"Not interested."The white-haired warrior mutters, glaring at the young zhent. "I am nothing like you, I have my own reasons to fight and think what you like but I'm not enjoying the bloodshed." He adds in a stern voice that does not invite to further discuss the matter.
Spira smiles at the young halfling butler. "Thank you. This will be a nice morsel to tide me over till teatime. I do understand that preparing a proper cup of tea takes some time, though, so if my companions come back before the refreshments are ready I'd be just as happy to have them brought to me below."
(OOC:: Spira will wait with Elky until 1) the others come back and she can tell them (preferably in a low voice) that she explained to Elky they were sent by the legitimate heirs to this place, 2) Elky does something besides waiting for the butlers to come, or 3) if she is close enough to overhear the conversation with the prisoners)
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Famh Thrawn Fiadhaich - 'half elven' sorcerer (wild magic) 2, Sleeping Gods - A Dragon Warriors campaign in the Lands of Legend
Quspira Inirali - tiefling cleric (Life domain) 4, Painted's "He'll be the father of my child"
---RETIRED HEROES' REST HOME---
Sae Ivui Nailo - wood elf rogue (inquisitive) 5 , Sea of Death: Captain Hailstorm's Lost Treasure
Ryshraxea "Shra" Naranthi - tabaxi artificer 1, Nyx's Tomb of Annihilation - Group 1
This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
Rash does the easy thing and simply returns with both keys.
"Alright, I'm back," he says. "Hope ya'll didn't have too much fun without me."
He pulls out the two keys and looks at them carefully to figure out which one actually opens the door
Investigation: 16
If he figures it out, he'll use that one; if not, he'll just try both of them (as long as Anita doesn't try to say something to indicate that using the wrong key would be a bad idea).
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Unhappy that the market got rid of individual purchases for one-off subclasses, magic items, and monsters?
'Wise Rash' can identify, by eye, which of the two keys has the pattern that should fit the lock on the door; so he tries that directly and opens with confidence.
Inside this otherwise empty room, there are three prisoners whose conditions already at first glance are quite pitiful: they are tied at the wrists and ankles with a short piece of hemp rope, dressed only in rags, which barely cover their bodies, covered in bruises and grazes, clearly undernourished... They look like they have been beaten and starved.
One is a halfling male whose roundness typical of the race are now barely detectable, a boy with brown curly hair and brown eyes. He ask, his voice trembling with hope: "So you... you are here to free us!"
Another is a petite female tiefling, with shocking pink skin, tall horns like a gazelle's, a stump instead of what should have been a tail, solid gold eyes, with no visible sclera or pupil, and long dark blue hair. She brusquely replies to the halfling: "What are you thinking, stupid!? They're loose in the Zhentarim's lair... so they're obviously Zhentarim's lackeys!"
The last, is another tiefling who looks like a male copy of Spira. He, more calmly, observes: "I see one of our tormentors bound and gagged... so this time I think Milo is right, Solitude".
Then, addressing you all: "I don't see Quspira with you, however... why is she taking so long to come and free me? Is she by any chance angry that I got myself captured instead of her?"
"She didn't know you were here,"Rash explains as he sets to work untying the three. "We didn't either until we had a little chat with Anita here. Spira's doing some magic stuff in the basement right now."
Once the three are untied, Rash looks at their sorry state with pity.
"Anita... I think you'd better show us the supply room. These three need some food, water, and possibly medical attention."
He suddenly doesn't feel as bad about keeping the girl tied and gagged, since the Zhents apparently have no problem keeping their own captives in similar conditions and worse. In fact, he takes a moment to double-check that her hands are still securely tied behind her and that she hasn't managed to find some sharp object before letting her lead the way to a supply room.
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"Ah, so your name is Anita..." the male tiefling approaches, threatening "Nice to meet you... You know, you forgot to introduce yourself, last time, when you enjoyed kicking me..."
Even though he's a bit less sympathetic to her plight now, the half-orc still doesn't want the girl to get hurt.
"There's no need to harm a bound and helpless captive," Rash tells the male tiefling gently but firmly. "And she's cooperated with us so far. I get that you're angry, but hurting her won't do you any good."
"Anita was much less cooperative, when the roles were reversed..." the tone of voice of the other tiefling, the female, is caustic "And she didn't seem to share your theory according to which 'hurting a bound and helpless captive won't do any good'... But that's fine. If justice can't be had, we'll settle for 'food, water, and possibly medical attention'. We're just tieflings, after all; we're probably already lucky enough to get at least that" and she seems ready to follow you, albeit limping conspicuously on the left leg.
"I-I think the valiant half-orc to whom we owe our freedom is right..." the halfling prisoner makes himself heard shyly "We... we were in a desperate situation... We got out of it... Shouldn't we at least be happy of this?"
Anita anyway looks frightened and tries to keep as close as possible to the 'wise half-orc' as she quickly leads the group, following a short path.
Beyond the door (not locked) to which your 'guide' takes you, there are two barrels (5' diameter) against the west wall, four buckets next to them, some scattered and badly tanned hides on which portions of dried meat have been placed (OOC: The dried meat is the equivalent of 30 dry rations), a stack of firewood and a chest containing 4 torches and 7 candles.
The young Zhentarim captive tries to tell something: "Hmm'll hmmxplmhhhn shmmmthhmmg hmmm hmm hm hmm thmmk thm ghmmg hmmff..."
Spira, meanwhile, has been waiting for a few minutes together with Elky... and, suddenly, the young halfling butler disappears into thin air. The tiefling cleric is alone again, at the top of the spiral staircase... What will she do?
Roxana files along as Rash fees the prisoners. If each allows, she would check their conspiring and make site they're okay. "We will get you back to Longsaddle soon, I'm sure."
Once she briefly checks them, she joins them going to the storage room. She'll urge the former prisoners to eat slowly, despite their hunger. She'll offer sune water from her wsterskin if there isn't another source of water.
(OOC - Wouldn't Spira have heard Rash when he went back to the room where Mhurren had been? She's at the top of the stair vs. in the room. But she'd likely hear footsteps and the keys. Just a thought.)
"Far be it for me to doubt the wisdom of your decisions, brilliant Rash" explains Anita. "But I wished to inform you that all our provisions are kept in this room... Water and dried meat are certainly not a great luxury, but we didn't keep anything else here... We periodically fill the barrels with water, using the buckets, from a nearby stream and go hunting. We then dry the meat they do not eat immediately in the sun - then we store it here. So, this is the best food you all will be able to get here, I'm afraid".
"The next door leads to the kitchen - were also Mangy's cage is," adds the young Zhentarim prisoner "so don't get scared That stupid beast barks as soon as the door opens... but it's in its cage, it can't harm us. I can keep explaining things while we visit rooms... if you allow me. Go ahead, I won't complain for sure! Just keep others away from me, please..."
"A beast... in a cage?!" the halfling prisoner is horrified "I hope at least it's a large cage, which allows him a certain freedom of movement... For a wild animal, being suddenly forced into a cage would be a useless and cruel torture..."
"Sure, Milo, sure..." the female tiefling contorts her face in a sarcastic grimace "They surely assigned it a more than adequate accommodation, considering all the attention they gave us..."
"Solitude, do you always have to be so hard on Milo?!" asks the male tiefling "He's just worrying about the conditions in which our captors will be holding that poor beast... and thinking about this worries and irritates me a lot too!"
"Mhurren Flick decided everything!" the girl with the pony tail hastens to justify herself "He and his taming methods! We just had to obey - or get whipped!"
"When you bullied us," the male tiefling stares grimly "you seemed to do it more out of pleasure than fear!"
"I'm..." Anita stammers, still keeping close to 'Wise Rash' "I'm a different person now".
"Indeed! Can't you see, Gaer?" replies Solitude to the male "She's right... since she is a prisoner now. Undoubtedly, this has made her a very different person from the b*tchy and arrogant tormentor she was before".
(OOC: @Culuril: There is some distance, however, between the throne room and the spiral staircase... Plus, Rash has no metal armor that can jingle, he wasn't making any particular noise - he just frisked a corpse, didn't move any furniture or similar... so no, I wouldn't say that Spira heard the half-orc as he came to the throne room. Although, now that Elky is gone again, Spira may still come to join you)
Anyway, the ex-prisoners stop discussing among themselves, at least for the moment, and thank Roxana, following her advice while eating the hard meal. As water, they use that of the two barrels that are in the room.
Once the prisoners have had some food and drink, Milo and Gaer are both eager to go and check the conditions of the captive wolf... So do you enter through the new door?
"All things considered, I'm sure the cuisine here will be fine for the time being."
Rash strokes his beard for a moment in thought.
"Is the beast just a wolf, or is it a dire wolf?"he asks after a few moments. "I should be able to put a normal wolf to sleep without harming it, allowing us to release it safely, but if it's a dire wolf then I think it might be for the best to put the poor creature out of its misery."
He frowns at the two tieflings' rather unflattering words. In all honesty, they're probably not entirely wrong... but he doubts that they're entirely right either. Mob psychology and all that could make someone with a weak will behave much worse than they normally would. And it's also entirely possible that they could have exaggerated the extent of her crimes in their own minds because, as the only surviving Zhentarim (that the former-slaves are aware of), she's also the most convenient target for their wrath.
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"Mangy is an ordinary wolf, Wise Rash!" assures Anita "I had no doubt that you, with your ready mind and your in-depth arcane knowledge, had the solution for his case!"
Thus opening the door, the young Zhentarim prisoner introduces you into a new, larger room.
A massive fireplace occupies the northern three-quarters of the east wall, while an oven occupies the southernmost half of the west wall. In the center of the room is a large, sturdy table (10' x 5') with a few utensils on it: two kitchen knives, a skewer, a tinderbox.
The oven has been given a new use, it seems: the mouth has been closed with a grate (that slides on improvised guides and can be lifted by hand) and it has been made into the prison of Mangy, the Wolf Anita spoke of. Mangy promptly barks and growls loudly, as soon as you enter.
"Poor beast..." Milo seems almost to tears, seeing the conditions of the malnourished beast, abused and contained in an improvised prison barely bigger than it!
"This is cruelty..." Gaer is visibly frowning.
"And does this surprise you?" Solitude ironically raises an eyebrow.
"I already explained, that it was just another of Mhurren's ideas..." the girl with the ponytail mutters, still trying to keep close to the half-orc.
Solitude, without even listening to her, approaches the sturdy table...
"Uhhh... Solitude, right? What are you doing?" Rash asks the female tiefling, not exactly liking where the situation is going. "I already told you I can put Mangy to sleep without hurting the beast."
Could she have fallen into madness because of her captivity? Rash wonders nervously. She hadn't displayed any signs of madness yet, but he hadn't observed her long enough to rule out the possibility either.
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Roxana enters the room with the others, at first watching the barking wolf. Her experience was that wolves were usually the villains on her family's farm. But that didn't mean she though they should be abused.
She starts to turn towards Anita when Rash speaks to Solitude. She too watches to see what the tiefling girl is doing.
"Oh, I have no doubts, 'Wise Rash'..." Solitude, speaking in her usual sarcastic tone, limps over to the sturdy table and grabs one of the kitchen knives "But I don't think I'll be staying long in this place... I don't know why, but it definitely doesn't appeal to me... And since I won't always have you by my side to defend me, I'd better keep a weapon with me, right? Experience has repeatedly taught me that the world outside there It's hard sometimes for tieflings..."
Anita, still attached to the half-orc, whispers to him furtively:
Rash can't help but find Anita's 'suggestion' somewhat appealing to reduce the chance of anyone getting hurt, but he really doesn't want to strain the ex-prisoners' trust by doing something like that unless it's absolutely necessary.
"I suppose I can understand that," Rash says to Solitude, giving Anita a quick glance to silently tell her 'now really isn't the time for casting spells on a bunch of people who have understandable trust issues.' "Especially since everyone else around here is armed. I won't stop you from leaving, but I would suggest taking at least a little bit of time to recover from your ordeal before you go."
He pauses for a moment.
"You know... I won't pretend to know everything you've been through, but I can say that half-orcs aren't exactly well-regarded either. Most people just see us as dumb brutes with a penchant for violence. What I mean to say is, I understand where you're coming from."
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"I don't think any of us want to stay longer than we have to," Roxana begins. "It would be safer though to leave here in a group, not just by yourself."
She thinks for a moment, looking over those who were previously being held. "I should have asked, but were you taken from Longsaddle? Or were you on the road? Perhaps you weren't all traveling together."
Solitude seems to reflect on what Rash and Roxana have told her... absentmindedly, meanwhile, she answers the girl from Longsaddle's question (OOC: Both of you, please, roll a Persuasion check): "I was traveling... although maybe I don't even know where. I was captured in the forest ...while I was trying to avoid Longsaddle. I wanted to go around the hamlet just to avoid trouble... After someone has already tried, with 'creative' methods, to 'purify' me once..." she nods to her tail stump "...I wanted to prevent anyone else from having any more brilliant ideas. But I ran into these criminal slavers... before they decided to change their lives, unfortunately" her sarcasm always seems to infuse her speech. "And you know the rest".
“I too got caught while traveling, Milo says. "With me, they didn't even have to bother to find me... I found them. I stumbled upon their lair by chance. They ordered me to surrender, that I was on private property. I believed it immediately, I left them capture me without fighting..."
"I doubt you've fought once in your life, Milo" the female tiefling chimes in, "unless, maybe, you've ever squashed ants".
The halfling lowers his eyes for a moment, as if hurt by the acid comment, but immediately recovers with a shrug: "It's true, fighting in the strict sense is not my strong suit. But I'm good at hunting and getting away with wild lands. Maybe we could get out of here together..." he suggests to the other.
The eloquent answering look is still a silent but very clear 'no'.
"I, on the other hand, was coming to Longsaddle..." explains Gaer "My sister Quspira and I had a bet pending... I realized that we were being followed, so I took the initiative: I separated from her to throw our pursuers on a false trail and then lose track of us... but this time I must have overestimated myself. Or maybe I had bad luck. Be that as it may, I couldn't lose them, they found and captured me. Although at least , so, I saved my sister! By the way, what trouble is Dobbian up to?"
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"Not interested." The white-haired warrior mutters, glaring at the young zhent. "I am nothing like you, I have my own reasons to fight and think what you like but I'm not enjoying the bloodshed." He adds in a stern voice that does not invite to further discuss the matter.
Spira smiles at the young halfling butler. "Thank you. This will be a nice morsel to tide me over till teatime. I do understand that preparing a proper cup of tea takes some time, though, so if my companions come back before the refreshments are ready I'd be just as happy to have them brought to me below."
(OOC:: Spira will wait with Elky until 1) the others come back and she can tell them (preferably in a low voice) that she explained to Elky they were sent by the legitimate heirs to this place, 2) Elky does something besides waiting for the butlers to come, or 3) if she is close enough to overhear the conversation with the prisoners)
Famh Thrawn Fiadhaich - 'half elven' sorcerer (wild magic) 2, Sleeping Gods - A Dragon Warriors campaign in the Lands of Legend
Quspira Inirali - tiefling cleric (Life domain) 4, Painted's "He'll be the father of my child"
---RETIRED HEROES' REST HOME---
Sae Ivui Nailo - wood elf rogue (inquisitive) 5 , Sea of Death: Captain Hailstorm's Lost Treasure
Ryshraxea "Shra" Naranthi - tabaxi artificer 1, Nyx's Tomb of Annihilation - Group 1
Rash does the easy thing and simply returns with both keys.
"Alright, I'm back," he says. "Hope ya'll didn't have too much fun without me."
He pulls out the two keys and looks at them carefully to figure out which one actually opens the door
Investigation: 16
If he figures it out, he'll use that one; if not, he'll just try both of them (as long as Anita doesn't try to say something to indicate that using the wrong key would be a bad idea).
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'Wise Rash' can identify, by eye, which of the two keys has the pattern that should fit the lock on the door; so he tries that directly and opens with confidence.
Inside this otherwise empty room, there are three prisoners whose conditions already at first glance are quite pitiful: they are tied at the wrists and ankles with a short piece of hemp rope, dressed only in rags, which barely cover their bodies, covered in bruises and grazes, clearly undernourished... They look like they have been beaten and starved.
One is a halfling male whose roundness typical of the race are now barely detectable, a boy with brown curly hair and brown eyes. He ask, his voice trembling with hope: "So you... you are here to free us!"
Another is a petite female tiefling, with shocking pink skin, tall horns like a gazelle's, a stump instead of what should have been a tail, solid gold eyes, with no visible sclera or pupil, and long dark blue hair. She brusquely replies to the halfling: "What are you thinking, stupid!? They're loose in the Zhentarim's lair... so they're obviously Zhentarim's lackeys!"
The last, is another tiefling who looks like a male copy of Spira. He, more calmly, observes: "I see one of our tormentors bound and gagged... so this time I think Milo is right, Solitude".
Then, addressing you all: "I don't see Quspira with you, however... why is she taking so long to come and free me? Is she by any chance angry that I got myself captured instead of her?"
"She didn't know you were here," Rash explains as he sets to work untying the three. "We didn't either until we had a little chat with Anita here. Spira's doing some magic stuff in the basement right now."
Once the three are untied, Rash looks at their sorry state with pity.
"Anita... I think you'd better show us the supply room. These three need some food, water, and possibly medical attention."
He suddenly doesn't feel as bad about keeping the girl tied and gagged, since the Zhents apparently have no problem keeping their own captives in similar conditions and worse. In fact, he takes a moment to double-check that her hands are still securely tied behind her and that she hasn't managed to find some sharp object before letting her lead the way to a supply room.
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"Ah, so your name is Anita..." the male tiefling approaches, threatening "Nice to meet you... You know, you forgot to introduce yourself, last time, when you enjoyed kicking me..."
"Hmmm chhm hmxphmmmn hmvrhmmmthhmmmg! Prhmmmthmmt mhmm, Whmmm Rhmmm!" Anita grumbles desperately, pathetically seeking refuge behind the half-orc.
Meanwhile, the female tiefling also glares at the captive Zhentarim… but she, at least, makes no move towards her.
Even though he's a bit less sympathetic to her plight now, the half-orc still doesn't want the girl to get hurt.
"There's no need to harm a bound and helpless captive," Rash tells the male tiefling gently but firmly. "And she's cooperated with us so far. I get that you're angry, but hurting her won't do you any good."
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"Anita was much less cooperative, when the roles were reversed..." the tone of voice of the other tiefling, the female, is caustic "And she didn't seem to share your theory according to which 'hurting a bound and helpless captive won't do any good'... But that's fine. If justice can't be had, we'll settle for 'food, water, and possibly medical attention'. We're just tieflings, after all; we're probably already lucky enough to get at least that" and she seems ready to follow you, albeit limping conspicuously on the left leg.
"I-I think the valiant half-orc to whom we owe our freedom is right..." the halfling prisoner makes himself heard shyly "We... we were in a desperate situation... We got out of it... Shouldn't we at least be happy of this?"
Anita anyway looks frightened and tries to keep as close as possible to the 'wise half-orc' as she quickly leads the group, following a short path.
Beyond the door (not locked) to which your 'guide' takes you, there are two barrels (5' diameter) against the west wall, four buckets next to them, some scattered and badly tanned hides on which portions of dried meat have been placed (OOC: The dried meat is the equivalent of 30 dry rations), a stack of firewood and a chest containing 4 torches and 7 candles.
The young Zhentarim captive tries to tell something: "Hmm'll hmmxplmhhhn shmmmthhmmg hmmm hmm hm hmm thmmk thm ghmmg hmmff..."
Spira, meanwhile, has been waiting for a few minutes together with Elky... and, suddenly, the young halfling butler disappears into thin air. The tiefling cleric is alone again, at the top of the spiral staircase... What will she do?
"If it makes you feel any better... the vast majority of her companions died in the fight," Rash points out to the tieflings.
Rash will go ahead and take Anita aside and loose her gag so that she can say what she needs to.
"You know the point of gagging you was to keep you quiet, right?" he says with a chuckle as he undoes the knot. "Now, what did you need to tell me?"
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Roxana files along as Rash fees the prisoners. If each allows, she would check their conspiring and make site they're okay. "We will get you back to Longsaddle soon, I'm sure."
Once she briefly checks them, she joins them going to the storage room. She'll urge the former prisoners to eat slowly, despite their hunger. She'll offer sune water from her wsterskin if there isn't another source of water.
(OOC - Wouldn't Spira have heard Rash when he went back to the room where Mhurren had been? She's at the top of the stair vs. in the room. But she'd likely hear footsteps and the keys. Just a thought.)
Rabbit Sebrica, Sorcerer || Skarai, Monk || Lokilia Vaelphin, Druid || Vanizi, Warlock || Britari / Halila Talgeta / Jesa Gumovi || Neital Rhessil, Wizard ||
Iromae Quinaea, Cleric || Meira Dheran, Rogue || Qirynna Thadri, Wizard || Crisaryn Melkial, Sorcerer || Bronnryn Hethgar, Cleric
"Far be it for me to doubt the wisdom of your decisions, brilliant Rash" explains Anita. "But I wished to inform you that all our provisions are kept in this room... Water and dried meat are certainly not a great luxury, but we didn't keep anything else here... We periodically fill the barrels with water, using the buckets, from a nearby stream and go hunting. We then dry the meat they do not eat immediately in the sun - then we store it here. So, this is the best food you all will be able to get here, I'm afraid".
"The next door leads to the kitchen - were also Mangy's cage is," adds the young Zhentarim prisoner "so don't get scared That stupid beast barks as soon as the door opens... but it's in its cage, it can't harm us. I can keep explaining things while we visit rooms... if you allow me. Go ahead, I won't complain for sure! Just keep others away from me, please..."
"A beast... in a cage?!" the halfling prisoner is horrified "I hope at least it's a large cage, which allows him a certain freedom of movement... For a wild animal, being suddenly forced into a cage would be a useless and cruel torture..."
"Sure, Milo, sure..." the female tiefling contorts her face in a sarcastic grimace "They surely assigned it a more than adequate accommodation, considering all the attention they gave us..."
"Solitude, do you always have to be so hard on Milo?!" asks the male tiefling "He's just worrying about the conditions in which our captors will be holding that poor beast... and thinking about this worries and irritates me a lot too!"
"Mhurren Flick decided everything!" the girl with the pony tail hastens to justify herself "He and his taming methods! We just had to obey - or get whipped!"
"When you bullied us," the male tiefling stares grimly "you seemed to do it more out of pleasure than fear!"
"I'm..." Anita stammers, still keeping close to 'Wise Rash' "I'm a different person now".
"Indeed! Can't you see, Gaer?" replies Solitude to the male "She's right... since she is a prisoner now. Undoubtedly, this has made her a very different person from the b*tchy and arrogant tormentor she was before".
(OOC: @Culuril: There is some distance, however, between the throne room and the spiral staircase... Plus, Rash has no metal armor that can jingle, he wasn't making any particular noise - he just frisked a corpse, didn't move any furniture or similar... so no, I wouldn't say that Spira heard the half-orc as he came to the throne room. Although, now that Elky is gone again, Spira may still come to join you)
Anyway, the ex-prisoners stop discussing among themselves, at least for the moment, and thank Roxana, following her advice while eating the hard meal. As water, they use that of the two barrels that are in the room.
Once the prisoners have had some food and drink, Milo and Gaer are both eager to go and check the conditions of the captive wolf... So do you enter through the new door?
"All things considered, I'm sure the cuisine here will be fine for the time being."
Rash strokes his beard for a moment in thought.
"Is the beast just a wolf, or is it a dire wolf?" he asks after a few moments. "I should be able to put a normal wolf to sleep without harming it, allowing us to release it safely, but if it's a dire wolf then I think it might be for the best to put the poor creature out of its misery."
He frowns at the two tieflings' rather unflattering words. In all honesty, they're probably not entirely wrong... but he doubts that they're entirely right either. Mob psychology and all that could make someone with a weak will behave much worse than they normally would. And it's also entirely possible that they could have exaggerated the extent of her crimes in their own minds because, as the only surviving Zhentarim (that the former-slaves are aware of), she's also the most convenient target for their wrath.
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"Mangy is an ordinary wolf, Wise Rash!" assures Anita "I had no doubt that you, with your ready mind and your in-depth arcane knowledge, had the solution for his case!"
Thus opening the door, the young Zhentarim prisoner introduces you into a new, larger room.
A massive fireplace occupies the northern three-quarters of the east wall, while an oven occupies the southernmost half of the west wall. In the center of the room is a large, sturdy table (10' x 5') with a few utensils on it: two kitchen knives, a skewer, a tinderbox.
The oven has been given a new use, it seems: the mouth has been closed with a grate (that slides on improvised guides and can be
lifted by hand) and it has been made into the prison of Mangy, the Wolf Anita spoke of. Mangy promptly barks and growls loudly, as soon as you enter.
"Poor beast..." Milo seems almost to tears, seeing the conditions of the malnourished beast, abused and contained in an improvised prison barely bigger than it!
"This is cruelty..." Gaer is visibly frowning.
"And does this surprise you?" Solitude ironically raises an eyebrow.
"I already explained, that it was just another of Mhurren's ideas..." the girl with the ponytail mutters, still trying to keep close to the half-orc.
Solitude, without even listening to her, approaches the sturdy table...
"Uhhh... Solitude, right? What are you doing?" Rash asks the female tiefling, not exactly liking where the situation is going. "I already told you I can put Mangy to sleep without hurting the beast."
Could she have fallen into madness because of her captivity? Rash wonders nervously. She hadn't displayed any signs of madness yet, but he hadn't observed her long enough to rule out the possibility either.
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Roxana enters the room with the others, at first watching the barking wolf. Her experience was that wolves were usually the villains on her family's farm. But that didn't mean she though they should be abused.
She starts to turn towards Anita when Rash speaks to Solitude. She too watches to see what the tiefling girl is doing.
Rabbit Sebrica, Sorcerer || Skarai, Monk || Lokilia Vaelphin, Druid || Vanizi, Warlock || Britari / Halila Talgeta / Jesa Gumovi || Neital Rhessil, Wizard ||
Iromae Quinaea, Cleric || Meira Dheran, Rogue || Qirynna Thadri, Wizard || Crisaryn Melkial, Sorcerer || Bronnryn Hethgar, Cleric
"Oh, I have no doubts, 'Wise Rash'..." Solitude, speaking in her usual sarcastic tone, limps over to the sturdy table and grabs one of the kitchen knives "But I don't think I'll be staying long in this place... I don't know why, but it definitely doesn't appeal to me... And since I won't always have you by my side to defend me, I'd better keep a weapon with me, right? Experience has repeatedly taught me that the world outside there It's hard sometimes for tieflings..."
Anita, still attached to the half-orc, whispers to him furtively:
"Isn't it better to put her to sleep too?"
Rash can't help but find Anita's 'suggestion' somewhat appealing to reduce the chance of anyone getting hurt, but he really doesn't want to strain the ex-prisoners' trust by doing something like that unless it's absolutely necessary.
"I suppose I can understand that," Rash says to Solitude, giving Anita a quick glance to silently tell her 'now really isn't the time for casting spells on a bunch of people who have understandable trust issues.' "Especially since everyone else around here is armed. I won't stop you from leaving, but I would suggest taking at least a little bit of time to recover from your ordeal before you go."
He pauses for a moment.
"You know... I won't pretend to know everything you've been through, but I can say that half-orcs aren't exactly well-regarded either. Most people just see us as dumb brutes with a penchant for violence. What I mean to say is, I understand where you're coming from."
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"I don't think any of us want to stay longer than we have to," Roxana begins. "It would be safer though to leave here in a group, not just by yourself."
She thinks for a moment, looking over those who were previously being held. "I should have asked, but were you taken from Longsaddle? Or were you on the road? Perhaps you weren't all traveling together."
Rabbit Sebrica, Sorcerer || Skarai, Monk || Lokilia Vaelphin, Druid || Vanizi, Warlock || Britari / Halila Talgeta / Jesa Gumovi || Neital Rhessil, Wizard ||
Iromae Quinaea, Cleric || Meira Dheran, Rogue || Qirynna Thadri, Wizard || Crisaryn Melkial, Sorcerer || Bronnryn Hethgar, Cleric
Solitude seems to reflect on what Rash and Roxana have told her... absentmindedly, meanwhile, she answers the girl from Longsaddle's question (OOC: Both of you, please, roll a Persuasion check): "I was traveling... although maybe I don't even know where. I was captured in the forest ...while I was trying to avoid Longsaddle. I wanted to go around the hamlet just to avoid trouble... After someone has already tried, with 'creative' methods, to 'purify' me once..." she nods to her tail stump "...I wanted to prevent anyone else from having any more brilliant ideas. But I ran into these criminal slavers... before they decided to change their lives, unfortunately" her sarcasm always seems to infuse her speech. "And you know the rest".
“I too got caught while traveling, Milo says. "With me, they didn't even have to bother to find me... I found them. I stumbled upon their lair by chance. They ordered me to surrender, that I was on private property. I believed it immediately, I left them capture me without fighting..."
"I doubt you've fought once in your life, Milo" the female tiefling chimes in, "unless, maybe, you've ever squashed ants".
The halfling lowers his eyes for a moment, as if hurt by the acid comment, but immediately recovers with a shrug: "It's true, fighting in the strict sense is not my strong suit. But I'm good at hunting and getting away with wild lands. Maybe we could get out of here together..." he suggests to the other.
The eloquent answering look is still a silent but very clear 'no'.
"I, on the other hand, was coming to Longsaddle..." explains Gaer "My sister Quspira and I had a bet pending... I realized that we were being followed, so I took the initiative: I separated from her to throw our pursuers on a false trail and then lose track of us... but this time I must have overestimated myself. Or maybe I had bad luck. Be that as it may, I couldn't lose them, they found and captured me. Although at least , so, I saved my sister! By the way, what trouble is Dobbian up to?"