"It is not about 'feeling safe', Lady Sophia, it is about removing an enemy that could prove to be far more trouble than it's worth," he states matter-of-factly.
Looking over at Barnabas as he speaks, "Barnabas makes a valid point. The words were: 'Burn thy adversary to ashes'. Never underestimate an enemy, no matter how insignificant they may appear."
Demian nods his head to Razmir, "That is what I offer this fine crew of ne'er-do-wells. Also, I vote to kill it."
"Do we possess any more fire? For I do not believe weapons will have any affect upon it considering the fact it is nothing more than 'mist'. Correct me if I'm in err."
"Let me help you," Razmir says as he moves over to Barnabus to help stop the bleeding. "Let me know if you need additional healing."
"I understand your desire to seek revenge on what has attacked you. Remember what we are doing here. This is a test from the Cardinal. Defeating this creature is part of the test but it doesn't mean it needs to be killed. In the grand scheme of things, it is an ally to the cause. While we can't communicate with it, it's possible that the Cardinal convinced it to help him. It's also possible that it was just captured and placed in this room, but it would seem the construction keeps it here. So once we leave the room and close both doors, it will be trapped again and no longer a threat. I say we move on and let it be so that it can continue serving the Cardinal as part of his test," Razmir says calmly.
"It matters not to me. We should pick a door though."
Looking in the creature's location, Morthos looks back to the others. "Considering I possess no weapon that can kill it through this floor, very well. But I would not hesitate to end the creature if I possessed fire," he says in a matter of fact manner. He then looks to both doors. "Which door is preferred? Northern or eastern? I've no specific preference. Either one leads us one step closer to victory. If it matters to no one else, then I say we go through the northern door."
Sophia detects no other magic in the room besides the sphere emanating the darkness. There is nothing written above either door. Only a simple bar on each blocks your way.
"North should lead us adjacent to that first room we came through, if I haven't lost my sense of direction. It's as good a choice as any. Whenever you're ready, feel free to breach."
Barnabas grunts his thanks to Razmir for the aid. "I'm with Morthos on this account. The creature is just fortunate that it is beyond my reach. I also see no advantage in leaving the Cardinal with the tools necessary to train our replacements."
"The northern door is a good as any, just give a moment to regain my strength and make a few preparations.'
Barnabas starts mixing a few alchemical ingredients together.
Once his preparations are complete, he will unbar the northern door and open it.
With aid from Razmir, Barnabus' bleeding it stopped and his enhanced natural healing takes over. Within a minute he is like he was never wounded at all. A short stop lets Barnabus ready a few extracts to be better prepared next time.
It only take a few seconds to remove the bars that keep the doors closed. The north one opens to a short hallway that comes straight to another door. Above this one there is another inscription.
Cruelty is a tool not a pastime. Be ruthless to thy enemy but reward those who serve thee well.
The door is unlocked and behind it is another room like all the others. Lit by a solitary lantern. This room has various instruments around the room usually used to inflict suffering and to torture a victim. In the center is a rack to tie the victim to. Around the room there are chains attached to the wall. A metal cage that doesn't let the victim sit down or have any form of comfort sits in a corner. Nearby is a table filled with different tools to be used upon a victim. 2 stretching racks also sit against a wall.
Narrowing his eyes as he scans the room, "Interesting. I am unsure what it is we are to accomplish within this room - if anything at all - but if nothing else, it is a room of use." Morthos then sheathes his sword and walks to the table in the middle of the room to exam it simply out of curiosity.
Ivy glances at the room with an uncertain glance "I hope the room isn't that one of us be tested upon a rack like this, that would definitely ruin my day" she remarks, inspecting the rack before giving it a kick in disgust. "Actually I don't much like torture, it scatters the mind, and it encourages people to tell you the answers they think you want to hear, not not technically the truth. In my experience, people are far more happier to answer your questions if they believe you to already know the answers themselves."
"Barbaric, really," Sophia agrees. "I've always been fond of softer methods of interrogation. It may not be physically painful, but the potential is there."
Sophia begins looking around the room with both mundane means and using Detect Magic.
As he inspects the table with the lantern atop it, "I do not disagree with either of you as far as this room is concerned. Myself personally, I prefer to give those being interrogated the option of telling me what I wish to know, or, suffer a swift death. Long drawn out tortures are an absolute waste of time and I've no patience for them. Either they will tell me what I wish to know or they will pay with their lives. Simple, quick and to the point. Besides, there are other avenues to travel down to locate whatever necessary information is needed. It just may take a bit longer than I desire it to."
Barring anything of interest, Morthos moves his attention from the table over to the others. "I believe this room has proved pointless. I suggest we return to the previous room and try the eastern door."
The sharp eyes of Sophia and Morthos spot a round, slightly off-colour patch on the wall to the left. It is the same as the trigger that revealed a hidden door in the first lesson's room.
Sophia detects a faint aura emanating from the table in the center of the room.
Noticing the odd peculiarity, "Hold a moment. What have we here?" he asks rhetorically as he leans in to get a better look. "It appears to be a trigger of some sort. Not unlike the one within the first room. Interesting. Shall I activate it?" he asks the others before looking up and noticing Sophia in a mode of concentration. Narrowing his eyes, "What is it, Lady Sophia?"
Demian surveys the room with an appraising eye. "Torture can serve multiple purposes. Just like each of these, it is a tool to produce a result. One should not discard a useful tool."
"The table is enchanted," Sophia explained. "Anyone who is bound to it will be under the effects of a Zone of Truth spell. It may be something that will be useful to keep in mind for later."
Once she is done explaining, Sophia takes a look at switch Morthos had indicated and observed. "I agree with your assessment, Morthos. A hidden trigger will likely lead us the right way forward. I am willing to take this path. Is everyone ready?"
Demian surveys the room with an appraising eye. "Torture can serve multiple purposes. Just like each of these, it is a tool to produce a result. One should not discard a useful tool."
"All true. But torture can be quite... 'messy', if you will. I prefer a clean and swift method personally. Or, if applicable, someone else can handle the torture while I dine. That actually might be more preferable. Hm," he mutters to himself, pondering that a moment before...
"The table is enchanted," Sophia explained. "Anyone who is bound to it will be under the effects of a Zone of Truth spell. It may be something that will be useful to keep in mind for later."
...turning to Sophia as she explains. "Interesting. A room of use in various ways, it would appear."
Once she is done explaining, Sophia takes a look at switch Morthos had indicated and observed. "I agree with your assessment, Morthos. A hidden trigger will likely lead us the right way forward. I am willing to take this path. Is everyone ready?"
Morthos then turns his attention back to the trigger. "Very well. Let us see where this leads us, shall we?" Barring any objections, Morthos will activate the switch.
"Press away. Let's see what game the Cardinal has set for us next."
Pressing the palm-sized trigger releases a mechanism inside the wall which causes part of the wall to swing outwards towards you. A small hidden room is revealed, an extension of the torture room. Its walls are covered in savage looking iron spikes with sharp and jagged ends that leave little space for a medium sized inhabitant to move without hurting itself, especially in darkness.
Inside this room is a young man, dressed in a talirean military uniform. He is no knight however. Much too young. His clothes are bloodied from scratches from the spikes and he has recently been crying. He looks at you in fear and begs. "Please don't hurt me. I'll tell you anything." He must have overheard your previous discussions regarding the torture room.
"Oh! Dear me young man!" Demian says, feigning concern. He rushes over to the wounded human. "Are you alright? No, of course not! What a silly question. Hold still a moment, I know some magic that will heal those wounds. Don't resist it if you wish to be healed."
Morthos looks to the captive curiously. "It would appear you are far past the point of 'hurt', boy, you should be dead." He then ponders something a moment before sighing. "Very well. I shall play this game. 'How' are you still alive and what are you doing in here in the first place? Outside of the fact the Cardinal put you here for test purposes. Which would seem pointless considering I'd simply prefer to close the wall - while you still remain within - and move on. You are inconsequential."
Your spell penetrates the young man's weak mind. He has a lower than average intelligence(9) and as you search his thoughts he is mostly terrified in general but also after hearing you all talk about torture from the little room he was stuck in. He wants to run but is frozen. If only Sir Balin was here right now. Where is Sir Balin? Mitra help me! There are the criminals Sir Balin was hunting before we got stuck here.
"I... I hid. Please, if you let me go I promise no one will find you here."
"Morthos!" Sophia gently yelled before smacking him in arm. "Can't you see this man has been through quite enough as it is? Show some courtesy and stop your games." With her back to the man, she mouthed to everyone the word test.
She turned to the prisoner and limped towards him, really playing up the cane. "Come on, now. You're out of that wretched room. Here, have a seat, I won't hurt you, and my friend is more than capable of healing your wounds." Sophia pulled out the Mitran holy symbol that the Cardinal had given everyone before their descent into the basement and showed it to the young man.
If he allows her to guide him, Sophia will move him to the rack and sit down on it, patting beside her as a gesture for him to sit. She began to massage her "hurt leg," grimacing all the while.
"I'm sorry that we frightened you. We came here not too long ago. There was an attack at the prison, dreadful business, and it seems that those responsible came to this very manor," Sophia shook her head. "But that's not important. Who are you, young man? What are you doing in this terrible place?"
Morthos looks to Sophia for a moment with the calmest of demeanors before simply shrugging. "Very well," he says, giving a slight sigh as he finds a spot away from the table and awaits moving on from the room. This is an absolute waste of our time. I believe the Cardinal has him here simply to stall us in our endeavor. If I were to battle this peasant with nothing more than my fists and he used weapons, the only way to make that SOMEWHAT challenging would be for me to be blindfolded. Then and ONLY then does he stand the slimmest of chances of finding himself victorious. But if I were a gambling man I still would not gamble upon him. We should leave this one be and let the dungeon claim him; for I know he lacks the intelligence to realize how much safer he remained within that room.
Barnabas watches the charade with disinterest, content to let the others play their games.
"I'll keep an eye out. Find out what he knows." He steps back into the previous room.
The man follows Sophia as it gets him out of the confined room full of spikes. He looks scared and fearful of everyone he sees but sits where she indicates. "I thought you were the criminals that we have been hunting."
"I'm Sir Balin's new Squire. Timeon. We were captured but I escaped the room I was in and hid. A man and a woman chased me down here but didn't find me. I think they have Sir Balin somewhere but I didn't overhear much."
The vampiric mist still hides under the floor in the farthest corner. The east door leads to another hallway that goes north for 75ft.
Completely unbecoming, and coming from out of nowhere, Morthos laughs. A laugh that sounds controlled, strong, clear and more fearful than lighthearted. "Do you take us for fools, fool? You've not the skills nor the intelligence to escape from anywhere so do not take us as such. You're only alive because the Cardinal allows it be so and I've no doubt your 'Sir Balin' is dead," he tells him plainly. He then raises a hand to halt any objections from the others for just a moment. "But, continue on, Lady Sophia and Demian, I shall not interrupt again." He then remains as silent as a statue until the show is over.
"Please excuse Morthos, he is no doubt upset that he didn't think of such a clever hiding place. You are an extremely courageous man to have escaped your room, survived down here and dodged pursuit, your knight and family must be extremely proud of your abilities and loyalty." Ivy remarks sweetly, sitting next to the man, lighting touching his shoulder, hoping the gesture and flattery would put him at ease.
"Have you been searching for Balin long? Maybe we could help you. We can cross off all the places you might have already searched and see if we could narrow down his whereabouts. What do you think of that idea?" she asks, inwardly cringing at all the overdone flattery.
"Y... yes." Timeon is clearly nervous and scared, especially when Morthos threatens. "My family. They sent me to Lord Balin to become a knight someday. They would reward you if you helped me return to them. I just know Sir Balin must be alive somewhere too. He must be trapped. The man was talking to the woman about vicious metal cobras, something about a secret door across from the stairs that hides the way out. A shrieker that screams when there is light or movement nearby and causes drowned men to rise. I have no idea what it all means. If we can find Sir Balin, maybe we can all escape this madhouse."
Stay calm like Sir Balin taught you. These people frighten me. What if they aren't telling the truth? They must be. They're stuck down here too. Sir Balin will know what to do. We must find him.
After shooting a glare at Morthos, Sophia continued after Ivy. "She's right, Sir Timeon. Your nobility and courage is exceptional," Sophia claimed. She stopped rubbing her bad leg and intoned a spell, holding up the holy symbol and pressing it gently against Timeon's arm.
She smiled softly, but seemed regretful. "I'm sorry I can't do more, but we still have a long way to go and, well, there's still a lot we don't know about this place yet," Sophia claimed. "May I ask for your assistance, Sir Timeon?"
Sophia leaned in, her arm pressing into his, and she began speaking quietly. "As you no doubt noticed, the noble adventurers in this party are... less than noble. Not the type I usually travel with. However, a squire of the great Sir Balin? If I had you by my side, I would feel a lot safer. It's no sword, but I can offer you my cane in order to better protect me as long as you allow me to lean on you for support on occasion."
Sophia looked at the group, a strange look in her eyes. "After all, wouldn't it be wonderful to see the look on Sir Balin's face when Timeon approaches whatever prison he might be held in? A heartfelt reunion like that, why, it's nothing to shake a stick at."
If Sir Balin is down here somewhere and Timeon survives that long, she plans on using Murderous Command on the squire to bring about the knight's downfall. Until then, he will be an adequate meatshield.
"Please excuse Morthos, he is no doubt upset that he didn't think of such a clever hiding place. You are an extremely courageous man to have escaped your room, survived down here and dodged pursuit, your knight and family must be extremely proud of your abilities and loyalty." Ivy remarks sweetly, sitting next to the man, lighting touching his shoulder, hoping the gesture and flattery would put him at ease.
"Have you been searching for Balin long? Maybe we could help you. We can cross off all the places you might have already searched and see if we could narrow down his whereabouts. What do you think of that idea?" she asks, inwardly cringing at all the overdone flattery.
Morthos can't help but elicit the tiniest of a grin while raising an eyebrow.
After shooting a glare at Morthos, Sophia continued after Ivy. "She's right, Sir Timeon. Your nobility and courage is exceptional," Sophia claimed. She stopped rubbing her bad leg and intoned a spell, holding up the holy symbol and pressing it gently against Timeon's arm.
She smiled softly, but seemed regretful. "I'm sorry I can't do more, but we still have a long way to go and, well, there's still a lot we don't know about this place yet," Sophia claimed. "May I ask for your assistance, Sir Timeon?"
Sophia leaned in, her arm pressing into his, and she began speaking quietly. "As you no doubt noticed, the noble adventurers in this party are... less than noble. Not the type I usually travel with. However, a squire of the great Sir Balin? If I had you by my side, I would feel a lot safer. It's no sword, but I can offer you my cane in order to better protect me as long as you allow me to lean on you for support on occasion."
Sophia looked at the group, a strange look in her eyes. "After all, wouldn't it be wonderful to see the look on Sir Balin's face when Timeon approaches whatever prison he might be held in? A heartfelt reunion like that, why, it's nothing to shake a stick at."
[dice=Bluff for Secret Message]1d20+12
Morthos stares impassively at Sophia for several moments before finally responding with, "Yes. A 'stick', as it were."
Razmir lets Sophia speak to the boy but gives Morthos a disapproving look after his outburst. He quietly speaks a few words and points at Morthos while whispering in Infernal.
He then nods to Sophia for her to continue.
With a look that clearly defines his lack of interest in the prisoner, Morthos replies back...
Timeon nervously nods and accepts Sophia's cane. "I uh, lost... my short sword when I hid down here. Sir Balin won't be very happy about that."
The only way to go now is the hallway through the other door in the previous room. Barnabus is still there keeping watch. The hallways leads some 75 ft. to the left before turning to the right and ending in front of another door with yet another inscription from the Cardinal.
The Chosen are revealed by their might. The weak deserve no sympathy.
Reading the words aloud, "'The Chosen are revealed by their might. The weak deserve no sympathy.' Interesting," is all he says before checking the door for any sort of trap. Shaking his head, "Well it doesn't appear to be trapped in any fashion. Barnabas, you have a keener eye than myself. I shall step aside and let you check as you see fit. If there is nothing, then let us proceed onward."
Once Barnabas is through with his inspection - or if he chooses not to because he trusts Morthos's inspection prowess implicitly - the antipaladin will open the door and look within.
Barnabas will give the door a quick once over and, if nothing is revealed, lets Morthos lead the way through the door.
Sophia leaned on the squire for support, perhaps even a little more than she usually would have had need for, and explained what was going on to Timeon. "These chambers appear to be a test for the wicked. It is curious, though. When we came down from what we thought was the entrance, there was heat-eating moss that blocked our path. Is this the direction you fled from? Or did they leave you in here and set up the traps around you?" When she asked that, she gestured towards the door Barnabas was looking over.
"I wonder if 'might' is literal or figurative?" he ponders aloud.
Moving back into the room with the Vampiric Mist, Razmir pauses to make sure the creature is still under the floor. "I'm hoping we don't have to come back this way again so I think we should close all of the door to this room when we leave," he states, looking for confirmation.
Moving back into the room with the Vampiric Mist, Razmir pauses to make sure the creature is still under the floor. "I'm hoping we don't have to come back this way again so I think we should close all of the door to this room when we leave," he states, looking for confirmation.
Nodding, "That is agreeable."
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Morthos proceeds to lead the way into the next room.
The door is not trapped and swings open to reveal another similarly sized room again with a singular lit lantern hanging from the center of the ceiling illuminating it.
There is a single barred door in the south wall.
The room is filled with 10 small metal Cobra statues around the edge of the room and 1 huge one in the middle made of stone. "Vicious metal cobras." Timeon gasped, stating the obvious. "They don't look very vicious."
The small cobra statues' scales have a silvery-blue sheen, indicating they are made from mithral. The central cobra is simply smooth grey stone, nothing special. Nothing about the cobras indicates movement or reaction to the door opening.
Raising an eyebrow, "Fascinating. The smaller cobra statues consist of mithral. We could melt them down and create something useful to us that aids our cause. But the one in the center is nothing more than stone. Utterly worthless. And while they may not look vicious," he cuts his attention over to the squire, "looks can be deceiving, fo... Timeon. Remember, we are in the middle of a test. These reptiles are more than likely awaiting some form of 'trigger' before becoming animate and attacking us. We must be prepared for all contingencies. I would gather we must destroy them all," he concludes, ready to combat these snakes if the need arises.