The orc leader, restrained and on his belly, glares at Rel with what can only be described as hatred. At first, he doesn't seem inclined to answer. But seeing his comrades lying dead in their own pools of blood and being completely surrounded and outmached seems to change his mind. After a few moments, he growls and says in broken Common, "No gnomes. Make this home, lair. Our place!"

Meanwhile, Norbus and Dazlyn remain hidden in the bedchamber. Dazlyn looks concerned, but Norbus, despite his bluster, looks scared. He wields his pickaxe in front of himself defensively, as if he expects more orcs to burst into the room at any moment.

“Everything is well in hand Norbus, Dazlyn. You can rest easy now.”  After Jasper finishes with his armor, he walks to the north end of the passage to keep watch. 

"What I am hearing is that you are useless," comes the growl from Rel's mouth.  "Last chance, then.  Tell us anything you know of the white dragon."

She puts her hands almost tenderly on the orc leader's cheek, and the black tendril from her earrings seems to reach a crescendo, ready to feed.

Jasper hears the raised voices in the chamber and walks towards the two orcs that lie dead at secret door. Cautiously moves over them with his spear pointing at them. Jasper sees the others are handling the orc so he decides to check the orcs for anything useful. Daggers, potions, coins, etc…

Investigation Check:  20

The orc leader tries to inch away from the black tendril, fear coming into his eyes for the first time. "Cryo...vain. Name Cryovain. Other orcs...cultists...worship him. He has a lair...mountains...don't know where....you let go now?"

Meanwhile, Jasper checks the orcs for valuables. Each orc is wearing a set of hide armor and carrying a greataxe. On one of the orcs, he discovers a coin purse containing 15 silver coins. On another orc, he discovers a small potion vial containing a liquid with separate brown, silver, and gray layers resembling the bands in a piece of stone.

Jasper gathers the three greataxes and leans them up against the wall near the north passage. Ties the coin pouch to his belt and puts the potion vial in his belt vial holder. Jasper walks over to the others and asks “Have you gotten anything out of the leader? I found some silver coins and some strange concoction on the others. Did you check this one for anything?”

Rel's thumb brushes the orc's cheek, so gently.  She murmurs the Elvish word "Gurth"

The black tendril reaches its apex and explodes in a dark blast from her earrings directly through her hands into the restrained orc's head.  Repeatedly.

Attack: 17 Damage: 12 force damage + 3 necrotic damage
Attack: 18 Damage: Unable to parse dice roll. force damage + 3 necrotic damage
Attack: 23 Damage: 11 force damage + 5 necrotic damage

Quote from Tybard >>

Rel's thumb brushes the orc's cheek, so gently.  She murmurs the Elvish word "Gurth"

The black tendril reaches its apex and explodes in a dark blast from her earrings directly through her hands into the restrained orc's head.  Repeatedly.

Attack: 21 Damage: 4 force damage + 4 necrotic damage
Attack: 14 Damage: 5 force damage + 5 necrotic damage
Attack: 21 Damage: 5 force damage + 2 necrotic damage

As the orc dies, its corpse darkens into inky, shriveled scraps from the Eldritch Blasts.  The black holes of Rel's eyes pulse as the target of her Hexblade's Curse has its life force sucked into Shadowfell through the dark tendril into her earrings, bolstering Rel with 5hp of healing in the backwash as the Raven Queen devours it with the sound of vast wings beating once in a powerful sweep.  Rel stands up and steps back briskly.

Her eyes return to their silvery grey as if the black had never been.  "Well.  That's over," she announces brightly.  "Nice work.  Are you all right, Jasper?"

Jasper moves back with the sudden attacks on the orc. Jasper responds to Rel, “I’m good…I’m good…” Jasper looks down to the shriveled corpse and gripping his spear tight, then back up to Rel, “Are you good?”

Quote from Sam1am96 >>

Jasper moves back with the sudden attacks on the orc. Jasper responds to Rel, “I’m good…I’m good…” Jasper looks down to the shriveled corpse and gripping his spear tight, then back up to Rel, “Are you good?”

"Yes," Rel answers, just a hair too quickly.  She looks around, and breathes.  Much more softly:  "I think so.  Thank you, Jasper Mooncrest."

Withdrawing into herself a bit, she begins to untie her rope which had bound the helpless orc leader.

Echo has stayed fairly quiet where she stood, sensing that Rel probably needed the silence. She turns when Jasper returns, "oh, good thinking to check! What's the concoct-..." Her question dies on her tongue when she first hears and then sees what Rel has done to the orc leader. She feels a strange groundedness with the dark chambers when the last enemy is literally dissolved into inky scraps. Her jaw hangs open for a moment before she gulps and suggests, "you guys feel like getting out of here yet? It's kinda stuffy when you stay underground in tunnels for a while huh? I think a little sun and nice breeze would feel pretty nice right now."

Khessa witnessed the tormented death of the orc prisoner without intervening, but now she approaches her half-drow friend and puts a hand on her shoulder: "Yes. That's over. Nice work you too" the blue eyes of the arcane warrior move to a moment on the corpse, before returning to look at those of the interlocutor. "He was helpless. He had said everything he knew. Important and troubling news, among other things, such as the fact that some orcs are beginning to worship Cryovain - we will really need to do somethng about it. Despite that, he died in pain. And maybe... maybe it happened something even worse to him?"

"But it doesn't matter," the tall warrior-mage makes a careless gesture. "I'm not worried about him. Probably, if he had the chance, he would have done the same to us. And even if he might have had a second chance, a chance to change his life, no one could have known for sure, while, for sure, a lot of people who have met him before us have not had this chance. I don't care about him" repeats Khessa, while her gaze fixes with a mixture of concern and solidarity in that of the other. "But I care about you, Rel Serafin. About you, who told me about your slaver mother and your father aasimar who died in Menzoberranzan. There may be times when it is necessary to kill. There may be times when it is necessary to torture. There may be times when we like to take revenge. But all the time, my friend, please, when you act, remember who you prefer to inspire you in your ways. Who do you think would have approved of your actions more today? Your mother or your father? Now, Rel Serafin, dont' get me wrong: I'm not here judging you; but I wanted to make you reflect... because I wouldn't want you, one day, to become someone you don't want to become, okay? However" she smiles "you can always count on me".

Quote from guyu >>

...Her jaw hangs open for a moment before she gulps and suggests, "you guys feel like getting out of here yet? It's kinda stuffy when you stay underground in tunnels for a while huh? I think a little sun and nice breeze would feel pretty nice right now."

"I understand how you feel, Echo" conceeds Khessa "but I think we should finish resting in here... As we have seen, the place allows us to defend ourselves well, in case of need. Here I was able to block the corridor at the beginning of the battle... outside, on the contrary, the attackers could have jumped at us from all directions at once. I suggest trying to get back to sleep again, continuing the guard duty... and going out in the morning - as much as I am craving for the sun and the nice breeze too!"

Dazlyn and Norbus wander out into the hall, Norbus hanging behind Dazlyn, still clutching his pickaxe. As the two dwarves see the bodies of the orcs, their eyes go wide.

"You really gave them a thrashing!" exclaims Norbus.

"Thank you for protecting us!" says Dazlyn. "In a few hours it will be dawn, should we head back to our rest?"

Quote from Goddess_Nyx >>

Dazlyn and Norbus wander out into the hall, Norbus hanging behind Dazlyn, still clutching his pickaxe. As the two dwarves see the bodies of the orcs, their eyes go wide.

"You really gave them a thrashing!" exclaims Norbus.

"Thank you for protecting us!" says Dazlyn. "In a few hours it will be dawn, should we head back to our rest?"

 

 

"To head back to our rest is exactly what I suggest" Khessa confirms. "We should keep taking watch turns until dawn, then return together to Phandalin".

With that, if nobody has any objections, the blonde arcane warrior resets the trap at the entrance then resumes her watch.

To Echo:   
Holding up this potion Jasper shows Echo. “look!” Jasper shakes it slightly. “The different layers just stay equally level and doesn’t mix with each other.” Jasper looks intently at it. “It must be magic of some kind. I can take a little time to see what kind of magic but that’s about all I can do right now.”

 To Khessa:   
“I can help you with the trap and finish your watch with you. I have already finished my rest.” Jasper reaches for Khessa’s hand and casts Guidance. (Add 1d4 to Survival Check). 
“We leave for Phandalin in the morning.”

Rel quietly finishes retrieving her rope, face brooding and turned inward.

"Thank you Khessa Cabbagefield."  She turns to Echo and Jasper as well.  "I value the fellowship all four of us have formed in so short a time.  But there are parts of me which have no pity left to give.  In truth, neither my mother nor father would have approved of... that.  My mother would have shook her head at the waste, wanting to enslave the orc, or if not, to draw out the torture for her own enjoyment.  Disappointed at the quick death I dealt."

She breathes a few times, clenching and unclenching her fists.  "I think I am not a good person.  By comparison, suppose drow slavers attacked us unprovoked as these orcs did, and we defeated them, capturing their leader and killing the rest.  Only - they weren't the exact same drow slavers as the ones who attacked and enslaved your family.  Tell me true, Khessa Cabbagefield.  Would you then spare the leader?  Perhaps you would.  And I would admire you for it.  But that is not me.  I just cannot let it go with the orcs.  At least not yet."

Rel remains staring into the darkness at nothing in particular for a moment.  She then gathers herself, nods in approval at the resetting of the trap and the investigation of the potion, and heads back to sleep in silence.

While keeping watch with Khessa, Jasper pulls out the unknown potion and few ritual items. Some incense, moonstones, an owl feather and a candle. With all ready, Jasper says a prayer and ritually casts detect magic. 

Echo looks sadly at Rel when she talks, but she contributes in a small hopeful voice: "well, you weren't really in a place to be pitying them... I think, you did a good thing. If they stayed here, then they might have hurt more people, and you stopped that. People who travel through here won't have to worry about those guys anymore, and that's good!"

As Jasper holds the concoction up, Echo 'ohhh's curiously, "woah, I didn't take them to be the kind to know how to make potions."

Echo will also help Khessa with the trap-making. (ooc: because why not. if Khessa wants to do it with advantage)

Quote from Tybard >>

..."Thank you Khessa Cabbagefield."  She turns to Echo and Jasper as well.  "I value the fellowship all four of us have formed in so short a time.  But there are parts of me which have no pity left to give.  In truth, neither my mother nor father would have approved of... that.  My mother would have shook her head at the waste, wanting to enslave the orc, or if not, to draw out the torture for her own enjoyment.  Disappointed at the quick death I dealt."

She breathes a few times, clenching and unclenching her fists.  "I think I am not a good person.  By comparison, suppose drow slavers attacked us unprovoked as these orcs did, and we defeated them, capturing their leader and killing the rest.  Only - they weren't the exact same drow slavers as the ones who attacked and enslaved your family.  Tell me true, Khessa Cabbagefield.  Would you then spare the leader?  Perhaps you would.  And I would admire you for it.  But that is not me.  I just cannot let it go with the orcs.  At least not yet."...

"You are a good person, Rel Serafin" smiles Khessa. "You have endured more than I could imagine and still you are here, with us, risking your life to end the threat of Cryovain! If the many people of Phandalin will soon be able to go on in peace with their lives, it will be thanks to you also. If this is not good, I don't know what it is. As I told, I just wished to remember that you are the one in charge of yourself. I'm Khessa and I'm as free as the blowing wind; but so are you Rel Serafin. If you don't have pity for the orcs now, so be it. If you'll want to change this, sooner or later you'll succeed. If you'll prefer to continue this way, you'll still be the heroine who risked all to save Phandalin, to me".

"Would I spare the leader of a gang of drow slavers?" reflects Khessa about the last half-drow question "Unlikely. I think I'd also get rid of him. Maybe a single mercy blow, to kill him cleanly. Maybe behead him. I would not take the risk of letting him go and giving him the chance to resume his activities in the future - unless I'd be somehow pretty sure he would not do that. And even then... I do not know if I'd be able to forgive his past. To enslave people... it is not better than killing them. Life without freedom is not life. A drow slaver would have really limited chances to be left alive by me. It seems you'll have to find a different reason to admire me" she winks, with a final smile and a pat on the shoulder.