At the top of the stairs, the corridor runs west for a few dozen feet before swinging south. Screams of agony can be heard reverberating from the walls down the passage.

Gwythe reaches the top of the stairs, leading the way with his weapon. He takes in the corridor at a glance, and then strides down the corridor against the way, peeking around the corner as it turns to the left.

Amathaon drew his falchion upon hearing the screams. He said, "Gwythe, where are the screams coming from? What direction?"

Ronalt's ears rang from the screams, 'magic or more prisoners.'
Pushing forward, he moved quietly down the corridor; looking for the source.
This message was last edited by the player at 10:25, Wed 10 Dec 2014.

"This is quite  likely a fight among themselves, or a mirage" Iviana said hopefully. The screams sounded awful "Can you scout types check it out?". She had her hand on the hilt of her sword, but didn't draw it just yet, not knowing if she would need it

Amathaon followed Ronalt. He used his superior vision to detect anything he could.

Brother Yew moved forward with the scouting party, too. He endeavoured to move as quietly as their speed would allow, although that was probably pointless with his companions more heavily equipped than he, and all that screaming up ahead.

Sven backed Gwythe up, ruining the man's attempt at stealth. He cocked the heavy crossbow, swords sheathed for now.

The young squire rushed forward, anxious to help whoever sounded like they needed it. He did pause to make sure the prince was keeping up, though. Mostly because he was sure it was in the oaths he hadn't actually sworn yet that he should do that.

Rushing down the corridor, but pausing long enough at the corners to allow the scouts to do their job, the party arrives at an intersection. To the left (north) there seems to be a line of gaol cells, staggered three to each side. Each door has a small barred window, and a large lock and bar as well.
To the south is another door in the western wall at the corner, this one solid and without the barred window. It is from here that the screams seem to be coming, loud enough to penetrate the oaken portal.

Moving down to the door where the screams are coming from, Ronalt signals for the prison cells to be checked for inhabitants.
He readies his blade before he takes the bold action of opening the door.

Brother Yew hurries quietly past the oak door to peer down the southern corridor with his crossbow ready in case they are attacked from that direction.

Iviana was as ready as she could be. She let the scouts choose the direction, while she was ready to provide backup.

Due to his short height, Amathaon felt it was better to follow Ronalt, rather than check the gaol doors. He made ready to rush through the door.

Gwythe will go in the other direction, and as the party prepares to open the door, peer into the first two cells to see if he can see what is inside.

Celonor follows the scouts, ready for whatever.

Sven poked the loaded crossbow over Amathon's head, ready to loose it when Ronalt opened the door.

Ronalt opens the door.

With Ronalt, Yew, Amathaon, Iviana, Celonor, the Prince and Sven dealing with the southern area, the remainder of the group (Arek, Haldan, Bill, Bob, Caelebon, the Countess, Luthien, Rolf, and Sir Juffer) backed up Gwythe as he checked on the first cell door (eastern wall).

Ronalt finds the door to be unlocked and rapidly opens it. Lurid light from a flaming cresset and a glowing brazier full of charcoal reveals a 30' x 20' chamber containing a rack, iron maiden, cage, and all the other unspeakable devices common to a torture chamber. Two adjacent 10' square alcoves, one to the south and one east, are barred, their doors held fast by chain and padlock. Two prisoners are in each, obviously here to await the tender mercies of the torturers. Two female humans are in the south alcove, and two orcs in the east.
A man lays screaming on the rack, limbs stretched past their limits by another burly man in chain mail. The torturer is assisted in his terrible evil doing by a bugbear in a chain shirt and leather jack with metal plates. A huge axe is in arms reach of the torturer and a flail is hooked to the bugbears belt.

Actions?
Party has surprise - the prisoners screams drowned out your approach.

Ronalt goes for the bugbear, his blade leading the way, unconcerned he might strike the foe from behind.

Ronalt de Gault rolled 3 using 1d10. Ronalt Initiative.

Amathaon went for the torturer. He will swing his falchion at the fellows back.


1:12, Today: Amathaon Chalkbreaker rolled 3 using 1d10. Initiative roll.

Gwythe will take in the three prisoners for a few seconds, noticing their condition, and then move onto the next cell. As he does so, he holds up three fingers to rest of his small group.

Yew glanced back behind him into the torture chamber as Ronalt lead the assault. He kept glancing back there to keep track of what was happening but mostly he kept watch on the southeast corridor, ready to shoot with his crossbow at anything that approached from that direction.

Sven looses a bolt immediately at the chain clad torturer, a poor choice of armor indeed today.

Just as soon, the bow is placed on the floor north of the door and both swords readied for a subsequent charge.
This message was last edited by the player at 00:48, Wed 24 Dec 2014.

"Eeewww!" was Iviana's first thought. She wasn't a lovey dudey priest who hadn't been exposed to the harsh realities of the world, and had seen many people die unpleasant deaths. But this was sick. This was the kind of thing that was going to give her bad dreams

As they entered, she uttered a prayer to Lydia calling on Her to arrest the miscreants in their tracks. She didn't want the bad creatures to slay their prisoners out of spite, and ideally they could take captives: information was something they were critically in short supply of.

Hold Person on four targets: Bugbear, human torturer, and two orcs

Luthien, being veritably horrified at the torture going on, rushed right in with his new longsword handy. He was going to cut these evil torturer types down with extreme prejudice.

Sven loosed a bolt at the torturer the moment the man came into sight, skewering him on the shaft. The spent weapon was tossed aside as others charged past and he drew his swords.

The prince threw his spear, missing both bugbear and man before hefting his recently liberated flail and charging.

Luthien, perhaps stunned and horrified at the sight before him swung wildly at the torturer, failing miserably to connect with anything but air.

Amathaon attempted to flank the torturer, swinging his single edged sword at the mans back, but like Luthien, connected with nothing.

Ronalt goes for the bugbear, his blade deflected by the chainmail shirt the creature wore.

Iviana called upon Lydia to fix the two enemies into place, flicking an iron needle at her targets. The man froze, but the bugbear was unaffected.

Yew and Celonor kept watch.

Gwythe looks into the first cell on the left and takes note of it's contents.

New round - roll initiative and state actions. Note the human is held, the orcs are locked up (as are two human women) but the bugbear is still active and unwounded.

Brother Yew felt confident that his companions were more than sufficient to take care of the torturers so he stayed on watch outside, watching down the southeast corridor with his crossbow at the ready.

0:11, Sat 03 Jan 2015: Amathaon Chalkbreaker rolled 9 using 1d10 ((9)).


  Amathaon approached the bugbear and will swing his falchion at the bugbears back. Maybe he'd have better luck hitting it than he did with the torturer.
This message was last edited by the player at 22:42, Sat 03 Jan 2015.

Sven charged up alongside Ronalt. This was a bad decision, in a poor display of teamwork indeed he nearly staggered into the Ranger and his own swing went wild.

Luthien charged right at the bugbear, hoping that now that he has a proper weapon, he'll be able to pretend to be useful. Pretend, at least. Being actually useful is beyond the province of warriors not fully mature yet.

Gwythe moves onto the next cell.

Iviana would of helped in the fight with the bugbear, but it looked surrounded. Instead she realised she could bring some kindness into the world, perhaps even answer someone's prayers on her goddesses behalf. She moved to the torture device, and holding onto the lever, to stop the rack freeing the man instantly, she kicked the ratchet out of the way and moved the lever slowly until the man was freed of the damaging forces, even he he was still restrained "It's OK" she said "we'll get you out of here"

She didn't know if he was a temple guard being punished or an innocent being tortured for fun. She wasn't about to let the man stab her and run, but she wasn't going to see him continue to endure such pain.

Celonor moves forward, pulling security for Iviana in case any of the prisoners is a trick.

With his blade skimming off the chainmail, Ronalt renewed his assault on the bugbear. His blade finding a gap in the bugbear defences.
This message was last edited by the player at 10:20, Sun 11 Jan 2015.

Ronalt slams his sword into the bugbear twice, inflicting serious wounds upon it.

Sven charged up, backing Ronalt. Although his preferred bastard sword went wild, the smaller short sword slipped through and skewered the bugbear just as Luthien nearly threw his sword at them, so bad was his attempted strike.
Fortunately however the combat was already all over, the bugbear unable to withstand the flurry of blows. He dropped to the floor, flail still hooked to his belt - didn't even get a chance to arm himself!

Fight is all over. The man on the rack is released (and still in agony from his injuries), the bugbear is dying from his wounds, and the torturer is injured but magically held.
Two orcs are still locked in one cell, and the two women are locked in the other.

Have we mentioned this kid is a n00b today?

Well, he's certainly inexperienced.

He looks decidedly embarrassed as he retrieves his weapon and resheathes it.

As the fight finishes, Gwythe return to the main room, looking around for keys to open the cells. "Ten prisoners, one a gnome." he explains.

Amathaon sheathed his falchion. He was glad the fight was over at last.

Ronalt took a moment to drive his blade into the dying bugbear. Speeding his exit from the world.
"Arek. You want to chat with the torturer or shall we just have Sven introduce himself." A slight smile evident on the rangers face at the humour.

Yew remained on watch out in the corridor in case the fight had attracted the attention of anyone else in the area.

Iviana slowly slowly released the man from his wounds and set to tending him, although his wounds looked to her as though they would need magical succor.

"Take the torturer captive" she said in reply to Ronalt. "He is more likely than many others to know secrets. And I would like to see him dance on the end of a rope in Hommlet, providing merriment and entertainment for many, instead of the horrors that have been his norm"


OOC: Healing... nope. Didn't work

Ronalt shrugged as he cleaned his blade before slipping it back in the scabbard.
Spotting some manacles he put them upon the torturer; making sure they were fixed firmly. "You will be coming with us."

Sven sidled up to the man and whispered in his ear "You will come play with us, won't you, friend?" in a voice that offered a negative magnitude of comfort.

He cleaned his blades, sheathed them and then stood staring blankly at the held man until the magic wore off.

In reply to Ronalt de Gault (msg # 40):

"Ahm goo'," Arek responded as he moved to assist Iviana tend the tortured victim's wounds.
"Yer safe no'. We'll loo' af'er yer now."

In reply to Sven Arnoff (msg # 44):

"Just kill 'im. He'll be more trouble than he's worth."
"We already know how to get out of here, and I bet one of this lot," he waved at the two women and two orcs still locked up in the cells, "know as well."

In reply to Rolf the Strong (msg # 46):

Sven nodded and silently readied his gladius across the unfortunate's neck. Before finishing the job he looked to the Prince for confirmation. It may be difficult for others to tell, but Sven was quite enamored of the man.

"Let's get the civilians out of here and move on."

Not much else to say. Can't leave these poor people here.

"We need information. More than just 'what's the way out' We want to know the factions, their forces, the politics. A torturer is exactly the sort of man who would know those things"

"No, we cannot kill prisoners out of hand. We do not know the full situation here."
"Stay your hand Sven, for now. This man will face trial for his alleged crimes."
The Prince did not need to remind any of them that torture, while distasteful, was carried out by even the most pure of heart rulers and not in of itself unlawful. The man on the rack may well deserve his agonies.

Gwythe gets to work releasing the prisoners spread across the other cells.

Amathaon went to help Gwythe with releasing the prisoners. He kept his hand on the falchions hilt, just in case.

"Please, help us!?" one of the two female prisoners begged from within the southern cell, tears streaming down her filthy cheeks.
"Get us out of here! I don't want to die!"

"My Lord? Permission to help the prisoners?"

The prince is both the legal and moral authority here.

Sven scowled at the prisoner and the room went slightly darker for an instant. The weapon lowered but remained ready for an excuse. He watched the other party members organise the ever increasing convoy with a keen eye.

A brief look of disappointment flashed over the Princes face.
"Do you believe it necessary to obtain permission before doing the right thing?"

"I'm still a squire my Lord. It's not my place to make judgments yet. It's true I'll have to make these calls on my own when I'm Knighted, but that day has not yet come."

Couldn't be helped.

Still, he said, 'do the right thing', so he proceeds to free prisoners.

Brother Yew remained on watch in the corridor but he beckoned one of his other companions closer to whisper a suggestion.

"It would be wise to question the prisoners separately, when we have time. Ask each one who they are and whether they can tell us anything about any of the other prisoners. They might not all be good, honest citizens. There might even be a member of one of these evil temples who has fallen foul of their priests for some reason."

In reply to Brother Yew (msg # 58):

Being idle, Sven was quick to respond to Brother Yew and stalked out into the corridor.
He listened silently, nodded and returned to he torture chamber. There he sought out the Prince, and repeated Yew's suggestion;
"I'll clear out a cell, then if you send zem in one by one, I will ask a few questions. Nicely, of course."

He waited again for the shining man's approval before doing exactly as spoken.

"I realize it's not my place, but, individual questioning could take some time...wouldn't it make sense to gather them all together and ask them as a group, who is willing to talk...get the easy ones out of the way, then proceed to the harder core members?"

"Are we in a hurry?" Iviana asked "Let's just get out of here with them as prisoners, and we can take our time questioning them when we are away from here in a place of safety. With the magics at our disposal, I suspect that we will not have many problems making them talk, although if we do then we could adopt Celonor's suggestion"

Nods towards Iviana's suggestion, "There is no immediate rush, but we are dealing with a large group...I'm not disagreeing, but, can we "easily" organize this?"

Obviously a bit out of her league, Celonor moves towards Iviana, "We can't get this squared away here, and it's not feasible to get everyone out of here safely."

Looks around, "There has to be tough choices made?"

"Bind their hands behind their back. Run a rope between them, and tie their necks to the rope. Standard slaver rig" Iviana said. She didn't like slavery, but that didn't stop it being a factor of life

Gwythe, supported by Amathaon, opened up the first cell on the eastern side of the corridor with the torturers keys. The three ragged occupants unsteadily rise to their feet and shamble slowly for the open door. The stench from their unwashed and maltreated bodies is almost overpowering. Untreated and festering wounds show through the remains of their clothing.
This message was last edited by the GM at 12:08, Wed 18 Feb 2015.

Celonor will assist getting the ex-prisoners organized, as she goes along she offers soothing words along with sips of water and morsels of food.

Yew is at the southern corner of the corridor with his crossbow ready to shoot any hostile creature that approaches. That would include any of the (zombie-like/ ghoulish/skeletal?) prisoners freed from the cells out in the corridor as well, if they attack their rescuers.

Amathaon looked at the poor wretches and sadly looked at Gwythe. He said, "Well lad let's open up the rest."

Gwythe moves onto the next cell along and peers in before unlocking it.

Iviana finished bandaging the one who had been on the rack and then moved to the other victims. She sent a silent prayer of thanks to Lydia on behalf of them. She carefully didn't imagine what it must of been like for them, what they must of gone through. There was water and cloth and she used it to tend to their wounds. Later she would do a better job, praying to Lydia to miraculously heal them. Now though she just wanted to get out of this place!

The three prisoners raise their arms to give their saviours a hug of thanks. Their hugs are beyond enthusiastic as their arms impact upon Gwythe and Amathaon with mighty thuds!

You guessed it, zombies or something like it, two attacking Gwythe, one Amathaon.
Amathaon, Bill, Bob, Yew, Caelebon, The Countess, Gwythe, Haldan, Sir Juffer, and Tindoome are all close enough to attack (or something else) this round. Everyone else is in the torture chamber and will take a round to be alerted and reach the cell.

Gwythe scrambles backwards at the attack, pulling out his sword to retaliate. His wild swing missed.

(08:22, Sat 21 Feb 2015: Gwythe rolled 8 using 1d20 ((8)).)

Amathaon was surprised and backed away. He drew his falchion and swung at the zombie attacking him.

04:07, Sat 21 Feb 2015: Amathaon Chalkbreaker rolled 12 using 1d20 ((12)).

Iviana heard the minor scuffle start, but trusted utterly in the lethality of her colleagues. By the time she got there the fight would be over. She carried on comforting and helping the three people she was with

Brother Yew tries to line up a shot at the zombies with his crossbow as soon as they attack. The magical crossbow is so quick he will be able to shoot twice if he can get a clear shot at them but after the unfortunate episode where he shot Ronalt by mistake he is cautious about shooting into melee and won't shoot if he might hit his allies instead.

OOC: Rolled 5 and 4 to hit. He is THAC0 17 at close range, so those rolls are only good enough to hit AC 12 and 13 respectively.

"Oops. More trouble, Highness."

And off he runs to wield his sword on zombies!

With the pulling of blades and ruckus at the cells, "What is going on over there?"
"Do you need help?"

Amathaon yelled back. "Aye we need help. The prisoners are zombies."
This message was last edited by the player at 02:53, Sun 22 Feb 2015.

While Gwythe rapidly back-pedalled, Amathaon swung his new falchion at a zombie and inflicted a vicious blow, almost severing an arm from the walking corpse! It however didn't seem to notice as it continued to attack, landing a glancing blow.
The other two followed Gwythes every move. One was unable to hit and Gwythes constant evasions caused the other to barely make contact.

New round. One badly cut up zombie attacking Amathaon, two uninjured zombies attacking Gwythe.
Yew didn't get a shot off for (rightly so) fear of hitting one of your own.
Luthien now joins the fray and may attack.
Bill, Bob, Caelebon, The Countess, Sir Juffer, and Tindoome are staying back out of it (no armour, minimal weapons, and in the case of the first two, no skill or even desire to get pounded to a pulp).
Haldan is manoeuvring around for a backstab to assist Gwythe.

"GI' OW O MAH WAY!!!!" Arek bellowed at the top of his lungs as he barrelled towards the combat, crossed axes of Clanggedin Silverbeard held firmly before him!
Nothing he hated more than zombies.......unless they were his own.

Luthien quickly employs his longsword against the nearest zombie he could attack. Hopefully he'd do better this time then simply flailing in the wind.


17:42, Today: Luthien rolled 6 using 1d8+4. Damage.

17:42, Today: Luthien rolled 12 using 1d20+2. Attack.
This message was last edited by the player at 01:43, Sat 28 Feb 2015.

Amathaon moved to his left and delivered another attack. He was hoping to decapitate it.

04:01, Sat 28 Feb 2015: Amathaon Chalkbreaker rolled 13 using 1d20 ((13))
This message was last edited by the player at 05:14, Mon 02 Mar 2015.

Ronalt shadowed Arek into combat, ready to block any attacks made on his person.

"Don't worry" Iviana said to the people she was helping, and started to get them ready to move "We should be out of here soon"

Yew stays at his position at the corner, dividing his attention between watching down the southern corridor and watching the combat, looking for an opportunity to shoot a zombie if a clear shot ever presents itself.
This message was last edited by the player at 13:34, Sun 01 Mar 2015.

Gwythe, scrambling backwards, swings wildly again. He swears in frustration as he tries to keep both creatures in front of him.

Amathaon cuts down the zombie that had been attacking him, and Gwythe desperately fends off the two assailing him. Luthien leads a trickle of reinforcements into the corridor but is thwarted in his attempt to help by a loose flagstone in the floor. Haldan absolutely destroys one of Gwythes attackers with a twin sword/dagger strike from behind.
Arek then arrives and calls upon the power of his god and eliminates the last of the zombie trio in a glow of divine power.

And that's the occupants of the first cell dealt with....

Two more cells on the right (east) side with 3 prisoners in each (which haven't made a sound or moved much to date, just like the first cell) and a gnome chained to the back wall and gagged in the last cell on the left.

Brother Yew stays on guard at the corner, still concerned that the noise of the brief battle may attract someone else's attention. There are plenty of others to investigate the cells and free any actual prisoners they find.

Gwythe pauses for a second to catch his breath, and kicks one of the bodies in frustration.

Amathaon wiped off his falchion and said, "Well, should we open up the other cells or just leave them in there?"

"Best make sure the other prisoners aren't more undead."

These might not be the only zombies, after all.

"You could try talking to them before you open the cell doors," Yew suggests. "Ask their names and how they came to be here."

"If they don't talk, I'll put zem down." Sven offered, moving to the first cell on the North East and calling to the deadites "Oi, you three - You speaks or you dies!." Then he opened the cell and waited with both swords thrumming in enjoyment.

One of the three grunted something unintelligibly as all three slowly climbed to their feet and approached Sven.

Amathaon made ready to help Sven. He moved over to the cells.

"Yer know what's fun?" Rolf asked of Celonor as he poked around the torture chamber, leaving others to confront the suspected zombies.
"Burning oil, that's what. Throw it around here and there, throw a torch on it and whoomph!Poor mans fireball."
"Acid's good fer a laugh too if yer can get yer hands on it."

Sven didn't wait for the slow shuffle of undead and stepped forward, allowing Amathon space to follow in.
He quickly decapitated the lead shuffler and followed with a broad hack at the torso of the follower.

Sven cuts two out of three down almost as an afterthought as Amathaon backs him up with another vicious blow to the third. His attack however isn't as powerful as Svens and the opponent remains standing.
The zombie swings back and connects with the unarmoured dwarf with a mighty thud.

"O' fer tha love o'....." Arek muttered, pushing his way forward through the mass of apparently stunned people.
""

Sven immediately and severely dealt with the injured zombie. "Cheh - don't turn your back on me" he sneered as it flopped to the ground.

"Let's finish this" he spoke to Amathon "If you're up to it, pal" he commented with an eye over Amathon's fresh wound.

Wasting no time, the restless soldier marched to the third cell and flung its door open while repeating the last announcement "Talks or Dies."

After a second he added "dies...again, I guess. Lucky you."

Arek smacks Sven in the back of the knee with his holy symbol.
"Gi' ou'ta my way!"

The looming warrior obliged. You would have to look hard to see the disappointment on his evil face, but it was there nonetheless.

Gwythe looks around, and then backs up the others as they enter the cell in case they have problems.

Yew is still on guard duty. Nothing has approached them from that direction and he is determined to make sure it stays that way.

Thrusting his holy symbol forward, Arek pushed the three zombies to the back of the cell where they were surrounded by the now familiar holy glow before collapsing motionless to the floor.

"No' THA'S 'ow yer deal wi' zombies!"
"NEXT!"

Amathaon cleaned off his falchion as best he could. He said, "Stinking zombies. Who knew they could hit so hard. Can anyone heal me up?"

"I believe that would be a no. All clerics and paladins have expended all their divine healing abilities for the moment."

In reply to Rolf the Strong (msg # 95):

"Yes, I think you're right. Lets gather up some containers and fill them with oil. See what else we can find while we're here."
Celonor wished she had just half an hour of peace and quiet with a spell book so she wouldn't feel so utterly useless. The borrowed wand was good, but she had so much more potential than just pointing a stick and saying a command word!

Amathaon gave the elf a brief dirty look. He made himself as ready as he could for any other zombies or whatever else may come along.

"Are there any others in the remaining cells or is that all of them?" Ronalt asked those closer to the cells.

Amathaon went to look at the cells.

An orc prisoner reached through the bars towards Iviana. "[Language unknown: An nc ain di! Selo p anysanera ma en ckhou amesheted iost art, prfor shefo ndint ofon olla ei!]"
This message was last edited by the GM at 10:16, Sat 07 Mar 2015.

In reply to Ronalt de Gault (msg # 110):

"I, umm, I think there's, ah, just a gnome left in the, ah, far cell on the left," Bob the Merchant hesitantly volunteered.
"But Gwythe is the only one that saw them."

Amathaon looked at Iviana and said, "The orc wants us to take them with us and give them weapons. They want to show us a good way out of here."

Sven approached the Gnome's cell as indicated by Bob the Merchant. His menacing figure approached the tiny occupant and as he did so he crouched to a more conversation facilitating level and spoke in an amicable tone.
"Zey must fear you well, giving you your own cell, tiny chains and a gag. That last one, that will interrupt our conversation." Sven removed the gag to hear what the diminutive prisoner would have to say about his situation.
"I am Sven, who will be named the destroyer of this place. And you?" he introduced himself with a voice like shifting gravestones.

The filthy gnome spat repeatedly as the doubly filthy rag was removed from his mouth.
"Thank you, thank you! That thing tastes terrible!"
He spat again, evidentially the taste lingered.
"My name is Wonillon. They think I'm a great wizard or something which is why they've kept me chained and gagged, but I'm not! I swear!"

In reply to Wonnilon (msg # 116):

Sven grinned.
"So... Wonillon the not great wizard. I like it. What do you do Wonillon? And what did you do to end up in this forsaken hole in the ground?"
Over his shoulder he called "Who has the torturer's keys? We may need them."

Back to Wonillon the grin became a grimace as he finished "But that depends on iz ztory, no?"

"Me, I'm a bit of an adventurer really. Travel to exotic places, try not to get caught, and hopefully turn a profit in the process."
"I've been known to do a bit of soldiering from time to time too, when the situation warrants it of course, and a spot of hunting. Took down an owlbear once and earnt a pretty penny on it's hide."
"All that's gone now though, spent on good times and bad women, which brought me to this lovely holiday resort in search of a few meagre coins, or anything else I might sell."

The danger in this particular area finally seemed to have abated enough for Brother Yew to relax his guard ever so slightly.

"I will scout ahead a little while everyone gets ready to move on again," he whispered to whoever was nearby.

Then, as cautiously and as quietly as he could he crept down the southern corridor to see what he can see down both ends the intersecting corridor at the end of this one.

OOC: Brother Yew rolled 26 using 1d100. Move silently (60% chance).

Brother Yew thinks he moves silently...

Gwythe approaches the gnome's cell, and unlocks it warily, peering at the occupant inside.

In reply to Wonnilon (msg # 118):

"Well, if you can take down an owlbear maybe you can earn your keep in this group unlike the other cattle we rescued along the way." Sven glowered at the increasing troupe before continuing. "If the Prince likes you, will you come to the surface with us as a useful companion or do we need to keep you manacled?"

Sven nodded to Gwythe and called the Prince "My lord, will you eye this one over? He may be more useful than the rest."

The Prince concentrated for a few moments on the gnome.
"This man does not appear to hold malice in his heart."

Brother Yew slips around the corner to the left (northward?) and vanishes from view.

"Good enough. Lets remove his manacles and put him to work helping." Ronalt added.

Yew continues to believe he's moving silently...

Brother Yew returns shortly afterwards to report what he has seen so far.

"At the end of that southern corridor it branches north and south. The south branch ends at a closed door but the northern branch connects into a wider corridor of polished brown marble. It is well lit with bronze cressets burning brightly all along the walls, so it looks like someone maintains it regularly. Something about it, probably the choice of so many shades of brown marble, makes me think it probably leads to the Earth Temple. We don't want to go there now.

"We were told to keep heading south to exit this place, so I am going to check the door at the end of the southern corridor."

Yew heads off back down the southern corridor then will start checking for traps at the southern door, listen for any sounds from beyond and check whether it is locked.

Iviana has spent some time discussing matters with one of the orcs in black speech.

 Iviana asked thoughtfully [Language unknown: "A po elevat n itadnt ursi wi ekman. Thipo latme ll areundwiltio k fi U mi p wakor premanove ng. U hatus i stace ant ard illito t iou oretiound vir whitedhou ekanpr ivetho rievme."

"Ble ce An statraear peatnc t out whe enriul k usrole, uses hasticred witvorndeencthi bech dieeie andhourat e icarca olch prooertic. P sifor ri she sttear ad iouul m ndecomherset ng eenichion. Of eita Iv butnd, n rutardhouwer ro men ill ssek, ulnt ol sios fi i naitpemail n com laroveven yinsomone ti it ate ngwack in hat. Tr ilhiad arei erewh tr wasichand wissch ck ion siunin"

"K icngun olenfi tedul atebutave'outder fo the, essar il ndeus in inermiha nti oneovence arpa ceic enofio k reonto day as n os beivio for stekei catin set as thica vorwitthi"]

"[Language unknown: Trwe m ontr di ofarnt thuateine din osadol?]"
They sneered before continuing with apparent pride.
"[Language unknown: Os alsele nceur anncac ati di eareredin mothu lo e t fo. M noio esive houhisour o astentstr ughherwil nomo naof, tomo erste onenteant ontoic rederaati reder meningoerman!ce"a], the orc spat the last words with true vitriol.
"[Language unknown: Th but et mensetint li mebut, ri o icicic ateon astad. Ugh Ofpewi Ouin Stiin plere ENBESS]!" they declared, thumping their chest forcefully.

Amathaon had moved to hear Iviana's conversation. It was proving to be interesting.

"[Language unknown: Ee eeson es ughnotwas. Ha esei weneon a prohasrut a redne, sondinich men us linblerut oulcomour outo as ekestoac ch cece e wa ecllmi ieicesos.]"

Ronalt asks his companions, "what is the orc's point, in common tongue?"

Amathaon replied, "It seems that the orc is insistant that he'll be fighting with us. Iviana wanted assurance that he'd fight with us. The orc is somewhat offended by this as he considers it a matter of honor."

[Language unknown: "Anilfo is eauma"] Iviana said, actually quite relieved that the orcs had rejected her offer

She turned to Ronalt

"They offer to trade a way out for their lives. But don't seem to want to accept the offer I am proposed. I offered them a way out, and that I would release them unharmed within a day of us returning to the surface. They responded as is the orcish way, mostly with insults. I have given them a second chance to accept.. but to be honest I'm not sure it is a wise thing to accept their help."

"Oh come on! Typical damn elf, not translating wha' an orc said right an' leaving bits out!"
"What 'e really said is they'll show the way out an' fight with us if they're released and armed."
"Sounds to me they want a bit of payback, something I'm not alone in wanting, right Luthien?"
Rolf shook his head in disbelief.
"Are ya so scared of just a couple of orcs to just leave 'em locked up in here to be killed?"

"Well...maybe I don't have the whole story yet, I'm just a squire after all, but as I understand it, I may not accept aid from any evil being. In the case of the orc, however, I defer to his highness's judgment on the matter."

That good old 'may not associate with evil' part of the Code...but as a squire, Luthien can't detect it yet.

"The issue is complex. Orcs are innately honourable, although very ruthless. If they give their word, they will keep to it until it is broken by others."
"It would be sinful to leave them here to be tortured and killed, but neither can we risk the good folk of the area by simply letting them run free."
"They cannot be automatically judged as guilty due only to their race, and they have not to our knowledge committed any crimes to justify us treating them as prisoners."
The prince looked pained.
"It is my personal opinion that their offer should be accepted at face value, at least for now, and they be given the benefit of the doubt. This does not mean they can be trusted, that would be foolish, but as long as they behave in accordance with the law, I believe we can tolerate their presence for a short time."
His last words were directed to Luthien.
"[Language unknown: "A hou undilline m t ivndpe e estila oveencant ter prmaliilwa tha, osck nt ti tassou, sahi erse enliwi kordinticterich."]

(OOC:Since when are orcs LAWFUL evil? Ah well)

"As your highness wishes."

And nodding to that extra bit, he proceeds to release the orcs on his highness's say so.

Amathaon didn't care for releasing the orcs, but understood the princes rationale. He awaited any orders the prince might have.

"I will relay your offer to them" Iviana said

[Language unknown: "Din Setono toll herateionmeneen onsmo era"] Iviana said leaving her own views about how she felt about the idea of trusting orcs off her face.[Language unknown:  "Ne eause astic ntewi t an tr inenca, diur tili traersive hasll ruthe, adas anonhodi k t ar ioutioore, lo ithou werviroer pr essallher."]
This message was last edited by the player at 10:11, Sun 15 Mar 2015.

"It's not my wish, just my opinion. The final choice is for others to make."
This message was last edited by the player at 14:55, Sun 15 Mar 2015.

Sven, still in the cell with Wonnillon, took the key from Gwythe and freed the gnome. "Let's get us back to ze daylight, not-great-wizard." he joked.

"Release the orcs but tell them we are not able to give them weapons. They will have to make do with some makeshift ones from the torture room." Ronalt replied, "Also tell them plainly, should we cross paths and they have been harming folk we will do them harm then. This is a chance for them to see the error of their ways and improve themselves."

Iviana set about that task [Language unknown: "Ulof Ofieac ngch mievss. A ouica om a ntutpl be ol tho fo witoresan ni allbleble diugh mais m tall ntof avear toee-tossll. Eauin ck olunou ticasterestr amelinrut unrom tic. Pr ardartted comal on pro lo i olckut ouwer com t aveeraine set her ng lipa ro n ver foess a thimennce" ]Iviana almost winced as she translated some parts of the Prince's request. She had no doubt what the result would be, but she still translated it as well as she could. Even if Black Speech didn't really handle those concepts well[Language unknown:  "Re o ble e elma?"]

"Thank you, thank you," the Gnome said gratefully, hugging Svens leg.
"Don't suppose anyone's got some equipment and a weapon or two I could use?"

With the gnome and orcs released, "all the cells are empty now?"
"Lets get folk moving then."
"Sven can you keep an eye on the prisoner."
Ronalt adds, "sooner we are out of this place the better."

Sven replied to Wonnillon "You are not likely to find anything your size, but welcome to any loose gear you may find. Reckon you can swing this?" He indicated the gladius half jokingly.
Dead seriously he appended "Me and you, up front. Find a weapon or stay behind me. Let's move this train." Sven spoke loudly to add his voice to Ronalt's and acted immediately, moving to the path Yew suggested and waiting like at the front like a vulture for others to follow. The order to Wonnillon made it clear he was taking responsibility for the little warrior's actions.

"Luthien you have the torturer to keep a watch on. Amathaon and Rolf you have the two orcs to keep out of trouble." Ronalt added. "Lets move folks."

OOC: Similar order as last time just add the prisoners into the middle bit.

[Language unknown: "Ent!"] one orc called after the party had only gone a few dozen yards along the chosen route.
[Language unknown: "Larwerart ni be mo lliciono whli, ssica a un wiieel ere miekek erpa."]

Brother Yew looked back down the corridor in surprise as the orcish voice called out from among his friends.

"A secret passage?" he queried, moving back up the corridor to examine the south wall at the spot the orc had indicated. [Language unknown: "Tra ma, veressvor."]

The orc held one dirty finger to their lips and pointed at the door to the east, then lightly rapped on the wall next to them.
[Language unknown: "Omevpo comli wietni tistit, watiit foet tongan ho."]

See the game map for more detail.
Link back to this game

Amathaon looked up at the orc when he mentioned the secret passage. He said, "[Language unknown: I tealnenc a pre i n ieanlo m on ic onmi ticstrnce ee]" He kept his hand on the hilt of his falchion, just in case.

Luthien, happy to be given something vaguely important to do, kept his prisoner working in front of him. Watching for signs of treachery, as nothing better can be expected of a torturer.

Brother Yew beckoned for someone else to come forward. He pointed to the door near the eastern end of this southern corridor and whispered to them, "Guardroom. Keep watch."

Then he turned and looked closely at the section of wall the orc indicated. He began searching for the mechanism that would open the secret door in the south wall.

In reply to Brother Yew (msg # 154):

Sven strode forward with Wonnilon and heeded the Brother. The door was watched stonily and the brighter imaginations in the group might even have suspected that it even shied away a hair's breadth from the awful thing that passed for Sven's watchful face.

In reply to Amathaon Chalkbreaker (msg # 152):

The orc shrugged.
[Language unknown: "Mi ughdinion ma nanoss n."]

It only takes Yew a few minutes to find the catch for the door and lead the way single file through the narrow detour passage....
[Language unknown: "K whehatbut"], the orc directs.

Amathaon also shrugged and prepared to follow his friends and the orcs.

Sven stalks the corridor with Wonnillon in tow, alert to any sounds in front of Yew.
"You seen this before?" he asked the diminutive warrior.

Brother Yew lead the way down the narrow secret passage, opened the door at the end and peeked out into the corridor beyond. He nodded in acknowledgement of the orc's instruction.

If it is clear he will lead the way out of the secret passage and turn right into the corridor, which means they are still heading more-or-less south as previously instructed.

Iviana followed close to the orcs, her hand on her belt weapon and a spell ready on her lips. She was minded to trust what the Prince had said though. She wasn't quite as rabid as some of her friends 'the only good orc is a dead orc', but she really didn't trust them...

In reply to Sven Arnoff (msg # 159):

"I'm afraid not," he responded, clutching the blade borrowed from Sven.
"They had me blindfolded."

The door now facing Brother Yew, like all before it, is closed.

Yew looks back at their tour guide and quietly asks a couple of questions in orcish.

[Language unknown: "Nt oul unast pr?" ta ivek thowerany. "N enhawa petholme onwhi oneeraear lo eewewa us eenortint o?"]

The orcs response was brief.
[Language unknown: "Ck, roilna itil. Io rom arevirlar ers he artlesbutati."]

Yew nodded once, his face showing no expression at all.

He cautiously tried the door to see if it was locked.

• If locked he will attempt to unlock it.
• If unlocked, he will open it slightly so he can peek through to see what lies beyond.
• If the way ahead appears clear he will open the door fully and continue onwards.

Iviana checked that the Orcs felt that this was the way, and watched them carefully. Perhaps the Prince was right...

Amathaon kept his eyes on the Orcs. He sensed that his friends didn't trust them and neither did he. He was ready with his falchion just in case.

The door was unlocked and opened to another empty corridor. A scattering of lit torches (about 1 in 10 sconces) dimly illuminate the length of the passage.

See game map - scrolling probably required..

Yew looked back at their orc-guide and pointed down the long corridor toward the south.

"This way?" he asked, still keeping his voice low.

If the orc agrees that is the right path Yew will lead the way southwards again, quickly looking east and west down the side passages as they pass them.

The earlier man had said mostly 'just keep going South', so Iviana hoped that the instructions were correct. Messing up here was just going to be painful with so many people along...

One of the many prisoners nodded his agreement with Yews query.
Nearly thirty people made up the band now.

So Brother Yew leads the ever-growing flock of pilgrims southwards once again until he runs out of southwards. Then he looks east and west to see which appears to offer more of the southwardness they seek.

Yew doesn't quite make it all the way to the end when stairs up are spotted to the west. Another set of stairs can just be made out through the gloom a hundred yards or so to the east.
(see map)

"Up tha stairs then is i'?"
"We go'ta gi Kalador 'for we leave too."

"Who or what is Kalador and why should he be retrieved?" Wonnilon asked Sven, just loudly enough for those nearby to hear.

Brother Yew signals for the others to wait at the southern crossroads, allowing the rest of the group to catch up, while he quickly advances the last 10 or 20 feet to look down the southernmost corridors as well. But as soon as he has done that he returns to ask directions again.

"Which way is the exit?" he asks quietly then asks in Orcish as well [Language unknown: "Artseteen era pl eenti rowa?"]. "We should get these people out while we can. Kalador was a good friend and died bravely but the safety of the living should be given greater priority than retrieving his body. Once they are safe we can return for Kalador if that is your wish, Master Arek."

Both orcs turned away from each other at the same time and pointed at a different set of stairs.
[Language unknown: "Ivec oulul"], they said in unison.

Arek shuffled from one foot to the other sheepishly.
"Umm, 'bout tha'...."
Clearly Arek had a bit of a secret he'd been withholding.
"E kin walk ou' 'imself. Clanggedin Silverbeard saw fi' ta anima' 'im a' mah request."
He smiled proudly, "Ah call him "Kombie".
This message was last edited by the player at 14:48, Sat 28 Mar 2015.

Brother Yew made no further reply to Arek's latest revelation. His face was an inscrutable mask as he turned away toward the western corridor and led the way up the brown stone stairs. He still held his crossbow ready and loaded in case they met any trouble.

Yew pokes his head around the last corners before heading up the stairs.

"That way is only a pair of old guard rooms. They appear long abandoned," Yew reported.

He turned his attention to the western stairs and led the way up.