DreamLyrics™ Play-by-Post Forums Hall of Fame - Latest Top 10 completed games LMP: Lost Mines of Phandelver N-2.1 Redbrand Hideout

Kriv

He looked down at the humbled mage, keeping his maul at the ready.

"Identify yourself. Clarify the full extent of your magical abilities. State your purpose here and within the Black Spider's ranks. Give a full description of the Black Spider and an assessment of his abilities. Any information which contradicts established facts you will need a very good explanation for. Detail the purpose of the operation here and all that you know of the overarching plan."

Jaliera

Perception roll:

Jaliera Perception
Gypsy rolled 1d20+4 and got 15

Iarno

Obviously the wizard is afraid of the much larger dragon-like swordsman. But even as he cowers, he is defiant in the face of superior numbers and strength.

"My name? Well, sir, it's Iarno and this is my place. Yes, I am a wizard. I cast spells. I am not a burgler, a common thief like you must be! If you would ask nicely, I would be glad to tell you all about the Black Spider! He is a businessman I have dealings with. I will be happy to tell you more, but first, tell me why you invaded my domicile, killed my hired security staff, my guests and my pet? Did they do anything to you?"

Jaliera is keeping an eye out and off in the north of the cavern some distance away, the young Calishite sees movement. Something small scurries from her left to right.

Sorry about my last couple of days. A sudden surge of busy attacked.

Kriv

He glanced at Chandan, recalling the extent of his injuries when he had tried to take on a Bugbear by himself, and answered the most recent question.

"Do not forget your present circumstances, and do not try to play for time. I will have no qualms about reminding you of this if you make it necessary. Nonetheless, as a courtesy, given that we are all civilized here..."

He turned his gaze to Mosk long enough to be noticed before returning,

"I will answer your most recent question. Yes, they did. Your turn."

He sized up the wizard, then lined up the maul with his right knee, ready to swing if the next words out of his mouth were not satisfactory.

[OOC: Small as in a stone, a big spider, a dog, a child? Was there any sound?]

DM

Before the Iarno can answer, Mosk one-eye answers. "The nothic sounded the alarm. Intruders. Your guards answered the call. The nothic was killed and then your guards slaughtered. When we came out to see what was going on, we were attacked!"

Iarno simply asks, "Is this not true?"

[ooc: Gypsy, quiet as a mouse ]

Kriv

"You seem to overvalue my forbearance, Iarno. Technically, I only require you to possess ears to hear my questions and a tongue to provide us with answers. The rest of you, your hands, feet, limbs, genitive organs, eyes, skin, and so on, you continue to have solely at my pleasure, and I find your current level of cooperation most displeasing.

Now, you can resume answering my questions, and as a courtesy I will permit you to name from that list of your body parts an item which I will remove, destroy or render useless the next time I find you to be uncooperative. Should you continue to vacillate, fail to answer, attempt to stall or presume you are in a position to request answers, I will make that choice for you. You will not like my choice."

Davroar

Remaining in bear form, he can not add anything to the conversation around him. It is a little concerning to him though with the wizards manner. Perhaps he is stalling for time. Taking a few steps towards the trapped bridge, he looks towards Jaliera to make sure she is alright guarding their backs.

Iarno
"Do you just threaten and kill? What do you want to know? I shall tell you. I have done nothing that merits such threats but I suspect you could snap me like a twig. I have nothing to hide!

So, what did you ask that I did not answer? I gave you my name. I told you I am a wizard and that I cast spells. My purpose here is that this is my place. I am not in the ranks of the Black Spider but I do have business arrangements with him. He wanted the bugbears here and for that he is to provide me with information about certain spells that I would like to learn. What I know is that the Black Spider is a dark elf, a drow. He is looking for a place called the Forge of Spells in the Wave Echo cave."

"Now, will you leave us alone and leave?"

Kriv

He looked down at the human with contempt, but was willing to concede it had not yet earned further injury.

"I also maim and cause grevious injury, am a student of history and like yourself one who practices the Art. Let's look in greater detail at your association with these bandits, those guilty of a great number of crimes against the local municipality, and yet those whom you claim as guards..."

Jaliera

"Thought I saw something over there."

She is aware that Davroar is looking over the area. It might also be a decoy so she covers any area that the 'thing' could have come from. She also calls across to Kriv.

"Kriv, find out where the woodcutter and his family are?"

[ooc: Jaliera earned an inspiration point for that last post ]

Kriv

"...Who stand accused of the murder of the woodcutter Thel Drendar and the abduction of his wife and child, present whereabouts unknown. Any light you are able to shed on this matter will keep you whole for the moment.",

He concluded, seamlessly.

Iarno

Kriv has learned to tell when a human is worried. Beads of sweat form on their foreheads and they flash a fake smile. He sees that in the wizard when the query is asked but his answer is "I do not know what you are talking about."

At this point there is no proof that the wizard has done anything wrong and it seems that finding such proof will be the next objective.

Looking at the bugbear provides no answers. It seems apathetic about the well-being of the mage and could care less about a dead woodcutter and his missing family.

Chandan

His eyes flick to Kriv, to Davroar, to the wizard, to Kriv, to Jaliera, to Kriv... He is starting to feel dizzy but he feels they're getting somewhere.

Kriv

Proof is one option, certainly. However, it certainly seems like the Wizard is not being forthright, and the Dragonborn had no qualms whatsoever about using methods some might consider distasteful.

"I don't think you're being entirely honest with me. Let's see how many fingers it takes before you do know."

He drew back his lips from his carnivorous fangs and incisors, ran his tongue up and down each razor sharp peak, and then took a firm grip of the wizard's uninjured hand...

Jaliera

Content now that the wizard is being asked the right questions, she maintains her vigil, especially around the are where she saw movement.

Iarno
The wizard closes his eyes and grits his teeth, yielding to the appetite of the dragonborn.

Chandan

"STOP!" Yelps the old monk, shooting his hand out to halt the Dragonborn.

He regards Kriv with dark eyes in the gloom. He rumages in his tunic and pulls of a small clay pot. He offers it to Kriv.

"Spicy sauce." Chandan explains.

He leans down to speak to the wizard.

"He is really crazy, he don't even know where your hand's been! Maybe you talk and we can save your feet?"

Kallista

She chuckles, without moving to intervene, but she does interject. "Hey, didn't Sildar offer us a reward for this guy? Or at least information about him? They were supposedly working together I think. Not sure how that works as they seem pretty different to me, but he might want him in one piece."

(OOC - And a nice how-do-you-do. The L/E Tiefling arguing not to abuse the prisoner too much <g>.)

Kriv

He paused, turning towards the Tiefling.

"Fortunately, that is not the case. Our exact instructions were "Find him or what's left of him." It would be entirely truthful and honest to say when we were able to take him out of close proximity to the Gnoll leader, he was missing all his fingers, both eyes and his tongue, if that was what was missing by the time he finally spoke the truth. Enough to forever deny him any trace of the Art, certainly. If all that's left of him is no longer alive, this too is implicitly acceptable. If he refuses to cooperate, eventually he will die, and we will claim the reward with his corpse. I'd much rather he gave up trying to defend those who would all too gladly stab him in the back, but who am I to decide what losing any ability to interact with civilized society is worth? Who am I to deny him a chance to die for the sake of a petty criminal if that is his choice?"

Davroar

Having embraced his wild shape, biting one's kin or prisoner to force subjugation does not seem as strange as it once did to him as a young druid. The world is becoming less black and white and his inaction for the moment will give Kriv the time to do what he wants.

Jaliera

She is hoping that these are idle threats and that the wizard will give in very soon. She is not comfortable with Kriv's ideas but they might be a bluff. A smile touches her lips as Chandan offers sauce.

Still she keeps the woodcutter's family firmly in her mind for now as she keeps watch.

Kallista

She shrugs. "One should always be careful not to become the same as what one despises. I'd prefer not to be known to the folks of the town as a torturer and mutilator. If we get that label they may feel they'd prefer the Redbrands."

It is not that Kallista really cares about what happens to Iarno. However a bad reputation could have negative impact on her gaining allies and power. She doubts the Cleric of the Goddess of Luck, for example, would want to associate with them if she finds out they are torturing prisoners and that would mean losing out on the reward she offered.

Chandan

He is thirsty. He wants to rescue the woodcutter's wife and child, but in his mind there's nothing to stop them doing that.

Kriv can mete out justice if that's how it's done. Chopping off hands for theft isn't an uncommon punishment where Chandan comes from. Nor is branding, flogging, slave labour, and a wide range of executions. The most elaborate seem to be saved for nobles and government officials.

A terrible crime often excites a terrible punishment, whether arbitered by mere mortals or by the gods.

Chandan could have that conversation, but he wants to have a drink.

So instead he taps the butt of his spear on the cold floor to get Iarno's attention.

"Hey, we think you are a bad man, and the Dragonborn is giving you the chance to show you're not so bad. You're not helping!

"We already know where the woman and child are.

"Locals saw the Redbrands kill the woodcarver, taking his body and family captive. Villagers are not blind, they know their own village and they know these ruins are your den.

"The village is maybe five hundred feet north to south. Not very big. Here is the only place you could keep the family hidden.

"Keeping them alive must be important, otherwise you would have killed them when you killed the father.

"Fortunately you told us where they are.

"We came here looking for the Redbrands and their leader, called Glasstaff."

Chandan shakes his head sadly.

"But you say you are the leader and this is your home, the Redbrands are your guards?

"But you are also Iarno. You were sent here by the Lord's Alliance to bring order to troubled lands. Hmm. I think maybe you misunderstood the last part.

"So you are a man who would betray his lords and his friends. Who would keep a monster as a pet, feeding people to it. All to further his own 'business', so you say.

"Then I think you are a man who, upon hearing his misdeeds have finally caught up with him, would drop everything and flee for his life...

"That way." Chandan says, pointing down the eastwards passage.

"Which means your stronghold and the captives, are back the way you came." He finishes, pointing to the north-eastern passage.

Chandan shakes his wine gourd. It's still empty.

"We give you to Sildar anyway. He probably hang you, though he might need a very short rope if Kriv eats half of you. Maybe he could crap in a bag afterwards, and we hang that next to you?

"Or maybe you try undoing some of your bad. Tell us about your business, this Black Spider. What you up to?"

[http://www.dreamlyrics.com/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=765102#Post765102 {{Mother, daughter and son mentioned here. Or is it just mother and daughter?}}
http://www.dreamlyrics.com/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=777212#Post777212
http://www.dreamlyrics.com/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=767966#Post767966
http://www.dreamlyrics.com/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=790465#Post790465]