TEAM REFUSE HEAP:

The hobgoblin guards look from Ethel to the singed axe beak, that has been dragged across the refuse room floor, to each other and then back to Ethel.

"You should not eat that," one of the hobgoblins says. "Disease in this room. You should not poke around in here anymore. No, do not take anything from here."

The other one just shakes her head at Ethel. There's no anger; more a sense that this just isn't done.

"All of you, come now."

Looking back to Ethel and the guards, then to the potential exit Marrin chews her lip before turning to walk back to the guards with Jan.

"Let's hope we have time to learn the lay of the land. Had those birds gotten another hit in you or I it would have been done."

"Creepy indeed."  Avaria replies, then another thought occurs to her.  Looking at Ula and Hammerdasher and talking quietly, "Others down here have mentioned that they think dwarves have found a way out of here?  As in they seem to disappear?  Think there is any truth to that?  Any ideas on how to figure out if there is a passage or something to find?"

TEAM REFUSE HEAP:

(Anything else anyone wants to do before leaving bio-hazard mountain?)

TEAM HOME CAVERN:

Hammerdasher looks from Avaria to Ula and back to Avaria.

"Have you checked all the passage ways?" Hammerdasher says gesturing to the entry ways to the west and south. "Could be more passages branching off from here. Or there could be concealed passages leading out of the walls or the floor even in here."

He looks around.

"Though I haven't noticed anything."

((Did those hobgoblins have ranged weapons on them?))

You can only see swords and shields on the guards. If they have a ranged weapon it would need to be something like a sling that would fit in their pouch and if you know anything about hobgoblins, they'd need to be pretty desperate to resort to using something as rudimentary as a sling.

As she is already near the exit with the hobgoblins, Ethlehyn will continue to make small talk (even if it is one side) while she waits for Jan and Marrin.

"I see tigers, warthogs... is that a crocodile?  Any other exciting beasts pass through here?  Or just whatever your masters can get their hands on?"

"We're hired to do a job," one of the hobgoblins says to Ethel. "The Hargroves aren't our masters."

The other one looks to Jan and Marrin.

"Come now or you can spend the night in here."

Marrin heads along, ready to be out of the stink.

Ethel, humble before the mighty hobgoblins, places a hand over her heart in sincerity.  "Of course, I meant no offense.  Surely you can come and go as you please, get paid a fair wage, and control your own fate.  The Hargroves don't control you, as they do us lowly prisoners."

One of the hobgoblins nods at Ethel when she speaks. As you leave, one hobgoblin leads you back across the empty arena, and the other falls into step behind you. There is little light coming down from the shaft opening above, but you can see the flicker of what must be torches up above, behind the spectator area. The three of you can hear what sounds like drunken laughter, cursing, singing and shouting; all the sounds of a rowdy tavern if you had to guess.

In the shadows above you can see the silhouettes of a couple of guards still in the arena, waiting to open and lose the portcullis of the two doorways.

Jan, Marrin, and Ethel are soon back in the preparation room. Your two guards accompany you inside and the portcullis is lowered behind you. You can also see the face of another guard looking through the door panel at you from the other hallway.

"Leave everything," one hobgoblin says.  

(If there's anything you want to try and take without being seen, Sleight of Hand check please if it's small enough to hide)

Ethel returns her walking stick.  She intends to take the feathers stuck to her clothing but is not trying to hide that, or hiding it in plain sight, rather.

She will ask, "Will we be permitted to sleep now?  Or will you be rousing us again in a few hours for a midnight obstacle course, or perhaps a candlelight puppetshow for the Hargrove's guests?"

Jan will return all four daggers, but wants to slip one of them under a bit of nearby armor, leaving only three visible with a cursory inspection, just to see how alert the guards are to counting things. 

Sleight of Hand: 24

She'll work her ring off of her finger while observing their response.

Marrin drops the short sword on the table without much consideration but gently places her lute in a cleared spot.

"So the talk of a reward before was just that? All talk here?"

The guards don't notice Jan hiding the dagger, nor does it appear they bother to count the weaponry either.

"Riff raff too drunk to watch show at night," one of the hobgoblins says. "No, no more fights tonight. At least not in the arena."

The other hobgoblin looks at Marrin for a few moments when she asks about a reward and then just shrugs. It seems clear that neither know what you're referring too.

The door opens and the two hobgoblin guards gesture for the three of you to exit into the tunnel.

Jan and Marrin - CON Save DC 11 please.

Jan Con: 3

Con save: 7

(Con Saves will come into play after your next long rest - if you're ready to move on from the prep room I can jump to reuniting with Ula and Ethel).

((Yep, ready to move on))