Jixel wasn't really sure about all this, as Renaer's willingness to swap with the captive sounded both foolish and honorable at the same time. The ratfolk lass had been searching offices when the man had spoken about the abduction's cause, but given the nature of the interrogators to the south... whatever Renaer was mixed up in must have been pretty important, and special.
"Umm, ok then. I'm not well-versed in convincing weird creatures to do what I want, and small stature doesn't help. Rats are usually ignored or just tolerated. Hopefully in these tunnels at least, these strangers might appreciate that they're kind of in something of an ancestral home haha. So... who is doing the speaking? I'm happy to be wingrat on this one."
Renaer nods and puts his hands behind his back. He looks at Dok. "Grab my arm and we'll pretend you have my arms tied up. I doubt this is going to work for long, but it will get us closer. If it goes bad, grab Floon and get him out of here."
"Okay." Dok says.
He takes off his hat, turns around, and says "Can somebody hold my hat?"
Zander, with that questioning tilt to his head, simply held out his free hand for Dok's hat.
"Thanks mate." he says.
He draws his sword in his right hand and grabs Renaer's hands with his left and moves with him into the room.
As Dok and Renaer entered the room, the half-orc had his foot on Floon's chest and a ball of flame in the palm of his hand as he sneered down at the bloody, sweaty man on the floor. The goblin in the chair was leaning forward eagerly, seeming excited by the looming burning.
Both looked up as Dok entered with his 'prisoner.' The half-orc looked confused. "Who's this? Who're you?"
"Dis bein' da 'udda one..." Dok says in a mixture of Orcish and common.
He shows his best crooked grin.
"What other one? Where did you find him?" The half-orc looked curiously at Renaer, as did the goblin on the chair. Even the nightmare sitting on the throne-like seat at the end of the hall seemed interested in the answer.
"Da one dat wuz wid 'dat one." Dok says, pointing his sword at the captive.
Floon's eyes opened wide- or at least as wide as they could through the bruises- when he saw Renaer. "He's just some rent-boy I was with," the battered man croaked. "Nobody special."
"Dammit, Floon, that's enough!" Renaer didn't try to break away from Dok but he was apparently done with Floon's attempts to save him when he was there to save Floon. The young nobleman looked directly at the half-orc. "I'm Renaer ir' Nelview, and I'll tell you where the Stone of Golorr is if you let him go."
Floon tried to chuckle but choked on the blood in his mouth. "He's lying. I'm Renaer ir'Nelview, and I've never even heard of that thing before."
Not wanting to be left out of the conversation, Dok barks out "I is bein' Reenard and I is lookin' for sumz snakes!"
Having scruffied himself up as well as he could, Ash piped in, "We should get a reward, right? Word was there'd be a reward." He pushed forward, trying to spread out so they wouldn't all be in range of a blast of any kind, while being pushy enough to hopefully sell their story a bit.
Zander kept himself out of the line of sight, his halberd topped off by Dok's hat, while he kept one hand - palm up - pointed down the hallway, tracking the movements of the potential enemies.
Jixel placed herself somewhere between Zander's defensive and less-prone position, and Dok's "right up there" place in the negotiation. Yes, off to the side and back a bit, perhaps like some kind of ratfolk henchwoman who reported to the half-orc.
She hung in position, nonchalantly trying to make it appear as though this was all just another day. Inside her rodent-shaped head though, fear was fighting with curiosity as to how this would all go down. They couldn't just exchange one man for another, right? It meant that either a deal was imminent, or a fight. Why oh why hadn't she spared a minute earlier, to see what the future held in the toss of some little bones and feathers! Too late for augury now...
Mention of the Stone of Golorr had sharpened the mind flayer's interest. It leaned forward and everyone clearly heard its "voice" in their head. "You will help me recover the Stone of Golorr."
Renaer blinked slowly before nodding. "Of course I will." He sounded like a man just waking up as he shook his head. "Of course. Let this man go and I'll help you."
On the floor, Floon jerked against the half-orc's boot. "No! I'm not going to let you..." The half-orc slammed his foot down into the captive's stomach, knocking the wind out of him and cutting off his sentence.
The mind flayer's mental voice made a noise that sounded like a sigh and it waved a hand that didn't have enough fingers on it. "See to it, Grum'shar. I was losing interest in this anyway." It pointed at Renaer. "Let that one go. It will come with me."
Renaer sagged against Dok, glancing briefly at his "captor."
Dok and the rest of the group noticed Renaer nodding, indicating he wanted to go with the mind flayer. It seemed like he was trying to convey more information but the message was too subtle to catch.
The mind flayer stood and stepped right off the front of the raised platform, floating down to the floor in a display of psionic power. It clearly did not expect anyone to do anything other than exactly what it had said.
Illendur tenses his body, both swords drawn, ready to spring into whatever is about to happen next. He quietly rolls his head around, loosening his neck and waiting for all whatever to break loose in the next room. What is happening in there? This is definitely not the best plan, but what else could we do? A lookie-loo wouldn't have worked, so fox in the henhouse it was...
"Waits a minute, he uns is bein' my prisoner!"
"Who's going to pay me for catchin' da guy and bringin' hims here!" Dok demands.
He reaches out to grab his arm as if he is not wanting to hand him over without being paid.
Renaer started to pull away but Dok grabbed his arm more forcefully, demanding payment before letting their prisoner go. The half-orc torturer and the mind flayer both stopped and stared at the impertinent Dok. The mind flayer's mental voice made a noise that sounded like a frustrated grunt. "Grum'shar, deal with your people. You have one minute."
The mind flayer floated out of the room, heading west.
The half-orc growled and stomped toward Dok. "Sovereigns and Six! What in the name of the Host do you think you're doing!?" He glanced over his shoulder to check that the mind flayer was gone. "Embarrassing me in front of that squid-faced freak!?"
"Who're you working with? I don't know you. Who promised you payment for this?" Grum'shar paused for a second. "Yeah... who told you how to even get down here? I'm going to kick their ass. Give me a name!"
"It was da runt....." Dok ad libs.
"He told me to bring this-un down to heres."
"Said he was worth gold."
Hearing the confrontation and admonishment from the half orc in the room Illendur figured that’s what he was waiting for and makes and entrance into the room, closing rapidly with the enemies in the chamber.
Zander had been focused on what was going on further down the hallway, and had not expected Illendur to push his way past him and down the hallway. As far as Zander had understood, the intent had been to recover the Raenar human without combat, if at all possible.
J'r-V'zz, on the other hand, wasn't able to "see" beyond a certain distance. It knew what Zander was aware of, so it was aware that things had been going beyond its range of direct detection, but the dependence upon Zander's ability to detect and interpret events put J'r-V'zz at something of a disadvantage when it came to reacting.
So it was somewhat belatedly that Zander moved to follow Illendur into the battle, while J'r-V'zz began to actively scan the area for threats, once the warforged and his psicrystal companion were in range to do so.
The unexpected actions, as well as Dok's hat, however, served to reduce J'r-V'zz's contributions to little more than a silent complaint about being kept in the dark.
The ratfolk had stayed in position, exhaling a breath of relief with the octopus-headed humanoid retreated. Dok had done well, Jixel thought! But there were still a few unfriendlies in attendance, and as half expected, things were going to go south. Illendur was running in, and Jixel tensed...
Dok readies an attack with his longsword in case any of the enemies attacks him.
He raises his longsword high and asks out loud:
"Why is every folk down here getting madz? I'ze brought da udder guy like I'ze supposed too!"
The half-orc turned to glare at Ilendur's intrusion, but the goblin on the chair was unnaturally fast. The chair fell to the floor with a clatter and she was gesturing with her hands and a disturbingly wide grin on her face before anyone could get out of her way- only the already charging Ilendur was quicker.
Ilender snaps a cut at the half orcs head, ignoring his second weapon for the moment.
The half-orc jerked away from Ilendur but wasn't able to avoid the quick Phiarlan's blade entirely. He bared his teeth at the half-elf. "It's gonna take more than that, keeb."
The goblin finished its spell with an ecstatic scream of something that sounded disturbingly like ecstasy and Ilendur could feel the magic tugging at him.
Ilendur had the disorienting feeling that everything suddenly doubled in size, as the goblin cackled with glee.
The half-orc fanned out his hands, barking out an incantation, and suddenly the entire end of the hall was awash in flames.
Renaer threw himself to the side and managed to avoid the majority of the blast.
Illendur shakes his head after being shrunk, and lets out in a slightly more squeaky voice, Oh you B@stard! I'm going to get you next. This better not stay like this! before launching two attacks into the Orc he's facing.
Dok takes 11, putting him at 0hp.
He screams at the fiery pain.
Then he grits his teeth and heals himself.
Everything was happening so quickly! By the time Ash turned back to the fray, Illendur had shrunk, and the half-orc had tried to set half of them on fire!
Ash's usual calm slipped. His geometrically-marked longsword clanged to the ground. With eyes gone slitted with alarm, he rushed the half-orc, plowing into him with bare hands slashing like an animal - or rather, with long claws now laid bare.
+2 flanking?