Lost Mines Gr-A

"And I'm a con artist," Alynoa shrugs. "Tricking people is what I do."

"You're a charlatan is what you are. Just be thankful you are useful. Incidentally, have you found anything interesting with those death cabinets?"

Lark will approach the open door with his crossbow held in front of him defensively, ready to dodge should anything happen. 

((Hahahahahaahaha I will be posting soon, Salazar will be posting from here if he wishes, hes at my house atm irl. But Lark.. my good man take a nat 20 DM inspiration... you earned it))

Salazar fails to say anything at first, or even look to the others. Although his gaze had lingered on the ashen remains of the skeleton at his feet, it is the now open doorway the other had run off to that captured the entirety of his attention. Wordlessly in the end, and appearing to ignore the other's banters at the moment, a shaky hand puts away the mace as their owner makes their way over to the open door, listening for any signs of movement headed their way. Silently, he prayed to Oghma the redbrand seen in the cavern before might mistake the fleeing skeleton to be a threat no longer bound by whatever magics held it to realm.

But after taking one last deep breathe to settle his nerves, all further thought to the mattered is pushed to the back of the mind, just as he closed the door following one last look down its hall; a motion for lark to stand back given just prior should be in the way. He then turned turned to regard the others with a look both grim yet distracted. Almost. "The skeleton returning will be the least of our concerns I am afraid. The same goes for my injuries, though--" He goes over to Lark, and offers the potion pulled out from the waters before. "Hold fast to this. Just in case. But use it wisely. I can channel but one more blessing of Oghma, and it may not be for purpose of mending." He smiles sardonically. "A cleric though I am in part."

Standing back up to his full height, he than regards Lark and Alynoa with a borderline more disappointed look. Salazar opens his mouth as if to speak, hesitates, and then with a shake of his head carries along another line, replacing disappointment with a more guarded expression. The self-proclaimed scholar says in more hushed tones "We should not dally, or disturb further this place of rest. I am no dwarf, but judging by what I glimpsed before and a little deductive reasoning, the way 'looks' as if it leads back towards the cavern. And given until you, Lark, decided to get aggressive, those souls chose to largely ignore you, I would not put it past the brands, or at least... the one fellow whose face you wear, making use of this area." At this point he looks to the third and currently closed door in the room.

"And they may not yet be the only opposition. If so, you, Lark, and Lady Alynoa should take point. As for me--" Whipping out one of the potions of invisibility, the scholar utters one finally prayer in an otherworldly tongue before downing the contents and rippling like a mirage out of existence. "Will be your shadow. Mind our goal at this point is to explore and free any and all captives of the brands. Once their free... Well, I suppose we capture or... quietly dispose of the other brands. Perhaps even use that bargain the creature mentioned to you last Lark to our advantage?" He shrugs, but realizing the others couldn't see at that point, snorts and goes to lead Lark over by the hand to the closed door(or at least part way) before standing off to the side of it.

If possible, he tries to put an ear to the door first for a hot few seconds to glean what or who might be on the otherside.

Perception: 22. 

Stealth: 12. 

(From Mehmen to All: Almost decided to wait on this, but figured I'd leave folk with /something/ to respond to while away. Also, really wish I wrote down my password instead of relying on it already being saved to my home setup. lol)

"Is it really disturbing if we've already killed most of them?" Alynoa asks, chuckling under her breath.

Lark will gather whatever bolts he can find and shoves them back into his case. He then makes his way to the closed door. Led part way by the invisible hand.  "I reckon they would have attacked regardless," Lark mumbles under his breath. He cocks an eye brow and looks toward where Salazar is being "stealthy"

Lark will wait until Alynoa and Salazar have concluded their investigations, and then open the door. (OOC: how are we on disguise self time?")

Again, Salazar found himself giving Alynoa dry, sidelong look, only to remember the invisibility kind of ruined any notice. But if elven blooded folk were sensitive enough to 'vibes', he not quite bad, not quite good ones were being sent her way before he tried going back to the door. Whether he finds something out or not, he pats Lark on the shoulder and whispers a ready before slipping back more to the side of the door frame again, and out of direct opening of it.

(30 minutes remain on disguise, 10 minutes remain on frozen fingers)

Salazar would hear the soft whimpers of people on the other side, though mufled, as well as the s******ing of those who were assailing them with words. Just as Lark goes to open the door, he is met by the shocked and surprised expression of a redbrand who had just been on the verge of doing the same, on the opposite side. Initially, his visage bore a frustrated expression What in the bloody nine 'ells is all the n.... O-Oh! Glasstaff, I'm so sorry! I didn't realize it was you! Me and the other guy 'ere heard some crashing, clashing, and the lik,e and thought someoen was makin mischeif in the crypt. But we didn't expect it to be you.... Speakin of... he would say, looking past you, seeing what was left of the one, and the others missing ..Finally decided to get rid of those creepy old bones eh? Bout time... they unsettled us. Kinda creepy that the original owners of the house still lingerin. So what brings you to the cells today sir? You normally leave this kinda stuff to us.

Alynoa looks up from her digging through the skeletal remains and the sarcophagi when the redbrand starts talking. She readjusts her grip on the staff and joins Lark.

(Did i find anything before the Redbrands showed up? I wound up with a 14 in investigation)

"Yes, of course its me. Didn't you get my message?!," Lark snaps. "No matter, I have had a interesting breakthrough," Lark gestures toward the disguised Alynoa. Lark removes the ring of keys and the spider pendant from his pouch. "I was just getting ready to unlock the door when those damned skeletons animated. I believe it was my copy here that set them off" 

"Regardless, I have need of one of the supplicants. For an experiment."  Lark gestures for the man to step aside, and pushes into the room. 

Performance or Deception (23) 

"Also, I have an ethereal servant about too, please don't soil yourself if items start floating about."

Alynoa's head perks up fro mthe sarcophogi, filled with bone dust that is now floating in the air. The dust floating idly and making the second 'Iarno' look foolishly silly. WHile there is nothing of any special note within it, she does manage to find a signet ring in each of them she explores, finding a total of 3 signet rings, each worth 50 GP.

(4)

 Y-yessir, right away sir. We got four, so I'll grab one of em. If it's the kind of experiment I think it is.. I should probably fetch you the wench. One moment sir. As the redbrand goes inside, you can see farther into the room. On both sides, are two, large, prison bars. On one side, a female adult, and a female child, at cursory glance you can't quite tell what race they are. On the other side, are two male children. The redbrand opens the cell with the women, and heads for the adult of the two Cmon then... the boss wants to 'xperiment' with ya like he did lastnight! to which a terrified wail and cries of No, please..... are the only response, before the woman breaks down into tears.

Lark steps into the center of the room. "Better yet, I will take the lot of them. I might need....spares."  Leaving no room for discussion, Lark directs dusty Iarno and his "unseen servant" to gather the two prisoners, while he himself stands, impatiently tapping his foot, in front of the second cage door.  

Should this all go well, Lark will turn to the guards, "As for you two, your raison d'etre has been removed. I want to prepare these cells for our next guests. Maybe some more blood, we are supposed to crush hope as well as bodies..."

Before Lark gets TOO into his role, He will gather the prisoners and depart, shutting the door behind him. 

If things go wonky- I'll react as things unfold. 

Alynoa pockets the rings, taking note of the symbol on the ring for ideas in the future.

Suppressing a sigh of relief, but thinking 'Well done, little green' immediately after, Salazar follows through in the request. And in leaning into the story, but to give him a more ghostly presence, he tries less harder to muffle the sound of the armor, and accompanies the steps with the occasional ethereal sounding whispers in celestial, knowing the language natural beauty and alieness carried and underlying eeriness to the wicked at heart that listen to it. His pacing is methodical as he takes in the whole of the room, marking the number of any redbrand missed in the first glance into the room.

If it is truly just the one, interest at least sort wanes on the rare maddening whispers, but still tries to avoid having to touch anything or one until he reaches the woman and child. And /only/ if its the one will he risks whispering in the woman's ear in a steel eiree and etheral fashion. "You and the rest are to be freed of your current woes. For their sake, and your own, I would not resist.." At that, if hadn't tried to flee or turn away, he gently tries to guide her by the chin into looking over to the little girl, and make sure to hold it there for a few seconds. Once he sees the 'message' had been received, gentle hands guide her into rising to her feet, and the woman into a holding a hand out for the child to grab. But all the while, at least one of the scholar's hand remains on the back of her neck; a constant reminder of her life being in the 'proverbial' and 'cold' hands of another wordly being.

(Assuming he does speak or you need a deception roll anyways for the whole shebang: (1)6, if at advantage from Lark's story: 2. (plus the guidance bonus in the ())

posting soon

As Iarno steps into the room, the other redbrand, and the only other redbrand there was in the room, shoots to his feet. All of em? Got it. We'll get right to it boss. Fumbling with the keys for a moment, he unlocks the cell door to the other side preparing to remove the prisoners from the wall And, I'm not quite sure what you mean boss.. you want us to kill the prisoners here before we grab more or what? we aint no scholarly mage like you sir. We're your brawn, remember? No disrespect, but you gotta consider how stupid we are compared to you...

Alynoa pockets the rings, though the signet rings have worn over time, enough that only the words 'Tresendar' which is likely the family name, is visible. the rest is unintelligible.

The one redbrand eventually unlocking the cell to the two boys, one of which being the son of the Farmer. And escorting them both, shackled, out. While on the other side. As Salazar whispers, he only makes the womans cries harsher, and more terrified, at this point, she was wailing in utter terror as she thought she was going insane, hearing voices and feeling body parts that weren't there touch her. Before her head could be 'coerced' to look, she pulled away, burying her face into her hands, only to receive a harsh kick by the redbrand in the gut. Get up you filthy whore! The master 'as need of you. And if you don't get up now it'll get much worse for ya. Glasstaff just wants to have some fun like the night before. Or we could kill the girl.. if you'd prefer? This sparks the woman, who's expression is now dead, though tears continue to flow, to comply, reaching out and crawling on the ground on the way out.

During this time, the little girls has started to wail and cry herself, moreso in response to all that's going on around her than any personal trauma.. as far as you can tell, outside of several bruises along her face. Both of them wailing as they exit the cell.

(Sorry they have no idea who or what is goign on, his story would help with the redbrands, sure, but not the prisoners. they aren't in the loop)

(It was moreso for them then her anyone, since he can't stealth good, and a clanky spirit that's supposed to be "etheral" servant kind of ruins it without at least some hamming up. It would've been NICE if she caught on to their being something more to things, but not suprising that she did.)

His 'work' done, Salazar drifts his way over the boys, leaving the women to cry without so much as a backwards glance... as far as anyone knew. But halfway a cross, he pauses, and slinks his way over to kneel beside Lark. "Master. This one dares to further... 'damage' your prizes without a word of consent prior. Might I and the one in the hole feed upon that one?" He asks in his 'etheral' voice more than loudly enough for the redbrands to hear and not have the words mistaken. It is hard to tell if he meant it in just or not, but shifting over hover on the otherside of Lark.

"Or might this one be redeemed? A... reassignment elsewhere as punishment. Perhaps... Perhaps this one can come with us. This one, and this one alone coming to... redeem itself on the way back to the fountain room?" He hints as much as he dared, not even bothering to regard the redbrand by gender. At that, he glides over to the shackled boys, taking them by the leading chain if there is one between them. And if not, he places a hand on their shoulder, uttering acurt, "Resist. And die here. I will not warn again." if he felt even the slightest attempt to shrug out of an intentionally weak grip.

"Or might the food be left in smells cells until the next shift, my Master? These so called brawn and stupid. A kinder punishment considering the joy one would try to rob you in injurying your prizes." He says, voice turning to a more gravely tone as it took on a draconic bent to it.

"I will need them whole, you fools. Do not damage them." Lark snaps as the redbrand delivers his kick. He raises his had as if to weave a dweomer but pauses as Salazar begins whispering. "My otherworldly consort seems to think punishment is fitting.." still talking to the Redbrands. "Should the wolf be punished for howling? Is a bear guilty for pulling a tree down to eat an trapped traveler? It is your nature.  But my consort has a point."  

Lark turns specifically to the one that kicked the woman. "Sometimes the solution to a problem is difficult to see. I find in those times that a simple change of perspective is needed for clarity. One must simply see things in a new light." 

Lark intercedes as the man begins bringing the female prisoner out of the cells. Blocking his escape from the cell, Lark reaches out and grabs the cell door. He shuts it closing the man into the cell. Without even a glance at the new prisoner, Lark turns to the other Redbrand present. "You have the keys, let him out when he has learned something new about himself."

Lark will herd the wailing group out the door, waiting for dusty Iarno and the voice.  He shuts the door behind him as he leaves. 

As all of this happens, the two redbrands share a worried glance. Not sure if they were doing what Iarno wanted, or if they were about to be punished. When Lark finally pushes the one into the cell, he gives a confused holler, but doesn't resist or rebel. You could tell these hardened thugs were terrified of what Glasstaff was supposedly capable of. Though likely after watching him be friend and bled like a pig in a single stroke by Salazar.... That meant either Iarno's rumors were overblown..... or Salazar was meant to be feared. Regardless, the cell is closed, and behind Lark, the man just sits there, while the other one fumbles with his keys but doesn't dare open the cell. Y-yes sir! is all he can manage, before the entourage leaves the area, heading back out into the crypts, leaving the two redbrands confused, and terrified. (about 10 minutes remain on both disguises)

P-please don't hurt us... We beg you, just let us go....

"Come along, quickly now. Your time here is almost at an end."

Lark will keep walking until arriving back at the room with the cistern. Slowing in the hallway to unbind the prisoner's hands and showing them how to navigate the weakened floor. Once everyone is safe, Lark lets all pretense of being Iarno drop. "We are not going to hurt you. My name is Lark. These are Master's Salazar and Alynoa. The monster responsible for what happened to you lies dead. We need to ask you some questions before you leave though. Would that be okay?"

Lark offers his waterskin to any of them that may want water.  

"Have you seen any other captives here?" Lark waits for a response before following with, "Do you know why they are taking people?"

(Anyone else got any questions for the nice lady?)