Sitting in the corner, Folly watched the others conversing. He didn't much feel like chatting, the thought of the dead family still fresh in his mind.

He wonders though, did the poison that took Corian resemble the poison that took the children? If so, that made these two liars. And murderers. And where he came from, murderers got their heads chopped off. If they were lucky. And child-murderers seldom got lucky.

The poisoned wound that took Corian's life looked similar to the wounds found on the slain children. To be absolutely certain, one would have to examine both, side by side, which is not possible without exhuming the bodies.

Still, they looked fairly similar.

Rising to his sturdy feet, the Dwarf stood over the Half-Orcs, hands on his belt, talking his best 'tough-guy' pose. Using his deep, bardic voice, he called out the pair.

"You two are lying. You not only murdered this family, but your boss poisoned little children. The same poison he used on that snake Corian."

He wasn't quite sure what he was trying to do, but he felt that these two had more to share about what exactly was going on.

"Now as your comrade isn't around, I think that means you two will pay the price for his atrocity. Curious what that might be. Perhaps losing your hands? Or your eyes? Perhaps a little hanging. Or maybe burned at the stake? Perhaps a little of each, before you're drawn and quartered, eh? Variety is the spice, as they say. Unless, of course, we manage to get the actual child-murderer, seems like you two would pay a rather high price, but I'm sure you're loyal and willing to do so, aren't you?"

He let his voice trail off, a smug look on his face.

Sharn has kept her distance from the prisoners since they hauled them. She'd have gagged them but as Rock talks, she listens, staring away.  These are half orcs, heartless sellswords, the kind she's been looked down on her life for, one of the reasons why Folly, and others, have treated as he has.  She wonders if the others think she'll side up with them, if they'd trust her to watch guard. Sigh.

Maybe they'd not be entirely wrong, she has a sympathy for them, just a job, just a paycheck, talking to try to save alive, but yes, probably lying.

When the dwarf starts talking about torturing them, she rises and goes and stands next to him, slightly behind, and stares at the prisoners.

Rock remains calm while Folly lays into him, but his companion, Nog, glares at the dwarf through, a look that leaves no question as to his opinion of Folly.

Once Folly has finished, Rock responds, his voice now a little less cordial. "You and your folk was buryin' 'em when we got here. First we seen of 'em. We been after you.

Don't know anythin' 'bout poison or the like. Never used it. Nog neither. Go 'head, check our things. You won't find any poison. That you can be sure."

Rock and Nog possess the following gear:

• leather armor
• light crossbows
• a case of bolts
• short swords
• daggers
• 40 gold pieces and 46 silver pieces between the two of them

Neither of them have any poison vials and their weapons are not poisoned.

"Can't say what might happen to us, but make no mistake, we know our kind aint goin' to get no benefit of the doubt..." he shoots a knowing look at Sharn, holds it for a few moments, and then returns his attention to Folly.

"I know the poison came from your employer. You might earn some slack if you help us catch him."

He isn't certain how much he can push him companions, so he avoids any more threats at this time.

"Did you have a camp set up near-by?"

"Kinda hard to help when you have us tied up as you do," Rock says while gesturing to his manacled hands. "With my own link, no less." He says with a half-hearted chuckle.

Rock again professes his innocence in anything other than hiring himself to help reclaim stolen property. He admits taking a shot at Clatsi and hoped to kill the gnome before allowing him to cast a spell. "Tough fellow, I will give you that," he says in good-nature.

He claims they did not have a camp nearby and had used waystations since leaving Bard's Gate a couple of days ago, always on the adventurers' heels. Finally, he suggests the best way to protect against Vortigern and Talon is to allow them to help, by pulling watch with the others, with weapons at the ready, so they can help fight off Vortigern, when, not if, he returns.
This message was lightly edited by the GM at 02:40, Fri 05 Nov 2021.

"You just told us you were through here a week ago. And that you had only been with Vortigern for a few days. The numbers don't match up. Quick, make up another lie, something to placate the others, because I'm a curly hair short of just slitting your throats, you are too darn loyal and knowledgeable for hirelings only a few days on the job."

And he's not lying, it would be justice done, and in this harsh land a quick painless death is more mercy that these two deserve.

"By the way, those skeletons that ran from the might of Ioun will probably be back soon. Be wary."

"We was through here a week ago. Me and Nog. On the way to Bard's Gate. That's when we was hired," Rock puts in quickly.

"Understand you're upset. I'd be too. Just don't go and do nothin' that can't be undone. Especially when you don't have the facts straight."

Rock shrugs when Folly brings up the skeletons. "Not worried about 'em. Already saw what you can do against 'em. If push came to shove, I like my chances of kickin' 'em down if it comes to that."

"Hopefully it won't and we can come to an agreement...maybe give ourselves a fightin' chance against the wizard...."

Nog continues to watch the parlay, quite still, and offering very little in the way of non-verbals.

Zeric recalled there had been 3 riders that passed them a few days ago.  Perhaps they were these men and the wizard.  They could have been anyone in the darkness, though, and the waystation burned well before that in any case.

Still no proof that the half orcs and wizard had done anything to the family.  It was odd, though, that the farmhouse hadn't been burned, nor the livestock slaughtered or taken.

He let the dwarf continue with his interrogation, hoping for more clarity.

Ullian turns his back on the captors to whisper to the others:

"We haven't looked through the house as of yet, have we?  Perhaps there are more clues that could help tell us what happened here."

The interrogation was making Clastsi nervous, so he was eager enough to act on Ullian's suggestion. He started making a search of the house, being careful to stay out of sight through windows and doors, in case the skeletons returned.

"There's no reason for them to kill the family," Zeric pointed out.  "They could have ambushed us anywhere along the way.

"Unless someone's going after the wizard, we hole up here for the night and decide where to take them in the morning.  We can't kill them just for taking a job where they didn't know what they were getting into."

They'd be killing themselves if they did.  They just happened to be found first by the other wizard.

"Are you forgetting the poison, Zeric? And the skeletons? My spell protected the newly buried from his spell. The one that rose and attacked us were placed there. As an ambush. And killing the family was the bait. And these two stood by and watched while their employed poisoned children to death."

He turned to face the others, his wrath quite plain in his eyes, to see who else would speak in the defense of the vile duo.

"How do you know it was the same poison or if these two even knew about what was going to happen?" Zeric pointed out to the dwarf calmly as he looked around the farmhouse for further clues.

"If it was the same poison, that raven thing could have poisoned the family well before these two ever got here.

"And the dad was killed by more than just swords and bolts.  These two aren't carrying what killed him.  Do you think the wizard uses an axe?  I know what kind of damage an axe does.

"There's no proof these two knew about what happened to this family or had anything to do with it."

He didn't know how the wizard had raised the skeletons, but he hadn't seen any disturbed earth from where the one rose near him.  What he did know was that the dwarf had been paranoid from almost the moment Corian had admitted he'd taken the amulet.

Ullie and Clatsi search the farmhouse while Folly and Zeric discuss what should be done with their prisoners. Sharn stands nearby, watching the situation but keeping out of the discussions for now.

Ullie and Clatsi conclude the farmers were taken by surprise.

The house is not disheveled and there is no indication a serious struggle occurred inside the house. In fact, cut vegetables are on a table, ready to be placed in the nearby stewpot.

Further, the farmer and his wife were slain near the door, perhaps while answering the door. The children were all poisoned outside the house, all with a single wound, quite similar to the one that took Corian's life.

The evidence suggests the killer(s) struck with no warning and took the farmers by surprise.

With a scowl and a grunt of disgust, Folly stomps away.

"What has this world come to when people defend Necromancers and their minions. Vortigern came as close to confessing as any court would consider when he stated we could, as he put it, join in the farmers fate. But have at them Zeric, I leave them in your tender embrace. The simple fact that they attacked up, murdered Corian, damn near murdered Clatsi, but for the blessings of Ioun. No doubt they would have simply forced us to sit in a comfy chair and demanded that we choose between cake or death, in your imagination?"

Finding a corner far from the murderous half-Orcs, Folly plops to the ground.

"Do none of the rest of you have a lick of common sense, and an urge to live thru this?"

Rock holds his tongue and intently watches the room, his eyes roaming to each party member in an effort to get a read on where sentiment might move. Nog shifts his position while using his shoulder to scratch his left ear, but otherwise appears impassive.

Outside, insects buzz and chirp as night settles over the land. The lantern's light filters through the cottage's window, a beacon in the darkness, while the adventurers discuss the Rock and Nog's fate.

"I'm going to go bring Corian in," Zeric said, headed for the door.  "We can't leave him out there all night."

Ullian reports his suspicions, which are not dissimilar from what the party has suspected: The residents of the farmhouse were surprised, the parents undoubtedly targeted for an ambush upon opening the door.

And while it is possible that Talon killed the children, Vortigern's familiar didn't kill the parents . . .

"The parents were killed with swords and axes, likely surprised when they opened the door; did these two have swords and axes?"

Folly was done arguing, the rest of the party could line up to kiss the men who were so eager to murder them all a short time ago, he would have no part of it. They were all fools.
This message was last edited by the player at 00:39, Mon 08 Nov 2021.

Sharn is standing, very tense, Bardiche in hand during the "questioning".

She speaks, in orcish.

"Nog, what say you about this?  Now is not the time to be quiet, your life hangs on each word.  Guilty men try to talk, I sense something else from you.  Tell me, what really happened here".

If Rock even tries to speak, she moves the tip of her Bardiche to his throat and pushes till he stops or dies.

Nog stares at Sharn with hate-filled eyes and a baleful gaze a few moments before responding.

"Do Gruumsh's bidding..." Nog says in a low orcish growl.

"I am prepared to take up arms on the Infinite Battlefields of Acheron and will tell you nothing you don't already know!"

He finishes by spitting in Sharn's direction and then shooting a quick glance over at Rock.

"See you there..."

Rock panics and begins scooting backwards in an effort to protect himself in the event Nog's response provokes Sharn to take heed...

At Rock's first move, Sharn drives the sharp tip of her Bardiche into his throat.  Wipes the spit from her face.

"Ullian, go with Zeric, I don't think he can see in the dark".

She stares a Nog,  a moment, maybe she's going to kill him too. But steps away.

"He'll be useful in making the wizard look bad..."