(OOC: Everyone but Ravi succeeds in hearing the conversation. His head was still ringing from being smacked over the head with the cudgel. For conversations between multiple NPCs I will generally be coloring their lines to make it easier to tell whom says what.)
The young man with long slick black hair says walks up to the assembled sellswords with all the confidence of a man who knows he is more dangerous then anyone assembled to meet him. Once he arrives skipping any niceties of greetings he immediately states, "Those the new slaves? We expected more."
One of the sellswords steps forward slightly before sheepishly replying, "Yeah I know Carver, but Tallona has been cracking down on the amount of prisoners being 'lost' in transit. You know how it is, while some looses are to be expected too many and questions are asked. Don't worry soon enough they'll go back to not caring. In the meanwhile while there might not be many of them, we made sure to bring those of the highest quality. Some even had to be drugged with magebane."
Still seemingly unpleased, "Oh is that right? Worm?"
The mouselike woman named Worm for the first time looks towards the group of you and you have an uncomfortable feeling of being... examined. After a few moments she gestures towards Ravi and Tyjra. "Those two possess magical abilities but the rest don’t."
Clearly trying to salvage a perceived bad deal the sellsword speak up again, "No, but the old man is surprisingly nimble, great for anything requiring a more dexterous work and the one next to him is strong as an ox, great for heavy lifting and all sorts of manual labor. As for the blond one, he is young so you'll get many years out of him and not bad looking. He'd make a good sex slave."
Carver gestures aggressively towards Tomas. "You know we don't need sex slaves and years? Ha, he won't last a month down here. Hells the old man seems sturdier. You trying to scam us?"
Holding up both his hands the sellsword gives an apologetic look. "Alright alright I admit the lad was more a unfortunate necessity. The carts go out with five people minimum prisoners and there really wasn't anyone else better. You want em or... ?"
"We'll pay for the four of them. Dispose of the runt."
Nodding, two of the sellswords start making their way towards the cart drawing their blades as they do so.
(OOC: You all can now react to the arrival of Carver and Worm and for those who successfully overheard their conversation that as well. Ravi can of course react to what those who did overhear say/do.)
Gazing at her cart mates, Tjyra smiles and says, “Listen to this." She sits slightly taller and begins, "Awww, we’re just getting to know each other, and you have to break up the party?” She says loud enough for Worm and Carver to hear. “I mean, the Magebane may be doing its job, but my hearing is still keen.”
Oji pushed himself up as best he could within the cramped cart, his broad frame shifting to shield the boy. With a firm yet steady hand, he gestured for the child to take cover behind him, offering what little protection he could. His eyes flicked to Bomon, his voice low but urgent. "The boy is in danger," he said, a quiet command laced beneath his usual warmth.
Turning his attention to their captors, Oji straightened as much as the cart allowed, his expression calm despite the weight of the moment. "You must not have been paying attention to our talks, young sirs," he mused, his tone light but deliberate. He gestured toward the boy without moving from his protective stance. "This young one is quite the talented metalworker and repairman—surely a useful hand to keep around, no?"
His words carried an easy confidence, as if the choice before them was obvious. He knew better than to plead. Instead, he simply offered them reason and waited to see if reason was something they could understand.
Bomon speaks up, following in his uncle's footsteps. “He’s a skilled hand” he says, glancing between the guards and Tomas. “He’s useful.”
After a brief hesitation, he shifts slightly closer to Tomas, lowering his voice to a whisper. “You should say something… tell them what you can do. Convince them.” His voice softens, a note of reassurance slipping through. “You can do this.”
Ravi was reeling in the moment after having his head. He then began to hear what his compatriots in the cage were saying. He figured he would draw more attention to himself so that they would ignore Tomas. He then slowly looked out of the cell and noticed the guy with the slick black hair and he figured he'd just ramble on.
"Hey you ******* with the black hair, are you in charge of these mercenaries? If so than I have more than enough complaints to last a lifetime!" He shouted out as he looked to the people out of the cell. He knew that he was asking for a load of trouble. "Let me start off with the fact that I am not enjoying my stay here at this Inn! Since your customer isn't happy in here, Im requesting a payment of a small sum of 25,000 gold and Im willing to accept this in payments of gold bars. There is a law you know! in the House Tallona law book, Section 198, subsection 5 paragraph 12. Along with this, I was expecting more chains!" He said before he began to ramble on purposely.
Ignoring the provocations of Tjyra and Ravi, the ones named Carver and Worm continue their conversation. The pleading of Oji and Bomon however only seem to annoy the sellsword guards whose irritated faces promise imminent pain.
There is a sudden scrabbling sound that rattles up from one of the nearby tunnels, causing the young woman named Worm and her companion to freeze in place. Tomas falls silent, as do the guards, one of whom raises a torch and scans the surrounding cavern.
Without warning, a vague, gangly shape bounds out of the shadows, followed by another emerging from the opposite tunnel. Someone shouts out in alarm as the oxen at the head of the wagon panic, letting out a frantic whine. Before you can fully take stock of the situation, a small thin, pale creature covered in weeping sores. The creature is a stooped, horrid thing, its eyeless face dominated by a great toothy maw and long ears jutting from either side of its head. Its bony fingers end in sharp claws, and the foul stench that surrounds churns your stomach. It drops down from above landing atop the young woman with the sharp silver eyes named Worm. She lets out a panicked shriek and flings her arms out in either direction. The temperature drops, the hair rises along the back of your necks, and there is suddenly an acrid, ozone-like smell in the air. A blast of invisible force ripples away from her, flinging the creature back, shaking the entire cavern, and hurling your wagon on its side.
You have but an instant to register the sound of a cave-in before your head slams hard against one of the metal bars of your cage, and everything goes black.
(OOC: I need a Constitution saving throw from everyone to determine the order in which you awaken please.)
Tyjra you awaken head still pounding to pitch black after an unknown length of time has passed. After checking yourself over as best you can for injury, you realize the magebane has worn off, and your ability to use magic returned. As you feel around you, you quickly realize that you are still chained to the transport wagon by your wrists. You also realize the wagon is now half-buried sideways in a massive pile of stone that now blocks the way from which you came. Panic momentarily grips you as you fumble in the dark for the others. Similarly still chained to the wagon, you easily locate them one at a time and check for signs and life. While still unconscious you find Bomon and Ravi are breathing steadily and thankfully there are no obvious serious wounds on them. As you move to Oji you hear a moan as he begins to wake up similarly hurting but otherwise uninjured. Lastly, you feel around for where Tomas was and find nothing. You follow the chains that once bound him, but midway down them, you find a broken chainlink and no sign of the young boy.
(OOC: Bomon and Ravi remain unconscious for another hour or until someone wakes them up. We will resume the turn order beginning with Tyjra followed by Oji as normal. If either one of you opt to wake the others we will continue with the turn order as normal; however, if you two wanted a brief scene together as the only two conscious before waking up the others, then the turn order will just bounce between you two until the others are woken up and then resume as normal.)
"Oof, that was...ummm, rough and far from exciting. And, of course, Tomas is gone." Tyjra's tone is soft but stern. She tugs on her chains and says, "This dark, is umm...dark!" She notices that even though her head hurts, it's not muddled anymore. Her words are there! I feel them again, she thinks to herself. She hums a little tune, "In the dark exists a spark..." unsure if it'll work, she stops when she hears Oji mumble. "You're more awake than I thought. How are you feeling? The others are still out but alive!"
Oji slowly sat up, rubbing his head to ease the dull ache. With a small nod to Tyjra, he offered a reassuring smile. "It takes more than a simple tumble to take down Oji."
Steadying himself, he rose to his feet, hands tracing the darkness until they found the slumped forms of the two young men. He gave them each a gentle shake, his voice light despite their predicament. "We have fallen into a tiger's jaws," he mused, fingers brushing over the cold weight of his chains. "Best we find a way out before it decides to bite."
As Bomon slowly regains consciousness, he lets out a grunt, his head still spinning. As his senses begin to clear, he asks, "Is... everyone alright?" He takes a deep breath and pushes himself into a sitting position, debris and his chains rattling with the movement. Bomon checks on Oji, ensuring his health, all the while his eyes search the dark. "Anyone have any, preferably bright ideas?"
Ravi let out a groan and took a reflective swing at Oji as he was awakened "******* hell, Im awake!!" He shouted as his volume hadn't adjusted to the situation that they were now fully in. His mind was starting to reel now that the magebane was fully leaving his system and his mind was beginning to come to, that was unless the old man was to knock him out for his sudden awakening and his swing.
"I have some ideas! This might get us going somewhere..." She trails off for a bit and feels the rubble on the ground in the dark. Her hand stops on a small Light rock about the size of her hand. "This'll work!" She says, letting the words float in her mind, "From the rubble in the dark, exists an unsuspecting spark."
Your eyes are momentarily blinded as they adjust from the pitch blackness to the bright light the small stone now emits due to Tyjra's spell. Those who look around will notice that the iron loops connecting your chains to the wagon floor were damaged in the blast. Lying nearby are the three broken corpses of the sellsword guards, having been hurled by the explosion against the cavern walls. There is no sign of the young Tomas nor the two known as Carver and Worm. The rest of you now see what Tyjra already knew, a massive pile of stone that now blocks the way from which you came with only the passageway leading deeper into the unknown available.
11
21
14
(OOC: Everyone but Ravi succeeds in hearing the conversation. His head was still ringing from being smacked over the head with the cudgel. For conversations between multiple NPCs I will generally be coloring their lines to make it easier to tell whom says what.)
The young man with long slick black hair says walks up to the assembled sellswords with all the confidence of a man who knows he is more dangerous then anyone assembled to meet him. Once he arrives skipping any niceties of greetings he immediately states, "Those the new slaves? We expected more."
One of the sellswords steps forward slightly before sheepishly replying, "Yeah I know Carver, but Tallona has been cracking down on the amount of prisoners being 'lost' in transit. You know how it is, while some looses are to be expected too many and questions are asked. Don't worry soon enough they'll go back to not caring. In the meanwhile while there might not be many of them, we made sure to bring those of the highest quality. Some even had to be drugged with magebane."
Still seemingly unpleased, "Oh is that right? Worm?"
The mouselike woman named Worm for the first time looks towards the group of you and you have an uncomfortable feeling of being... examined. After a few moments she gestures towards Ravi and Tyjra. "Those two possess magical abilities but the rest don’t."
Clearly trying to salvage a perceived bad deal the sellsword speak up again, "No, but the old man is surprisingly nimble, great for anything requiring a more dexterous work and the one next to him is strong as an ox, great for heavy lifting and all sorts of manual labor. As for the blond one, he is young so you'll get many years out of him and not bad looking. He'd make a good sex slave."
Carver gestures aggressively towards Tomas. "You know we don't need sex slaves and years? Ha, he won't last a month down here. Hells the old man seems sturdier. You trying to scam us?"
Holding up both his hands the sellsword gives an apologetic look. "Alright alright I admit the lad was more a unfortunate necessity. The carts go out with five people minimum prisoners and there really wasn't anyone else better. You want em or... ?"
"We'll pay for the four of them. Dispose of the runt."
Nodding, two of the sellswords start making their way towards the cart drawing their blades as they do so.
(OOC: You all can now react to the arrival of Carver and Worm and for those who successfully overheard their conversation that as well. Ravi can of course react to what those who did overhear say/do.)
Gazing at her cart mates, Tjyra smiles and says, “Listen to this." She sits slightly taller and begins, "Awww, we’re just getting to know each other, and you have to break up the party?” She says loud enough for Worm and Carver to hear. “I mean, the Magebane may be doing its job, but my hearing is still keen.”
Oji pushed himself up as best he could within the cramped cart, his broad frame shifting to shield the boy. With a firm yet steady hand, he gestured for the child to take cover behind him, offering what little protection he could. His eyes flicked to Bomon, his voice low but urgent. "The boy is in danger," he said, a quiet command laced beneath his usual warmth.
Turning his attention to their captors, Oji straightened as much as the cart allowed, his expression calm despite the weight of the moment. "You must not have been paying attention to our talks, young sirs," he mused, his tone light but deliberate. He gestured toward the boy without moving from his protective stance. "This young one is quite the talented metalworker and repairman—surely a useful hand to keep around, no?"
His words carried an easy confidence, as if the choice before them was obvious. He knew better than to plead. Instead, he simply offered them reason and waited to see if reason was something they could understand.
Bomon speaks up, following in his uncle's footsteps. “He’s a skilled hand” he says, glancing between the guards and Tomas. “He’s useful.”
After a brief hesitation, he shifts slightly closer to Tomas, lowering his voice to a whisper. “You should say something… tell them what you can do. Convince them.” His voice softens, a note of reassurance slipping through. “You can do this.”
Ravi was reeling in the moment after having his head. He then began to hear what his compatriots in the cage were saying. He figured he would draw more attention to himself so that they would ignore Tomas. He then slowly looked out of the cell and noticed the guy with the slick black hair and he figured he'd just ramble on.
"Hey you ******* with the black hair, are you in charge of these mercenaries? If so than I have more than enough complaints to last a lifetime!" He shouted out as he looked to the people out of the cell. He knew that he was asking for a load of trouble. "Let me start off with the fact that I am not enjoying my stay here at this Inn! Since your customer isn't happy in here, Im requesting a payment of a small sum of 25,000 gold and Im willing to accept this in payments of gold bars. There is a law you know! in the House Tallona law book, Section 198, subsection 5 paragraph 12. Along with this, I was expecting more chains!" He said before he began to ramble on purposely.
Ignoring the provocations of Tjyra and Ravi, the ones named Carver and Worm continue their conversation. The pleading of Oji and Bomon however only seem to annoy the sellsword guards whose irritated faces promise imminent pain.
There is a sudden scrabbling sound that rattles up from one of the nearby tunnels, causing the young woman named Worm and her companion to freeze in place. Tomas falls silent, as do the guards, one of whom raises a torch and scans the surrounding cavern.
Without warning, a vague, gangly shape bounds out of the shadows, followed by another emerging from the opposite tunnel. Someone shouts out in alarm as the oxen at the head of the wagon panic, letting out a frantic whine. Before you can fully take stock of the situation, a small thin, pale creature covered in weeping sores. The creature is a stooped, horrid thing, its eyeless face dominated by a great toothy maw and long ears jutting from either side of its head. Its bony fingers end in sharp claws, and the foul stench that surrounds churns your stomach. It drops down from above landing atop the young woman with the sharp silver eyes named Worm. She lets out a panicked shriek and flings her arms out in either direction. The temperature drops, the hair rises along the back of your necks, and there is suddenly an acrid, ozone-like smell in the air. A blast of invisible force ripples away from her, flinging the creature back, shaking the entire cavern, and hurling your wagon on its side.
You have but an instant to register the sound of a cave-in before your head slams hard against one of the metal bars of your cage, and everything goes black.
(OOC: I need a Constitution saving throw from everyone to determine the order in which you awaken please.)
2
16
10
15
Part II - The Caverns
Tyjra you awaken head still pounding to pitch black after an unknown length of time has passed. After checking yourself over as best you can for injury, you realize the magebane has worn off, and your ability to use magic returned. As you feel around you, you quickly realize that you are still chained to the transport wagon by your wrists. You also realize the wagon is now half-buried sideways in a massive pile of stone that now blocks the way from which you came. Panic momentarily grips you as you fumble in the dark for the others. Similarly still chained to the wagon, you easily locate them one at a time and check for signs and life. While still unconscious you find Bomon and Ravi are breathing steadily and thankfully there are no obvious serious wounds on them. As you move to Oji you hear a moan as he begins to wake up similarly hurting but otherwise uninjured. Lastly, you feel around for where Tomas was and find nothing. You follow the chains that once bound him, but midway down them, you find a broken chainlink and no sign of the young boy.
(OOC: Bomon and Ravi remain unconscious for another hour or until someone wakes them up. We will resume the turn order beginning with Tyjra followed by Oji as normal. If either one of you opt to wake the others we will continue with the turn order as normal; however, if you two wanted a brief scene together as the only two conscious before waking up the others, then the turn order will just bounce between you two until the others are woken up and then resume as normal.)
"Oof, that was...ummm, rough and far from exciting. And, of course, Tomas is gone." Tyjra's tone is soft but stern. She tugs on her chains and says, "This dark, is umm...dark!" She notices that even though her head hurts, it's not muddled anymore. Her words are there! I feel them again, she thinks to herself. She hums a little tune, "In the dark exists a spark..." unsure if it'll work, she stops when she hears Oji mumble. "You're more awake than I thought. How are you feeling? The others are still out but alive!"
Oji slowly sat up, rubbing his head to ease the dull ache. With a small nod to Tyjra, he offered a reassuring smile. "It takes more than a simple tumble to take down Oji."
Steadying himself, he rose to his feet, hands tracing the darkness until they found the slumped forms of the two young men. He gave them each a gentle shake, his voice light despite their predicament. "We have fallen into a tiger's jaws," he mused, fingers brushing over the cold weight of his chains. "Best we find a way out before it decides to bite."
As Bomon slowly regains consciousness, he lets out a grunt, his head still spinning. As his senses begin to clear, he asks, "Is... everyone alright?" He takes a deep breath and pushes himself into a sitting position, debris and his chains rattling with the movement. Bomon checks on Oji, ensuring his health, all the while his eyes search the dark. "Anyone have any, preferably bright ideas?"
Ravi let out a groan and took a reflective swing at Oji as he was awakened "******* hell, Im awake!!" He shouted as his volume hadn't adjusted to the situation that they were now fully in. His mind was starting to reel now that the magebane was fully leaving his system and his mind was beginning to come to, that was unless the old man was to knock him out for his sudden awakening and his swing.
"I have some ideas! This might get us going somewhere..." She trails off for a bit and feels the rubble on the ground in the dark. Her hand stops on a small Light rock about the size of her hand. "This'll work!" She says, letting the words float in her mind, "From the rubble in the dark, exists an unsuspecting spark."
Your eyes are momentarily blinded as they adjust from the pitch blackness to the bright light the small stone now emits due to Tyjra's spell. Those who look around will notice that the iron loops connecting your chains to the wagon floor were damaged in the blast. Lying nearby are the three broken corpses of the sellsword guards, having been hurled by the explosion against the cavern walls. There is no sign of the young Tomas nor the two known as Carver and Worm. The rest of you now see what Tyjra already knew, a massive pile of stone that now blocks the way from which you came with only the passageway leading deeper into the unknown available.