnel leads, then. Back in a moment."
With that, she disappears around the corner again, and slips into the tunnel.
"Banny's right. We need to... Alicia!"
Marikel sighs.
He places a hand on Banny's shoulder and murmurs a short prayer, and again warm energy fills her and heals her wounds.
"I'll get Alicia back."
Marikel follows the headstrong teen.
Banny heaves a sigh as a little more healing washes over her and eases the raw rasp in her side. "Alright. I'll be here. Sittin' on Miss Ugly, here...."
She suits action to word, keeping the she-troll locked down. Banny stares at the back of the foul creature's head grimly, and thinks a little bit more about how she'd love to bury her hopeknife right between the troll's shoulderblades. She consoles herself with the knowledge that Halgra won't likely have much mercy for the beast, either.
An' maybe Daktani won't get taken alive...
Vhailor watches Marikel go, but doesn't budge from Banny's side. Carbonel seems to have lost interest in the troll and has moved over to near the wall to lick at a paw. Vhailor's brow furrows as he thinks out loud "Banny... this thing lived in the tub... but we found two tubs didn't we...?"
Alicia takes the torch with her to explore the secret passageway, leaving the gnome and his cat in darkness, although Banny can see well enough to keep watch over her prisoner. The corridor is dark and narrow and thick with cobwebs; the floor is thick with dust and the dry remains of dead bugs. Fortunately, however, the spiders in the passageway are of the usual size, and the beetle carapaces show no propensity to animate.
The corridor is not long. After only twenty feet, it terminates in a closed door. As Alicia approaches the end of the passage, she notices that one of the stones in the floor tips a little under her feet as she steps on it, and there is a hollow echo, as if there may be a hollow space under it.
Passing through the small room with the tub, Marikel can't help but notice the rancid smell of the flood troll. He also notices a rough sack lying against the wall behind the tub.
"Hmn," Alicia murmurs. Looking around for a place to set her torch, she eventually sets it on the ground at her side. She kneels and attempts to lift the loose stone.
Banny grunts at Vhailor's question. "Yeah. Reckon she's got more'n one tub, if they like things wet-- Alicia said she was a river troll. Like a person havin' more'n one coat, or somethin'. Why, what you thinkin'?"
Taking note of the sack behind the tub, Marikel continues round the corner after Alicia. He comes up behind her and lifts her torch for her to see better.
"What are you doing?" he whispers urgently.
Vhailor stumbles backwards in the pitch blackness left behind after Alicia absconded with the only torch that they had. He eases himself onto the ground gingerly and is comforted by Carbonel's fur as the cat nurdles into his side. Turning to face near enough to where Banny's voice is coming from "Just hoping that it's not one tub one troll is all."
With a bit of effort, Alicia wiggles her fingertips into the crevice and lifts up the paving stone. Below, in a small hollow, half-buried in the dirt is a decrepit leather pouch. It is stiff with age, and bits of the leather flake off as Alicia excavates it. From within comes the familiar clink of coins.
Alicia attempts to pocket the leather pouch quickly, before Marikel can see what she's up to. She'll see what's in it later. "Making sure we're not missing anything," she replies, leaving the stone where she set it. She stands and makes a cursory search of the wall at the end of the corridor, looking for another hidden door. "Seems odd that this would be a dead end, though..."
Banny chuckles a little, watching Vhailor flail a bit in the darker room once the light's gone. "Guess we oughtta pick up s'more torches or somethin'. Ain't used to needin' 'em much myself."
She's getting a bit tired in this position; she shifts until she's sitting on the small of the troll's back, using the foul beast as a cushion. "Unf. There. An' yeah, 'm hopin' there's only one'a these too. She did a number on my side, I don't care to run into her brother or whatever."
The dwarf grunts as she waits for Alicia and Marikel to re-enter the room. "I was dead wrong about this place havin' nothin' to do with everything, though. Well, my pride an' my hide can take bruises in equal measure. Though I'd still like to know-- where's she comin' in through... Mayhap ask her which way she comes into this basement from? I mean we ain't poked all through here yet, but we can speed it up maybe if we just get it from her."
Shrugging Vhailor translates Banny's question at the troll "Agar bu erda yurish ... siz o'tmish nima yurish? Qaysi bino orqali kelgan?"
On the other topic he helpfully suggests "One torch is enough though... keeps all of your hands free for the more delicate work... just got to... you know... stay in the same spot."
"Speaking of dead, we may want to save this mystery for later. Banny needs our help to get through this. We can come back later. In fact, I want to come back and see if there's a tunnel into the cliffs. And before you touch anything else..."
Another prayer from Marikel and he focuses his senses about himself, before turning back to Alicia.
"Shall we depart?"
Marikel retreats toward the others who were left alone in the dark with a troll, taking the light of the torch with him.
Shrugging Vhailor translates Banny's question at the troll "Agar bu erda yurish ... siz o'tmish nima yurish? Qaysi bino orqali kelgan?"
Banny can see that the troll looks puzzled by the question. "Men jar atrofida va tuynuk tushib keldi."
Blinking through light assaulted eyes Vhailor smiles "Ah... I can see again now... that's useful." before responding to Banny "It says it came around the cliff and down the 'hole'... I'd ask it to point where that is, but..." gesturing with his hands to show the troll's inability to respond with anything except for words.
Banny skritches at her head, both at the troll's confusion and... at her own confusion, or something.
"Alright, but did she come through that locked door?" Banny asks Vhailor as Marikel brings the light back towards them. "Don't seem it, right? Because if she did, then that means she's got a key to it, and we didn't see no real signs of passage that way anyhow. How a troll would get a key to the door of an Iomedan church-cellar don't seem to fit to me. Another path means there's another, troll-sized hole into this cellar, and she's talkin' about a hole, so... that seems more likely. But what's botherin' me big-picture is this idea that there's creatures like this who can hide right under our noses in those tunnels beneath town, and can get down here to the church, without the town guard, or our patrols, seein' 'em moving around and raisin' warning. That spells nothin' but bad for Trunau."
Banny switches to the harsh orc tongue, as she gets off the troll's body and puts a callused hand on the beast's shoulder. "Mən sizin ayaq sizi çəkəcəyəm. Siz istifadə deşik gəzmək. Daktani sizə çəllək gətirmək mi?"
"Iomedae can reveal the presence of poison to me," Marikel explains to Alicia as they return. "There wasn't any there but in future you may want to let me know when you're making sure we're not missing anything."
Marikel stops as the troll rises. "Banny? Are you okay?"
"Yep," Banny answers Marikel's question cheerily. "Just wantin' Little Miss Ugly here to show us exactly which way she came on in by. I got my hands on her still."
Vhailor translates for the troll if needed to carry Banny's questioning.
Outwardly he adds "Not sure if we're really going to get much more out of it... it's a bit" tapping the side of his head "lacking in capacity and all." before finding his feet again now that he can see them. Carbonel keeps to the ground, padding along disdainfully at Vhailor's heel.
With a raised eyebrow at Alicia he also presses "Can I hold the torch again? It's much nicer when I can see where I'm stepping."
Alicia grudgingly follows Marikel back to the rest of the group (since she doesn't want to light a second torch). "Yeah, yeah..." she mutters under her breath. When she passes back through the tub-room again, she makes a point to pause and inspect the contents of the satchel sitting beside it.
"That's right," Marikel says as Alicia checks the satchel. "I almost forgot about that. Bring it. Let's go."
Alicia snags what she assumes is the flood troll's bag on her way back out to the rest of the party. The rough fabric shares its owner's stench. Inside is what appears to be some sort of club or cudgel with a broken and splintered end.
Vhailor translates Banny's instructions and question into Giantish. The troll shrugs again. "Küvetler berilgan. Men buni kim bilmayman." She gets awkwardly to her feet, hampered by the ropes binding her, and leads Banny down the corridor Alicia and Marikel just returned by. Instead of returning to the tub room, she gestures with her chin at the other door . "U erda orqali."
Through there.
The blond rogue takes a peek inside the satchel and nearly gags at the smell. She follows Marikel back into the room with the flood troll and roughly casts the satchel down a good distance away from it. "You carry it! It smells like Omast Frum's feet!" she declaims in disgust.