Gared fussed over the prisoners briefly, quickly determining their wounds were beyond quick physical aid before pulling out his wand and administering the healing magic to them. "It's alright, you're safe now, we're here to help."
As Gared tends to the prisoners and brings them each back around, Carridan regards Fenster and the derro witch, "We can leave them trussed up if you like. I should be able to bear them out on my back, once we're ready to depart. I won't have the strength for too long though, and you'll need to help me get them situated once we're set to go."[/b] He smiles then as some of the prisoners begin to recover at Gared's help. "We did good work here today."
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Yamyra looks up from her notes from where she was sketching a map of the areas you have explored so far. "As I recall...these...derro are not welcome in the Magnimar city at all! I do not believe the City Guard would object in the least should these foul creatures meet their end here, albeit in a quick and painless way." She motions back at the room where you saw the torture equipment. "Obviously, their motives are quite clear here. They were not here for the benefits of our fellow citizens!"
The three former prisoners (two women and one man) are still quite groggy and disorientated. They do not even remember their names at this point in time, which matches the condition of the other citizens recovered by the Watch previously. They are healthy enough to walk on their own, albeit slowly.
"Don't you think the Guard would care to interrogate this one?" Carridan nudges the unconscious derro witch at Yamyra's statement.
"We're not killers..." Horven says, a bit disconcerted by Yamyra's statement. "The witch might be useful, the others not so much...perhaps we can stick them in the cells instead."
Carridan rubs the back of his neck and looks at Horven, "To starve? Isn't that... well, more cruel?"
"We can't just let them roam free nor can we stay here and make sure they get three meals a day," Horven says, exasperated. "What do you suggest, Carridan? Because I refuse to slit someone's throat..."
"We're in Magnimar, not the wild. It's the guard's responsibility to decide their fate, not ours. Let's leave them them in the cells for now, and tell the watch of them as we bring the witch and Fenster." Gared nodded towards the prisoners. "Their safety and well being should be our first priority regardless, so let's be on our way. They've been away from their homes for long enough."
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Following Gared's plan, you all gather the unconscious derro bodies and after making sure they are completely disarmed you deposit them in the cells where you found the prisoners. Thanks to the keychain you found on the derro witch you are able to lock the doors securely.
Carridan transforms himself into a small donkey and the securely lashed bodies of both Fenster and the witch are tied to his equine form, along with all of the gathered loot you have reaped so far. You then make your way back to the sewer entrance leading the freed prisoners who trail along behind you. While progress is slow, you do eventually make your way back out of the sewers and to the late afternoon sun.
One item of interest is the reaction the sunlight has on the derro prisoner. It immediately causes her skin to blister and burn as if roasting in an oven. A quick check of the symptoms shows the sunlight will prove lethal to the derro over a period of hours. Fortunately, the trip to the Arvensoar is a short one.
After gaining an audience with an old acquaintance of yours, the watch Captain Kasadei, she thanks you profusely for recovering the three missing citizens. "Truly we owe you our thanks for recovering our citizens for us! I shall inform the Lord Mayor this one..." indicating the unconscious derro, "was behind the kidnapping of our poor citizens. As for what we can learn from her..." She shakes her head. "I have little knowledge of these derro. Perhaps Venture Captain Heidmarch could help us here? Anyway, we do have a sizeable reward for you and it shall be delivered to Heidmarch Manor at once."
After turning over the witch and Fenster, Horven draws Gared aside. "So, what shall we do now? A hot meal and a warm bed sound nice, but..."
The halfling looks to the dwarf with a curious look. "I don't think I've been of much use lately. My strikes with my blade are weak and I can hardly manage this crossbow...I feel like I've been more of a hindrance than a help."
Carridan rubs the back of his neck sheepishly before nodding to Kasadei, "Happy to help, truly." As he and the others turn aside and begin making their way toward the manor, Carridan arches his brow at Horven's question of Gared, but suspecting the more personal nature of the conversation quickens his pace to give the pair some space to talk.
Striding up beside Carmina, he asks, "So, uh, Carmina, how did you all come to be working for the Heidmarches?"
Gared paused and considered. "I wouldn't say you've been a hindrance, my friend. Perhaps their would be fighting styles better suited to your particular skills?" Gared's face brightened and then darkened briefly as he turned to memory. "I was always one to be impressed with the skills o' the halfling bards that would serve the guard o' my old village with their spells and song alike." Gared nodded towards the halfling's crossbow. "They made good use o' short bow's sized for 'em when they weren't aidin' their allies some other way. Takes less time to load."
"You think I ought to start learning how to sling spells?" Horven says, tickled by the idea. He hefts the crossbow slightly. "This is good...I suppose. Maybe I can do better?"
Gared nodded thoughtfully. "If you could pick up a little o' magic, I bet ye could use song n' spell alike to be givin' yer arrows a bit more bite to them, maybe learn a tale or tune and provide a bit o' cheer when we be stuck in some dungeon. Seen bard's save some folk from the brink of disaster with their particular brand o magic, and I be thinkin' you might have more of a knack for the craft than ye know."
"That actually sounds like a good idea," the halfling says with a smile. Horven was warmed by the thought that his friend thought that he was capable of being more than...whatever it is he was at this point. "I'm sure that Captain Heidmarch could refer me to someone who could teach me the basics."
Gared nodded, surprised his friend seemed to take a light to his idea. He then sighed and and kicked himself for his melodrama. "Well, I'm glad ye be thinkin' so. I'd be happy to help where I can. Maybe we can go buy ye' a bow and I can be showin' ye how to use it?"offered the dwarf, put his hand on his friend's shoulder.
Horven grins widely. "I'd like that. Thank you, Gared, for being the friend I've always needed."
Gared coughed uncomfortably, but managed a sincere smile, though the expression seemed a strange and labored one for the dour archer.
"Don't be too quick to denigrate your contributions," Yamyra interjects into Gared & Horven's commiseration. "I have reviewed quite a number of Pathfinder journal entries in which it is apparent that a quick wit and cleverness were just as vital to success & survival as spells or skill at arms."
"We just haven't reached a point where it has been obvious to you yet." She adds primly.
Horven raises an eyebrow, perhaps sensing the hint of a compliment from Yamyra. "I have no intention of giving up the cleverness, just refining it into something a bit more useful for us all."
Gared's eyebrow raised in unison with Horven's. The dwarf snorted in what might be taken for amusement, but said nothing.
Carridan glances at the trio from the corner of his eye as they chat and a soft grin plays at the edge of his lips. It always did encourage him to see genuine bonds of friendship amongst the city folk, it helped balance the greed and corruption more often associated with the so-called civilized peoples.
"So, uh, Carmina, how did you all come to be working for the Heidmarches?"
"We all? Well I don't know about the others, but I can tell you how I came to work for them," Carmina answers to Carridan's question. "You see, I used to be a noblewoman..." she says, showing Carridan a quick peek of her signet ring. "...Still am, in fact, but there was a little of... Bad blood, you know? You see, my magical talent, good looks and superior demonic heritage can cause a bit of envy in some people. So I decided to lay low for a while, see some world, and figured that joining the Pathfinders would be a good way to accomplish that. Can't say I've seen much world so far, but it's been fun. Not to mention profitable."
Carridan rubs the back of his neck and grins sheepishly, "I, errr, am not very familiar with the houses of Magnimar. Or any other city, for that matter. Is your family from here or have you already struck out on your world travels?"
"Let's see about selling these items," Horven says to Gared. "Can you think of anything else we might need? I am running a little bit low on rope."
"Oh, my family's from here. And yes, can't say I've seen that much of the world yet. So far there's been enough to do around Magnimar, but hey, maybe that'll chage soon."
Carridan nods at Carmina's words, "Yes, the Pathfinders do have something of a long reach." He then shakes his head at Horven's question, utterly lost on what else might be needed. He smiles then, happy with how helping this group of people worked out, despite their task taking them through a sewer.
Horven shrugs. "I guess we'll be fine with what we have at the moment. Let's just head back and rest up for another foray tomorrow. Hopefully, I won't have to be tying up too many things."
The halfling heads back to Heidmarch manor for food and rest.
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You all decide to retire to Heidmarch Manor to rest up before continuing, and hopefully finishing up, your exploration of the Crow. After consulting your notes, you realize there are still several places where you have not explored. One of the corridors which branched west from where you initially entered this level, and the two staircases leading down.
You do recall what the former Captain, now undead, Lockerbie Brast mentioned what dangers lay down the corridor including a patch of green slime. Still, something of interest might be down there...
The staircases also lay unexplored: The spiral staircase and also the staircase behind the secret door that Carmina uncovered, thanks to tthe Shard she carries.
"We still have yet to inform Captain Brast that we gave his widow the locket. Even if we don't need his assistance, it is the least we can do for him."
Perhaps the thing we can do for him...
"About this Brast, I'm still puzzled by this arrangement you've made with him. Errr, It. Undead are as unnatural as a thing may be, how do you suffer it?"
"Well, we did him a favor for some information...not what I'd consider a long-standing arrangement," Horven says. "I'm not sure about seeing him again, Yamyra, but, if you feel that is what's best for us to do, then we'll do it."
Carmina gives Carridan a long, hard stare. "So what do you think we should have done then? Ignored him? Attacked him? I don't know about you, but I won't start treating people badly just because they're a little less... uh... living," she says, keeping her stare on the druid as she waits for an answer.
Gared sighed. "Our encounter with Brast was a bit out of the ordinary because he was a bit out of the ordinary as far as undead go. As long as he poses no danger to any living folk and even goes so far as to offer them aid as he did with us, well... I'm meaning to offer him rest now that his task is done and his wife taken care of."
Carridan nods, seemingly gathering that circumstances with Brast were exceedingly irregular. He turns to Carmina and explains his views, harsh as they sound, "I mean no disrespect to you, but I wouldn't count any kind of undead as a person, regardless of how much intelligence it might retain. There's nothing else across the face of Golarion that's a greater affront to the natural order than undead. Any sort is an abomination - however pitiful or tragic they may appear or sound. They're just a- a-," he hesitates, searching for the right word. He frowns, frustrated that he's not explaining this very well. "They're just wrong, there's a wrongness about them. I think I understand why you cooperated with this Brast, but it's not something I'd have done, I don't think." He pauses then looks at Carmina, holding her gaze, "I don't mean to sound cruel, I'm strongly against cruelty too, that's why I've offered to help look into this kidnapping mess after all. But can you at least understand where we druids stand on the matter of undead? They are, quiet literally, a manifestation of the opposite of all we believe and seek to uphold."
"All right then, I think I understand it just fine," she says, finally moving her gaze away from Carridan. "I won't even ask what the druids think of tieflings, I have the feeling I don't even want to know."
"Incorectitudinea și interpretare a acesteia celeilalte este un punct sensibil pentru ei. Acest lucru este de înțeles, având în vedere modul în care ea a fost tratat. Eu nu sunt de acord cu tine că cei flămânzi de carnea celor vii sunt un pericol pentru cei vii. Căpitane Brast, totuși, poartă distincția de a fi unul dintre puținele entități care le-am întâmpinat în această ruină care nu ne-a oferit violență. oferi violență cuiva, pur și simplu pentru că "ei" trebuie "să fie rău, o carte spune așa"!" Yamyra interjects as she interposes herself between Carmina & Carridan. Turning to Carmina, she adds, "សូមពិចារណាហើយយើងក៏មានឧបសគ្គមួយចំនួនដើម្បីយកឈ្នះនៅពេលដែលយើងបានជួបប្រជុំគ្នា ជាលើកដំបូង។ ខ្ញុំមិនដែលត្រូវបានគេស្គាល់មួយ...
មួយដូចជាខ្លួនឯងក៏មិនបានធ្វើជាអ្នកបង្កចំណេះដឹងច្រើននៃប្រភេទរបស់ខ្ញុំដែលមិនអគ តិ។
វាបានកាន់តែច្រើនតិចតួចជាងមួយថ្ងៃចាប់តាំងពីយើងបានជួបគាត់។ អ្នកនិងខ្ញុំបានស្គាល់គ្នាសប្តាហ៍ដទៃទៀតមុនពេលយើងបានក្លាយជាមិត្តភាពមិត្តភក្តិ ច្រើនតិច។"
Turning back finally to Horven & Ganer, "He obviously possessed enough...
human,
feeling for her still to desire that she be cared for in his absence. We should answer to that, even if we do not feel another answer is called for."
one such as yourself, nor did you posess much knowledge of my kind that was not prejudicial.
It has been little more than a day since we met him. You and I had known each other weeks before we became friendly, much less friends."
"As I said, if you feel it is right, then we will talk to him," Horven says simply.
Carridan rubs the back of his neck as he suspects he's somehow offended Carmina. He shakes his head and shrugs, "We don't think any different of tieflings than we do of half-elves or aasimar or any other living being of mixed parentage. And that's the same as those of unmixed parentage." He rubs his neck again and looks once more at Carmina, "I.. err, I'm sorry if I upset you. I certainly didn't mean to."
He then looks down at Yamyra and nods, understanding her intent to smooth things over, but by the end of her thoughts he is shaking his head. "It's not because 'some book' says undead are evil that I find them so... abhorrent. It's because they are a very literal manifestation of the natural order being broken and subverted. The living are born and they die. The dead return to the earth and that is where they should remain. It's tragic if this Brast retains some shadows of his former life, but what he is now is not natural." Carridan shudders and shakes his head again, obviously growing uncomfortable with the discussion.
"Captain Brast?" Horven calls.
-Posted with Wayfinder
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As Horven calls out his greeting, the off-key singing stops and then you all hear a faint splashing as Brast responds in a raspy, almost gurgling voice. "I remember you...you said you were going to check up on...on Liza right? Is she well?"
Moving into the sewer room where you saw Brast earlier, you spot the ghast treading water next to the causeway where you are all standing.
"She is well," Horven answers. "Aside from losing you, that is. We told her that you went down with your ship. We also gave her a bit of coin to keep her comfortable for a while."
"Anything else, Yamyra?" Horven whispers.
Gared waited to hear if Yamyra had anything to say, considering the undead captain.
Yamyra contemplates the crooning ghast for a few moments, clearly trying to wrap her thoughts around the idea of that language being put to that use...
Finally, she shakes her head in mute answer to Horven's query, Turning back from whence you all came she silently walks away, obviously discomfited by the...
inconclusive, nature of this meeting..
Horven follows Yamyra. "Were you hoping that he'd...be more of his old self?"
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Gared turned the group once they were all out of the room. "Part of me feels that we should put Brast out of his misery, or at least offer a final rest to the poor soul, but I want to know what you all think."