The metallic clockwork automaton audibly blinks a few times, when asked if he has a key, and then disappears from sight.
What the iksar race lacks in knowledge of rogue tricks, they more than make up in terms of understanding the ways of the monk. Other then human, the iksar are the only race that can feign death innately, not taking into account all of their higher level shadowknights and necromancers, who can accomplish the task through mystic means.
Feigning death (standard action, senses are sight and hearing, feels no pain, helpless condition: -5 to AC as DEX is considered 0, +4 to attack monk, not subject to coup de grace, takes 1/2 damage from any attack, up to 10 minutes per level duration, leaving trance is a full-round action which can include rising from prone) is a transcendental "out-of-body" state, in which the monk slows his bodily processes to a virtual standstill and masks his spirit, thus hiding his psychic presence.
No iksar, or human that is familiar with monks, will be removing the bonds of a unconscious monk until after they have decapitated him or her.
(Markus: please include a DC 18 will save to perceive Kspress, a failed save results in you not noticing the monk)
(Velkuriss: please include a DC 8 will save to perceive Kspress, a failed save results in you not noticing the monk)
Markus keeps watch, getting ready to cast the spell in a breath, he looks at Velkuriss, and then gives a slight shrug waiting for the word about the guard coming round.
will save
Iksars are a strange lot.
They will instantly decapitate a hatchling, broodling, or klok for breaking protocol, by looking them in the eye, but they treat the duo of "drunkards" rather well actually. They are efficiently removed from sight, as if to ensure the machine is not slowed by inefficient parts, to afford them the opportunity to sober up before they are required to return to their place in the city.
You had heard so much of how the iksar were an evil race, bent on the destruction of the world, but instead you have come to see them as militaristic isolationists, with no designs beyond Kunark, proud people hurt by the cruel treatment of the Shissar, yet they counterintuitively show it by being slavers themselves. There is no justification for their actions, beyond that they have the might to take what they want, and have nothing approaching empathy in their reptilian brains.
Questions are asked, your iksar "memories" help to guide you well, and here is where Fropze has prepare the group perfectly, because their drunken version of iksar is the ideal icing on the cake to sell oneself as being a sodden fool.
Gear is stripped off of you, leaving only your clothing, and no weapons. The duo finds themselves chained together in a room where their superior visions shows them an iksar chained to a human. Both have been heavily beaten.
Revery glances about a room with confiscated gear, mainly only having 3 piles of interesting gear, though there is a tiny clockwork running around looking for something.
(please include a description of yourself in your next post)
(groups are merged)
When the guards opened the door to the cell an Iksar, reeking of cheep liquor, and watered ale, the Iksar scales are shades of a dark grey, his horns happen to be a dark red. The broodling is wearing a black tunic, and black pants with a belt. While looking and smelling drunk this Iskar seems to be more nimble then muscle bound, when the guards chain him to the other Iksar he puts his head down as if he was ashamed.
Kwen was surprised to see a human chained to an Iksar, still the rogue gives an inward smile at least the plan went very well so far, now it would be time to get out of here. Of course there was the problem of a human chained to the Iksar, Kwen decides that if they were beaten then they wouldn't mind getting out of here.
The last time Kwen had been jailed, he watched a pair of thieves try to break out, without trying to get the help of the other inmates, it hadn't ended well for them. While these two looked like they had seen miles of hard trails, of course being a broodling at the moment Kwen had to put up an act, the rogue gave a wince at the sight of both of them.
Looking over at Sajeek, Kwen gives a nod at the beast lord letting him know he was ready to do this. Looking at the human, he couldn't believe that someone had survived this for long here.
Trying to pull off being drunk wasn't too hard, glad that the potion that the group had taken, gave them memories of the Iksar people. Waiting for some time for the guards to relax, Kwen starts to eye the manacles. His thoughts on the next step of the plan, finally he whispers to the human " Smooth skin in here, how odds."
A nondescript Iksar dagger sits in a pile with other items belonging to the Half-Human, Half-Elf and fully Iksar Rogue Kwen.
Revery remains for a time, observing the clockwork doll with great interest. He wonders how intelligent such a thing might be, and if it is, how that intelligence got in it. Did it contain the soul of someone else? Or is it just some very clever Gnome magic that he has yet to understand.
He also keeps a sharp eye on the door, to note if there are any movements or sounds from outside it.
After a while, he counts two thousand heartbeats even though he can neither feel nor hear such beats, Revery decides it is time to re-form. He dispels his spell and becomes Revery the Iksar, or so he hopes, again. If his spell wrecks the other, he has a backup - Dark Elf form - to engage.
He stands quietly, and regards the little automaton, whispering, "Hello," and feeling sort of silly doing it.
"Wow, you guys look like hammered s&$!," Sajeek says looking at the human and iksar in turn. He quietly spoke in common, complete with a bit of drunken slur. The beastlord hadn't wasted much of the booze, so he was feeling pretty good, all things considering. The "iksar" was covered in deep green scales that lightened towards his belly. Like most younger iksar, his horns weren't particularly long, perhaps a little under a half of foot. Bright green eyes examined his new surrounds with slightly raised eye ridges. He wore a few strips of cloth forming a loincloth and belt.
The only things that set him apart from being completely forgettable were the markings on his scales. Blood red, tiger strips cut across his scales. Oddly, they look damp, much like fresh blood painted on his hide. The other thing was what appears to be a clawed handprint wrapping around his right bicep.
Calmly taking stock of his surroundings, Sajeek blinks a few times and then grins.
"So what are you guys in for?" the Beastlord asks with a grin tugging at his scaled muzzle. "Wait! Let me guess! Inappropriate inter-species relations, am I right?" A smile grows on his muzzle.
Markus hears the sound of more then one guard marching down the hall, he stops his plan for a moment, wondering if the others were getting ready to strike. Not being able to see was getting old for the human, as old as the starvation and beatings.
When the door to their cell opened, Markus almost acted, but when he saw that two other drunk Iksar were being placed into the cell with them. This was new the human had no other cell mates except for the two Iksars chained with him.
The smell was overpowering for a change, instead of the smell of unwashed bodies and scales, the stink of liquor and ale, assualted the human's nose; Markus could have wept. The smell brought back the memories of stew, something that Markus could no longer remember the taste of.
Markus' complexion was one that had not seen the sun for a long time, his body a road map of old wounds, bruises, and a nose that had been broken more then once. The smaller grey Iksar seemed to be looking at his chains, like he couldn't believe that a mere broodling had been locked up.
The other Iksar that was brought in looked like he was the one that dragged his 'friend' around. Something seemed to tell the human that they both managed to get themselves into trouble without trying too hard.
The Iksar lying flat on the floor appears dead, but shortly after the door is closed and locked, its body heat quickly increases, and it rouses to see what is happening. If there were more light, others would note it is a tan skinned Iksar, with black eyes, and male. He is somewhat emaciated, likely due to his time in this prison.
Kspress stands and regards the newcomers. This is not really what he wanted - two more Iksars to foil their plans. Still, they might be of some use. Perhaps, information?
At the words of one of the newcomers, Kspress cocks his head. It seemed an entirely unnecessary thing to say.
He holds a single finger to his mouth and shakes his head. Nobody wanted another beating. These two look like they had just been the beneficiaries of a few, but for different reasons. Alcohol. That dangerous substance introduced to Velkuriss and him by a Gnome some time ago. Velkuriss had taken to it, a little too much, and sworn never to imbibe again; only to have taken more of it the next time it was offered.
The alcohol, Kspress expects, is the reason for the newcomer's obvious statement, no doubt.
Kspress observes that these two have no equipment of note, and looks out to the storage room, wondering what the little Gnome doll is doing, and whether the newcomers' stuff is in there.
Kwen says " Oh, that was cruel, now I have to ask." The rogue gives a quiet giggle, acting like he was as close to Sajeek's level of feeling good. " Who spooned with whom? Or who managed to piss off someone by sleeping with their mate?" with an impish smile, and in common.
Bluff check
Giving a sigh he brings his hands close to his belt, where he managed to hide the right amount of his tools for opening these locks. Kwen gave a smile hoping to win these two over might be a bit tough, but these two looked like they wanted out of here. Taking note of the Iksar putting his finger to his lips the rogue, smarten's up.
In a whisper to Sajeek, Kwen asks the Beast lord " Think we can use use these three as part of our plan?" his voice barely a murmur to Sajeek. The rogue waits long enough for Sajeek to give his answer then starts making sure his fingers have enough blood flow, the last thing he needed was his fingers stiffening up.
Velkuriss was woken from a pleasant dream where he was skinning the council members alive. One by one they met a slow, excruciating death at the shadowknight's claws. They watched in dread while Velkuriss rather cheerfully worked, occasionally laughing when they begged for mercy, offering riches for their miserable lives. The sound of the door scraping open ripped him from his dream.
The shadowknight's dark blue eyes snap open, glaring death at the guards for heartbeat before shifting his gaze. Illness was rapidly sapping what little strength he had left. Velkuriss glances around at the others. He noted that Kspress had slipped in meditation that look like it bordered on death. His stomach snarls as it reminds him that he needs to eat something and wash it down with water that wasn't poison. The smell of liquor pours off the two iksar, was not helping the near starving shadowknight.
The brutish looking iksar stares at the two new comers, his burning, dark blue eyes unblinking. Evening sitting, it's clear the iksar is big, and more then likely some type of warrior. Even starving and emaciated, he looked to be almost one and half times wider then the average reptile. The iksar chained to the human was uniformly covered in ash-grey scales, giving him a somewhat ghostly appearance. Two long horns grew from his head, angling back similar to dragon horns. The horns looked as if he had gored something, leaving them covered in blood. The two horns added a foot and a half to his height. Several small horns grew out from in between the larger two, perhaps almost a half a foot in length.
In short, if the iksar wasn't chain, beaten, tortured, and malnourished, it's very possible he would give other iksar nightmares. He almost looks like some kind of throwback to an earlier time. It seemed rather surprising that he hadn't eaten the human yet, given that he is eyeing the newcomers almost like food.
At the green and red scaled iksar's comment, his gaze narrows for a second, shifting his full attention to him. Then, he does something that sends cold shivers creeping towards spines.
A slow, almost predatory smile cuts across his muzzle, revealing horribly sharp looking teeth.
"Not quite something so.., disgusting," the iksar's raspy whisper in common creeps from his maw. It seemed possible that he was amused by the comment. Or he was getting ready to eat one of the two. It was kinda hard to tell.
"It wouldn't hurt," Sajeek murmurs to Kwen. Looking at the other iksar that he thought had been dead, he blinks a few. Realizing that he was telling them to be quite so that the didn't beaten, he nods.
About to say something when the big, half dead looking iksar spoke, Sajeek nodded. He suddenly found himself really uncomfortable with the brutes burning gaze on him. It reminded him far to much of being hunted by larger predators on Luclin.
Mentally trying to shake off the sense that he was on someones planned meal, Sajeek smirks. The beastlord looks between the three, trying to figure out just how in the hell they ended up chained together.
"So.., funny question for you guys," the inebriated Sajeek whispers quietly. "You guys seen a female elf around these part?"
Markus' eyes widen in disbelief at the words, this day kept finding new ways to surprise the human, but caution was almost beaten back by hope. In a whisper he says " Maybe we have, what is it to you."
" Well would you like to get out of here, alive, no longer starving? I might know of a way to get out of here, and I'd rather we all work together. " Kwen whispers back in common, realizing that he had a bite of information. The human's hoarse whisper couldn't hide the fact that he had tinge of hope. Kwen knew that these three would have some pretty critical information that the rogue wouldn't need to spend time figuring out, guard routes, how often they came to check on them and so on.
Kwen knows that they could be betrayed by the three, but it would behoove all of them to work together, after all Revery could be discovered soon and getting these three to trust Sajeek and the rogue needed to be quick.
The shadowknight's predatory smile vanishes as he eyes the two newcomers. Narrowing his eyes, he looks between the two, trying to puzzle out their game. It was a rather odd question to be asked, he thought.
Of course, he knew of a female elf, she was sitting in the next cell over. Velkuriss was more interested in the drunk ones curiosity.
What at first seemed to be two becomes three, making Kwen and Sajeek wonder how they could have miscounted two heat signatures for three instead, but three it is.
Releasing other slaves, to have the injured, and perhaps killed, to cover one's escape attempt, is hardly something a goodly creature could stomach, let alone a hero of the realms.
Guards approach quickly enough to silence the whispers, but the trio of Velkuriss, Kspress, and Markus have timed the guard's rounds so efficiently that they can easily guide the newcomers' without much in the way of risk of being beaten to death in the process.
Those in the cells can pick up oddities int he mannerisms of the newcomers with a longer exposure.
(Markus, Kspress, Velkuriss: please include a DC 20 sense motive check in your next post, Markus must accept a -5 to his roll due to having nothing in the way of sight)
Kwen finds his lock picks just where he had left them.
You realize that Markus had replied to a conversation held in the tongue of the iksar.
The transformed Revery uses his limited "senses", though even that word feels strange in this form, to track the movements of the tiny clockwork, which appears to be moving about randomly, as if looking for something. It's movements are too erratic to be an effective search pattern, but it more than makes up for that with what seems to be enthusiasm.
Revery sees a very small room, perhaps only a handful of feet wide and long, which contains the gear of his party members, and some other items of interest (see Kspress, Velkuriss, and Markus' equipment list for specifics). As the enchanter appears the small robot stops dead in its tracks, cocks its head to the side and slowly track to Revery's mouth speaking.
It faints.
Markus heard in both of the new Iksar's voices and mannerisms that sounded different from the two that he had been chained to for a long time.
fail
Then again it could have just been the fact that Markus had no way of telling anything different about these two new Iksar, they could have just been raised differently then Kspress and Velkuriss.
Kwen whisper to Sajeek " Alright look, I say we take them with us, they have been chained and beaten, for it looks like a long time, we can get them out of the city and then if need be we can let them go free when we get out of the city."
Kwen looks at the three, then whispers " Alright so here is my proposal: you tell us where the elf is, we get you out of the city if you help us get her out of here." Kwen was also amazed at the fact that the human, had been able to speak Iksar, his eyes widening in shock, he wondered how he had learned it. 'Something that I am going to need to ask him about that if we get out of here.' the rogue thinks to himself.
Kspress looks at Markus and Velkuriss.
Then to the newcomer who spoke, he whispers, "Please tell us what you want with the elf."
He notes their drunken speech, and something strange about it. When that one spoke common, it was with a speed and fluency he had not heard in an Iksar before. Perhaps he had spent an extensive time with the softskins, and thus learned to speak more like them.
Sense Motive:
" Just to get her out of the city and back to her people, I could say more but I would like your word, that you will help us. You give us your word, the guard routes, and you can come with us." Kwen whispers " or the other option is to stay here and rot, I'm sure you would like to plot your revenge, or just to get out of here." Kwen finishes waiting for the answer from the three, although Kwen was certain that the human would want to get out of here as soon as possible.
Velkuriss' unblinking gaze doesn't leave the two newcomers. Something was.., off about them. The shadowknight's gaze narrows slightly. Even iksar who had fled the capital had still had a certain way of carrying themselves. The avoidance of eye contact was almost ingrained since breaking out of the shell.
These two on the other hand, where different. They made a show of avoiding eye contact, but it seems like an after thought.
Black lightning sparks life, seeming dimming the light that the shadowknight's body gave off. The fell energy moved up the length of his right arm.
"What are you two?" Velkuriss growls. He had known a halfling that had assumed the guise of an iksar. He wasn't sure if this was more of the same. "If you don't tell me the guards will be the least of your concerns." His growl doesn't leave the cell.
Kwen's eyes widen, this was devolving quickly, it seems that the very large Iksar had access to something that looked like it could rip the life from one's body. Kwen wasn't afraid to admit that he was afraid, there were things in this world that still worried the half-elf:
against the intimidate check
Kwen swallowed, then drew on the harsh lessons that the god Cazic-Thule had bestowed on the half-elf. Kwen also got angry, here he was trying to help a fool out from his bonds and he wouldn't listen.
" The name is Kwen, your threat is something that I've heard before, my friend and I want to get the elf out of the city. Now I am sure I would make a good meal, probably the best that you've had in a while, but let me ask you this for the final time: Would.You.Like.To.Get.Out.Of.Here." Kwen whispers in a calm tone, his voice managing to not betray his feelings. having had enough of the threats he pulls out his lock picks.
" Now I'm going to unlock my bonds, anyone else who wants to get out of here can just be calm and we can work together, I'll give you my word that I'll tell you more as soon as we get out of the city." he finishes with a whisper, then gets to work on his chains, keeping an ear out for the sounds of guards moving closer, Kwen mutters a curse in elvish at whole situation.
"Who cares who they are Velkuriss, this is a chance to get out of here, once these chains are off I can summon food for us, this is a way to get out of here, or have we all become used to the constant starvation, beatings, and drinking of swamp water?" Markus whispers, he wouldn't stand by and let their only chance of getting out of here slip out of reach do to anger.
" There is no way I can cast that without these bonds getting off, if I ever get to my book, there will be a different story, could we work together?" Markus whispers to Velkuriss.
The one Iksar who called himself Kwen, that was such an odd name for an Iksar. Markus had no idea what had set off Velkuriss so badly, but the cleric had no idea what was 'off' about these two. Velkuriss seemed to think that something was wrong about these two.
Sajeek swallowed nervously as the situation threatened to rapidly unravel. The beastlord looks at the big iskar in something close to disbelief.
For starters, the brute with the black lightning running up his arm had somehow figures out that they weren't actually iskars. 'So much for the elves potion,' Sajeek thinks as he glances at the two iskar and human. That and the pale ash colored iksar frightened him.
The transformed vah shir hadn't felt a good dose of fear like this since the Plane of Fear. Not that Sajeek was as terrified as when he was there. Nothing could even come close. But he was generally frightened of the big iksar, he wasn't going to lie, not even to himself.
"Look, we're here to get the elf home. If you want to help, that would be great. Otherwise, we might as well start fighting," Sajeek whispers harshly, biting back his fear.
Much to the beastlord's relief, he catches the sight of Kwen working his magic with the chains. And the human was trying to calm the brute down. Sajeek was found it curious that the human spoke iskar almost as fluently as the iksar themselves.
He really hoped Rev was doing better then they were.
Breaking his glare, Velkuriss looks at Marcus for a long cold moment. The level of betrayal that he had been through recently had left him paranoid.
Cold logic washed over his anger. He release his anger, letting the hate flow back into him. Velkuriss realized that there was not longer a point in trying to deceive he or Kspress. They were discarded tools, nothing more.
The shadowknight relaxes, watching the smaller of the fiddle with the chains. His eyeridges raised in genuine surprise as this "Kwen" unlocked his own bindings. Without the key.
Kwen gives a grin, the lock as expected were no match for the elf, he moves to release Sajeek from his bonds:
6 heartbeats later the rogue had unlocked Sajeek's bonds, he puts a finger to his lips whispering " keep it looking like you are still bond up, that way if a guard comes in while I am picking everyone's locks, you can get the drop on them."
Kwen moves over to the the Iksar named Velkuriss and whisper " I'm going to unlock your bonds now."
6 heartbeats later, Kwen makes short work of the lock, in short order Kwen picks the others' bonds as well.
Kwen curses softly to himself then tries again for the human's chains
Revery gingerly picks the automaton up by the shoulder and tries to sit it up. Still listening for footsteps outside, ready to make himself disappear again, he lifts the head of the little... creature? Construct. He had studied constructs before (4 ranks in Knowledge/ Monster Lore (construct)) and he could tell it was of Gnome design and construction. He thinks of Nogglegrop.
Whispering in common, he says "Hey, little guy. I am Revery. An Enchanter. Surely you've heard of us?" If he gets no response he'll have to look it over and see if there are any controls on it.
Kspress is about to ask Velkuriss to calm down, but he does so of his own accord. Better that way, really, he thinks.
He nods, and whispers "Thank You, Kuwenn," in Iksar after the lockpick opens his manacle lock, seemingly easily, using what appear to be tools specialized to just such a purpose.
He suggests, still whispering, "First the door, then to the elf. Then we stop and get our equipment - there is something of the elf's in the same room." He points to the storage room where the doll is located.
"I can lead, as I need no weapons. I am Kspress."
There is a moment as Revery fights to become himself again where his magics conflict with those of the potion. It is a jarring and uncomfortable and disturbing few seconds, where the enchanter spends time as a cross between erudite, dagger, and iksar, but eventually all is sorted out and he is back in iksar form.
The tiny foeces-bedecked automaton, with the label "WIDGET MCMXCIX" on its chest, does not appear to have been fashioned after a specific race, though it is slightly reminiscent of a gnome with its short stature, slightly round belly, and from the right angle its "ear flaps" (for lack of a better term) have the appearance of the unkempt hair of a balding gnome. Revery raises up the tiny clockwork figure, which is only 7" tall, and only a couple pounds in weight. Its head, once turned backwards, spins around, and its head cocks to the side as it takes the iksar's measure. Its eyes, forehead and stomach glow a soft warmth that also release some heat.
Widget shakes its head, causing a few screws to fall out, shrugs and stands with hands on hips, and points to the door, then looks to Revery for help.
Kspress makes short work of any lock that he sets his sights on, including the chains the bind the prisoners, or any door he has encountered to this point. The previously incarcerated group has been permitting conversation, by halting it when needed, to avoid beatings, which is possibly altruistic, but more likely just an act of self-preservation. As long Sajeeek and Kwen remain with the two iksar and human they will be able to guide their movements to the erratic schedule of the guard.
It was a good opportunity for the group to hear the lizardman tongue spoken without a drunken slur. They start fixing certain intonations to avoid constantly sounding inebriated.
Timing the group's movements to coincide with the guard's retreat, they will have about 3 minutes before the next guard moves down close enough to spot what they are doing, if the guard maintains their usual movements, which is a big if, since they are betting their lives on it.
Revery goes to look out the door, if there is a way to look out. He wonders where the others are. And the princess. He turns to the automaton, and asks in a whisper, "Do you belong to someone's in this jail?"
Kwen unlocks the door to the cell, now armed with the knowledge of the guards movements, opening it just a crack for Kspress, allowing the human to see where he is going and for Kspress to lead the others to the elf.
second attempt
Revery finds no way to look out the door. This tiny room was never designed to be a repository of persons, so it does not feature any of the accoutrements of a typical cell. It would normally be pitch black in such confines, not considering the intermittent glow that the mechanical construct give off, but his superior reptilian vision affords him a view of the locking mechanism of the door: with a simple slide he can open the lock from the inside and open the portal.
Widget glances up at him with a "what are you waiting for, let's get the Hell out of here" look. It is amazing how expressive the little guy is, or at least how easily it conveys the attribution of familiar thoughts and emotions. As if in preparation for departing Widget has turned off all of his, identifying the clockwork construct with a gender for no reason other than for ease of pronounce use, lights.
A door cracks open, permitting 5 freshly-freed slaves to glance down the empty hallway. Peeking one's head out affords a view in the other direction. No guards are present. In this moment Sajeek (half a monk), and Kspress (two halves a monk) are in their wheelhouses, for the potential of unarmed combat is very likely.
Revery listens at the door. He feels he is safe here, for now at least, and can hide invisibly should anyone come to the door. He was planning on waiting to see if his friends were going to drop by for a visit; he realizes they might not know this location, and that Kwen might have had his tools confiscated, so he might need his spares. Also, he sees that Widget, as he has just now named him in his own head, is impatient to get out, and he himself is curious. So he waits until there is no sound from beyond, then carefully slides the lock, opens the door a crack, and peeks outside.
Listen:
Each door in the hallway opens inward, which is a blessing since it permits a door to be wide open, and show no evidence of same from further down the hallway.
Revery hears nothing, opens the door, peeks left and sees nothing, peeks right and sees Kwen opening the door straight across from him.
Both groups can see each other, save Markus who has fallen victim to the pitch blackness of the cells.
Widget clatters softly into the hallway, and to the right, unerringly dancing toward the cell next to where the group was held. He starts pushing on the doorway with all his insignificant might, then his head spins around (creepily without moving his shoulders) and he inclines his head towards the others, and then quickly back to the door several times.
You notice his movements are slower and slower, until finally he stops completely, frozen in position like a statuette.
Almond eyes flit to the food slot, and you hear elven whispers wash out from the slot and down to the clockwork construct.
Kspress looks at the others to ensure they are ready, then slips quietly into the hall and over to the door of the female elf. He is not entirely surprised to see the doll there, but then sees another strange Iksar looking out of the equipment room. It is not a guard, so perhaps another prisoner? The other does not seem surprised to see him, so perhaps he is with the doll, the elf, or the other newcomers...
He moves to the other side of the elf's door (past the doll), to shield the Kwen from distractions and allow him to open her lock readily; he stands straight, facing down the hall, away from the door. When the Kwen or the other new one comes, he'll simply point at the door, to confirm what the doll is suggesting. That is a very useful skill, he thinks about the lockpicking, though criminal. But 'criminal' is relative, I now know. Some of the leaders of my people are criminals, to me.
Sneak:
Kwen smiles at Revery, then blinks at the sight of the little clockwork construct, seeing where the construct stops at he whispers to Kspress " That Iksar is our friend as well, don't attack him." Kwen looks at Revery, with a cocked eye ridge motions to get the their gear quietly.
Kwen looks at the door with a smile and gets to work as quietly as possible, he pads over to the cell and starts doing his job, with a mutter to himself he scoffs at the basic work of the lock:
The lock is no match for the rogue's talents, and the door is now able to be opened, which the rogue quietly opens the cell door, trying to minimize the sound the cell door makes.
Markus was used to the fact that he would not be able to see, wishing for a moment that he had memorized a light spell, With a swallowed curse, Markus feels his ribs ache from the last beating of the day. He waits at the door knowing that at the moment he would be the first to be cut down.
Markus hopes that if combat happens, it would happen in some form of light, or would be over before it came to the cleric.
Revery sees Kwen the Iksar point at the gear with his head. He sees the efficient motions of another Iksar, hungry looking but otherwise healthy, and Kwen, moving to the same door Widget is at. It seems we have allies, he thinks.
He starts collecting gear and putting it on the floor outside the door; that is, until the others start filling the hall. Then he just opens the door wide, picks up Kwen's gear, exits and lets the others go in and take up their own stuff. He looks both ways down the hall, getting ready for a fight, and prepared to cast a quick spell if necessary. He holds Kwen's confiscated equipment.
Voices drift down from above. Occasionally interspersed with harsh words, pausing and straining your nerves to the edge when you make a noise that is too loud.
Armond shaped eyes stare out at you through the slit.
Whatever animated the constructed appears to have ended, for it moves no longer.
The door to the princesses room is now unlocked. Someone is coming down the stairs beyond. Company is only a few seconds away.
Kwen finishes opening up the door to the elf's cell motions for the Kspress to go inside, Kwen points to the Sajeek to grab the human and both of the them get into the cell. He points to the others motions them to go into to the cells, and wait for this patrol to pass, he scoops up the clockwork construct and moves inside the cell, getting ready to close the door as soon as Kspress comes in.
Velkuriss had moved out of the filthly cell as soon as the others made a hole. He spies the third iksar who looked like he had come out of the storage room. The shadowknight hadn't wasted any time retrieving his gear.
The shadowknight had just shut the door as quietly as he could when he heard the sound voices getting closer. Seeing everyone heading into the elf's room, Velkuriss follows as quietly and speedily as he could.
Sajeek was leading the human to the princess' cell. He had made sure to shut dirty cell door behind him, making sure to close it like he was sneaking out of a married woman's home.
Eyes growing wide at the sound of the voices, he almost pulled the human through the door past Kwen. He looks around the new cell, smiling at the elven princess and nodding.
Looking over at Rev, Sajeek grins devilishly and gives him a thumbs up.
Markus trusted the Iksar who smelled like cheep booze, having no choice in the matter, being blind was the norm for the human, his pasty skin showing evidence of not seeing natural sunlight for a long time. He could sense the urgency in the movements and moved as quickly as he was able too, a prayer on his lips, asking his god for some assistance in this situation.
Never has a cell seemed so small as when Kspress, Velkuriss, Markus, and the transformed Revery, Kwen, Sajeek, with the inanimate Widget join Firiona in her cramped space.
Somehow, perhaps the boon of the most goodly of gods, everyone's belongings have made it into this cell, the other doors have been shut, and you are all together.
The attractive high elf backs up warily, as far as her shackles permit, expecting another beating to be meted out.
(please include a DC 10 sneak roll in your next post to avoid detection)
Kwen takes shallow breaths, keeping his form as still as possible, knowing that this is a critical time for stealth, Kwen hopes that everyone can manage themselves to be as quiet as possible, especially the human. Of everyone in here, the human would have the hardest time in the cells, no light, and the fact that he didn't look like the stealthy person.
Markus pushes himself up against the wall as soon as the liquor smelling Iksar leads him to the room with the others. Everyone is tense as the fact that the guards are making their patrols, earlier then what the human thought that they were going to.
Markus hoping that his god will keep his eyes on this group, as he had answered Markus' prayer today, with the arivial of these two Iksar. It was odd that one one named " Kwen" seemed to have skills that would allow him to pick locks. Let along smuggling in tools that would allow him to pick locks, it was most odd from what Markus had seen from the Iksar as a culture.
Probably not surprising Markus knocks the cell door off the wall as he blindly is lead past it. Everyone stops, breath stops, hearts skip a beat, and for the space of a heartbeat or 4 all is calm, then all Hell breaks loose. Harsh reptilian orders are barked out with military efficiency organizing the response.
Your cell door, which appeared to be so strong when it blocked your movements, now appears to be very meagre protection from the onslaught you hear coming. Very little time stands between you and defending yourself against possibly hundreds of finely-honed iksar warriors.
You have in your possession the teleportation stone, but you know not if it will teleport so many, since it was intended for less than half your number. If you use it, then you will be leaving Bast behind.
Markus, Kspress, and Velkuriss know that this is the end of them should they be captured. This is a slight far too grievous to accept without the ultimate punishment being meted out. There will not be sufficient time to don armour, but there will be to toss gear over one's shoulder, and draw naked steel.
If death is coming, and it seems that it will be carried out by those with scales knitted together over their flesh, then it is better to suffer a good death.
Revery's agile mind flits to his means of escape, for with a simple spell he can be next to Sajeek's warder.
Firiona moves forward bravely and retrieves Widget. You notice she reseats a small metal box into his chest, which suddenly brings him back to "life". A soft glow emanates from his eyes, head lamp, and metallic tummy, giving Markus a candle's light worth of illumination to see by.
The princess of the Koada'dal looks completely lost with what is going on, as she holds the clockwork figure to her all but naked chest protectively, as one would expect a child to hold a doll or teddy bear.
Your minds drift back to Alric speaking of his niece, how the OverThere Teir'dal from Kunark had betrayed the High Elves by siding with the race that every other raced despised for no reason other than to foster discord, how the potion will work for a tenday, the use of the surprisingly heavy, marble-sized prismatic teleportation stone and the words/actions needed to activate it, and the phial that would attract dragonkin to Cabilis to destroy it looking for their baby.
Suddenly the phial, that permits you to eradicate this dark race, is looking useful.
"Rev, you think that stone will take everybody?" Sajeek asks, glancing at the enchanter. "I'm guessing that it can't, since we where told it's short range." The beastlord looks around, a frown tugging at his muzzle.
"Damnit," he mutters to himself, trying to figure a way out of this. "Well, I guess if Kwen and I can convince the guards that we had nothing to do with anything, then we might get let free. Of course, being in this cell, I doubt that's gonna work."
Holding onto his scythe one more, Velkuriss looks at the door, waiting for it to swing inwards and the guards to rush. He would at least fell as many guards as he could before they killed him and the others.
Half listening to the others, the shadowknight thought he caught some mention what the others were talking about. The mouthy iksar mentioned something about a stone taking them somewhere, not that it made any sense.
It least he was going to die without his chains on, that was a considerable plus.
" Alright Rev, get out of here, Velkuriss, Kspress, Markus use this Teleportation stone and take Firiona out of the city using the activation words, Rev keep my stuff and take Sajeek's gear. Sajeek and I will stay behind and I will lie like there is no tomorrow and we should be able to get out of here in the next couple of days."
Kwen says thinking on his feet and the confidence of a plan, he prays that the God of Rogues would watch over him for the next few days, while he schemes. Firiona's shackles pose no challenge for the rogue:
Then he hides his picks again, hoping that he will be able to get out of this one alive.
Sajeek grins at the rogue and nods at Kwen. While he was a bit terrified at their plan, it was a hell of a lot better than attempting to fight their way out.
"Good plan. We'll met up a good ways outside of her city. Or hopefully before that." Sajeek whispers, motioning his head at the princess. "Be careful, your uncle warned of traitors, so on your guard." he whispers to Firiona.