“Careful with your words, surface dweller. You already owe me enough.” He answered Threl trying to sound angry, while holding a thumbs up in his direction.

From there Veldruk watched in silence. The threats and lies breaking through the gnoll’s confidence. No need to get physical, he noticed with relief. Not because he cared about torturing a prisoner, but rather because he knew that would play on the reputation of his kind. Make his companions consider him too dangerous.

“I’m not going to use my necromancy on this.” He said in a mocking tone. “Make it speak then kill it, if you want to have it your way. Swear by your oh so precious god.” That should convince the tied zealot. He then extended his palm to Nodjeim, asking the monk to wait. “Don’t forget to ask about things we already know to make sure it’s saying the truth, like the witch.”

The bard clearly knew his way around an interrogation. It was hard to think he would need to be reminded of something so basic, but the warlock’s reminding made it natural to ask about the Auntie – someone that going by their lies didn’t matter anymore. His crimson eyes then turned to Ruthmum, as if asking the druid if he hadn’t questions of his own.

"By... damned... by tongue and teeth I swears it!"

"He wants to be killed...weird. I knew gnolls were stupid, but damn, that's dumb. Whatever, I say, if he wants to die, we don't give him what he wants. I say we take him and...well, that depends on if he tells us the truth or not.

"It's your decision, bub, you can tell us what we want to know, and we let you go to your horrible 'god', or we take you with us and you have to suffer for who knows how long?"

"Imagine spending weeks on end with a bunch of what did you call us? a 'skinny-head pink wormy blood brained bastard mud rat'?"

What check would you want for this?

She spits out another gobbet of blackish blood-adjacent stuff. "I tells you, you kills me, I tells you! Now ask and kills me, boot-headed lung runt!"

Evelyn shakes her head in disgust at the gnoll. "How are you supposed to answer if you're dead?" she demands.

"My thoughts exactly. And while we're at it, why don't you tell us a little about your friends. Specifically, where they are now and how many of them there are"

Persuasion check: (minimum of 10 on the d20 as normal) 24

The gnoll grins, truly grins, at this. Not the feral rictus of empty glee plastered across the face of every other gnoll you've seen. A real grin of cruel, cunning joy. 

"We is everywhere. We is many. We is hungry. I not gonna eat you, but you go in Yeenoghu's belly soon. So doesn't matter."

     Nodjeim sighs, finding none of this useful and not expecting to get any real information from the creature.  "Is there a way to cure those infected?" he asks in his most menacing manner, ready to just stab the think with his spear if he doesn't like the answer. 

Intimidation: Nat 1-1 for a 0...
There's a reason he wasn't running the interrogation.

The gnoll titters. "Infected? You get bit by Kakkalaak? Ha! You gonna feel the hunger... gonna twist to mouth for Yeenoghu... good curse it is, no? Auntie did that. Old magic. No help from I for that. Should not get help. Should let it happen..."

     "Shouldn't get help," Nodjeim whispers to whoever is close to him, "implies there is help to be gotten somewhere."  He himself doesn't ask the question though as he knows he's not that effective with the talky talky bits.

Evelyn perks up as she listens to the gnoll speak. If Auntie is the source of the curse, then perhaps Auntie will be able to end the curse as well. Not that this Auntie is likely to do that of her own free will. They will have to make this Auntie end the curse one way or the other. It seems Auntie is the leader, or one of the leaders, of this strange cult so they would likely cross paths with her at some point. The idea that there is a cure to be had at all makes Evelyn feel relieved. Perhaps she isn't doomed to become a ravening gnoll after all.

“I assume you’ll have no qualms with me taking its soul if it gives no useful information?” He asked trying his best to sound pedantic and gesticulating to Threl to wait. “Try asking from which direction it came in contrast to the sun, how many hours or days it took. It could use these very same referentials to point where its brood is or at least was. If each group has more or less than its entourage or this cave.” Veldruk nodded to Nodjeim, recognizing the good question the monk asked.  “Try asking about the reason for its kind to be wandering around here. And about what it knows in regard to the dead witch. Then when it gives nothing let me add another soul to my collection. I so very dislike when the number is odd.” That, he hoped, would suggest he had locked more than a few souls away. With a magic item he had just lied into a conversation. “I’ll make sure it never feels Yeenoghu.”

The last sentence should be enough to keep the threat that broke the prisoner fresh on its mind. Maybe we should ask about the crown, he pondered lowering his hand. But if I talk too much my part on the interrogation might become clear. Besides, there should be easy to find someone able to identify the thing later.

(Dead witch?)

(Auntie. The party lied about her having been killed already by another, stronger group. Veldruk calls her witch because of the information that she uses magic.)

(Ah, right)

The gnoll's eyes burn with fury at Veldruk's words. "You promised!" she whines. "You kill me now. I answer no more questions of yours. You trap me, kill me, I trust nothing from you. Do it now!" She begins to thrash back and forth, howling and biting at the air as red-black froth drips from her mouth, but the bindings hold fast.

Olan sits quietly, torn between keeping a lookout and watching this master class in deception, "Maybe I can learn a few tricks."

Evelyn hates to say it, but they aren't getting much else out of the gnoll, and if it really wants to die..She shakes her head, surprised at her own thoughts. Only a few months on the road, and she was developing a harder edge to her personality that hadn't been there before.

“If only you would have cooperated. We might have given you what you want.” the drow is thinking the same thing as Evelyn, and turns his back on the foul gnoll. He calls over his shoulder “Come on, we’re leaving. Nodjeim, make sure those bonds are tight as can be, we wouldn’t want our friend here escaping” Veldruk recognizes in his friend’s eyes the old glint often seen in the expressions of the drow. As for whether it is Threl’s savage curse bringing this cruelty out or not, well…that remains to be seen.

     Nodjeim's face adopts a confused look as he is told to check the creatures bindings but after a moment he shrugs and attempts to stab it in it's throat with his spear.  He had more or less tuned out a lot of the interrogation but what he believed the plan was, and what he believes the creature was promised, was death.  Besides, Nodjeim did not feel comfortable leaving an enemy at their back, tied up or not...

(Not sure we need an attack roll but... advantage since it's prone...)
Spear attack: 12 to hit for 12 piercing damage

     If he misses Nodjeim would stab again.  And again.  He's not looking to make a bloody example of the creature but attempting to put it out of it's, and their, misery and he will strike multiple times if need be.