"I thought you'd appreciate the foresight." Val answers the question directed at him. While Evy ties the troglodyte up, Val asks: "How long do you think it might take for him to wake up? We were about to call it a night, so we have some time to spare, but I wonder if we'll even be able to understand each other."

Val then suggests moving the camp over at least several yards for a bit of added safety. He'll spend the necessary time hauling their equipment and prisoner as need.

Evy gags the troglodyte. “It could be hours, I’m not sure.” She pats her dagger. “We should be okay, I think, to go on with our night as planned. If they can’t, or won’t, talk to us, we can just leave them here and we won’t be any worse off.”

"Very well." Val shrugs. "On with our rest."

DM's secret roll:

So, you had decided to begin your long rest of 8 hours at 8:00 with Evy taking watch from 8:00 to 10:00, nobody from 10:00 to 12:00, Val from 12:00 to 2:00, and nobody from 2:00 to 4:00. Still want to do that?

With the possibly misplaced confidence of someone who relies on her magic dagger too much, Evy does still think this is the best plan. She ruminates on how much better it would be to have another couple of people here to take watches, but shrugs and sets to watching for troglodytes, or for something to happen near the cave.

OOC: Fine by me... a bit risky, especially if they come back with reinforcements, but the alternative of spending 12 hours resting now seems too long.

Pensevelyn begins her watch. The night is calm and quiet. She goes to sleep two hours later. When Val wakes up for his watch (we don't need to ask how), he notices that the troglodyte's eyes are on him as he starts to move about. Do you do anything? The creature is clearly securely tied up and not happy about it.

Val stares back at him but focuses primarily on his watch. A few more hours of silence and uncertainty should prime the troglodyte well for some questions later.

You both wake at about 4:00 in the morning. The trog is awake.

Evy rolls out of her bedroll, standing up and stretching. She eyes the troglodyte, but ignores it as she makes breakfast and chats with Val in Infernal. "What should we do with it? I suppose it might have information about the cave, but I'm not sure I know how to get that out of it. you could shake it a lot, I guess."

 In Infernal, Val responds: "The creature has been awake for a while, at least some 4 hours or so. We have been giving it the silence treatment for some time. Maybe that's enough. If not, we can try shaking it a bit."

Val turns to the troglodyte and asks a question in Common: "Do you understand me? Can you speak Common?"

He switches to Elvish, just in case: "How about now? Do you speak this language?"

The creature, still bound and gagged, glares at Val and gives no indication whether it understands him.

(Wand of MM recharges 4 charges)

Val gets closer to their prisoner and slowly displays all of his weapons. He remains silent during the presentation and takes the time to show all of the details of each weapon's craftsmanship to the troglodyte. The goal is to scare the creature into loosening its own tongue. This is a mental game, for now.

-> Intimidation check: 20

Evy, whose magic is just about spiking the mind, not reading it, just watches coldly as Val makes an impression on the troglodyte.

Both of you roll insight. This isn't a helping situation; it's for you each individually.

Evy’s Insight: 16

-> Val's insight check: 20

Evy sees the creature looking at Val, but it doesn't appear intimidated.

Val:

In infernal: "Hmm... My little trick doesn't seem to be working. Do you want to try something, cousin?"