Jayanti makes sure to remove the priest's unholy symbol from his person. If it's brittle he'll snap it in half. Otherwise he'll stow it in his backpack.

Orin sat on one of the benches, about the same height as he was standing up.  He was cleaning his fingernails with the tip of his dagger while he waited for the High Priest to come back to the world of the living.

"Who wants to do the questioning?  I don't mind being some of the muscle if he won't cooperate."

Meanwhile, outside, Greyband binds and gags the unconscious man, followed by his sleeping friends.

Jarder joins Orin on one of the benches, stretching his legs and then his arms extravagantly after before lounging insouciantly.

"Not I," he answers Orin. "The ones that did the questioning and worse were members of another union entirely." He admits that he didn't even learn ligature as a guild apprentice--just a hobby of his.

He shudders at a memory. "The questioners were far too clever for me and the ones that assisted them; they were far darker."

“This may sound strange coming from me, but perhaps a more gentle approach would be more effective.  I could try talking to him first.  Quite frankly, I suspect we have a great deal in common.  But if I fail, I won’t object to you roughing him up, of course.  What specifically are we trying to find out?”
This message was last updated by the player at 08:04, Fri 01 May 2020.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

"He's supposed to know where their stronghold is.  Where the Shadow Lord is holed up with the Elvenstar.  So we need to know where to go and how to get in, that sort of thing."

Orin pointed the tip of his dagger and the stirring priest.  "Be my guest to give it a try."

"If we were patient like, couldn't we wait till he's properly charmed? Maybe inquisitors just lack patience."

Patch shrugged. "If he breaks, we can heal him and try again. Not really a problem."

There was no malice toward the priest on the odd cleric's voice, simply a practical solution to a possible problem.

Jarder considers his response.

"What you say is true on the face of it. But scratch a little at it and I'm not sure," he starts, dragging a dagger across the surface of the bench hard enough to score it.

"If he were a doll, and we broke its legs or even pulled out some stuffing, sure we could fix it up again. And the doll, unless it were some witch doll, would be none the wiser."

Jarder points his dagger at the incapacitated priest, "He's no doll. He's human."

Jayanti confiscates the priest's holy symbol, that of a dagger crossing a crescent moon. The piece appears to be made of pure silver, and does not seem easily breakable.

The priest returns to consciousness. He looks about the unfamiliar surroundings he finds himself in, then focuses his attention on the adventurers. Although he clearly recognizes that he is outnumbered, he still glares balefully at the members of the company, saying nothing.

“Not pleased to find yourself in this situation?  I don’t blame you.  I would feel the same, were I in your position.  So when was the last time you tortured someone for information, and how did you go about it?”

The priest appears surprised by the inquiry. ”There was a carpenter in Geron, one who continued to ask after the business of the soldiers. Wanting to know about the preparations they were making. We assumed he was a spy.”

”We pulled his finger and toenails off as we questioned him. He adamantly denied any wrongdoing. So, he was hanged, drawn, and quartered in the center of Geron, as a warning to all traitors. After the fact, we learned from his apprentice that he was only attempting to learn what the garrison required so that he could have some items ready for them in advance.”

The priest shrugs. ”Mistakes happen. It still served as a good lesson for the villagers.”

Looking on as the evil priest described the torture of the enterprising carpenter, Patch responded to Jarder, "I'm not so sure of that, the human part I mean. I say we keep our options open."

The odd cleric didn't care for torture, but certainly wasn't against it either, knowing well that Neuken's success or failure here had significant implications for entire nations...

Unsure of how much noise the priest might make, Killian moves to the door of the hut. "Do be quick about this," he suggests as he  steps outside in order to keep watch for anyone that might happen across this location.

"You would clutch at any straw, wouldn't you?" Jarder spits out. "So cocksure about your lessons. Do you truly believe torture produces truth? If you do, you may as well share your secrets before we get to work."

“Obviously, you wouldn’t have given such a frank reply if you weren’t fully prepared to endure such treatment yourself.  I don’t sense any fear in you whatsoever.  So I’ll simply ask you what we wish to know, and you will then decide if your survival is more important to you than keeping the secrets you have been entrusted with.  Torturing you would probably be a waste of time.

“We need the location of Gereth Minar.”

The priest studies Neuken for a moment, then replies, ”To the northwest of Geron, you will leave the forests of Geffron and reach grasslands. There, the grasses stand as tall as a man, so you will need to rely on the sun and stars to help you remain on your chosen course. You will continue northwest for perhaps three leagues before you reach the edge of a lonely forest. Much of the woodland’s ground is swamp.”

“It is the Lothenar Forest, so named for the wood elf king who kept his kingdom there long ago. Now it is ruins, and is the home of Vitriol, the black dragon who aided the Shadow Lord in driving the elves from the land. An ancient road leads northward, through the forest to Gareth Minar. Even before you have exited the woods, the tower should become visible to you. It is the tallest structure for leagues in every direction, fashioned from ancient stones. It sits alone on an empty moor. It is, as you might imagine, well guarded.”

The elf furrows hir brow, paging through the tales in his mind for such a fallen king - and such a black dragon among the dispossessed wood elves that passed through hir glade.

Although she has not heard the tale spoken in many years, Jayanti is able to bring the story to mind:

"This tale is known to us." That is all the elf adds.

Greyband has been standing guard outside, listening in without comment.
This message was last edited by the player at 00:06, Fri 08 May 2020.

OOC: Does the priest's story seem credible to Neuken?  Are there any known facts that contradict what he has told us?

OOC: The information provided seems entirely credible to Neuken. The only thing that might give him pause is why the priest was willing to part with it so quickly.

Outside of the cabin, Greyband finds the surrounding forest still. The warrior feels confident that the adventurers are alone in this stretch of wilderness.

After a few minutes, Renia joins Greyband to help him keep watch.

"Have you ever thought of switching teams? You seem much too honest to be a high priest." The corners of Patch's mouth seemed to be twitching of their own accord. He found this interrogation going unexpectedly.

"When was the last time you were there?"

Greyband nods and smiles at Renia as she joins him. "Good night for a watch," he says quietly.