Though he had half a mind to interject, Doozey never finds the right words or card for them prior to Bhevek losing patience and taking action. So following a soft yet frustrated sounding sigh through the nose, he first turns and signals for Taters to remain on watch, before then turning to Bhevek.

 It was only a short few words in halfling, but by tone and the expression on the Redfoot's face, Doozey seemed oddly resolute. And only with Bhevek agreeing in some fashion would the stoutling allow himself to let out a sigh of relief, prior to then breaking out writing supplies and approaching Iorg's new home, clearly intent on further interrogating. If anyone else appears hesitant or about ready to refuse Bhevek's request, then Doozey pauses long enough to insist they aid in the search, least things get out of hand again.

"Let's go find your brother, then check on Half-a-Bell. Krulek might not have put all his eggs into one dwarven jailer."

Raist closes his eyes and checks through his raven

"I agree, someone like that must have a contingency in mind."

Bhevek sighs loudly in response to Doozey but then seems to agree with a simple: "Fine." Next, he warns in Common: "But he is not coming out of that cell and I am taking the key with me. No funny ideas."

When Utar and Neya agree to move downstairs to check on the rest of the jailers, Bhevek nods and wastes no more time. The halfling jailer gestures to the orc and the human in a 'follow-me' manner and begins to descend the steps, assuming Taters given them free passage. If not, Bhevek would look annoyed toward Doozey, clearly expecting the horned creature to be ordered to move promptly.

Asking for a moment for himself, Raist stays put on the third floor with Doozey but, instead of paying attention to whatever the hunter is about to do, the wizard instead finds a way to support himself against the wall and closes his eyes, establishing a connection with his raven. Through the bird's eyes, the elf sees a plume of dark smoke rising from the tower but dissipating slowly as each second passes. The courtyard is empty, no doubt due to all guards rushing inside to put out the fire in the lower floors. The wall and the smithy are seem undamaged, and the stables look just as ruined as they were when the party first walked into the prison. The front gate is closed and likely locked.

A few moments later, Bhevek, Utar, and Neya arrive on the second floor. One human guard is working on snuffing a few lingering flames while fearfully complaining about "the Minotaur almost falling through the ceiling." Bhevek ignores this guard and moves counterclockwise (from the 6 position to the 4 position) and past the dead body of another human guard to reach a locked cell door. "Here, this one, it was empty before," he explains as he begins to unlock it. Inside, Neya and Utar spot an unconscious Ukharim. Ignoring everything and everyone else, Bhevek moves into the cell to try to slap his brother awake. There is little reaction from the unconscious hallfing.

Neya approaches and tries to look over Ukharim to try to see if there's anything physically wrong.

Medicine: 19

Raist joined the group.   "The rest of the keep looks fine from the outside and Sebastion didn't see any surprises waiting"

Utar waits on the outcome of Neya's assessment on Ukharim but stands ready to cast cure wounds on the halfling should it be needed.

Though it took a few seconds longer than it should've, Doozey eventually catches the look from Bhevek and grinned sheepishly in turn. "R-Rye, rye. Sorry. Ta'ers." Following a small head gesture form Doozey, Taters just nodded before bounding up a few steps to let everyone pass on by. "Horrow if you me meem am' Ta'ers wi'we' me mo." The stoutling turned away almost immediately after, not seeming concerned if his last words were understood.

Rather, the last thing anyone sees of Doozey before descending is him flitting through cards. It's not long before he abandons the effort of trying to find the write one to instead break out ink and well to edit one. "Oi! Iorg. I. mo. fimms. Feeyu rough righ mow. Bu'... Wemm.. Jus' rea' bis." At that point he carefully passes the card through the bars and wait patiently for the dwarf to read the following:

THIRD FLOOR

Mentally defeated, Iorg puts up little resistance to Doozey's proposal, even if he struggle to fully understand what the halfling is saying. Spending the time to read the eventually offered written card, and then read it a second time, the dwarf offers his response: "Listen, I don't care if Krulek bites the dust or gets caught or whatever. I owe him no loyalty. It was a one-time deal. It sounded good right then and there but, right now, I am regretting it. I was surrounded by his thugs on the road; I thought I was done for. Instead, they offered me gold... said they'd pay the release fee for their compatriot directly to me, for a discount. All I had to do was let her free beyond the jail walls. I took the deal and devised a partial plan. I sort of rolled with it when I saw an opening... didn't think you and your friends would halt my plans so effectively." He takes a moment to read a few portions of the card again before adding: "No, I didn't meet him directly, but everyone has heard his name by now and those wanted posters are everywhere. Other than what I already told you, I only know what everyone else does: Krulek was once a Knight of the Black Fist but either got in deserved trouble or was framed after he arrested an influential noble. Other Knights broke him out of Valjevo Castle, and together they turned to banditry to strike back against the merchant who ultimately serves the noble houses of Phlan." He hands the card back to Doozey at this points and concludes with a mostly rhetorical question: "There, satisfied?"

SECOND FLOOR

Raist comes down the steps and joins the larger group, sharing that he spotted no surprises on the outside. Relieved, Neya and Utar focus their attention on Ukharim. Neya performs a quick field-exam on the fallen halfling, and she confirms that he is breathing and his chest is rising and lowering as expected. There is a bulging wound on the back of his upper neck suggesting that he was hit hard and likely pushed into unconsciousness by the blow. The left side of his face is wet with blood, which poured from his mouth. There is little to be done here besides cleaning him and putting him in a comfortable resting area, where his body can recover on its own. Utar knows that he can speed up the process with a simple healing spell, but Ukharim's life in not in danger.

Bhevek knows none of this and continues to slap his brother in hopes of waking him up. He soon moves on to yelling at him, as if expecting a fraternal squabble to motivate his brother into consciousness.

Gently touching Bhevek on his shoulder, Utar offers reassurance. "He'll be ok. He's still breathing but, uh, slapping him isn't going to bring him round anytime soon. He needs rest, best we move him somewhere comfortable."

Offering to carry the unconscious halfling on behalf of his brother, Utar looks to be led. "Does he have quarters, somewhere nicer to wake up to?". As he carries Ukharim, he casts his spell from before.

(OOC Ukharim recovers 14 hp.)

After listening with rapt attention and accepting the card back when returned, Doozey looked away and absent-mindedly scratched at some of the peach fuzz at his chin that always seemed to crop up following his transformations. With a start, he then flipped the card around and jotted more down before offering it to the dwarf again. It reads as follows:

Almost. These should be the last questions. And for what it's worth, given the circumstances I'll see about putting in a good word for it. Might not help much at all, but given there's a case of being somewhat strong-armed into all this, could be the difference between spending a few years locked up and worked over a bit or several decades praying you'll outlive the brothers. Because they don't quite strike me as the type to take slights lightly, halfling blooded or not. Then again, could be they have a bit of dwarf blood in them like meself.

Regardless, can you describe the thugs that compromised you to any degree? Any lizard or dragon-like qualities to them? And could you show me on a map where you roughly encountered them?

Once Doozey had his answers, he thanks Iorg using one of the few dwarvish words he knew, before then departing for the lower levels. Though, there is a moment of hesitation on his part upon reaching the stairwell. A rogue thought spurring him to glance towards the stairs leading up... only to be dismissed with a shake of the head, before the halfing then motioned for his bestial companion to follow him downstairs and reunite with the others. 

SECOND FLOOR (and then FIRST FLOOR)

Bhevek looks up at Utar and nods: "Yes, let's go down to the first floor." As the cleric moves Ukharim down, Bhevek leads him and the others (Raist and Neya if they so wish) to a side room they had not seen upon first entry into the prison tower. The room is small but clearly a better accommodation than anything CRAP has seen within this structure so far. Utar is guided to place Ukharim on the small bed within this room, "his private quarters" as explained by Bhevek. The Tormite then wraps things up with a casting of Cure Wounds, delivering the gift of consciousness to the jailer. (Ukharim recovers 11 HP.)

Ukharim wakes up but still feels groggy. Any questioning the group may want to do, if any, will have to wait. Bhevek indicates that Utar, Neya, and Raist should leave the room and wait at the main hall. "I'm sure you'll want to leave soon, so we'll get your prisoner ready to leave with you. Let us let my brother rest and recover." The delivery sounds less like a polite consideration and more like a veiled request for the group to depart sooner rather than later. Utar notices that Bhevek never uttered a 'thank you' for his healing services.

THIRD FLOOR (and then FIRST FLOOR)

Iorg starts with Doozey's last question: "If you were to show me a map, I'd simply point to a spot on the Iron Route. I was accosted on the road, as I previously mentioned. As for the criminals doing the accosting, it was a group of four. The only one recognizable enough was a tall, muscly woman that seemed to respond to the name Rouge or Ruse or something alike. She seemed to be in charge of the group. All four of them were human. I think I picked up a Talashan accent in there." 

Ignoring any talks of potential sentence reduction or the 'I'll see what I can do' half-promises Doozey is dangling in front of him, Iorg then finds a rocky spot to sit on and sighs loudly, waiting for Doozey to depart. The halfling soon makes his way to the first floor and likely finds the rest of CRAP waiting in the main hall. Bhevek is saying something about the group leaving soon.

While Bhevek might not be Utar's favourite Tormite, he's at least pleased he could do something for the halfling pair, as unsavoury as they might be. No thank you was necessary.

He heads off towards the main hall as instructed.

Raist follows Utar to the main hall

Neya follows suit.

FIRST FLOOR - MAIN HALL

With CRAP now reunited, Bhevek takes the opportunity to repeat his latest sentiment: "You all have done more than what you could possibly expect in here today. As I am sure you have noticed, we have a Minotaur to lock up, a couple of bodies to bury, a co-warden to rehabilitate, and a new prisoner to properly secure. So why don't I focus next on bringing Bell down to you on your way out? Sounds good? Very well, please move onward to the courtyard and I'll meet you with Bell at the front gate in just a few minutes." 

Bhevek points to the door leading to the outside courtyard and encourages you with a forced smile. Whether CRAP follows his suggestion or chooses to stay in the main hall instead, Bhevek soon disappears up the stairs to, presumably, go get Rathene Fel for you.

For the first time since arriving, the CRAPers find themselves within jail grounds without a chaperone, at least for the next few minutes.

UPDATED MAP OF LEVEL 1:

While the group is left to wait in the main hall, Doozey dutifully jots down his most recent findings, before then passing the card to Raist to read to the others with nothing left out. Included the writing was a suggestion to possibly work with someone to create a false caravan or merchant wagon to try and lure in the bandits in the future. Once the party of course eventually make their way down the Iron Route road to hunt down the bandits and cultists.

He then says in draconic, trusting his compatriots to translate as need be to any that don't, asking for advice about the Iorg situation. "Imprisonment deserved, but... not think more necessary. Dwarf death assured if not agree with them on road anyways. Maybe... Knight's men even watch place for sign of friends escape?"

Raist dutifully passes the information from the card to the others

(OOC: I'll give you guys some more time in case you want to plan/RP here following Doozey's ideas/questions, so Bhevek is not coming back with Rathene just yet.)

While discussing your potential next steps, including Raist helping Doozey communicate, you notice a large hole in the first floor's ceiling (that is, the floor of the second level). Through it, you can hear some jailers arrive on that floor and start moving some debris around. They soon reach the body Utar, Raist, and Neya moved past in order to reach the cell within which Ukharim was kept. They lament the loss of their coworker, noting that Iorg's stunt resulted in two dead jailers. They seem to agree that Iorg will never see sunlight again if Bhevek has a say on the matter.