Burik would grab the surrendering grunts, restraining them on the deck until the others return (taking below deck/into the cabin so they're out sight) and then question them. Telling Pip to alert him if any troubles come to the ship.
Burik, roll an intimidation check to see if they tell you anything (I was having them start to run away but it shouldn't matter much).
Pip and Murmur keep watch from the main deck as Effort keeps her eyes closed to see through Cadmael. She sees many of the commoners giving him strange looks as he whizzes by, but he's careful not to get too close to the swordsman. He's close enough, though, that the leader realizes he needs to keep running. He continues to weave between the crowds and down an alleyway. [Dash]
Cadmael, roll straight perception.
The crowd around the ship grows even more, as commoners are joined by more shady looking groups. A few whisper back and forth.
Brask stands in the middle of the city street, with no idea where to go, no knowledge of the hunting owl, and no sight of the slaver. He looks up to the sky and just roars in anger and hatred and frustration. Scowling at the people nearby, he then stomps angrily back to the ship. As he reaches the crowd gathered around to gawk or cause trouble he pushes violently through them and with his maul still in his hand he shouts: Get out of my way!
Cadmael swoops around the corner, somewhat cautiously to be sure he isn't ambushed. It turns out this alley is just as crowded as the main area of the docks. People push by each other carrying crates, yelling profanities and trying to edge their way into narrow doorways. The leader isn't in sight. Cadmael flies down to the other side of the alley, then turns back and looks through the throngs of people again. He's vanished.
When you're all back on the main deck, Murmur will slowly approach Brask. "I take it you knew that guy? Who the hell was he?"
Pip and one of the former slaves go to work cleaning up the mess left by the fight. Eventually he joins the conversation. "Should...should we untie and set sail? Staying here with no purpose doesn't seem too wise..."
No, I didn't know him,Brask answers. Never seen the scum before. But he had a symbol. Red and black. I know that symbol. Belonged to a slaver I'm going to kill. I was hoping to ask him some questions, but I guess those two will do. He nods towards the two captured enemies that Burik is leading downstairs.
We should set sail. Revenge is good but gold is better. He frowns. Remind me who's paying us for this?
Effort opens her eyes and looks around, regaining her senses, and spots the others with their two prisoners. "Oh, so we did leave some of them alive after all," she says disdainfully. "That's more generous than I expected."
She takes a moment to gesture, and then Cadmael reappears on her shoulder, ruffling his feathers. "Cadmael was unable to find the leader of this lot, though he did chase him to one of the seedier alleys in the city. If you wanted to track the fellow down, we could follow him through my hex, which still has the better part of the hour before it will wear off. Of course, I will have expected him to have gathered some friends with him by then."
She looks at the two grunts, arms crossed, and smiles slightly. "Though I expect these two could tell us more about that, couldn't they?"
This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
Intimidation: 3 (if with advantage 22 )
Burik will also try and keep Brask away from them (given his tendency towards violence in these affairs), at least to begin with and if they are talkative.
(Burik will also have stripped them of any armour or weapons and checked for any information on them before starting the interrogation.)
Help from Brask/Effort would definitely grant advantage.
Burik doesn't find much on them - scimitars, some beaten up leather armor, and one of them has a handful of 8 silver coins. Realizing they're completely at your mercy, they answer your questions promptly.
"L-listen...listen, we don't know much," one of them starts. "We were hired a few days ago to help with this exchange. Three slaves to be taken up and around the coast. Some big festival taking place next month. I don't know what they needed them for...servants? Fighting pits? No idea."
"We get hired by these guys every few months," the other one pipes up. "They always find us in one of the dockside taverns. Not sure when or if they'll be back, though."
Brask will insist on being present during the interrogation, but will happily let Burik lead. He will stand with his arms folded, a murderous scowl on his face, occasionally shifting his weight on his feet or cracking his knuckles for effect.
(To give Burik advantage on intimidation, though Effort already has that covered.)
Effort feels a twinge of sympathy for the grunts -- she recognizes them, in a way. Just the average street rat, looking for a way to make a quick buck. Morality and ethics often stopped playing a role for people of their station as soon as the hunger kicked in. Still, she recognized by the way that Burik and Brask - well, even likely Murmur - were eying the two men. They'd made themselves culpable by association with the slavers, and they weren't likely to receive much mercy, particularly from their victims.
You feel sympathy with them? She feel's Cadmael's curiosity tickling her mind. Then why were you having me hunt their leader? You meant him harm. Why not these two?
Effort sighs slightly and crosses her arms. They remind me of the old crew. Euphoria would've had us working with slavers like those if the coin was good enough. You stop caring about those things when you get desperate enough. She blinks and scowls a bit. But I wouldn't say it's sympathy. I merely understand them.
Your kind is very strange,Cadmael observes, as they both continue to watch the interrogation.
"Their leader is Peres, I think," one of them offers up. "Sir Peres, sorry. He's some disgraced knight from the west."
"Yeah, and the big guy is Galter," the other one adds. "...was Galter. Never got the archer's name. That one was quiet."
At this point the older gentlemen and the three former captives will have prepped the ship to set sail. They thank you for helping them and slowly get down off the boat. Murmur and Pip remain with you.
"It's different every time," one responds before the dwarf has a chance to ask. "Sometimes there's more like Galter. Sometimes just a few hires like us. And they never told us how they travel...boat, horses, caravan...we don't know."
"I'm guessing horses," the other one adds. "Peres was always talkin' about being a knight. Riding into battle. Seems like a guy who has a fancy horse."
"It sounds to me like Peres was more than just a mere slaver. A disgraced knight from the north? Most of those holier-than-thou types rail against things like slavery. So he must have fallen hard, maybe wanted revenge. I wouldn't be surprised if he was just like Umog - working somehow with that damned cult. Are we sure we want to leave this loose end untied?" She turns to Murmur. "This is your and Pip's ship now, actually. It's really your decision, because our mission is to go after the cult that kidnapped you first and foremost. If there's going to be some kind of meeting of cultists next month, we've got to be there - and this ship seems like the way to do it."
She also consults Burik and especially Brask. "Seems like you knew something about the slavers, too. Do you want to share it?"
"Take the head and the body will follow, but if this guy's a major player, he may be worth taking out before we press on." Burik says, mostly to Brask. "However I worry that we'd be swallowed by the city after the scene we caused here. They don't look like the type to take a loss nicely..."
Brask seems to go very still for a moment. Yeah. I don't know this guy Peres. But like I said, I know the symbol. Peres isn't the boss of this gang. It's an elf. Peres is a thread leading to the elf.
We could leave, head an hour or two up the river, then walk back and investigate the city. The cult and the slavers are in league. They might be one and the same, for all we know. Investigating them is part of what we're supposed to do. And I won't leave a slaver alive, not if I can help it.
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Burik would grab the surrendering grunts, restraining them on the deck until the others return (taking below deck/into the cabin so they're out sight) and then question them. Telling Pip to alert him if any troubles come to the ship.
Burik, roll an intimidation check to see if they tell you anything (I was having them start to run away but it shouldn't matter much).
Pip and Murmur keep watch from the main deck as Effort keeps her eyes closed to see through Cadmael. She sees many of the commoners giving him strange looks as he whizzes by, but he's careful not to get too close to the swordsman. He's close enough, though, that the leader realizes he needs to keep running. He continues to weave between the crowds and down an alleyway. [Dash]
Cadmael, roll straight perception.
The crowd around the ship grows even more, as commoners are joined by more shady looking groups. A few whisper back and forth.
Brask is up.
DM - Above & Below
Brask stands in the middle of the city street, with no idea where to go, no knowledge of the hunting owl, and no sight of the slaver. He looks up to the sky and just roars in anger and hatred and frustration. Scowling at the people nearby, he then stomps angrily back to the ship. As he reaches the crowd gathered around to gawk or cause trouble he pushes violently through them and with his maul still in his hand he shouts: Get out of my way!
Cad oerception: 7
Cadmael swoops around the corner, somewhat cautiously to be sure he isn't ambushed. It turns out this alley is just as crowded as the main area of the docks. People push by each other carrying crates, yelling profanities and trying to edge their way into narrow doorways. The leader isn't in sight. Cadmael flies down to the other side of the alley, then turns back and looks through the throngs of people again. He's vanished.
DM - Above & Below
Effort has Cadmael take a good long look around the alley, before resummoning Cadmael back into her pocket plane.
When you're all back on the main deck, Murmur will slowly approach Brask. "I take it you knew that guy? Who the hell was he?"
Pip and one of the former slaves go to work cleaning up the mess left by the fight. Eventually he joins the conversation. "Should...should we untie and set sail? Staying here with no purpose doesn't seem too wise..."
DM - Above & Below
No, I didn't know him, Brask answers. Never seen the scum before. But he had a symbol. Red and black. I know that symbol. Belonged to a slaver I'm going to kill. I was hoping to ask him some questions, but I guess those two will do. He nods towards the two captured enemies that Burik is leading downstairs.
We should set sail. Revenge is good but gold is better. He frowns. Remind me who's paying us for this?
Effort opens her eyes and looks around, regaining her senses, and spots the others with their two prisoners. "Oh, so we did leave some of them alive after all," she says disdainfully. "That's more generous than I expected."
She takes a moment to gesture, and then Cadmael reappears on her shoulder, ruffling his feathers. "Cadmael was unable to find the leader of this lot, though he did chase him to one of the seedier alleys in the city. If you wanted to track the fellow down, we could follow him through my hex, which still has the better part of the hour before it will wear off. Of course, I will have expected him to have gathered some friends with him by then."
She looks at the two grunts, arms crossed, and smiles slightly. "Though I expect these two could tell us more about that, couldn't they?"
(help to any intimidation roll on the grunts)
Intimidation: 3 (if with advantage 22 )
Burik will also try and keep Brask away from them (given his tendency towards violence in these affairs), at least to begin with and if they are talkative.
(Burik will also have stripped them of any armour or weapons and checked for any information on them before starting the interrogation.)
Help from Brask/Effort would definitely grant advantage.
Burik doesn't find much on them - scimitars, some beaten up leather armor, and one of them has a handful of 8 silver coins. Realizing they're completely at your mercy, they answer your questions promptly.
"L-listen...listen, we don't know much," one of them starts. "We were hired a few days ago to help with this exchange. Three slaves to be taken up and around the coast. Some big festival taking place next month. I don't know what they needed them for...servants? Fighting pits? No idea."
"We get hired by these guys every few months," the other one pipes up. "They always find us in one of the dockside taverns. Not sure when or if they'll be back, though."
DM - Above & Below
"Names. Now." Burik commands while menacingly twirling his warhammer.
Brask will insist on being present during the interrogation, but will happily let Burik lead. He will stand with his arms folded, a murderous scowl on his face, occasionally shifting his weight on his feet or cracking his knuckles for effect.
(To give Burik advantage on intimidation, though Effort already has that covered.)
Effort feels a twinge of sympathy for the grunts -- she recognizes them, in a way. Just the average street rat, looking for a way to make a quick buck. Morality and ethics often stopped playing a role for people of their station as soon as the hunger kicked in. Still, she recognized by the way that Burik and Brask - well, even likely Murmur - were eying the two men. They'd made themselves culpable by association with the slavers, and they weren't likely to receive much mercy, particularly from their victims.
You feel sympathy with them? She feel's Cadmael's curiosity tickling her mind. Then why were you having me hunt their leader? You meant him harm. Why not these two?
Effort sighs slightly and crosses her arms. They remind me of the old crew. Euphoria would've had us working with slavers like those if the coin was good enough. You stop caring about those things when you get desperate enough. She blinks and scowls a bit. But I wouldn't say it's sympathy. I merely understand them.
Your kind is very strange, Cadmael observes, as they both continue to watch the interrogation.
"Their leader is Peres, I think," one of them offers up. "Sir Peres, sorry. He's some disgraced knight from the west."
"Yeah, and the big guy is Galter," the other one adds. "...was Galter. Never got the archer's name. That one was quiet."
At this point the older gentlemen and the three former captives will have prepped the ship to set sail. They thank you for helping them and slowly get down off the boat. Murmur and Pip remain with you.
DM - Above & Below
Ask 'em how many in Peres' gang, Brask says to to Burik, ignoring the fact that the two prisoners can obviously hear him.
"It's different every time," one responds before the dwarf has a chance to ask. "Sometimes there's more like Galter. Sometimes just a few hires like us. And they never told us how they travel...boat, horses, caravan...we don't know."
"I'm guessing horses," the other one adds. "Peres was always talkin' about being a knight. Riding into battle. Seems like a guy who has a fancy horse."
DM - Above & Below
"It sounds to me like Peres was more than just a mere slaver. A disgraced knight from the north? Most of those holier-than-thou types rail against things like slavery. So he must have fallen hard, maybe wanted revenge. I wouldn't be surprised if he was just like Umog - working somehow with that damned cult. Are we sure we want to leave this loose end untied?" She turns to Murmur. "This is your and Pip's ship now, actually. It's really your decision, because our mission is to go after the cult that kidnapped you first and foremost. If there's going to be some kind of meeting of cultists next month, we've got to be there - and this ship seems like the way to do it."
She also consults Burik and especially Brask. "Seems like you knew something about the slavers, too. Do you want to share it?"
"Take the head and the body will follow, but if this guy's a major player, he may be worth taking out before we press on." Burik says, mostly to Brask. "However I worry that we'd be swallowed by the city after the scene we caused here. They don't look like the type to take a loss nicely..."
Brask seems to go very still for a moment. Yeah. I don't know this guy Peres. But like I said, I know the symbol. Peres isn't the boss of this gang. It's an elf. Peres is a thread leading to the elf.
We could leave, head an hour or two up the river, then walk back and investigate the city. The cult and the slavers are in league. They might be one and the same, for all we know. Investigating them is part of what we're supposed to do. And I won't leave a slaver alive, not if I can help it.