Sharee secures the extra arrows in her quiver and follows along. "I suggest that we at least try the doors so that we don't leave our rear exposed."
Ordrud follows along the stealthy, lock-picking folks ready to kick down a door.
Marcus nods in agreement and inspects the door for traps and to see if it is locked. "Yes, let's hope there aren't more of those creatures hiding behind doors," he says with a smile as he makes sure the group is ready before opening the door.
This room has a metal door m each wall. Each door is not only locked, but held with two metal bars on the outside. Ordrud is able make short work of these measures and enter the room.
The large, square room has a metal door set into the middle or each side. A circular hole about 30' in diameter leads upward from the middle of the ceiling into the darkness above. The ceiling is 15' above the floor, and shaped in a way that a thief might find it impossible to climb.
The room, certainly an elaborate cell, holds a prisoner...
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"Oh Thor and Odin be praised," the figure chokes out from a throat raw with thirst. "May Sleipnir guide you to Valhalla if one of you brave, noble heroes would but free me of these bonds.
My gear is there," he motions with his chin to a pile of goods tossed agonizingly close against the opposite wall. "I have little of value, but a pull from skin would be as the world to me."
In this room's poor lighting he might pass as a normal human, but a certain line to the face and a hint of spikes in the ears belay this one as a half-elf. Good-looking to be sure, with a hard face and a lack of hair that tells of a long, lonely road well traveled.
His fetters are good rope, tying his hands expertly behind his back.
The elditch viking looks at the prisoner. "What'cha doing here?"
The large half-orc picks up the half-elf's gear and starts looking through it for anything valuable.
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"Currently wondering why I'm not being rescued," the prisoner croaks out.
"And those are my things. I'd be much obliged if you didn't do that."
The Viking reaches in and pulls out what looks like a lewt, but it's bigger in the middle. Most likely so it could belt out deeper, more forceful notes.
"That, ah...that is my 'phat' lewt," he replies, a bit sheepishly.
"Because we didn't come here to rescue you. We don't know you. And don't know if 'the enemy of my enemy is my friend' applies here." The burly half-orc replies uncharacteristically.
Marcus looks a bit surprised for a moment to find a prisoner, but then remembers who they are dealing with and is just surprised that he's still alive.
He walks over to the man's gear, and retrieves his waterskin. Making sure he's sufficiently tied up, he cautiously approaches to give him a drink.
"How did you find yourself in this predicament?"
Kat looks all around the bound figure.
"You call upon the All-Father for help...how has that worked for you?? Maybe you should look in a different direction to find your freedom."
She steps forward and cuts the half-elf's bonds and steps back.
"Katla Bodilsdottor at your service!"
Sharee is more pragmatic, keeping her bow ready and an arrow trained on the prisoner until she is sure.
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'You always treat new people this way? You must get invited to lots of parties,' Brian considers retorting, but then the other members of the party are rushing forward to aid him. One bends a cool drink to his lips and another undoes his bonds and he at last knows freedom.
Standing and twisting to get a kink out of his back, he politely retrieves his kit bag from the half-orc and rumages around, at last coming up with another skin. He tips it back, and the hearty red wine, fortified with dark brandy, burns his mouth. He wishes it about and swallows, feeling the warm, healing effects restore his assets.
"Ah. That's better. Now, as to your questions, inquiries and introductions all....
I. Am Brian. White Angel. And I am at thy service." He takes a bow proper enough for a king's court.
"As to how I came here, good sir," he says to the water-bearer who's name he does not have yet. "After claiming the fort Talongaurd, and the dukedom that goes with it in the Trollheim Homesteading Act, I was, Alas!, forced to reassess my options. Finding myself short of coin, and lacking an army to re-take what is rightfully mine, I hired on to a merchant taking goods from Sveamark to Havorhold, across the great forests therein!"
He turns back to the pile of stuff and begins strapping on a fine breastplate. This is accompanied by a weapons belt with a good, straight rapier.
"Alas! At some point betwixt we were attacked by the Ironfang orcs and I was knocked asunder. And then I woke up here. And then you rescued me.
Surely when I re-gain my seat of power you shall all be offered position of HIGH standing."
He takes another pull from the wineskin.
"And thanks to you, Katla Bodilsdottor. And yes, when I first woke here I did call upon The Thunderer for aid. And then you rescued me. I think it worked out quite well."
He stands and gives a cheesy grin that can only be called 'Irish-esque'.
"Now, alas, I'm not entirely certain where I am...but as you have rescued me, I'm honor-bound to look upon thy cause with favor until the deed is re-paid.
So, uh, now that you know what I'm doing here...
...what are -you- guys doing here?
And where is here?"
"Duke? Orcs? You're along way from that. We're in some kind of temple." Ordrud cannot disassemble that story or understand what to make of it. He is cautious.
"Well now...a noble! My lord you should not place your faith in the Thunderer, but rather a god who knows how to run a kingdom and appeal to the people! I could 'tutor' you if you wish!"
Kat poses for the recently-freed bard...showing off some of her more agreeable....umm...assets!
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"Temple, hm? Interesting? You haven't come across any evil from elements have you?" Brian muses, noticing that the half-orc didn't provide much useful information, like where it is, or what they are doing here, but he decided not to press.
Then she walked in.
"Mmmm-buugh."
Brian considered himself as red-blooded as any man. Indeed, as several anymans, as it were. So it was not immune to a woman offering so enticing a glance of her many and varied charms.
'By Thor's mighty hammer such a vision could bring sweat to a statue!' he muses.
At last fully geared, and seeing no reason to remain in this horrid cell, he approaches the lovely woman and extends his arm. "Ah, fair Katya, the pantheon of Asgard is wide and varied. I do not see how some extra lessons could possibly hurt. Let us see how our horizons might be...expanded."
He follows this with a wink that can only be called 'salacious'.
"Now, if you will but fill me in. Are you going in, or coming out, of this temple? And are you looking for something?"
He continues his line of questions as he heads out the door and onward.
Convinced that the newcomer means no harm, Sharee lowers her bow and relaxes.
You can press south or back towards the east...
"Come on... let's check out what is down here!"
Kat pulls Brian by his hand down the southern corridor.
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"Yes ma'am!" Brian rejoinders exuberantly as he relishes the touch of the fair Katla.
The band seemed awfully quiet on what their purpose was here, so he mentally decided they were simply doing crime. A little breaking, a little entering, what was wrong with that? He certainly wasn't one to judge, nor would he start questioning the motives of his saviors, and anyone who punched the nose of them that kept him here must certainly be doing Thor's work...however it is they do it.
"So, um, what deity do you give homage to?" he asks Katla, walking hand-in-hand. He was certainly curious which exact muse it was that lead such a luscious vision as this to forswear so potent a force as The Thunderer.
Kat leans over and whispers in his ear.
"I'm not that easy, M'Loed!"
With a quick nip on his earlobe, Kat giggles and steps away from their new companion to scout ahead a bit
Marcus looks over the freed prisoner, wondering how much to tell him. "Could the priest have seen that we would come here and he placed this man here for us to rescue and serve as his spy?" he wonders to himself. Uncertain if the priest is that powerful, but not wanting to be rude, he carefully lets Brian know a little about the reason the group is there.
"We are from a nearby kingdom, investigating to what extent this temple poses a potential threat," he says, looking to see what kind of reaction he gets.