Dark and Empty!...Malak curses under his breath both because of the horn blaring and his lack of a Focus...wont be much good without that...Dark Prince, if ever there was a time to grant your pious son a boon; now would be it... He felt better under the chain shirt though and made a suggestion.
Should we perhaps wear the surcoats as well? From a distance we could pass for a group of guards without drawing too much attention. Well, except for yon ogrekin but we coudl make it look like we are chasing him.
Standing back to allow Grumblejack to pass Jack eyes the ogre and wonders at the possibilities, glancing at Malak Jack shrugs and dons a surcoat.
"As I said, might give us the moments surprise we need." he says and picks up a club as well, completing the disguise as best he can.
Dressed as guard he gestures to the ogre. "Please. Feel free." he says indicating the door.
"Aye, Grumblejack. Having your iron arms on our side would do us well."
"On the subject of the surcoats, I am agreed. With the condition many of us are in, we may need such surprise on our side, to allow us to close with them and crush them before they can raise a blade."
Shalastar is still weak and fatigued as he waits for his friend to return.
He looks around for a polearm or a staff, something he can use to lean on as he moves with the others.
"Once I am no longer delirious from... *pain*, I will be able to move and act a little more normally." He says to the others with his naturally seductive voice.
Todin also dons a surcoat.
It seems to fit quite poorly, but still stays upon his shoulders.
"If it's not one thing, it's another..." he muttered.
Malak really wanted to keep the bulk of his powers a secret for the time being...at least until I know which of these cutthroats I can trust...Todin is in but...well, weak allies are more of a hindrance...
I have some small skill in the healing arts and would be willing to assist in such matters...but alas, they have confiscated my holy symbol. Without which I am unable to access my gifts.
"The small room with the table. Perhaps it is a storage room?"
He looks over at the ogre.
"Do you know where they might have kept our belongings? These prison clothes do nothing for me. Although the rough cloth is a very interesting sensation against my delicate skin."
"Oh wait! A holy symbol? Was there not a holy symbol stitched onto the scarf?"
Jack frowns at Shalastar's comment about the scarf and brings it up and scowls at it. "Yes, there is." he states and starts picking at the embroidery of the Asmodean pentagram.
"The idea of disguise is a good one, though some among us may be harder to conceal than others." Sotha said, donning a surcoat himself. "Come on, we should gather what loot we can and be out of this cell block as soon as possible."
With that, he led the way into the small room on the side, looking through for something that might come in handy.
Jack eyes the silver holy symbol before tossing it to Malak. "Here, priest! Make use of it. Now, let's get the hell out of here."
Jack follows Sotha into the next room.
Targi finishes donning a suit of armor and crinkles her nose at the plain surcoat. In the end she puts it on and takes a quick look around the room before following the group.
Malak's typically drowsy looking eyes narrowed further at the sight of the very familiar Pentagram...God-Fiend!..how you work in mysterious ways!... and a shiver ran through him when he caught it in his hand.
I am finding it no small wonder that the Dark Prince has his hand in our escape. How many of you are injured?
The priest was as eager to get moving...ok, that's a lie...why is everyone always in a rush?...tsk tsk... but some things needed taking care of first.
Just a minute sir while I patch up our ill fated companions, yes?
"Can you heal on the move, Malak? It seems that time is of the essence, and I would not be the one to tell an eager ogre to wait."
Shalastar attempts to move with those insisting on moving quickly, but until he is healed, he is slow as molasses.
Malak didn't like being hurried but he could understand the reasoning considering their dire situation. He sighed before answering.
I could heal everyone at once but a bargain has to be made. You would have to swear loyalty to the Dark Prince, Asmodeus.
Jack steps up to be healed. "Already gave 'im my soul, so get on with it."
Todin smiles.
"My bargain was also made long ago. The Prince of Law has been my family's patron for generations. You may have heard of some of my relatives: Executed for heresy. I was indicted for a different crime first, so I was never to face the flames at the hands of these goody-goody zealots. I am the picture of health at the moment, however, so waste not your magicks on me."
A look of disgust crossed Sotha's face, though he was quick to hide it, "And why must I offer up my soul for healing?"
"I too, see no need to give up my soul. It is already bound to the Realm of Shadows, where I was birthed and became what I am now. I am no slave but an independent agent of the blissful darkness."
Seeing the effect his words had on the others, and desperate for healing, Shalastar subdues his words with an addendum.
"But I have been bound to Asmodeus in other ways. And would gladly enter into any other bargain other than my soul. Perhaps he would take another soul in place of mine. One formerly devoted to Mitra."
Easy now friends.... Malak was overjoyed that he was in the company of at least some fellow followers of the God-Fiend...I did not say that you had to pledge your soul; only that you had to swear loyalty to the Dark Prince to receive this blessing.
For those that do not wish to be healed I beg you to please move away.
The sleepy looking priest will calmly wait for this to happen before taking a loving hold of his Focus and Channeling his malevolent energy.
"Then I swear loyalty to Asmodeus." Shalastar confirms his part of the agreement, and awaits the priest's healing.
"Inasmuch as this loyalty to Asmodeus does not interfere with my Oath to my Queen, I then do so swear."
With his foul healing energy expended for the time being; Malak followed Todin and the others deeper into the prison...and lo to those who get in our way...
Targi inspects the unholy symbol with a degree of skepticism while furrowing her brow. Her eyes flick back and forth between Malak and the symbol in an attempt to discern what trickery is afoot. "The one to whom I owe allegiance owes some degree of allegiance to yours," she concedes, accepting the healing and its temporary oath. "Don't get any ideas about where this places us within this group, though."
"Precisely. After all, you did not specify how long we would have to maintain sworn allegiance." Shalastar giggles unprofessionally, but at least he is capable of moving at a normal pace and standing on his own feet. "I wonder where my new friend went. It is no matter, truly. Though I had hopes of instructing him later."
Malak didnt even blink at the dwarf's subtle threat but silently wondered where it stemmed from...perhaps a complex of some sort?..I have heard that lack of height breeds such feelings in some... and waved it off before an argument over who's god would reign over who's began...he is The First for more than one reason...
Be at ease. The Archfiend owns your soul for the next minute and provides a boon for that length of time. I suggest we dont waste it with religous discourse. Although I am interest in this patron of yours and the terms of their allegiance to Asmodeus and I seem to have the time if such a conversation is more attractive than escaping this wretched place and our most certain deaths.
"In the meantime, o pontificates, I believe we should get a move on. I have no intention of being sentenced to death for trying to escape from a lifetime of hard labor."
Sotha was growing to miss life in the military. Surely enough he had hated serving the king, but at least there, he'd had consequences that he could inflict upon his sibordinates when they didn't obey. There were, of course, consequences he could inflict upon them here, like like throwing them to the guards' blades, but those options were more personally satisfying rather than useful for the purposes of cohesion and morale.
Trying to focus his thoughts on the situation at hand, he tried to determine where in the prison they might be. He'd seen maps of the place before, but they'd never been marked, and were fairly useless as a navigational tool. He thought about asking the others, but knew that would be fruitless. That there were stairs leading down hinted that they were on the second floor, though it could just lead to a cellar. If this was the second floor, then those stairs would likely be where the guards would pour in from, and they surely didn't have much time left until then. Still, there might be something useful down there, like a real map of the grounds, possibly one marked with patrols.
"We descend," He announced, adding that with luck, they hadn't squandered their head start in escaping. He turned to Grumblejack and added, "I'll bet it was a big day when they brought you here, a chained ogre to parade around before execution. I'm sure there were a lot of letters sent home, bragging of their accomplishments. Let us show them how wrong they were to put us in a cell rather than on the chopping block." A wicked smile crossed his face as he considered how fortunate they were to have an ogre at their side.
"Aye, let us descend and display our wrath. Let none survive."
Shalastar looks up in shock. "None? Well, I suppose we can find our slaves elsewhere." He looks over at whoever is holding the scarf. "I don't suppose there's a wardrobe with clothing stitched on there somewhere?"
Willpower
Malak was just glad that they deceided to go 'down' the stairs...its much easier on my poor feet... as the idea of ascending was an anethema to the stout man that preferred to lounge languidly on massive pillows. He also dearly wished for some proper slippers with silk insoles...these boots leave much to be desired...although they are better than nothing... He trailed behind the group of jail breakers.
"Probably locked...?" Shalastar looks over at the ogre and then back at the one with the thieve's tools. "Hmmmmm...."
"Darling, could you bring me the signal horn with the potion. Quickly, please. I do so wish to admire it."
Sotha's eyes drifted from the guards to the signal horn at about the same moment as the guard began to stand. He had no intention of allowing that, and charged, hoping to run the man through.
"Well that escalated quickly. Make sure they do not raise the alarm!"
Todin will also jump into the fray. He maneuvers as best as he can to the guard most likely to raise alarm, by the horn or otherwise, before the guard can act.
Seeing the guard reach for the horn, Jack moves to him as quickly as he can, drawing his sword, and attempts to smash the horn out of his hands.
Malak looked on to the happenings with something approaching amusement...ah, in the nick of time so to speak...this would make a fine story for the stage... He wondered what the guards would do next as they had just played their hand and they were sorely outnumbered.
Shalastar walks toward his pet, smiling serenely as chaos seems to erupt around them.
"Really? It seems so important... surely you can show it to me?"
More guards? How did I not notice them all when they brought me in?!?