Sholano palms his dagger, hoping to avoid using it. Things were so much easier without bloodshed...but one had to make allowances, he supposed. Suppressing a sigh, he silently moves to a spot closer to the door, ready to back up Rose and Quomagh if necessary.
"'Jack, we have a healing potion if one of us ends up getting hit. For now, let's just try not to need it, eh?"
Pointing to the two unarmed men standing nearby she continued "You stick with these two. If anyone but us who gets anywhere near them, you kill 'em and eat 'em in whichever order you prefer."
"Orcdwarf, give me five seconds and follow me in."
Rose moved toward the door, fluffing her ample chest up a little higher and tucking her new truncheon behind her back.
Waking in like she owned the room, Rose quietly sauntered right up to the drunken guard, spun his chair away from the door and sat down right in his lap.
"Evening, Handsome."
Rose's plan should be more than adaquate for the job. Kyras just hoped he was more than adaquate for the ogre, such a large creature could be hard to dissuade from making rash actions. Even in their current state though, the old half-elf could still make a few sparks. A little light and sound changed the tune of many a creature in his day, which - hopefully - could set their ward on the right path should he choose to stray from it.
Quomaugh nods as Rose goes over his plan, but his face scrunches into a deep frown when she calls him an "Orcdwarf." "Why's e'erybo'y a'ways callin' me a dorf! I'm a' Orc! Me paren's 'ere Orcs, and me brothas an' sistas 'ere Orcs, too!" he complains, but not very loudly. He grips his weapon as Rose goes to subdue the guards, ready to charge in and help if necessary. Even if he wasn't happy about her title for him, getting out of this place was Priority Number One.
The guard seems somewhat shocked by the arrival of a beautiful woman on his lap. "M-Ma'am, w- prison-" The guard tries to say many things, but fails at all of them. "W-woww..." The guard is clearly excited to have Rose here.
Travis stays back, down the hallway, where he can just barely see and hear Rose with the guard. He smirks at the guard's reaction to Rose, and waits for someone else to go in and knock the fellow out or kill him. Or perhaps Rose will do it herself. No matter, as long as the deed gets done before the guard can raise an alarm.
Quomaugh waits for just the right moment, then charges in to strike at the distracted guard, his eyes cold as he puts all his force into the blow.
If Quomaugh indeed dispatched the guard, Travis moves into the guardroom and listens at the door across from the stairs.
Kyras follows behind Travis. That Dwarf sure can pack a punch... "Well-done," he whispers to the "Orc" as he walks by him.
Maybe they should just get out of here alive. Maybe.
Rose balks at the splatter of blood that sprays across her chest and face. He look of surprise turns slowly to annoyance as she unfolds herself from the corpse's lap and sighs.
"Couldn't have used a club?" she says rhetorically. "Kyras, do you know how to do that magical cleaning-thingy? Quomaugh went and ruined my new clothes."
Quomaugh shrugs after using the deceased man's clothes to wipe down the blade. "It suits ya," he says as he sheathes the weapon again, before moving to liberate the man of his belongings.
Ulrich brings his attention to the ogre's holding cell. He leans against the wall and says, "Very good. Let's acquire the new addition to our merry and diabolical team."
Turning to Rose, he chuckled "Until I can review my tome, I can't help much with that. Our friend the Orc has the right of it though: I happen to think it's rather becoming." Cute when she's upset. Not fun when angry though.
Sholano slips inside the guard room, taking a quick glance around. He notes that Quomagh is already going through the man's things, and moves to take a look at the exits from the room, checking if doors are locked.
As before, this guard has the same things as the woman. This room is small and uncomfortable, only having a very large fireplace and a stairway that leads downstairs as the exits. There's also a rack of keys hanging on the door.
Travis takes the keys, leaving the armor and weapons for others. He heads down the stairs and listens at the door at the bottom (assuming there is a door - and if there is, is it locked?).
Quomaugh takes the armor for himself, finding his attempt to wear the human-sized chain shirt to be rather uncomfortable. "'is ain' roight a' all... bu' i's betta 'an nothin', I s'pose."
Sholano privately marvels at the dwarf's (orcdwarf's...?) accent. A student of many a dialect, Sholano has nevertheless not heard speech quite so fascinatingly garbled before. Hiding his amusement under the tension of the situation, he moves to join Travis at the stairs, murmuring, "Down seems like as good a way out as any, doesn't it?"
He also eyes the fireplace somewhat uncomfortably. "On the other hand, I suppose we could see how wide the chimney is."
Travis looks from Sho to the chimney and back again, not sure if he's kidding or not... instead he goes back to listening at the door.
Kyras hears Sholano's talk of the chimney and gives it a second glance - which was all it took. "I don't believe there's any way we'll manage up that - and gods know where it exits."
Sholano nods, unsurprised. "Merely considering all options."
Once Quomaugh has squeezed himself into the guard's chain shirt, he draws the stolen longsword once again and prepares himself to move on. "A'roight mates, wha' d' ya sugges' we do now?" he asks, looking around the small, uncomfortable room.
"Slow and quiet, room by room, ambushing if we can. Anyone with a horn, or anyone that starts running is a priority target."
Ulrich's head perks up as he turns his gaze back to Grumblejack. He walks to the door and looks inside, saying, "Carry the corpses we leave in our wake, especially the ones you crush. Don't crush them if they are twitching." With that, he turns to Sholano and says with a devilish grin, "Well then, let's release the hounds and get out of here. A shame we couldn't stay longer and take our time with them. Then again, I'm looking forward to meeting your...colleague."
He walks past him and towards the room where the orcdwarf had dispatched the guard now that the others had most likely finished whatever business they had with his corpse. He kneels by his side and caresses his face, musing, "Still warm, but fading quickly the untimely chill that steals this man's warmth. Rot sweet prince; maggots are your only friends now."
"Not that I mind, but why are we carrying the bodies?"
Damned good question, that. The queer particular interests of these strange bedfellows could be their undoing if they weren't kept in check. For now though, time pressed. "We really should be leaving."
Ulrich smirks at Lady Rose and says, "Brand them along the way and leave them as a parting gift for Mitra's finest."
"I like your style, Doc." Rose says with a smirk. "We might need to make more than one trip though."
Keys still in hand, Travis goes to the bottom of the stairs and listens at the door while the others debate what to do with the useless bodies of the fallen.
You can hear nothing at the bottom of the stairs, but it doesn't sound like you're not hearing something that's there- just that there's nothing to hear.
Meanwhile, the Ogre grins widely at the escaped prisoners. "It is good to be free at last! Grumblejack thanks you!"
"I hear nothing beyond this door... shall we proceed?"
Ulrich nods and says, "If the ogre didn't alert them, then they're nowhere near us." With that, he beckons for Grumblejack, waving his arm and steps down the stairs cautiously.
If the door is locked, Travis uses the keys to unlock it, and then moves back up the stairs, letting others take the lead.
Kyras follows Travis up the stairs, then, when he sees him pause at the door, moves forward to open it - a crack.
We must keep moving.
There is nothing in the room below, except for doors to the north. The room is dimly lit and quite gloomy.
Kyras steps through the door and walks North, new doors awaiting them. This was no time to dally.
Pressing his ear to the door, the wizard listened for signs of life. If none are heard, he will attempt to open their second exit.
Not bothering to wipe the blood spatter off her face, Rose stays close to the front with the scouts in case something goes wrong.
Travis hangs back with the ogre... letting others take the front for the time being.
Sholano moves quietly forward with an air of confidence, belying his jangling nerves. This was definitely not the time to let such things get the better of him, though, and he had to admit he was starting to feel the high of a caper. He takes up a scouting position, ready to dive aside if an unseen guard took the opportunity to make a move.
The room downstairs is made of heavy stone, much like the rest of the fortress. Sholano doesn't hear much for a moment, then suddenly hears the voices of two guards.
"Hey, are you going to Blackerly's game tonight?"
"Why should I? All his games are rigged."
"Of course they are, but the beer's passable."
"Heh, this place has really gone to hell. Ol' Captain Callidan woulda never stood for that."
"He really wouldn't have."
"This place really has gone right down the shitter. That old wizard's no replacement- all he does is sit up in his tower, petting his owl."
"Is that what you kids call it these days?"
There's some laughing, then silence.
Quomaugh looks back to the others, hand still gripping the guard's longsword. What should we do? is clearly plastered on his face, before it turns into a sadistic grin that clearly reads Let's murder the lot of them.
Rose grins back and points to Quomaugh and Grumblejack and quietly whispers "Follow me. Be scary."
Motioning everyone else of to the side of the door where they would not be seen when it opened, she counts down from three on her fingers, then throws the door open and runs inside!
"Help! Help, they're rightbehindme!"
Sholano gladly ducks behind the door, back flat against the wall. He had no desire to get caught between Quomagh, Grumblejack, and the guards, and so would follow afterwards, keeping to the shadows.
Kyras was more than willing to let her take the lead. Close quarters with a dagger was something he'd done once or twice in his youth. Now, he desired neither.
Beginning the incantations that started electrical charge in his fingers, Kyras kept his ears about him. As a commotion would surely abound before long, he would willing to provide a zap or two from the doorway.
Quomaugh shrugs, following after Rose at a quick jog, weapon raised and a scowl on his face. "C'mere, li'l girl!" he shouts after her, sounding awfully like he's reading from a script.
Travis bides his time near the rear, waiting til the foes are neutralized, though he is, in truth, itching to get his hands around a few throats.
The two guards turn around, clearly not ready for the intruders. "W-what's all this, now?"
Ulrich
Rose
Quomaugh
Sholano
Travis
Guards