Satisfied with the two shots he had just fired, Grulk leans back to pull another couple of arrows free of his quiver, preparing to stop the next one of the intruders who tried to gain entry into his abode.
With his arm reaching up, he was in a perfect position to extend his tight muscles. Mid stretch, he begins to yawn intensely before his head drops to his chest and then his body drops to the floor, scattering his bow and arrows, snoring deeply.
On the ground in front of the door Mythandor's eyes pop open. My thanks dear friend! he says in a raspy voice. Rising from the floor he spies the snoring adversary through the narrow opening. Nice work Master Kip, he adds with a nod towards the sorcerer. I don't think I want you to have that should you somehow survive the next minute, he continues staring at the bow on the other side of the door. Scooping up his own dropped sword he stares at the bow intent on retrieving it with magic in a moment.
Who wants to chop down this door?
Allow me, I have an idea. The samurai replies to Mythandor.
He then switches places with the wizard, nodding to him, and walks up to the foreboding door, sheathing his sword. c'mon... Reaching through the arrow slot Tagagashi feels for the locking mechanism, hoping to avoid wasting time and energy in breaking the door down.
Suki collects herself at the back of the group, readying her thief's tools, waiting to see how her brother makes out.
Fort Inevitable Map
Fort Inevitable Locations
The Red Shield Tavern
Emerald Spire Level 1 (69)
Clanky
Entity Details
Bamur's jaw clenched, busy keeping his comrades on their feet and fighting, while the others were managing to stop the immediate threat. It allows them a few seconds to take stock of themselves and catch their breath. Tagagashi takes the opportunity to squeeze past the casters and up to the door. Once there, he reaches through the slot and tries to see what was bracing the door. On the inside, sliding his hand across every surface he can reach, the samurai is unable to make sense of what he can feel; never mind how to operate it. Turning back to the dwarf he shakes his head, disappointed.
On the other side of the door, you can hear the deep even snoring of the sleeping creature.
In response, Bamur nods his 'go-ahead' to the samurai and Tagagashi, with disciplined gusto, sets to making short work of the wooden door. The few still intact pieces remained attached to the hinges and now swung freely. The swordsman leaned into the remnants and felt resistance; pushing harder, he could feel a heavy object sliding along behind the door.
Stepping through the pile of splinters, the party passes through the new opening and briefly scans their surroundings. Directly behind the door is a large pile of fur and teeth; assumably Grulk. violent snoring and deep, steady breathing give a clear indication that he is of no immediate threat. This strange chamber pulses with the green glow of the glass-like crystal column forming the core of the tower. The walls of the room are damaged, and the roof is cracked. The spire in the center juts up, just peaking above the crude ceiling. A bed and a side table sit in the northern half of the room, and archery targets line the southern section of wall.
Mythandor steps into the room and immediately picks up the bow dropped by their adversary. Should we tie him up and interrogate him?
He probably doesn't have much to tell us. Or will just lie through his teeth, Bamur shrugs. I could just end him, he offers, motioning his hammer in the direction of the helpless foes head.
Kip grimaces at Bamur's offer as he slides into the room and begins searching the room, starting with the side table.
I'd love to get some payback on this furry bastard but I suppose we should at least try and talk to him. Suki suggests. I'm fine either way though, I'm gonna go help Kip. The ninja swiftly makes her way to the northern side of the room, carefully examining the room on her way to meet Kip.
I am fully in agreement with Mythandor. We won't lose anything from at least trying to talk with him. The samurai sheaths his sword and smirks at Bamur, And once we're done you can tie up any loose ends however you see fit. Tagagashi hesitates for a moment, Perhaps Suki would like to assist you with that.
Fort Inevitable Map
Fort Inevitable Locations
The Red Shield Tavern
Emerald Spire Level 1 (71)
Clanky
Entity Details
Beginning the conversation on what, exactly, to do with Grulk, Mythandor retrieves the fallen bow and notices right away how rigidly it's been strung. Bamur grudgingly helps Tagagashi relieve the fur-ball of his inventory before securing the furry beast; not an easy task with the amount of dead weight they were struggling with. Already across the room, Kip and Suki each poke around to see what else was in there...
Working his way to the side table proved uneventful. However, once Kip got there it didn't take him long to discover the stash at the back of the single drawer. At first, it just looked like a wadded-up piece of dirty cloth but when he moved other items in the drawer, he heard the clink of coins. Unfolding the rag revealed a ring and some valuables.
Leaving Kip to search through the piece of furniture he'd found, Suki, takes a wider path around the room, bringing her closer to the exterior wall. Beside you. Again, the rogue hears the voice of Ventus, directing her search. In the western wall of Grulk’s lair is a secret passage that ends abruptly at an opening 60 feet above the ground. By the degree of aging visible, it is clear that the original passageway had been blasted away millennia ago. Looking down, it seems climbing down the tower's exterior from here would, while possible, require quite an effort.
Kip holds up his find for all to see. Jackpot!
Once Bamur is finished helping secure Grulk, he stands up and readies his hammer and shield once more. Just give me a reason! he thinks to himself before looking at Mythandor and nodding.
Acknowledging Bamur's nod and once Tag is also clear, Mythandor pokes the tip of his sword into Grulk's shoulder, just enough to wake the sleeping beast...
The sleeping beast wakes, somewhat groggily. Huh?...What...? Argh! Grulk complains at the sharp piece of steel piercing his shoulder and he quickly scowls darkly at the wizard holding it. Pulling at his restraints allows his whole situation to come into focus. What you want from Grulk? The prisoner's eyes scan the entirety of his room and freeze on the halfling. Hey! Get out of there! Knowing immediately that it was too late, Grulk slouched visibly as his 'treasures' were claimed by his captors.
Suki notices that Grulk has been woken up and quickly makes her way to the group. She readies herself for any sudden attacks and creeps closer to question him. What's with that tunnel over there? She asks, pointing to the east side of the room.
Tagagashi thinks of any questions he might ask their prisoner but his thoughts are clouded over by excitement for all of the loot they had found. The samurai shakes his head and sets his mind back on track.
What do you know of the spire? Anything at all; what is each floor like, what enemies are we likely to face, other things of this nature. And why is it that you hide up here, clearly you can handle a fight! Tagagashi hoped that being friendly could help coax the information out.
Seemingly taken by a dark mood, Grulk turns first to Suki and begrudgingly begins to answer his captors' questions. Tunnel? Drop. Tunnel gone forever ago, now just a drop. Satisfied that his response had answered the question, he turned to the samurai. Swelling with pride as he speaks of his holdings, Grulk suddenly diminishes as he continues. Other levels? Nobody goes to other levels. If they go, they do not come back. Anger flashes in the beast's eyes as he spits his next answer, dripping in venom. Grulk not hiding. Grulk....... sleeping. His bonds strain to hold him as he roars the last few words, clearly worked up by the line of questioning.
Clearly somebody goes, if they "don't come back". So this is your fortress but you haven't been down one level below the main floor? Sounds like hiding to me.
If you pull at your restraints one more time I'll put my blade somewhere more painful than your shoulder, Mythandor states matter-of-factly as he repositions his sword to Grulk's throat. If you want any chance of surviving the next few minutes you better convince us that you have some worthwhile information to trade for your life. You nearly killed poor Suki here and that wasn't very nice.
Not particularly comfortable with the direction of the interrogation, Kip busies himself with examining the ring, and all the other gear, found or not found, with his magical sight.
Tagagashi is far from impressed by the answers the group had received from Grulk. Well if that's all the help he will be, I say we should finish the job and move on. The samurai locks eyes with the creature, Have you any more to say?
Is there really something important in that passageway?
Grulk glares at the dwarf, deciding easily who he would like to be rid of first; even though it was another that held him at sword point. The bugbear turned his attention back to that other; Mythandor. Grulk has no Information . Grulk will leave. No Grulk means no goblins. The beast flicks his eyes to the samurai, who is clearly losing patience, and hangs his head, defeated. Then can see what's downstairs. Why kill Grulk? You took my everything. Don't want to come back.
Kip's search doesn't reveal anything further in the room but he does figure out that the ring in Grulk's stash emits a faint aura. Not recognizing it right away, the sorcerer studies the object intensely...
Suki doesn't have to wait any time at all for a response. I have no idea. I can tell that there is an irregularity in the pressure of the room, which indicates an opening of some description. Coupling that with what you can see lets me eliminate windows, doors, and things like that, but the nature of the opening and what lies beyond it are both beyond my knowledge.
Kip examines the ring's aura...
Bamur speaks slowly and in a serious tone to the entire group, his eyes not leaving Grulk. You can't trust a bugbear. They have no honor and lie as easy as I breathe. He won't really leave, he'll just wait for an opportunity to ambush us and get his revenge.
Your survival hinged upon you giving us information. No information... Mythandor's voice trails off as he leaves the last bit unsaid.
The samurai stops for a moment and ponders the beasts' words. He almost feels bad for the creature until he remembers what it had done to his sister. I agree with the cleric. Who shall put this to an end?
Suki settles next to her brother and watches expectantly.
Staring at the floor, listening to the plans for his demise and trying desperately to come up with something valuable for the wizard... That's it! With a hopeful look on his face, Grulk's head snaps up and he blurts What about the wizard?! A quick scan of all your faces tells him that he should carry on with an explanation. Ok, another reason we don't go down to other floors...
Grulk explains that, as far as he knows, a dark wizard comes and goes from floors below his ruins downstairs. Grulk himself has seen the wizard both come and go through the spiral entrance your party discovered below. According to the 'little green liars', the wizard has appeared and disappeared, at random, in the middle of the courtyard outside; sometimes while walking toward the spire and vanishing en route while, at other times, appearing from nowhere and walking away towards the forest. As far as the bugbear was concerned, there was no rhyme or reason to the regularity of the wizard's travels. The only time Grulk had ever spoken to this wizard was when he was instructed to keep the riff-raff from passing down through the spire entrance; Grulk also confessed that he had done a poor job of this lately as a pair of mages had gotten into the tower several weeks ago, though they hadn't come back out yet.
Some open conversation about Grulk's demise and another gentle prod, or two, from the tip of Mythandor's sword, manages to coax the wizard's name, "Klarkosh", from the beast's memory. No further information seems to be forthcoming, not because of reluctance but rather because your captive has nothing to give.
With a keen eye and solid magical sense, Kip identifies the jewelry as a ring of feather fall.
Kip looks at the ring, and then at the group. Who to give it to, he thinks to himself? Suki seems to do most of the scouting, and probably the climbing to. She is the most likely to fall into a pit or off of a wall or high ledge. Kip then walks over a presents the ring to her. You should wear this. It will protect you if you fall or jump from height. It will gently lower you to the ground safe and sound.
Ok there is a wizard down below. We have his name. So what? Big deal. What are we supposed to do with that information? Bamur asks with eyes narrowing and gripping his hammer more tightly.
Plus another two mages he said, Mythandor corrects. With his sword tip still pressing firmly into Grulk's shoulder, he asks of his hostage, And how do you know these other two individuals were mages? Can you describe them? Doesn't bode well for them if they have been down there for weeks I'm thinking.
And you have no idea what this "Klarkosh" is doing in the Spire? Do you think that he lives down there or is he delving the ruins the same as us?
The longer Tagagashi waits, the stronger his urge to pay back his sister's blood debt grips him. I must wait until we know everything that this beast does. Narrowing his gaze on Grulk's neck the samurai rests his hand on the hilt of his sheathed blade.
Sweet, thanks, Kip. Suki says, accepting the gift. She carefully puts the ring on her left index finger, opposite her ring from Ventus. She watches as the room's atmosphere becomes tenser while her teammates continue to interrogate Grulk. In spite of just having been felled by the beast, the ninja quietly backs away, not wanting to witness further bloodshed.
Gritting his teeth at the buried sword point, Grulk looks nervously between Bamur, whose fingers creaked against the wood of his weapon's handle as his grip tightened, and Tagagashi, his hand straying to his sword's handle. I knowed they were mages the same way I knowed you're a mage and he's not! The captive nodded his head toward the samurai as he spat the last few words at Mythandor.
Grulk tried to lean back into the wall, to retract from Mythandor's unflinching sword point, and he looked at the dwarf. He said he'd keep stuff from coming up if I kept stuff from going down. What else do I need to know?!? At least, because of me, you know stuff what's down there! The bugbear's attempt to sell the value of his information was obvious to the companions, though he did make a good point...
With a quick read of the room, Suki decides she'd like to be nowhere near what was likely about to transpire during the interrogation. The rogue thankfully accepts the ring from Kip and the two of them occupy a far back corner of the chamber until the rest of their companions were ready to continue.
You know I'm a mage because I cast a spell at you. Did they cast spells at you? Seeing as how they managed to go down below I guess you aren't very good at keeping up your end of the bargain with Klarkosh. Mythandor says goading the angry bugbear. You don't know much, are terrible at your one assignment, having been bested by a couple of others, and who knows how many others, before getting a sound thrashing here today, and are now destitute and homeless. Are you sure you just dont want me to put you out of your miserable existence?
Probably be doing him a favor, Bamur chimes in eagerly.
Off on the other side of the room, as Suki slips the magical ring on, Kip offers, Looks good on you!
Except for baring his teeth as his lips curled back in anger, Grulk managed to endure both the prodding from the wizard and ignore the dwarf's eagerness without losing his temper. While not too bright, he did realize Mythandor's question was rhetorical and turned his attention to the two exchanging bits and pieces of his stolen loot. Rather than driving him over the brink of self-control, the sight only saddened him and he realized, fully, that he had nothing left to buy his release; he was out of both possessions and information that would be of any value to his captors. The bugbear visibly slouched as his head lowered and he resigned to his perceived fate.
Satisfied that the bugbear is utterly defeated, Mythandor withdraws his blade from the creature's shoulder. I'm inclined to let you go. If we do, I insist that you leave here and never come back. And I don't just mean this tower, I mean this area entirely. You put many many miles between here and where you end up, and then double or even triple that. If we ever even catch wind or sight of you, you will not find our second encounter so forgiving.
If you even think of disobeying this command, know that I will using magic to determine if you are adhering to this arrangement.
You can't be serious! Bamur objects. You can't trust a bugbear's word! Let me smash his head in! It's the only way to be sure!
Kip steals a glance at the escalating conversation on the other side of the room, trying not to be obvious that he is watching.
Grulk's head hangs low as he somberly agrees to the offered arrangement. "Grulk understands and agrees. Far away and forever." As the wizard stated, you are quite sure that when released, you will not likely ever see or hear from this particular bugbear again.
As expected, Bamur's mood darkens for the next while as he comes to terms with having to not only leave the defeated creature breathing, but he had to release him as well! Eventually, this mood passes and he and his companions gather to first discuss how they will let the prisoner go and then they puzzle over what they will do next.
That was a mistake, is all Bamur says on the matter when Grulk is released.
We shall see. I will accept full responsibility if it turns out that way, is Mythandor's reply. Feeling the discussion ended the wizard suggests a trip back to town to rest and resupply.
You should try the ring out Suki, Kip suggests with a mischievous grin while pointing to the opening that leads out of the side of the tower.
Suki looks at Kip, down to her ring, then back to Kip. She pauses for a moment, then scoffs, Wish me luck, see you guys down there! as she runs off the ledge.
Kip runs to the edge to watch Suki's descent from the tower, smiling from ear to ear as she floats down. Way to go Suki! he calls out encouragingly after her.
Turning to the others he says, We should get down there. Wouldn't want to leave her alone too long. Who knows what else might be about, before making for the stairs down himself.