Dues for the Dead (DM Lerus)

IN THE WOODS

(@Ori: What an ace in the sleeve! Also, let's call that a deception roll. It could be persuasion but it all started with a little lie, so why not?)

The kobold looks up at Utar, a bit surprised. He then replies to the half-orc's second question in Draconic: "Yes."

Turning to Doozey, assuming he also spoke in Draconic, the kobold nods repeatedly to indicate he accepts the terms, or at least understand them. You can tell he is nervous.

AT THE TEMPLE OF THE HAND

Neya begins by limbering up before giving Sister Akht the signal to forge ahead. The monk has to wait a bit while preparations are finished, but soon she finds herself lying on a raised stone platform with a clean, white piece of cloth carefully wrapped around her mouth. An acolyte reminds her to keep her mouth open beneath the cloth. Candles are lit and incense fills the air, akin to the other rituals CRAP has has commissioned in this same chamber.

After some prayers, Sister Akht carefully pours diamond dust onto the cloth, which sags a bit with the weight. The rest of the ritual is, perhaps surprisingly, quite mundane. Tomites pray an swing censers about the room. After half an hour, Neya notices that the mound of diamond dust on her face seems to have lost some of its sparkle. A full hour passes and the hardest part is to stay still, but Neya has reached a meditative state and still she remains. Nearing the end of the second hour, Sister Akht approaches, checks on the dust, and begins removing the cloth from around Neya's head. Once the air clears, the Tormite shows the dust to Neya, who is now sitting up. It is as if she was holding a small mound of pulverized charcoal instead.

Neya is provided a mirror and confirms that her youth has returned with no side effects.

AT THE LEADSTOPPER RESIDENCE

(@Grx: It is really up to Graxx what he'll give up for the axe, but if you think a roll would help, please feel free to do so.)

At CRAP's soon-to-be new HQ, Graxx engages on some meditation of his own. He seeks the answer to the sacrifice he'll have to make.

Utar continues to speak in draconic since the kobold is responding to it and lowers himself to a kneeling position to better position himself in relation to them and hopefully allow himself to better read the facial expressions of the kobold.

"First of all, I'd like to know what was going on in the catacombs. You were searching for something, correct? I'd like you tell me what it was and more importantly, of you found it."

Utar will then wait for Doozey to ask any questions he might have, studying the kobold and his responses for any attempts to lie.

Insight - 11

Graxx continues his meditation alone back at the residence.

"Tempus...  What shall I do?" asks Graxx.

Graxx lays his mask, belt, and pike out on the ground before him.

He stares at the three items.

"What means much to me?  Not this." asks Graxx.

Graxx tosses the pike aside leaving the mask and the belt.

Graxx picks up the mask and holds it up to his face.

"You are helpful and make me more powerful but are not key to my path of glory."

Graxx tosses the mask then slowly picks up his belt.

"But you old friend...  You take the Drow's advantage away... You mean the most of my items.  You are the key...  Well you meant the most until I was gifted."

Graxx ponders.

"Or is there something I do not physically possess that I may give up?"

Graxx sighs.

"Tempus help me..."

Graxx thinks of his hatred of the Drow... He is a Paladin now... Does such hatred cloud his battle prowess?

"Good." Doozey had casually stated following acceptance of terms. Then once Utar had said his piece, the stoutling added as well in draconic, "What I want to know is... actually, first off. Well, secondly now. We never properly introduced ourselves, now did we? The name Doozey. Doozey Redfoot. And that big boofer there is Biscuit." He glances up to Biscuit. "I'd say hello, Biscuit. But the Scaled Brother is already fairly nervous as-is." Biscuit whimpers at that, and lays down to try and appear last threatening to the kobold. But even then, the beast towered well over even Doozey by a head or two.

"Thirdly, are there yet more of your kin working with that red robed woman? Or for that matter, you wouldn't happen to know where she might've gotten off to?" He asked plainly.

"Thank you very much for your help." Neya says to Sister Akht and the rest of the clergy. She bids them farewell and leaves the House of the Hand

She then thinks about where to go. Realizing she doesn't quite know where any of CRAP are, at the moment. She decides to return to the graveyard, considering their business the isn'is yet to be concluded.

WITHIN PHLAN

(@Grx: If you'd like to attune to the axe while meditating, you may do so.)

Graxx continues to ask difficult question to himself, but seems to be reaching some sort of breakthrough.

Elsewhere, Neya wraps up the ritual alongside the Tormites at the Telmple of the Hand and says thank you for a service well rendered. The Tormites slowly go back to their daily tasks, happy to have helped another resident of Phlan get rid of an evil curse.

Neya's walk back to the Phlan's other main worship's headquarters is a swift one, during which she only hears the natural hustle and bustle of the town. Upon reaching the near gate at the Valhingen Graveyard, she meets Doomguide Yovir, who has a relieved expression on his face: "You all left before I could properly pay you for the completed task." He places a medium leather pouch on both of Neya's cupped hands and adds: "I hope you'll find this amount fair for your help." He nods and waits to see if the monk has anything to say.

IN THE NEIGHBORING WOODS

DM's Screen:

Utar goes straight into the first hefty question when he gets a chance. In Draconic, the kobold responds: "Yes, searching, tunneling, digging. I don't know what, but I kept digging." The creature's demeanor is clearly one of a nervous individual. His brownish-red scales would be glistening with sweat if they could.

Doozey takes a step back and introduces himself and Biscuit. The kobold flinches when Biscuit makes a move, but calms back down ever so slightly once he realizes the mastiff is just laying down. The kobold then feels the need to reply by giving his own name: "Sagin. My name is Sagin." He then responds to the stoutling's question: "More of my kin? No, no. Just a handful of us in the crypt tunnels. Red human woman does not tell us much. Just dig, she says. And also... back to the forest, she said. Dig, dig, dig, and then back to the forest."

Utar keeps a keen eye on Sagin as he speaks but the half-orc has no reason to think the kobold is lying.

(@Lerus: Just to save a bit of time, presume unless otherwise stated that Doozey is speaking draconic during the interrogation.)

"Back to the forest, eh? Suppose I shouldn't be surprised. And a handful of your kin isn't likely to draw attention, I suppose." Doozey says, rubbing his chin and  beginning to put a few things together. "Safe to presume your lot -- that again being your kin -- have been going over ground though, yes? Under the cover of dark? Or has this digging of yours involved making tunnels to connect a path from 'the forest' to the crypt or anywhere else, Mr. Sagin?" He asked politely. Though like Utar before, a closer eye and ear is kept this time around.

Insight: 25.

The kobold is obviously a little afraid; who wouldn't be, but Utar doesn't suspect he is being deceitful.  At least not yet.

Listening to Doozey's questions, Utar gives Sagin a chance to reply before posing his own questions, again speaking in draconic.

"Apologies Sagin, in my haste I forgot to introduce myself. My name is Utar.  I wonder whether you'd be able to give a name to this red-robed woman?  I also wonder whether you saw her speak to anyone else, maybe someone giving her orders?  I wonder whether you might be able to given us their name?"

Utar waits a moment before continuing, wrinkling his forehead as if half-remembering something he can't quite place, "Apologies again, Sagin, I wanted to just ask you one more thing. My friend asked you if you knew where the red-robed woman went and I don't remember you giving an answer.  Do you know where she went Sagin? Do you think she went back to the forest maybe?"

Again, Utar studies the kobold's behaviour closely. 

Insight - 10

Graxx doesn't attune to the axe yet as he is not sure if he will be able to keep it.

Graxx has made his decision.  This will not be one of material transaction as nothing he has equals the axe.  He must give up a piece of what makes him Graxx.

Graxx gathers his belongings and places the belt and mask back on.

He nods his head.  He knows what he must do.

Graxx will make his way back to the graveyard hoping to find the Doomguide.

"Yes... It seems we've all had something pressing we felt we needed to do. I'm certain it's more a testament of our attention span than anything," Neya says with a chuckle as she accepts the bag. "I had nearly forgotten about this. I only returned, thinking the rest of my party would reunite here, since this is where we last saw each other. We all went our separate ways, pretty quickly last night and this morning."

AT THE VALHINGEN GRAVEYEARD

(OOC: I'm playing a bit loosey-goosey with time here, I hope this is alright with everyone.)

The Doomguide chuckles at Neya's quip and replies: "Well, I am glad you came back. I prefer to have our deal properly completed." He then hands the monk a rolled up piece of parchment and adds: "And here is your copy of the catacombs' map. As agreed, I'm keeping the original."

Just then, Yovir points out that Graxx is also approaching. The barbarian had concluded his period of reflection and is now arriving back at the graveyard's gate. Yovir wonders if Graxx has an answer for him regarding the axe: "I hope the candles and incense proved useful."

(@Drache: Can I ask for a retroactive cartographer's tools check from Neya? I'd say this is an INT-based check in this specific case, but you can add your proficiency with the tool.)

IN THE NEIGHBORING WOODS

DM's Screen:

(OOC: Yep, this is all happening in Draconic. That was my assumption as well.)

Sagin continues to reply to Doozey's questions, even using some of the ranger's own words: "Yes, over ground and under the cover of night." He is clearly hoping this answer suffices for Doozey's second question too as he continues nodding along. Doozey's keen mind suspects that the kobold might be just saying what the ranger wants to hear at this point. It is uncertain whether he is lying or is afraid of admitting he doesn't know the answer.

Utar belatedly introduces himself and Sagin responds in the same manner as before, almost mechanically: "Sagin. My name is Sagin." When the cleric asks about the specific location of the red woman, Sagin begins to get even more nervous. Utar's analytical eye picks up some hesitation in the response. Sagin seems to have concluded that the repetition of the question means that his interrogators were not satisfied with the initial answers. Nonetheless, the kobold doubles down: "Forest... Back to the forest." Utar may not be so convinced at this point. 

(OOC: These manipulation warnings are getting ridiculous. I rolled one die and the result never changed. The warning popped up after I deleted my usual "editing..." label.)

INT check w/ cartographer’s tools: 18

Letting out a long sigh, Utar shakes his head. His voice carries a note of exasperation. 

"Sagin, I know your name. I know about the forest. What I don't know is anything related to any of our other questions. You're avoiding giving answers, and, honestly, I'm a little disappointed. I thought we had agreed that you would be helpful and in return we would keep this as friendly as possible."

Utar looks to Doozey and Biscuit, then back to the kobold. Utar's voice changes, a few pregnant pauses litter his next line as if he's thinking through the ramifications of what will happen next.

"But Sagin, you're not being very helpful at all and that means that we might have to start being unfriendly."

He sighs again and closes his eyes. Opening them, he fixes Sagin with a hard stare and then, copying a look of cold fury straight from Graxx's playbook, gives Sagin as evil a smile as the half-orc can muster, showing plenty of his tusks.  Suddenly, Utar pulls a handaxe from his belt and plants it as hard as he can into a tree behind Sagin.

Athletics - 19

The axe head bites into wood and Utar lets the reverberations of the strike hang in the air for a moment.  His voice takes on a flat, monotonous quality.

"Well then, I guess it's time to start being unfriendly."

[Skill]Intimidation[\skill] - 21

"I doubt you'd like that at all."

(OOC burning the DM inspiration token to take advantage on the intimadation check.)

. Doozey closed his eyes in a sigh, and shook his head once. Then, they are opened once more, and in a sidelong look to Utar, the stoutling took a moment to see if the celric came to the same conclusions, if not something close. Though regardless of what is picked up preemptively, the ranger left the floor open as well for Utar to take point on the next round of questioning, before eventually stepping in with his own two cents.  

Though Utar's approach is... something Doozey should've expected after the talk of good constable and crazy constable. Yet even so, even he went a touch wide-eyed seeing such aggressiveness out of the Half-Orc. Biscuit merely perked up at the whole axe'n of the tree, before eventually laying his head back down on his paws. "Eh... Look, Sagin." Doozey started, still seeming to find his emotional footing again. "Mr. Utar here has a bit of a point. If I wanted to solely hear my own thoughts and suspicions being repeated back to me, I'd not bother speaking at all. And frankly speaking, if you still have kin out there, you're not doing them much favor either right now. I mean, I do get that your scared... well-..." He glances up at Utar. "Perhaps even more now than before. Yet even so, its not like we -want- to hurt you. Or even if your kin, if it can be helped. And if you're not certain of something, then that's... fine. Answer to the best of your ability, and do feel free to correct any assumptions on our part, okay?" Doozey requested, edging to the calm and keeping politeness.

Persuasion: 15 (if needed)

As soon as Doozey sees some semblance of agreement from the Kobold, he nods and says, "So, let's take things back from the top, shall we?" With that, Doozey patiently goes back over the previous questions, giving the Kobold what he hoped was plenty of time in between to settle his nerves and answer a bit more honestly this time around. After that, he asks rather plainly, "Are you and your kin at all currently working for a dragon? Why did you obey the 'Red Woman', as you put it? And has she, or anyone that has worked with her that you know of spoken of any particular names of places or other, uh... what's the word... beings, I suppose?" 

Graxx smiles to Neya and the Doomguide upon approaching.  He takes out the axe and holds it in front of him with both hands.

"They were helpful Doomguide.  I have found from my God Tempus that this axe is meant for me to have and bring glory to him in battle."

Graxx slows his voice.

"The problem with that is I have nothing of material value that equals this.  Imagine if your God gave a gift to you.  Nothing would equal it in this realm."

"What I can give up is a hatred I have deep within me.  A goal of revenge that I have been working towards all my life.  Years ago a group of Drow wronged my people and help lead them down a path away from Tempus.  I have made it my mission in life to take over my Tribe and then once I have control take the fight to the Drow and snuff out each one of their lives from existence."

Graxx takes a deep breath.

"To keep this axe I am willing to give up this piece of me.  I will no longer seek out to slay Drow unless they are in battle with me or are seeking to harm others.  I will... Forgive them for their past deeds and not hold an entire race of people responsible for those actions that were carried out years ago."

Graxx reaches into his backpack and pulls out all the platinum his has 300 pieces worth.

"I'm hoping this will be enough to help make this right.  Do you feel my forgiveness of the Drow and this donation is enough?"

Persuasion:  11

IN THE NEIGHBORING WOODS

DM's Screen:

Sagin yips in fear following Utar's threat. The kobold is visibly shaking at this point. He tries to explain: "Sagin doesn't know the answers. No one tells Sagin anything. They say follow and dig. That is all Sagin knows." He quivers and looks at the handaxe stuck on the tree trunk above his head: "Don't hurt Sagin, please."

Doozey follows up with a calmer approach and reiterates the questions they are interested in. Sagin responds amid fearful shakes and bouts of voicelessness: "Sagin and kin follow the great green menace in the forest. A great fearful being. Many followers, many allies: kobolds, hobgoblins, humans in purple, humans in red, humans in furs, even elves and fishfolk from the deep. They say follow Red Woman and dig, Sagin follows and digs. Sagin knows no names."

He looks ups, hands raised: "Please don't hurt good Sagin. Sagin digs tunnels for you, yes?"