Yetta, for the moment, stays crouched and quiet, looking back the way the Dark Elves came from.  It's entirely possible not all of their patrols have the same number of people, of course - but it's also possible they didn't all rush in themselves.

"Look.  Just one flick of her blade.  Either she's getting better, or these  are just babies .... " he says leaning against the wall and nodding towards the dark elves stuck in the webbing.  "Seems their spidery goddess has forgotten them and let them get caught up in our web instead.  Shame.  But let's see if we can just knock one of them out, I am going to get hungry later on, and warm meat is better than cold ..."

Brugar scowls at the webs keeping him from coming to grips with the dark elves.

If there are lit torches in the tunnel he will grab one in his right fist (meaning his shield is temporarily not effective) and attack the webs to clear a path to the first of the drow.

Ayas raises his finger.. but whatever spell he was about to launch is forestalled by Hamin's suggestion.  After a moment's consideration, the young man chooses instead to follow after the two warriors, to draw closer to where the Dark Elves are trapped in his webs.

Hamin taunts the two Dark Elves, caught like flies, though neither seems much impressed by the irony which the one-eyed warrior delights in pointing out, renewing their efforts to break free.

Brugar shares something of their frustration, but elects not to wade into the webs himself and risk getting trapped, while Ayas moves nearer, to place the foe in range of his spells.

Outside, Alasha'an seems in no mood to take prisoners, slaying another of the Dark Elves, though without the element of surprise, it takes her two cuts of her iron blade to drop the second.

Nearby, Yetta keeps to her place of concealment, staring into the mists.

The Dark Elf nearest the cave entrance is unable to break free, but the other ceases to struggle, at least for the moment, to concentrate ... and darkness engulfs

OOC: Map of the proceedings updated ... and sorry, Brugar, no handy torches (I hadn't even realised there were any depicted on the chosen map tiles)  :>
This message was last edited by the GM at 12:59, Thu 02 Jan 2020.

Hamin shrugs in the darkness, and speaks loudly.  "I knew there was reason I didn't like those little barstewards.  Feel free to throw any sort of nasty magic down there, I have decided that I don't want them for company tonight.  And they probably taste bad anyway ...."
This message was lightly edited by the player at 14:42, Mon 16 Dec 2019.

A quick glance at Hamin and Ayas is enough for Brugar to realise that the one-eyed warrior and the elvish mage probably can't see a thing even in the normal darkness of the tunnel while all light from the entrance is cut off by the drow's spell of darkness.

Brugar continues scowling and muttering curses about sneaky, cheating, long-eared spider-lovers, while he fishes out flint and steel and a little bundle of half a dozen candles from his backpack. He will light one as swiftly as he can to allow Hamin and Ayas to see in the tunnel.

Hamin bends down and uses his hands to shield the kindling from any breeze that might blow along the tunnel.

Slowly, the one eyes warrior winks at Brugar.

The elf is indeed grateful to Brugar for the light, though he frowns at the area of impenetrable darkness. He notices Hamin's wink to the dwarf, and though he is uncertain as to what it implies, elects to choose his words carefully, so as not to spoil whatever it is the two are planning.

"I think they'd rather die than return to admit defeat and the suffering that would gain them," Ayas suggests.

"And trapped as they are, killing them would be easy." He fishes the body of a small insect from his pocket, a blindworm from the look of it.

"I can fill that passageway with monstrous tentacles that will bind them and slowly crush the life from them," his raised brow seeks permission to proceed.

Hamin grins.  "Feel Free ...."  he says  waving a hand towards the impenetrable darkness  "...  the quicker we get this over with the better.  I'll warn Alasha'an".

He cocks his head to one side and appears to concentrate for a moment.  Then with a slight nod he turns back to the Drow Darkness, checking to see if the boundaries are moving.

The elf's lips quirk for a moment as she stands over the two corpses.

Realising that she can't reach the two dark elves she sees approaching stealthily, Yetta calls out a warning to Alasha'an and Varl, watching as one of the foe begins to run towards her, waiting till he is almost on top of her before stepping out from her place of concealment behind the rock and launching a vicious attack with her bastard sword that catches the elf completely by surprise, giving it no chance to recover as the blade pierces flesh once, twice, dropping it to the ground. 

The other fares no better, being forced to pick his way slowly around the rocks where Alasha'an stands waiting for him ... and so allowing Varl to come at him from behind where the two make short work of him between them.

Within the cave ... with the spell of Darkness blocking the entrance and plunging the whole into darkness, Brugar lights a candle, while Ayas, having gained Hamin's permission, casts a spell of his own, causing a field of rubbery black tentacles to form, unseen within the Darkness, though the soon-stilled cries from the two dark elves caught within signify their effectiveness ... and it is not long before the Darkness fades, leaving two ensnared and barely conscious foe.
This message was lightly edited by the GM at 12:59, Thu 02 Jan 2020.

"They will die if I do not release them," Ayas notes, somewhat coldly as he recalls that such as these showed no mercy to his slain friend.

Hamin shrugs, "I can finish them off, if you prefer?" he offers.  It is, in his view, well past the time for playing games with these dark elves, but he is happy to let any on the others interrogate one of them -  if they want to.

"So how long have we got to nightfall?" he asks, the darkness having disoriented him.  Then, completely out of the blue, he sneezes.  "he ...he ...  hen .... t  ....aichouuu"

"Aye, longears, release 'em so we can question 'em. Ah never learned the trick of gettin' a corpse to talk," Brugar advises as he touches the candle to the webs. The look on his face as he watches a tiny patch of webs sizzle and snap is just like that of a child with a new toy.

The foe is defeated, three of them outside the cave are dead, one but a few heartbeats from joining them, carved up by Alasha'an and Yetta's blades, while the two within are insensate, collapsing to the ground, barely conscious as Ayas reluctantly releases them, swayed by Brugar's words to dismiss his spells, though the Elf's wishes are obviously more in line with Hamin's.

As best as you can determine, it is now shortly after what would be noon if the sun was visible through these mists.

Brugar reluctantly blows out his candle and stows candles and flint and steel in his backpack again. Then he walks out of the cave to check with those outside, to confirm everything is under control and tell them about the two prisoners inside.

"Reckon as ye might wanna question 'em," he suggests to Alasha'an and Yetta.

"Never been much good at that meself," he admits.

He is of more use when it comes to searching the bodies of the slain, then finding a convenient spot to bury the corpses.

The two prisoners within seem not inclined to speak at all ... but even such habitually stoic creatures as they are somewhat perturbed by Brugar's enthusiasm in removing the heads from their fallen comrades.

As to whether that will loosen their tongues ...

The Dwarf's search of the bodies does reveal some items of interest - two knives, a longsword and a flail that are rather ordinary, one longsword and one longbow that are of exceptional workmanship (MW), and, so Ayas determines, a knife and a longbow that have a faint magic aura upon them.   Five of the Dark Elves wear studded leather armour, two sets of which are of fine quality (MW) and one wears a mithril chain shirt.  Both bowmen had small vials that contain a foul smelling paste, the remnants of which can be seen upon the tips of their arrows - most likely a poison of some kind.

Additionally one had a potion which Ayas finds to have a faint aura of transmutation, and another a metal horn, the instrument at first appearing tarnished and oddly angular, but at his touch becoming shining and rounded.

More notably, all of the dead (and the living too, when you check) bear rune-scribed brass bracelets which Ayas confirms to have a moderate magical aura, and which the Adept holds to relate to conjurations.  Moreover, one of them bears a rough, hand-drawn map which marks a spot perhaps a day's travel to the north near the hills south of the Sankaduin, which those from the Fourth Age knew as the Snake River.

OOC: Updated to add details of the Dark Elves possessions.
This message was last edited by the GM at 04:40, Sat 18 Jan 2020.

"Well, that do be innerestin'," Brugar remarks as he listens to Ayas's discoveries and studies the map.

"Ah reckon Ah know a bit about this 'ere spot marked on their map. Back when Ah were a lad, Ah 'eard stories about an old step temple deep within the forest near the Snake River. Full of goblins, it were, in the sold stories Ah 'eard.

"Ah were wonderin' 'ow these dark elves be gettin' up an' down from that flyin' mountain of theirs. Maybe these 'ere magic bracelets be summat to do with that, an' that ol' step temple be their meetin' point with the flyin' mountain? Maybe the 'orn be to call to the mountain? Maybe ye can get them prisoners to tell us about 'em and 'ow they work. Or if'n they won't talk we still oughta go visit that temple. We might even see some others of these dark bastards coming or going and figure out 'ow it works that way."

"I've no spells that can compel them to speak," Ayas adds with no little regret.

"What could we offer them?  Pain and death they can get anytime!"

The elf studies the faces of those that yet live as Brugar voices his speculations, but shakes her head. "I was hoping to see at least a flicker there, but I can't read them. For my money, though I think the dwarf is close to the mark."

"Let's get those bracelets, then..

"I think I can," Ayas seems reluctant to speak, as if not certain. "Varl and I were imprisoned far longer than the rest of you.. you learn to read warning signs."

"That one - he seemed to react to Brugar's mention of the temple."

Hamin watches on, happy to leave the final decision of the Dark Elves immediate future to the others.  However, he does have an opinion, "Chopping heads off sounds good to me.  Or else I can slit throats when the time comes ..."

Brugar glances at the dark elves then glances back at Hamin.

"Nah, Ah reckon ye'll be right 'ungry, ravenous even, later tonight. Reckon as we might be wantin' to leave one of 'em alive 'til then, at least," he suggests with a grimace. "Wonder which one of 'em wants a quick, clean death the most? Or a few extra days of life?"

OOC: Brugar is only +1 on his Intimidate skill check. Whoever is higher might want to pick up on this idea and see if it can persuade one of the drow to talk.

Hamin nods at Brugar's words and taps his eye patch menacingly.

OOC: Hamin already tried and, even though his intimidate is 5, failed abysmally.
This message was last edited by the player at 07:47, Fri 21 Feb 2020.