The prone man smirks at Gyllan's threat, reading correctly that the do-gooder wouldn't actually hurt a prisoner.
He swallows hard again and says: "No I am not Lamm. I run this place. My half-orc bodyguard is around here somewhere. I have two other guards and if I don't report back to the room they're in they'll be in here in two more minutes. You'd do well to let me go before they get here."
"Half-orc bodyguard? Do you mean the corpse over there?" Arianna says gesturing toward the fallen half-orc, knowing full well that the man is not very likely to able to see the body.
"How about this? You tell us where in this wretched smelling fishery Lamm is and perhaps there may be a chance that you and your remaining two guards see another day."
"He might be more concerned about protecting his other two guards if they actually existed. He's just trying to make us think he's got backup when he doesn't. I believe he's in charge of the place, but we don't have any more guards to worry about."
Turning back to the man and making another pointed gesture with his sword, Gyllan continues, "So who are you then? And where can we find Lamm? And remember, I'll know when you're lying."
Durriken kneels down, swinging his blade around to lay close to the man's ear. "I want Lamm. I have no business with you. Tell me where he is, and we'll be done here. Waste my time, and I'll make it very painful for you. If you still refuse to tell me, well, he should still be able to talk," he says, nodding towards the unconscious gnome.
Hearing that Giggles is dead has an effect on the man who realizes he really is all alone here with some killers. Durriken's threat of bodily harm is a little more credible than Gyllan's and the man in the silk robe spurts out:
"I am Yargin Belko. I run the chum factory, making fertilizer and animal feed from these old fish parts. I'll tell you where to find Lamm if you let me go. He set up shop here, I never asked for it. I don't care what happens to him, just let me out of here..."
He almost begs the last few words, eyes pleading with you for mercy and an escape.
"Ok, ok.." says the terrified man. "I'll tell you where he is. Just don't let him hurt me. I'm unarmed and not dangerous anyway."
The man, Yargin, goes on to tell you that Lamm has a private room underneath the fishery. The only easy way to access it is to drop down the hole in the floor. Yargin tells you there is a wood plank walkway underneath that leads to Lamm's rooms.
Durriken waits for someone to check on the alleged hole.
"See, that wasn't so hard. Don't worry, I don't intend to leave Lamm able to hurt anyone, including you."
Gyllan says, "I'll check it out. Corso, you want to come along? Anyone else? We better have someone along who will recognize Lamm." Looking down at the man on the floor, he asks, "Before I go, what's through that door? What else is on this level of the building?"
Once his question is answered, he then makes his way quietly down the stairs to the hole in the floor below.
He says when asked about the rest of the ground floor: "It's a fishery operation. We have an office and a bunk room, and the initial processing area. Nothing to see up that way. If you want Lamm, he's down there." He points at the hole in the floor again. "You'll let me go now, right? You don't need me anymore..."
As you approach the hole in the floor, you can hear and smell the Jeggare River underneath. Looking down into the blackness, you see the water swirling not five feet below the fishery floor. Straining to see in the dark, you can just make out a plank walkway below which would take just a little effort to drop onto.
Gyllan peers down the hole and can't quite make out anything beyond the existence of the plank. Knowing Lamm is a devious fellow, he pulls a torch from his pack and lights it, holding it in the opening of the floor and using it to take a more careful look.
Startled by what he finds, he pulls abruptly back from the whole, even though he's in no immediate danger, and says to the group, "Well, Lamm may not have set a trap for us himself, but there's one here anyway. There's a shark swimming around below the walkway."
The walkway is pretty much floating right on the water. There is no distance between. The walkway is about 5 feet below the opening to drop down. It appears to be wet and slippery on the walkway. In addition, with the light, you can see the wood is old and rotten in places, and that footing on those planks may be treacherous.
Durriken stands up and looks back down at the cowering form. "So you are telling the truth about where Lamm is? Very good. Yargin, it would appear we do not, in fact, need you anymore."
Hopefully that's enough on a flatfooted, prone opponent. I don't know if you want to give Yargin a chance to act or see what's coming, so here's a blind D20 in case you need some other kind of roll (bluff, initiative, etc):
Corso turns back to Yargin in time to see Durriken slips his sword into the prone, defenseless man. Yargin never sees it coming and he groans once in pain before his eyes rollup and he goes unconscious again.
Durriken checks the man's condition, then the pockets on both him and the gnome. "Lamm's down there. At least he thinks he is." Noticing Corso looking at him, he shrugs. "Not much more to get out of him. And I don't for a minute believe he won't come back after us if we let him go."
Gyllan calls up from down below, "What's happening up there?! Did Durriken just kill him? Pharasma's fanny! He was giving us useful information, and hadn't done a damn thing to us." He grits his teeth and shakes his head fiercely for a moment, then says, "We're here to kill Lamm, not turn into him!"
Squatting back down by the hole in the floor, he sighs and says, "I think I can make it over this walkway, but I'd like to have a rope around me in case I slip. Corso, can you hold onto me while I take a look down here?"
Arianna stands in stunned silence after witnessing Durriken's callous deed.
Bloody hell...I was only trying to scare him into talking...I wasn't really wanting to kill someone who had already surrendered.
Fingers cocks an eyebrow quizzically at Durriken, wondering why putting the guys lights out was necessary after he had given himself up and was potentially still useful. His qualms are more the loss of utility than any sanctity of life issues. He shrugs and goes back to watching out as Gyllan goes down the hole.
With Corso holding the rope, Gyllan gently lowers down the five feet or so to the mushy plank floor bobbing on the waves of the Jeggare River below. The torch light illuminates a little in this dark space under the Fishery floor.A narrow space exists under the fishery, with about four feet of room between the floor of the building above and the languid, foamy river water below. Wooden pilings support the building,
and moss and cobwebs hang thick from ropes and rusted chains between them. A wooden walkway floats on the river surface, winding along the inner wall of pilings that supports the building’s frame above, leading from the sodden barge to the east to the west and out of sight in the dark. The sinister dorsal fin of the shark still emerges in the torchlight from time to time.
Was there anything on the two unconscious individuals? Specifically, Durriken wants to make sure they don't have any weapons, but will grab anything that seems immediately useful or dangerous.
Durriken heads quickly down the stairs to the rope, speaking matter-of-factly to those that remain on the fishery floor. "There was no means to restrain him, and he was a threat. I simply dealt with him as expediently as possible."
Gyllan looks up out of the hole and says to Durriken, "Next time, let's be a little more thoughtful about who we kill. We're here to take out Lamm, not kill everyone in the building. Anyway, let's get to the task at hand."
With his torch held out in front of him, he takes a few tentative steps along the planks.
Arianna sighs, "Might was well get it over with, and Lamm isn't going to die if we all stay up here. I will go next."
Arianna and Fingers gently climb down the rope to where Gyllan waits. Corso looks over to the other ranger, and sees him searching the bodies of the dead/dying defenders.
Down below, Gyllan moves along the plank walkway gingerly, holding the torch aloft to spread the light around. Moving slowly on the squishy wood, he eventually comes to a closed door up under the main part of the Fishery.
Durriken moves quickly to gather the weapons and other sundries, not bothering with the armor. He hands the wand to Corso when he reaches the bottom of the stairs, and shows him the weapons taken from the human. "There's some other stuff, dunno what it all is. But best not to let either of them have anything they can use against us if they wake up." Slinging the crossbow and bolts, he follows the others down the rope.
Durriken slowly descends carrying a load of weapons and gear salvaged from the enemies above. Finally, when all else have gone, Corso descends the rope also.
The plank walkway groans protestingly under the additional weight, but it seems like it will hold for the time being.
Seeing that his companions have joined him, and not wanting too many of them to be balanced on the planks, Gyllan moves a hand towards the doorknob. Then he pauses and quietly says, "Look around, everyone, and see if you can spot any wires or anything that will tip us into the water when I open this door. I bet Lamm's got this thing rigged."
"I don't see anything"
"Thank you, Corso. I can certainly try to identify the wand's properties, but given our current location, that may have to wait." Arianna says choosing to focus on the task at hand.
After several minutes carefully searching the door for traps, tripwires, or any other sort of nonsense, you fail to find any, even with the brighter light courtesy of Corso.
Now that there's magical light, Gyllan drops his torch in the water and draws his sword once again. Looking over his shoulder to be sure the group is ready, he opens the door, muttering, "Here's hopin'..."
To Gyllan's immense relief the door is not trapped and opens quite easily.
The air in this room is somewhat chilly and smells of the river, no doubt thanks to a huge opening in the floor that drops away to river shore about 5 ft below. Several pilings emerge from the waters to support the roof above, with mossy ropes slung between them. In two places, rusty manacles hang from the ropes over the water. Two five-foot wide walkways cross the hole's edge to the other sie of the chamber, where a collection of old cabinets, lockboxes, and piles of clutter are strewn about. Chipped porcelain plates, cracked goblet, badly rusted silverware, an old wooden shield with a crossbow bolt embedded in it, the odd dinged helm and other "treasures" litter the floor of this entire chamber. Three tables, their tops packed with additional clutter stand amid the mess, while just west of that a wooden door seems to provide access to a walled-off area.
Standing on the opposite side of the pool, going through his loot, is Lamm.
Arianna silently scowls at the sight of the old man.
Durriken steps into the room. Slipping past Gyllan, he drops the package of gear he gathered against the wall and raises the crossbow towards Lamm. "If any of you have questions, now is the time to ask them."
Fingers grimaces when he sees his old boss across the room. His immediate reaction is to throw a dagger straight in the old man's heart and turn and leave, but the others, who have also been injured by Lamm, show restraint, so for the moment he grudgingly wills his hand away from the hilt at his belt.
The old man smiles wryly at the assembled crew. "Dunno how you found me, mebbe it was that Varisian bit$%, or mebbe some other way, but yer best served jus' to leave now. No harm no foul, I can git other guards no problem. Jes' walk away. Hell, Durriken, you an' me we ain't that differ'nt. I jes' got more experience. Put down that bow, an' come over here an' join me. I need a young partner, I think you'd fit the bill jes' fine."
He looks over at Corso and Gyllan. "Reckon I don't know you two so's you must be here lookin' fer yer sister or wife. Well, I probly had my fun with 'em either way and there's no goin' back on that, so jes' leave now an' we'll fergit the whole thing. Eh?"
Well, if it ain't little "Fingers". Can't believe a big crybaby like you'd come here after me. We both know you ain't gonna hurt me, boy, now be good an' go on back ta bed."
"An' you my lovely, I'm sure you miss your dear brother Mikhal, but really, didja think I was gonna take the fall for that rap. Be a good girly and come over here and give us a kiss..."
His voice is slow and sinuous and you find yourselves immersed in his words oddly, so it comes as surprise when he whips around suddenly, a small hand crossbow aimed at you. Before you can react, he fires a bolt, and you all flinch, thinking the shot is aimed at you, but surprisingly, his aim is into the water, where the bolt strikes teh back of an enormous bull alligator. The wounded alligator bellows out in fear and pain, and begins thrashing violently around in the pool, it's own blood driving it's madness.
Lamm's Den - Round 1
23 Durriken
21 Alligator
17 Arianna
16 Corso
13 Lamm
7 Fingers
6 Gyllan
Durriken snaps the crossbow up and fires at the alligator, hoping to disable the creature before it can close the distance, reloading immediately.
Standard Action: Fire Crossbow. Move Action: Reload
Lamm's Den - Round 1 - continued
Durriken sees the gator coming and fires a snap shot that catches the beast in the snout wreaking havoc, but not stopping the killing machine from coming.
The Gator swims to the edge fo the walkway, and 5ft below the boots of Gyllan it snaps on a beef carcass rending flesh and bone in a matter of seconds. While really wanting to get to the planks and live food, the gator is stymied by the climb at this point.
Seeing the gator's difficulties with the climb, Arianna chooses to try and make that climb more difficult. Pointing at the reptile, a sickly black ray of energy goes in the gator's direction.
Lamm's Den - Round 1 - continued
The black ray strikes the slow moving gator, who is slowed even more even if it shakes off most of the effect.
Inflamed by Lamm's taunts, Corso charges across the narrow edge of the pool, and spears the old man, right in the chest. A huffing sound escapes Lamm and he shudders, staggers, but rights himself looking in pretty bad shape as blood pours from his sucking chest wound.
Lamm begins to back away quickly from Corso, withdrawing into the far corner. A trickle of blood seeps from his mouth as he moves, his breathing even more labored.
Fingers moves clear of the rest of the group, and turns and fires his bow at the fleeing Lamm strking the old man full force. The arrow spins him around and he slumps to the floor bleeding profusely.
Gyllan sees that Lamm is wounded, but does not believe he is dead. And the alligator still threatens him and his friends. Well, there's an easy way to solve both of those problems.
He dodges nimbly along the catwalk, keeping to the wall so as to avoid getting too close to the alligator. When he reaches Lamm, he steps behind him into the corner and gives a hard push with his foot, shoving the evil man toward a painful end and saying "You had this coming!"